[PP-F6] Another Damsel In Distress? (Lessa)

[Daeron 1]

Daeron let out several quick, heavy breathes. Pearls of virtual sweat formed along his skin, and he brushed it off his forehead. Brushing some of his brown bangs out of his face, he continued running into the jungle. It was different being on the sixth floor, rather than the ninth, which is what he's usually on. Daeron avoided branches and roots with quick ducks and fast and small hops. Holding his weapon in one hand, he swung through some of the branches as well.

 

Looking at the GUI Map which he had open in the top right of his vision, he saw a larger red dot on the map with two smaller dots beside it. He knew that someone had to have been fighting a small field boss of some sort because a formation like this isn't just a normal standing method. That was the formation of two minions of the field boss standing guard by it to protect it from any danger that was around.

 

Assuming there was a player in combat, he continued to run in that direction. Nearing the scene after approximately two more minutes of running he was able to see a larger monster with two smaller ones. In the middle there stood a <<Tribal Guardian>> with two smaller enemies called <<Tribal Minions>> faced before a girl who looked composed, but also worried about the situation she had gotten herself in.

 

Daeron sighed to himself and ran beside the player. He hadn't had time to see the player's name yet, all he knew it was a female, because by the time he got there he had blocked a hit going at her with his sword, which he held horizontally now to block the hit from one of the minions. "Quickly! Rush at the minion, it should only take a single hit to take out. These minions have only 1 health, it's the boss that has all of the health. Without the minions, the boss doesn't have any defense anymore!" he said holding his stance to cover for the female.

 

Daeron: 61 HP

Female Player: Unknown HP

 

Tribal Minion: 1 HP

Tribal Guardian: 50 HP

Tribal Minion: 1 HP

[Lessa 1]

It was entirely bad luck that landed Lessa in that mess. That morning, she had decided to make a change. Too many hours had been spent in her forge, and grinding on the same floors. She needed to switch up her routine before she went stir-crazy. So the young woman had decided to venture into a level she had never visited before. The jungle had always fascinated her, and it brought Jurassic Park visions to mind. Something about visiting a paradise had thrilled her, and she had chosen that as her final destination.

Oh, how wrong she had been. After only a few minutes of exploring, she had been jumped. Fortunately, she had been fully equipped. Her breastplate and matching gauntlets caught the bits of light that filtered through the canopy above. The silver metal, etched with roses and lined with pink, gleamed. But the color paled in comparison to her claymore. Hell Rose emitted its own soft, pink light, a beautiful hue for such a deadly weapon.

Suddenly, there was another player at her side. With her attention focused on the enemies before her, she was unable to see his name. But she appreciated his help nonetheless. "Thank you," she told him simply, wasting no time on formalities. Then she nodded, demonstrating that she understood his commands.

Lessa lunged for the nearest minion. Unfortunately, what the enemy lacked in health, it made up for in speed. With her heavy armor, the blonde was unable to keep up. The minion danced its way out of her range, but did not attempt to make a counter attack. No damage dealt. A wasted turn.

{[728] Battle: 3. Loot: 18. Mob: 1. Lessa's attack misses. Minion's attack misses.}

Daeron: 61/61

Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Minion: 1/1

Tribal Guardian: 50/50

Tribal Minion: 1/1

[Daeron 1]

Finally being able to see the player's name, he read "Lessa." He was able to see the name finally when she went for the attack but missed. Unfortunately. But on the good side, she dodged an attack from the minion herself, so he supposed it could have turned out worse.

 

Daeron then returned his focus on the fight thtat was before the players, and he set his mind to his next plan of action. Reacting quickly, after the minion had missed Lessa, he lunged his sword forward at the Minion, which was successful and had managed to shatter the monster into pixels that disappeared into the air and never recollected. Forever, it was part of the cardinal system until it would respawn eventually once more.

 

Daeron then was hit by the second minion which he had completely forgotten about. The hit meant nothing to him, but still, the fact that he was caught off guard meant that he wasn't in his prime. After all, he hadn't been into the fighting spirit lately, but he felt that this was about to change anytime.

