[SP-F7] A Mountain of Materials

[Azide 0]

"It might not be fun business, but it's definitely about time I went to gather more materials," thought Azide. A previous deal with Ariel the tailor had exhausted slightly over half of his material stockpile, and he thought it best to replenish his supplies now, rather than later. "If anything, at least it's not as hot here as it'd been in the desert." The air around here was slightly chillier, true, but it was also refreshing. He stopped to take a deep breath of the fresh air around him and stretched out his arms. "Yup, this place sure is scenic."

Out of nowhere, a bear came charging at him from around the corner, but missed as the player pressed himself flat against the mountainside. It growled, then struggled to turn around quickly enough to claw its target, but yowled as it was stabbed in the process.

"I'll take you with my bear hands, if I have to," said Azide, gesturing for the creature to come at him once more.

ID: 8555

BD: 8 (Hit)

MD: 3 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Mountain Bear) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 3 (Skills) = 7

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Mountain Bear: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

Azide rolled out of the way and managed to catch himself, rather than slide off the mountain altogether. He'd dug Quantum Slicer into the stone, then pulled himself back to his feet before the beast could rush him again. "No matter what I might've said, I'd rather not take anything on with just my bare hands- for the sake of banter or otherwise." He dashed over at the bear, then sprang into the air and drove his blade deep into its back. Knowing the danger of his current position, he yanked it out with both arms and pushed himself off of the creature, then fell back as it shattered into pieces.

ID: 8557

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 4 (Miss)

LD: 6 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Bear) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills)

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Bear HP: 0/14 (-7)

*1 material acquired

[Azide 0]

Upon coming across a stray bush, Azide decided to crouch down and give it a thorough inspection. "I've heard that a certain type of berry grows in the higher altitudes of Aincrad, such as here. If could either dry those berries, or juice them. Either way- it'd leave me with valuable materials as far as alchemy is concerned." He searched the bush long and hard, but to no avail. "They either aren't in season, or something around here's picked them clean." With a sigh, he stood back up and continued his walk through the mountains.

ID: 8558

LD: 10 (Nothing)

[Azide 0]

A was cast over Azide for a split second, making him look up. "That just might be what ate those berries I'd been searching for," he noted, keeping his sights set on the winged creature hovering above. It seemed like some sort of mixture between a large bird, bat, pterodactyl and pretty much anything with wings. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be sticking around here much longer.

Spotting the lone player down below, the winged beast began a quick descent and dove straight at its newly acquired target. As it sped through the air, a high-pitched whistling noise was produced, producing an effect somewhat similar to a sonic bomb.

Azide covered his ears and winced, not anticipating something of that sort. "This must be how it stuns its prey, before going for the kill. It's disorienting, to say the least." It reminded him of the notorious whistled bombs he'd read about that had been deployed in a passed real-world conflict. In that case, however, the whistles had served more as a tool of terror, rather than as a means of causing any physical damage. Fortunately enough, the screeching sound soon came to an abrupt end as the creature bullet down at him, only to miss as he leapt out of its way. As the creature beat its wings to keep itself from crashing into the ground, Azide came running at it, with just enough time to stab it with his blade before it could take off.

ID: 8559

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Mountain Glider) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 3 (Skill) = 7

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Mountain Glider HP: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

Managing to catch the player off guard, the Mountain Glider came speeding back down from its perch in the air, tackling him into the side of the mountain. It'd managed to dodge a swing of his sword on its way down, leaving it unscathed as far as this round went. As the player struggled back to his feet, the Glider simply flapped its wings and raised itself back into the air, where it hovered just out of his reach.

Azide raised a hand to his head. "Damn that sound," he thought. He hadn't been able to cover his ears in time, nor did he think it would launch a second attack from a lower height as it'd just done. He'd been expecting a full rise, followed by a deep dive, such as it had performed prior. "But at least I know now." He gripped his rapier a bit tighter, ready to wield his newfound knowledge.

ID: 8560

BD: 2 (Miss)

MD: 8 (Hit)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) - 2 (Mitigation) = 1 (Min)

Damage taken (Glider) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 21/22 (-1)

Glider HP: 7/14 (-0)

[Azide 0]

As the Glider descended once more, neither combatant was able to gain the upper hand for the time being. The creature had found itself able to veer out of the reach of the player's sword on its way down, but in doing so, was unable to make contact with him. The Glider had attempted to follow up its failed first-strike by rushing at him at its then-current low altitude, but was unable to hit him without the disorientation factor granted by its dive. With the situation staying very much stagnant, the creature had decided to raise itself back into the air once more as the player had come rushing towards it.

