[SP-F1&3] <<Worn out Welcome>> (Complete)

[Azide 0]

The man laughed wildly, slamming his palm against the countertop in front of him. He looked at the player in front of him again, and couldn't help but crack up, wiping a tear from his eyes. "Son, a kid like you ain't gonna make much use of heavy armor. I think what you're looking for is something nice and leathery," he offered.

"Griswold! Where are your manners? This sweet young man has the right to wear whatever armor he chooses. Plus, what's the sign on the front door say, dear?"

"Well it's about noon, so I reck it probably says 'open' right about now," he remarked with a smirk and a shrug.

She laughed, then shook her head. "Well, that's probably true actually, but I meant the other one." She turned to look at their latest client. "The customer is always right! So if you want to go ahead with that heavy armor, it'll be no trouble at all young man."

Azide ran his fingers through his hair and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment in consideration of the man's words. He shook his head. Actually, I think your husband has a point, Hanna. I'd been thinking the damage mitigation would be nice to have, but it would just slow me down." With he a chuckle, he added, "Not to mention, heavy armor is just so not me."

Griswold spit into an empty bucket behind him and leaned over the counter, overshadowing his considerably smaller-framed client. He held his arms crossed and sat them against the table. "Smart kid, ain't you? Good, I can respect that." He eyed the boy up and down slowly, then stroked his scruffy beard. "About four overgrown boar hides should do. We usually need five or six, but I'll be honest kid, you're lookin' like a damn toothpick over there."

Azide nodded, more out of acknowledgement of the material amount than out of agreement. "So just four hides and that should do it?"

"That's right!" exclaimed Hanna. "We know you youngsters have your own 'styles' and all of that jazz, so don't worry about the color- we can take care of that once you come back, understood?"

"That's more than great," he replied. He shook her hand warmly, and nearly had his hand crushed by her husband's iron grip. He thanked them for their troubles, then exited the shop. "I think a nice shade of dark green should do it," he mused.

[Azide 0]

Azide spotted a boar in the distance. A nostalgic feeling came over him as he remembered a time where he would have watched and observed it for quite some time before finally committing to any sort of attack. "There's still a time and place for observation, but it's a nice change of pace not always needing them," he reflected. He silently released Atom Slicer from its leather sheath, a sword which gleamed in the daylight A weapon of his own design, and he was just dying to take it for a spin.

Azide casually strolled forward until the Oversized Boar finally noticed his presence. At that precise moment, Azide sprinted forward and struck the beast with a clean swing of his sword, catching it before the creature could react. The boar turned around and charged at him, but missed as he leapt out of its path with ease. Azide brushed his hair back, and although his face painted a stoic image, his eyes betrayed his secret. "Progress speaks for itself."

ID: 7346

BD: 8 (Hit)

MD: 1 (Crit miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (miss)

Damage taken (Boar) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (Sword Skill) = 3

Azide HP: 13/13 (-0)

Oversized Boar HP: 4/7 (-3)

[Azide 0]

The boar stumbled, but quickly recollected itself and turned back to face him. It let out a rather enraged growl, then charged forward at the player once again. Azide attempted to simply step out of its way while attempting a simultaneous slash, but the minimal amount of effort proved to be a tad too minimal, and the boar did manage to clip his leg with its tusk. He winced and reflexively grabbed his ankle, but forced himself to plant his foot back on the ground with the knowledge the pain had always been fleeting by design. "Completely avoidable, admittedly, but at least it keeps me honest." He readjusted his grip on Atom Slicer, readying for another shot after having missed his attempted counterattack.

ID: 7347

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 6 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 12/13 (-1)

Boar HP: 4/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Refusing to call it quits, Azide dashed headfirst at the boar, ready for another go. As the two set themselves on an inevitable collision course, Azide watched his enemy's actions unfold as if they were taking place in slow motion. He moved out of the boar's path, this time managing to stay clear of its pesky tusks. Upon dodging the creature's attack, he shifted his eyes at his target and thrusted Atom Slicer deeply into its side. "One more," he noted.

ID: 7399

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Boar) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Rapier) + 1 (Sword Skill) = 3

Azide HP: 12/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-3)

[Azide 0]

Both and Azide and the boar proceeded to miss their respective assaults, although it was more of a minor annoyance than anything. "With the battle as lopsided as it is, it's only a matter of time before that thing drops dead." An extra turn which amounted to nothing would only be delaying the inevitable result. So as much as he hated to waste time, he felt a certain contentment even still. He twirled his rapier in his hand, deciding to enjoy the moment, then rushed forward.

ID: 7401

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 5 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 12/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

"Another round of misses," thought Azide. The familiar sense of annoyance once again began to bubble up inside of him. His victory might be assured, but that would certainly mean nothing if it didn't come within his current lifetime. If anything good had come out of their past few maneuvers, it was that he at the very least had not been carelessly injured. The boar growled at him, still daring to oppose him even with a single health point remaining. Azide wasn't sure if it was aware of the fact, but in effect it was already dead- he just had to kill it first. Azide held his rapier in front of him at an angle. "Come on Azide, sometime today, preferably. Still have three more to go after this..."

