[PP - F1] The Newcomer (Tristan Delaney) [Complete]

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan sighed, his voice sounding more gentle.

"I'm sorry...I forgot myself. We live in a world where statistics matter. I was thinking of when I've fought with a spear in real life, when there is no 'HP'. But this is SAO, which is different."

Rolled a 4 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Tristan sent a stab with his spear forward to the wolf. He just missed the wolf though, skimming the fur and doing no damage. He stepped back, giving himself a good distance with his spear to react to the wolf.

[Lessa 1]

Lessa frowned as she watched Tristan take more damage from the wolf. She had just agreed to keep her distance, and let him fend for himself. But watching him miss his attack made her uncomfortable, and the young woman could not help but grow a little angry. He was her companion, and the wolf would not be allowed to go on dancing around him like that.

In a flash, Lessa was at the wolf's side, her rose-tinted blade over her right shoulder. With a cry of exertion, she brought the weapon up, and slashed it diagonally across the front of her body. The wolf gave an enraged cry as she shaved another sizable chunk from its health.

{Rolled a 9. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +1 critical, +2 Hell Rose, +2 two-handed skill.}

Tristan 11/15

Lessa 17/17

Wolf 1 DEAD

Wolf 2 1/15

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan wasted no time to finish off the wolf after Lessa had attacked them. He was rather confused at initially withdrawing, since he didn't remember telling her not to do anything. Regardless, he went for the kill.

Rolled a 4 on the d10 (battle) dice.

The spear pierced straight through the wolf like a shish kebab, from which the body then disintegrated into pixels.

Tristan rested his body on the spear, seeing the loot screen.

Rolled a 6 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Tristan gave a coarse laugh, as though fate was having a joke with him.

He turned to Lessa, his face more solemn. He gave a sigh of exasperation at himself.

"I apologise. I...didn't want to seem useless to you and well, wanted to do something, for you. I let my head get to me and...yeah. You're right, I should of listened to you. Well...I suppose getting no loot is my lesson to me for doing what I did."

He scratched the side of his face awkwardly, the smooth mature skin rubbing against his fingernail. He always made sure to be well-shaven, but his mature age showed still including his height.

[Lessa 1]

The game prompted Tristan to accept the material the wolf dropped. "It isn't all a waste," she reminded him, motioning toward the alert. "All monsters drop materials. That's something." Lessa sheathed her blade in a quick, practiced motion. Then, she turned back to Tristan. "And the experience isn't bad either."

"Nice job out there, by the way," the young woman added, giving him a small smile. "You certainly know your way around a battle."

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan took the material, but that was at the back of his mind right now. It just didn't seem relevant right now. Even if it was the purpose of their going out.

He in turn simply held to his spear, since they weren't exactly weapons you could sheath unless you unequip them.

"Yes well, I did combat reenactment in the real world, when not being a deputy manager for a store. So I learned how to use a spear. I suppose it is of some use in SAO."

 

Tristan smiled at Lessa in turn from hers, where they shared a moment of just looking at each others face. For what reason he didn't know, but it felt nice anyhow. When realising what he was doing, his cheeks reddened slightly.

"So ahhh, what are we doing now?"

[Lessa 1]

Noticing the blush on his cheeks, Lessa emitted a soft laugh. She reached out, and patted his arm gently. "Its up to you, big guy," came her response. "We're out here for you. I'll follow your lead."

The blonde put her hands on her hips, and looked out over the floor. The blades of grass bowed under the weight of the light wind, and they shimmered under the sunlight like tiny diamonds. She could not help but give a content sigh. "It really is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, still not looking at her partner.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan chuckled, reciprocating the hand being patted on him by not flinching by any means. She really was too much to ask for, in a good way.

 

The view, with the sunlight mirroring from the moisture in the grass, truly was beautiful. Tristan was however more distracted looking at Lessa's face and hair with the scene in the background.

"Yeah, it is beautiful."

 

Snapping out of his trance, he took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well, I suppose we should forge that gear for me, or I'll be continually dragging behind you." Tristan chuckled saying it, but it was also the harsh truth. He would first need some defensive armour for damage mitigation, then a better dragon spear, probably with +3 damage.

[Lessa 1]

The young woman nodded, and then finally tore her gaze away from the stunning landscape. When she looked back at Tristan, she saw that his gaze was on her. Her eyes found his, and she replied, "if that's what you'd like to do, sure. But while you're out here, why not look for a few more materials?" Shoulders rose and fell with a small shrug. "It took us long enough to get out here. And besides, that was what you wanted all along, right?"

She glanced away from him again to survey the land. When she spotted another pack of wolves in the distance, she glanced over her shoulder at him. "I'm game."

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan wasn't about to disagree on her. "That's true. May as well take the opportunity then."

Tristan readied his spear again and began to approach the pack of wolves. This time though he was sticking close to Lessa, so that they could work together better, rather than relying on one or the other. After all, using Switch in SAO when partying was rather common.