 

Daeron: 60/61
Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Minion: Defeated
Tribal Guardian: 50/50
Tribal Minion: 1/1

 

ID: 729 [battle: 8] [Mob: 8] [Loot: 13]

[Lessa 1]

Lessa gave a startled gasp as the minion struck the other player. She glanced up to his health bar, curious how much damage had been dealt. That was when she saw the orange name.

Her stomach plummeted. What am I going to do? Her mind screamed, a bead of sweat collecting beneath her blonde bangs. She tightened her grip on her heavy sword, the metal of her gauntlets clinking softly. He's a player killer. He has ended another person's life. And here I am, alone with him. The pink swordswoman's heart raced, and she regarded him with wide, blue eyes.

It was almost too late by the time she snapped out of her shock. The remaining minion was only a few paces from her, its weapon drawn and ready to strike. She threw up a her gauntlet, smacking away the weak creature's attack. "My turn," she muttered under her breath. Taking her claymore in two hands once more, she thrust it into the unsuspecting minion. The enemy burst into data at the tip of her sword.

{[730] Battle: 8. Loot: 3. Mob: 9. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill. Minion deals 0 damage - mitigated by Lessa's breastplate.}

Daeron: 60/61

Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Minion: DEAD

Tribal Guardian: 50/50

Tribal Minion: DEAD

[Daeron 1]

Daeron nods his head when he sees that Lessa had managed to take out the other minion. Perfect, now the Guardian was completely open for attacking. Daeron looked at Lessa, and she looked as if she had just seen a ghost. Having taken his focus off the field boss for a moment, the Guardian went to attack him, but he managed to back up away from the attack.

 

Because the monster had just missed, it was an even better opportunity to attack than he thought it would be. He held his weapon in his right hand with a firm grip and put a smirk on his face as he slashed at the Guardian's chest. Leaving a red gash in the monster's chest, nearly 20% of it's health had already been depleted in a single hit.

 

"Alright, attack it from the right side and I'll come in from the left." he said as he began running to the left of the monster. Though he was a player killer, he hoped that it wouldn't affect her performance in this situation. Any second was vital when it came to situations like this, and if she didn't trust him for this one moment, then he may as well leave now, because then he's once again feared by another player.

 

Daeron: 60/61
Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Minion: DEAD
Tribal Guardian: 43/50
Tribal Minion: DEAD

 

ID: 730 [battle: 6] [Mob: 6-1 (Sprint Skill) = 5] [Loot: 15]

[Lessa 1]

Lessa hesitated. She inhaled sharply, her gaze moving from the strange man, to the remaining enemy, and back again. Her throat tightened. What do I do? If she turned her back, he might take a swing at her. But if she focused on him, the Guardian would surely jump her. There was no way around it. What if she ran? Could she outrun them both?

No, she would not be able to. Not in her heavy armor, and without any added speed boosts. The girl grimaced. She would have to play this one out, and see what happened when the Guardian was dealt with.

"Right," she replied, simply. She threw her weight to the right side, pushing off of her left foot, and moving up alongside the Guardian. Her heavy claymore left a streak of pink as she slashed upward. Unfortunately, the Guardian anticipated her change in direction. It turned its entire body, caught her blade with one arm, and thrust its own blade into her with its other. The weapon bounced harmlessly off her breastplate, but she gave a frustrated growl.

{[791] Battle: 3. Mob: 7. Loot: 10. Lessa's attack misses. Guardian deals 0 damage (mitigated by Lessa's breastplate).}

Daeron: 60/61

Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Guardian: 43/50

[Daeron 1]

Daeron continues pacing on the left side of the Guardian, trying to distract it while Lessa strikes it. Unfortunately, the tactic doesn't work and she misses her attack again. However, on the fortunate side, Daeron had managed to get a powerful hit on the Guardian when he found that it was now focused on Lessa again, and he managed to hit it in the back, where he was able to drop it another fair amount.