ID: 7411

BD: 3 (Hit)

MD: 5 (Miss)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Misses)

Azide HP: 12/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide ran at the boar head-on, recklessly charging forward with his rapier in hand. He recognized his feelings as those of impatience, but he had a long day ahead of him, and he wasn't particularly interested in lengthening it. He thrusted his blade straight at the boar's skull, throwing caution to the wind, but found his strike deflected by the creature's tusks. Unable to halt his momentum in time, he failed to avoid the boar's counterattack, consequently suffering a clean headbutt to the stomach.

ID: 7412

BD: 5 (Miss)

MD: 7 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 11/13 (-1)

Boa HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Chalking to their previous clashes' results as a mere fluke, Azide charged forward once more. He leapt at the boar, raising his sword above his head before bringing it crashing downwards, but was deflected once again as the boar tilted its tusks to block the cold steel's advances. It ran forward once more, managing to hit the player, albeit not quite as directly as the previous time. Azide shook his head. "This is quickly reaching the point of ridiculousness," he muttered to himself. "If I was somewhat amused before, I sure as hell aren't at this point."

ID: 7413

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 7 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 10/13 (-1)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide landed on feet, unscathed, yet amazed to have missed yet again. "Six misses in a row? Well, seventh time's the charm I suppose..." He briefly contemplated dropping the quest altogether, but quickly dismissed the idea. No matter how long this took, he wouldn't be walking away for this. "I'll just have to make up for this bit of misfortune later," he thought, factoring in the time it might take to kill three more boar. For all intents and purposes, this was supposed to be a rather quick undertaking, but had quickly become toxic. He readied Atom Slicer again, wondering if his new weapon had broken without him noticing.

ID: 7414

BD: 1 (miss)

MD: 4 (miss)

Damage taken (both) = 0 (misses)

Azide HP: 10/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

"Dear God," thought Azide. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" he wondered. Once, twice, and even thrice would likely pass at mere flukes and a streak of bad luck. Missing seven times in a row? "Roughly a point-eight percent chance," he muttered. Both he and the boar emerged unscathed once again, defying all odds. Somehow, the boar had managed to cling onto its last bit of life yet again. He wondered if such a creature could even comprehend its bit of fortune. "If he were a criminal of some sort, he might have chosen to repent after such luck," he mused.

ID: 7415

BD: 5 (Miss)

MD: 3 (Miss)

Damage taken (both) = 0 (misses)

Azide HP: 10/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

With his eight straight miss, Azide felt himself reaching the end of his rope. His resolve was quickly crumbling at this point, and he once again began to weigh the pros and cons of staying. And yet for obvious reasons, that clearly wasn't an acceptable option. He could point out that the boar had been missing a fair portion of its charges as well, but that didn't really seem to matter in the face of his ungodly luck today. He took a deep breath, then breathed out slowly through his nose. "Just keep a level head Azide. Come on, you can do it." He tightened his grip and began moving towards his target, although by now his heart was no longer in it.

ID: 7416

BD: 1 (miss)

MD: 3 (miss)

Damage taken (both) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 10/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide winced, half out of pain and half out of pure shock as he missed again while simultaneously managing to take yet another hit. "God damn it, today is just not my day at all," he thought, shaking his head. He swore under his breath after regaining his balance. He was getting sloppy, and was clearly out of his game. It was a vicious cycle really: the more and more he continued to miss, the more mistakes he would make- leading to more misses. "But all it takes is one hit to break the cycle." He ran forward again, praying for an end to the ridiculousness.

ID: 7417

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 6 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 9/13 (-1)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

The boar landed another successful hit against the player, whose frustration was beginning reach levels he'd previously thought unthinkable. "I feel like I'm dying, but without an end to the pain," he reflected. And not just because he'd been hit yet again, but also because this was growing into the worst sort of torture possible. It reminded him of the tale of Sisyphus, who was cursed to roll a giant boulder up a hill each day, only to have it perpetually slip just as he approached the top. "This is certainly crushing alright," he muttered.

ID: 7449

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 8 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 8/13 (-1)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

The two charged at each other again, defying all expectations as they managed to somehow wildly miss by no small margin. And yet somehow it all made sense in the grand scheme of things, falling in line with what was quickly becoming the norm for the by-now impatient Azide. His swung had not hit its target, but then again, neither had the monster's tusks hit theirs. This technically counted as good news, and yet Azide failed to take any joy from the fact. He sighed deeply, drawing himself into fighting position and preparing for more of the same old same old.