 

"I'm sure we'll manage this just fine."

[Lessa 1]

"Shall we?" She asked him. Then, she drew her claymore, and leapt into action.

Her boots thudded on the hard ground as she gained speed. As she neared the pack, the majority turned on their haunches and loped the other direction. But three of the shaggy grey beasts, stayed behind. Once she was within ranged, they lowered themselves to the ground, growling angrily.

One of the wolves moved to the front of the pack. He was much larger, and clearly the alpha. Lessa glanced over her shoulder toward Tristan. "You get the little ones, yeah?" She stared down the alpha. "I"ll take the big boy."

Lessa: 19/19

Tristan: 15/15

Wolf 1: 10/10

Wolf 2: 10/10

Alpha: 20/20 [immune to damage mitigation - deals 1 damage with each attack.]

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan chuckled. "At this rate you'll be calling me big boy."

• Rolled a 1 on the d4 dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d6 dice.
• Rolled a 5 on the d8 dice.
• Rolled a 10 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 12 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 17 on the d20 (loot) dice.

He leapt into the air and span, sweeping the spear in a semi circle arch under him. It cut the upper part of their body, running down from neck to tail. The wolf winced and tried to bite back. The wolf missed though, seeing as Tristan being rather acrobatic in the air, which came from his Acrobatics skill and his Performer profession. While in the air, he smashed the spear down on the other wolf, landing straight on their head and cutting one side of their face.

Tristan would dance this dance and he was going to enjoy it. At least for the time being, while Lessa dealt with the Alpha wolf.

 

Lessa: 19/19
Tristan: 15/15

Wolf 1: 5/10
Wolf 2: 10/10
Alpha: 20/20 [immune to damage mitigation - deals 1 damage with each attack.] 

[Lessa 1]

Rolling her eyes at his "big boy" comment, Lessa sprung into action. The alpha wolf immediately turned its attention to her, as if recognizing that she was his biggest threat. Her blue eyes met his black ones, and she motioned with her claymore, as if to say 'come get it.'

The wolf shoved off its back feet, launching itself into the air. Lessa bent her knees, waiting for the monster to grow nearer. As soon as it was within range, she easily side-stepped the attack. The wolf fell to the earth, and as it did so, ran its body along her blade. The wound was not deep, nor did it inflict much damage. But it was a start. She glanced back toward Tristan to see how he was doing.

{Rolled a 4 on the d10 dice. +2 accuracy from gauntlets = 6. Lessa deals 5 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +2 two-handed skill.}

Lessa: 19/19

Tristan: 15/15

Wolf 1: 5/10

Wolf 2: 10/10

Alpha Wolf: 15/20

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Rolled a 4 on the d4 dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d6 dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d8 dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 3 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d20 (loot) dice.

The second wolf retaliated by charging at Tristan, swiping their paw. It just managed to catch their leg with a graze for 1 damage.

"'tis but a scratch."

Tristan did not allow for his concentration to break and retaliated by still attacking the first wolf, the sooner they were dead the better. Then he realised though he had an item that could benefit them both.

He threw a monster grenade which lasted two turns and emitted a sound of a violin. All the monsters were distracted by this.

ALL MONSTERS DISTRACTED FOR TWO TURNS

Rolled a 2 on the d4 dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d6 dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d8 dice.

Rolled a 10 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 10 on the d20 (loot) dice.

He sent the killing blow to the first wolf, a spear straight through their abdomen. The wolf slumped dead.

He continued though, taking the opportunity while it was there and attacked the second wolf.

Rolled a 1 on the d4 dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d6 dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d8 dice.

Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 2 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 14 on the d20 (loot) dice.

He sent a straight stab a the wolf and sliced one leg, leaving them off balance. The wolf yelped in pain as they nearly went to half health. Tristan was happy he had a grenade on him and made a mental note to make more.

Lessa: 19/19

Tristan: 14/15

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: 6/10

Alpha Wolf: 15/20

Lessa has two turns to attack without retaliation due to distraction.

[Lessa 1]

Though his tactics were unusual, they seemed to be working. I guess that performer profession is worth something after all. Tightening the grip on her claymore, Lessa could not help but smile. "Well done," she called out to Tristan, giving him a small nod of her head. "I've never fought alongside a performer before." Before she threw herself back into the battle, she added, "I like it."

Despite both wolves being distracted, Lessa focused all of her efforts on the Alpha. It dealt the most damage, and so it posed the biggest threat. The sooner she put it down, the better.

Lessa sprung forward, focusing entirely on speed this time. If Tristan's ability wore off while she was standing around, it could be a disaster. She wasted no time plunging her blade into the great wolf's side. It let forth a wail, but still could not bring itself to retaliate.