 

Looking at the health bar of the monster, he saw that it was still green, and that it wasn't even at halfway yet. Backing away a bit more he kept his eye on Lessa, who looked like she remained composed and didn't panic, even though she was just suprised by a Player Killer, himself, who had randomly joined up with her. If he were in her position, he may not even be there and may have left the player to fight for himself. Thankful for not leaving, he continues fighting hard to help her out.

 

Daeron then gives Lessa a confirmed nod that let her know that it was time for her to attack. Daeron drew the monster's aggro over to him and it was now focused on him trying to swing at him, but the monster couldn't keep up with Daeron's agility and mobility, unlike Lessa who had heavy armor on, making dodging much harder than it was for him. Continuing to dodge more attacks, he would keep up his maneuvers until she hit the Guardian so that he can find another opening in the pattern of attacks to inflict more damage upon the monster.

 

Daeron: 60/61
Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Guardian: 36/50

 

ID: 898 [battle: 6] [Mob: 5-1 (Sprint Skill) = 4] [Loot: 10]

[Lessa 1]

Lessa watched the other player intently, her gaze constantly shifting between the Guardian and Daeron. If the player killer did decide to take a swing at her, she would be ready. She would not be killed with her guard down, and she would not let herself be ended by another player. There were too many things trying to kill her, and the game was designed to cut her down. The last thing she would do is fall by another player's blade.

Daeron stepped aside, his turn over. It was up to her to move in now, and she was ready. She had failed before, more than once. This could not continue. Daeron had already put himself in danger to protect her, and for that, she was thankful. She could not go on letting him do all of the work. With a high-pitched cry, she threw herself toward the Guardian. Her pink blade slashed from left to right, raking across the enemy's midsection. The moment her strike was finished, she hurried out of its reach.

{[949] Battle: 8. Loot: 6. Lessa deals 6 damage - base, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill.}

Daeron: 60/61

Lessa: 21/21

Tribal Guardian: 30/50

[Daeron 1]

ID: 953 [battle: 10] [Mob: 3] [Loot: 13]

 

Daeron watched as Lessa finally had managed a way to get a hit on the Guardian. After watching the health of the enemy drop some more, Daeron then went in right away as it was the first opening he found. Rushing forth at the enemy, Daeron swung his weapon in a diagonal motion that in fact managed to deal a critical amount of damage.

 

Watching the enemy's health drop, he realized that his own had replenished back to its full amount. With the monster's health entering the yellow zone it had assured Daeron the victory of this battle.

 

Daeron: 61/61

Lessa: 21/21

 

Guardian: 21/21

[Lessa 1]

"Nice hit," Lessa commented, without even thinking about it. Despite the player's orange name, she found herself both impressed by his skill, and thankful for his help. Would she have been able to hold off the enemies without his help? Perhaps. But she was thankful that she had not been put in that position, and that she did not have to find out the hard way.

It was her turn once again. The blonde shoved off, pumping her arms, and ducking her head slightly. It was difficult to pick up speed her in heavy armor, but she managed to make it work. When she did have a lot of speed behind her attacks, they were especially powerful.

The armor was also helpful when it came to mitigating damage. The Guardian was faster than she had anticipated, and its weapon struck in the stomach with a dull thud. She was thrown backwards but she stayed on her feet, and took no damage. Thank goodness for heavy armor.

{[985] Battle: 2. Loot: 7. The Guardian deals 0 damage (mitigated by Lessa's breastplate).}

Daeron: 61/61

Lessa: 21/21

Guardian: 21/50

[Daeron 1]

ID: 986 [battle: 10] [Mob: 5] [Loot: 4]

[OOC: Boss was at 21 HP due to my critical of 10, which dealt 9 damage]

 

Daeron once again was ready for another strike. Giving the Guardian no time to react, he rushed forth at the monster once again. His weapon being gripped firmly by him, he watched as it honed in close to the monster's body. The weapon slashed near the torso of the enemy and the health of the monster had now gone into the red zone.

 

Right after Daeron had finished his strike on the monster, it reacted as well, but luckily for him, the slow strike of the enemy was no match for him. It appeared that the more damage it took, the worse it became at hitting them. Perhaps this may even have been an odd coicendence, but that didn't matter in a few moments as this fight was nearly over already.