ID: 7453

BD: 1 (Miss)

MD: 1 (Miss)

Battle damage taken (both) = 0 (misses)

Azide HP: 8/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide looked at his side, seeing the familiar virtualized red wound appear in his side, which experienced a vague burning sensation. It would have bothered him, and likely even pained him under normal circumstances, but he was quickly building an immunity of sorts during this battle. He had plenty of energy to go on fight, that much was true. "But that doesn't necessarily mean I'd like to spend it all on this single dying animal." He figured he must have taken another damage and looked back to the boar, but saw it too still be standing, miraculously. This day just kept getting worse and worse. Even worse- it did so in the most painfully slow way possible.

ID: 7454

BD: 1 (Miss)

MD: 7 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 7/13 (-1)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide walked up slowly to the boar and lazily swung the tiring beast, but missed yet again. He sighed, then stepped slowly out of the way as the boar snapped at him with a decided lack of enthusiasm. They were both starting to tire of this fight in their own ways. "I swear to all the Gods- this had better not be repeated when I fight those next three boar," he grumbled. He started raised his rapier high over his head while standing next to the boar. Surely he couldn't miss a point-blank rage attack, could he? To be perfectly honest, he could definitely imagine it. He closed his eyes, realizing that he might be tempting fate here, and swung his blade downwards.

ID: 7455

BD: 1 (miss)

MD: 1 (miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (miss)

Damage taken (Boar) = 0 (miss)

Azide HP: 7/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-0)

[Azide 0]

His eyes closed, he swung blindly in front of him. Miraculously, he felt resistance as his blade actually made contact with the boar in the first time in what felt like pages. "Wait a minute, pages? It's been a long day- I meant ages of course," he thought, quickly correcting himself. He opened his his eyes slowly, expecting some sort of trickery, but was greeting by the sight of the creature finally shattering into crystals before finally disappearing. He did manage to obtain the boar's hide, though had no such luck with any other items. Azide dropped to the ground and sprawled out on top of the grass, taking a moment to recollect himself after the disastrous encounter. "If anything, this little experience has given me just a tiny bit more motivation to escape this place," he remarked, referring to the floating island they called Aincrad.

ID: 7456

BD: 6 (hit (there is a god!))

MD: 7 (hit)

LD: 3 (or maybe not)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 1 (base) + 1 (rapier) + 1 (Skills) = 3

Azide HP: 6/13 (-1)

Boar HP: -2/7 (-3) [dead]

*One material acquired

[Azide 0]

After a good few minutes of cooling down, Azide slowly picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off. He stretched his limbs, then glanced around the area for another Oversized Boar. "Plenty of normal boar all around," he observed. Finally, his eyes narrowed as they locked with that of another Oversized Boar's. He swept his rapier off of the ground and ran at it with a breakneck pace, impaling it with the long slim blade at the cost of taking the end of the boar's trademark tusks. "I can afford to trade blows for at least another few rounds," he thought, looking at his health bar. He pulled himself away, wincing slightly as he drew both his sword and himself away from the creature he now opposed. He gritted his teeth and repositioned his sword, unwilling to drop a beat, and swung at the boar a second time.

ID: 7484

BD: 7 (hit)

MD: 8 (hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 1 (base) + 1 (rapier) + 1 (sp's) = 3

Azide HP: 5/13 (-1)

Boar HP: 4/7 (-3)

[Azide 0]

Azide's blade made contact with the boar's flesh yet again, slicing cleanly through its flank, though thankfully leaving no lasting damage to its hide. A glowing red gash appeared where his hit had landed, as always, but quickly faded away. The boar made an empty to knock him off his feet by sweeping his legs with its tusks, but missed as the player jumped over them just in time. It stomped around, squealing and screeching in a way that was resembled an actual boar, but could not quite shake off its artificial undertones. Azide was neither intimidated or impressed- preferring to concentrate so as to ensure a repeat of the last boar would not occur.

ID: 7485

BD: 6 (hit)

MD: 4 (miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (miss)

Damage taken (Boar) = 1 (base) + 1 (rapier) + 1 (sp's)

Azide HP: 5/13 (-0)

Boar HP: 1/7 (-3)

[Azide 0]

Azide drew Atom Slicer from out of the boar and watched as it shrieked, yowled and hollered on last time before shattering. "And yet again- nothing," thought Azide as he checked for any loot. He tapped a few menus and opened up his inventory. "Ah well, maybe next time. In the meantime, that's one more boar skin under my belt." He sent the material away and watched as it flashed, then disappeared. He glanced at his shoulder, where the boar had managed to hit him, and watched as the red gash faded away. He sighed, making his way back to town to tend to his injuries, all too aware he'd taken far too much damage from the first boar.

ID: 7490

BD: 10 (Crit +2)

MD: 6 (Hit)

LD: 6 (nothing found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (base)

Damage taken (Boar) = 1 (base) + 1 (rapier) + 1 (sp's) = 3

Azide HP: 4/13 (-1)

Boar HP: -2/7 (-3) [dead]

*One material gained