{Battle: 9. Loot: 6. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +1 critical, +2 Hell Rose, +2 two-handed skill.}

The attack hit its mark. Her smile grew, and she quickly moved in for another attack. Unfortunately, her second attack was sloppy. The wolf was entirely distracted, but it danced to one side as she brought her blade down. She winced. "Gotta do better," she growled.

{Battle: 3. Loot: 7. Lessa's attack misses.}

The pink swordsman grit her teeth. Somehow, she could sense that the "spell" on the wolves would not last much longer. So her last attack was quick, but more calculated than what she had done the previous turn. Thankfully, the blade found its target this time. The attack was not perfect, but it did its job. She watched the wolf's health drop further.

{Battle: 5 + 2 from gauntlets = 7. Loot: 2. Less deals 5 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +2 two-handed skill.}

Lessa: 19/19

Tristan: 14/15

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: 6/10

Alpha Wolf: 4/20

[Tristan Delaney 0]

He was impressed with Lessa's performance, especially with how much they managed to weaken the alpha to....4HP. He had to make a split second choice and he had to do it now.

"censored it."

Tristan did a backwards twirl in the air and sent the spear flying behind him, hitting the Alpha wolf that it flew at. The spear made the wolf that it was aimed towards scatter into many many pixels, with one wolf still there.

• Rolled a 7 on the d10 (battle) dice. Dealt 4 damage.

The second wolf now charged at Tristan, but Tristan kicked the wolf away so that it rolled away and he received no damage. It was probably a stupid idea, but weirdly enough it worked.

• Rolled a 4 on the d10 (mob) dice. Miss.

With Tristan still unharmed, he picked up the spear off the floor and pointed it at the wolf, being at the side of Lessa with her obscenely large sword withdrawn.

"Well, I'll give you the honours."

 

Lessa: 19/19
Tristan: 14/15

Wolf 1: DEAD
Wolf 2: 6/10

Alpha Wolf: DEAD

[Lessa 1]

"I couldn't possibly," Lessa replied with a grin. She was growing more relaxed around Tristan, she could just feel it. It was a pleasant feeling.

Moving in on the remaining wolf, the blonde lifted her heavy blade. The last wolf was nothing special, and she knew it would not take too much time to end it. The wolf snarled, its eyes rolling with anger and pain. It did not have much health left, and Lessa had found that weakened beasts were often the most dangerous. It lashed out with one paw, its claws painfully close to her stomach, She arched her back, pulling away at the last moment.

"Bad wolf," she growled, finally bringing her weapon down on its head. She felt her hands growing warm, and she knew the gauntlets were providing increased accuracy. This helped the weapon find its mark, and it sank into the wolf's shoulder. The remaining enemy gave a scream of pain as she tore the blade free.

"I insist," she told him, motioning toward the dying wolf.

{Rolled a 5 + 2 from accuracy = 7. Lessa deals 5 damage - base, +2 two handed skill, +2 Hell Rose}

Lessa: 19/19

Tristan: 14/15

Wolf 1: DEAD

Wolf 2: 1/10

Alpha Wolf: DEAD

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan chuckled. He almost felt them being rather sadistic over the wolf with how they were, even if it was a simple mob enemy.

"Well if you insist."

[Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.]

The spear killed the wolf outright, sending them to the pits of wherever wolves went to die.

[Rolled a 19 on the d20 (loot) dice.]

Along with 40 Col from the small wolves and altogether 5 materials, he got himself some uncommon equipment from the alpha wolf.

They were vambraces with a damage mitigation of +1, engraved with wolves on them, which seemed rather fitting. They also sounded rather impressive, with the name of "Sleeves of the Iron Lords."

"Don't mind if I do..."

He waited on Lessa to see what loot she got.

[Lessa 1]

"You made out like a bandit," she commented, watching Tristan take in a number of rewards. All she had received the whole time had been the one material. "Better than nothing though," she said with a sigh, staring down at her inventory. With a flick of her wrist, her menu disappeared. Then, she put her hands on her hips, and looked up at Tristan. She met and held the man's gaze as she spoke.

"It has been a pleasure fighting alongside you," she told him, her words genuine. She held on a single hand to shake. "How about we make a habit out of this?"

[Tristan Delaney 0]

He smiled gently at her saying this, wearing his new iron sleeves and remarking their fashion. "For sure. As guild leader, but also as a friend." Tristan realised he now hit the cap on equippable items, so would have to sacrifice something something the next time around. He would probably give up his pendant, mostly for its ridiculous name and for how it mocked him so.

 

Tristan gave the hand a firm but gentle hand shake, much experienced as a video game store manager with all the various hand shakes. This was one to a personal friend, like he had made here.

[Lessa 1]

"What do you say we head back in?" She asked him, releasing his hand and dropping her arm back to her side. "I would consider this a pretty successful trip." Lessa tilted her head slightly, and then asked, "what do you say?"

Sheathing her heavy, pink-tinted blade, she turned to look in the direction of the city. "I am really happy to have you on board, you know," she told him with a smile. "I think you are going to do great things as a Guardian."