 

Daeron: 61/61

Lessa: 21/21

Guardian: 12/50 

[Lessa 1]

((OOC: Sorry! You had 21/21 for the HP, and I thought maybe you had just copied/pasted Lessa's stat twice by accident. Then I forgot to incorporate the critical when I fixed it. I've edited my post!))

The girl frowned. The player killer was doing an excellent job cutting away at the Guardian's health, but she was doing very little. She would need to contribute more. Sure, he had a lot of HP, and the Guardian really was not a threat. But she did not feel right letting him do all of the work for her. She needed to step up her game.

She did not give the Guardian any time to recover from Daeron's attack. Throwing herself forward, she slashed at the enemy with her pink blade. The burst of speed that had failed her the previous turn paid off this time. Her claymore raked the Guardian's side, tearing a gash from the shoulder to the mid-back. As she danced out of the monster's reach, she was pleased to see that she had dealt critical damage.

Unfortunately, the Guardian was quickening its pace as well. With a cry, its struck her a second time. Again, it clanged harmlessly off of her armor. Lessa gave a relieve sigh, and once again thanked the heavens for her choice of armor.

{[988] Battle: 10. Mob: 10. Loot: 8. Lessa deals 8 damage - base, +2 critical, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill. Guardian deals 0 damage (mitigated by Lessa's armor).

Daeron: 61/61

Lessa: 21/21

Guardian: 4/50

[Daeron 1]

ID: 1017 [battle: 3] [Mob: 4] [Loot: 3]

 

Panting hard, he needed to catch his breath from the rapid series of attacks he has unleashed on the monster. He had done a tremendous amount of work already and he stood back without attacking this time. Daeron caught his breath for a second and then the Guardian charged at him as he was stationary and idle in his position. Daeron, not being too tired to dodge, avoided the strike using as little energy as possible.

 

Right after he dodged, Daeron tried his luck and attempted a swing at the monster, but due to his fatigue, he was unable to land a successful hit. This could leave Lessa the chance to try and finish off the Guardian. "Quick! Finish it off before it gets another chance to attack!" he said as he kept his eye on the monster.

 

Daeron: 61/61
Lessa: 21/21

Guardian: 4/50

[Lessa 1]

Though she did not know Daeron well, she could tell that the player was growing tired. His movements were more sluggish, and she could tell from his facial expressions that everything he did required a lot of effort. He is doing too much for me, she thought, wincing. It really is now or never.

 

The Guardian charged her companion, and luckily, he was able to sidestep the attack. What was less fortunate was his missed attack. It was more clear than ever how exhausted he was. I have to end this. The Guardian slowed down, then made a wide arc to make another pass at the two players. By the time it reached them, Lessa was ready. She set her feet, and as the Guardian went to take a swing at her, she thrust her heavy sword upward into its chest. There was no time to see how much damage she dealt before the figure was on top of her, but there was no need to see it either. The Guardian burst into data, raining down upon her like snow.

 

{[1019] Battle: 9. Loot: 15. Lessa deals 7 damage - base, +1 critical, +2 Hell Rose, +3 two-handed skill.}

 

Daeron: 61/61

Lessa: 21/21

 

Guardian: DEAD

[Daeron 1]

With the Guardian finally dead, he approached Lessa. "So. Care to explain to me as to why you fought in a fight that you were clearly outnumbered in?" he said giving a little chuckle. Daeron then looked into her eyes, looking beautiful, he refrained from eye contact for the time being to prevent from getting lost within them. The blonde stood shorter than him, but looked much heavier geared out than her.

 

Then putting his weapon away he stuck out his hand allowing it open for a handshake, he introduced himself, "I'm Daeron, now that I'm able to introduce myself." he said as he flashed a smile at her.

[Lessa 1]

The woman went to sheath her heavy claymore, but thought better of it when the player killer approached. Instead, she held it in her left hand, letting the tip rest on the grass beneath her feet. She used her right hand for the handshake, pressing her palm to his and gripping it firmly. Sne noticed that he refused to make eye contact with her. This startled Lessa, and put her on edge. She often noticed that individuals looked away when they were being dishonest, or preparing to do something wrong. She squeezed her left hand tighter around the pink hilt.

 

"I'm Lessa," she replied, returning his smile. She was still on edge, but she would do her best to keep a calm, neutral exterior. "And truthfully? It was an accident. This is my first time to this floor, and I managed to walk right into an ambush. Just my luck."

[Daeron 1]

Giving a quick glance down at her hand, he was able to see her hand tighten her grip on her weapon. Realizing that he is still an orange player, he figured he should act less suspicious and just be... Normal for a change. Though the handshake felt gentle, he could tell there was tension behind it somewhere. Usually Daeron was pretty good at telling people's emotions simply by a quick look, but with this one he couldn't do much. He finally decided to make eye contact when she spoke, after all it was common courtesy and respect as well.

 

When she had told him that she just happened to have stumbled upon an ambush he gave a quick chuckle. "Well. The good thing is that you're okay. I'd hate for someone to die without purpose." he said giving her a sincere smile. "You know. I have an idea. How about you and I get to know each other outside of combat. Dinner? Maybe?" he said giving her a curious glance, wondering what she would say. He didn't know what it was about her, but he definitely knew he wanted to get to know her better. Maybe it was just him looking for a friend, but regardless, he wanted to get to know her bottom line.

[Lessa 1]

The woman was startled when he met her gaze. Perhaps she had misread him, and jumped to conclusions based on his reluctance to look her in the eye. Maybe he was not as bad as she had originally thought. That, or he realized he was giving himself away, and decided look her in the eye just to make her feel better. He could still be a threat to her. What am I doing? Lessa thought to herself. She was talking herself in circles, and only making things more difficult. This man was a player killer, yes, but she had absolutely no reason beyond that to suspect he meant her harm. He had saved her life. Furthermore, he was being a perfect gentleman. Anyone with a green name who was behaving this way would have received nothing but Lessa's best. So why was she treating him so poorly?

 

"Dinner?" She repeated, coming back to the present at his request. "Uhm, sure. That would be nice." Her cheeks warmed, and she added, "no one has ever asked me out to dinner in SAO. This will be a first." If nothing else, I'll be able to learn his story, and determine whether or not I can trust him.
 

[Daeron 1]

Lessa seemed almost shocked when he looked at her. When he gazed into her eyes, he had lost the topic of conversation. He was brought back to reality when he heard her say that it would be nice to go to dinner. He then realized that she was beautiful, but he had managed to keep it to himself. When he gave her a friendly smile, he sent her a friend request, and he bowed in front of her kissing the top of her hand. Standing up straight again, he composed himself back to how he was just a mere moment ago.

 

"Alright, so we'll go to dinner on the fourth floor if that's alright. I enjoy the food there and the view is nice. Not that I'm complaining about the view right now." he said out loud when he realized what he said to Lessa now. Shutting his mouth for a moment, he then decided it was just smarter to give her a smile to recover. After he had regained his focus of his own conscience, he thought through what he wanted to say to her from now on. "I'm... sorry. I haven't got a clue how that slipped out." he apologized. "How about we both go get ready and then I'll meet you up at the Frostbite Inn?" he offered. If there's one thing he knew, it was that women usually wanted to get ready for almost any situation.

[Lessa 1]

When her attention was on accepting his friend request, Daeron snatched up her hand and planted a kiss on the top of it. "Oh," she whispered, taken aback by his sudden display of affection. The blonde bit the inside of her cheek, unsure of how she should respond. It had been a very long time since she had been in this situation. Even back home in Michigan, the boys generally were not this old-fashioned. This felt like something out of one of her mom's paperback smut novels.

I do like those smut novels, a voice in the back of her mind pushed. So Lessa nodded, her cheeks growing warmer as he dropped another compliment on her. "Sure, that would be nice," came her reply. She took a step away from him, letting her blue eyes crawl over him briefly. He was a good looking player, that was for certain. But the orange name that hovered over his person still made her a bit nervous. "I'll shoot you a message when I'm there."

With that, she flashed Daeron a final smile, and made her way back the way she came.