ID: 8562

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 3 (Miss)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Misses)

Azide HP: 21/22 (-0)

Glider HP: 7/14 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Before the Mountain Glider could fully escape, however, Azide had managed to knock the creature out of the air with a leap and a running start. With the creature now sprawled out on the ground, he quickly sprinted over and stabbed through its body with his long and slender blade. The creature flapped its wings desperately as the length of metal plunged through it, but ultimately could bring no harm to the player at the end of it. It shattered in a burst of crystalized data, leaving behind a bit of powder as well as a small sum of col. Azide collected both the material and col, then sent both to his inventory, then continued on his way.

ID: 8575

BD: 7 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

LD: 12 (Loot found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Glider) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills)

Azide HP: 21/22 (-0)

Glider HP: 0/14 (-7)

*1 material acquired (2 materials acquired, total).

** Glider HP (14) * 5 = 70 col acquired.

[Azide 0]

As he turned the corner and continued up the mountainside, he was ambushed by yet another creature. "Or at least, it'd be considered an ambush if I'd been taken by surprise. At this point, throw them at me left and right- I don't even mind. In fact, I'm really just expecting more of them same.

A wildcat of some sort came leaping at him, not all too different from the ones he'd encountered on his last gathering trip in the jungle. This one, however, resembled a bobcat of some sort. Or perhaps a mountain lion. "I'm not a biologist, so I'm just going to stick with 'Mountain Cat'." In any case, it missed its attack, giving him the opportunity to strike back at its flank.

ID: 8575

BD: 7 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Mountain Cat) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills)

Azide HP: 21/22 (-0)

Mountain Cat HP: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

As both parties regained their footing, they came speeding at each other once more. The cat seemed to move about the rocks as if it'd lived here its whole life. That was probably, of course, very likely. "Speaking of which, it makes me wonder how long in advance these things are spawned anyway? Hmm..." His thoughts distracted him, making him miss a swing as the creature drew nearer. On the same token however, he'd also managed to dodge the cat's strike as well, so it hadn't been all bad. In fact, all things considered, he could accept it. He tightened his grip on Quantum Slicer, ready to put this little encounter to a quick end.

ID: 8617

BD: 1 (Miss)

MD: 3 (Miss)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Misses)

Azide HP: 21/22

Cat HP: 7/14

[Azide 0]

Regaining the majority of his focus and concentration, Azide decided to run forward and stab at the creature with a full-speed assault. On the way over, however, he managed to slip on a loose rock and lost his balance. This little stumble ended up causing him to miss his stab, as well as resulting him absorbing the full brunt of the wildcat's charge.

The cat's full-body tackle had sent the player flying back, knocking the air out of him. Azide felt himself get the cliffside wall behind them, then struggled back to his feet. "That was a direct hit, but I have no doubt my armor protected me from the worst of it," he thought, brushing himself off.

ID: 8619

BD: 4 (Miss)

MD: 10 (Crit +2)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 2 (Crit +2) - 2 (Mitigation) = 1

Damage taken (Cat) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 20/22 (-1)

Cat HP: 7/14 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide narrowly dodged a swipe of the cat's claws, silently thanking what the player base referred to as "RNGesus" for his luck. "Once again, I should thank the lightness of my armor, yadah yadah yadah. Yeah, I get it by now." With that, he slashed at the creature as it sped past him, making it yowl and shatter into tiny particles. He landed on the ground, then steadied himself and collected the col and materials it'd collected. Soon enough, he was once again on his way. "Really need to start picking the pace with this material gathering. I'm on track to gather less than my previous expedition at the current rate."

ID: 8623

BD: 5 (+1 Accuracy) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 6 (+1 Evasion) = 5 (Miss)

LD: 15 (Loot found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Cat) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skill)

Azide HP: 20/22 (-0)

Cat HP: 0/14 (-7) [Dead]

*1 material acquired (3 materials acquired, total).

**Cat HP (14) * 5 = 70 col acquired (140 col acquired total).

[Azide 0]

Azide spotted another one of the bushes he'd searched earlier, somewhere down the mountain. "Well to be fair, it's not exactly one of the bushes I'd searched earlier. Rather- it's merely a bush of the same variety. So more accurately, this is a bush that relates to the one I saw earlier through association." Realizing his pedanticism was getting him nowhere, he walked up to the bush and began searching it as well. After a while of combing through the branches and leaves, he stood back up, finding the shrub to be just as barren as the one earlier. He shook his head, then continued on walking. "Waste of time."

ID: 8624

LD: 11 (Nothing)

[Azide 0]

As he was walking, Azide noticed a strange looking tree out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and upon closer instruction, realized it to be no ordinary tree. With Quantum Slicer in hand, he came speeding at the creature, then dodged as its roots grew out of the ground and made a combined effort to latch onto him. He charged forward, with a forward through nearly managing to reach its trunk, but was deflected by a root which rose from the ground at the last moment that knocked his swing off-course. The monster's name now appeared over the tree's head. "Treesus?" The longer he looked, the more the name made sense. The tree did, in fact, have its branches sprouting from its left and right sides.

ID: 8625

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Misses)

Azide HP: 20/22 (-0)

Treesus: 14/14 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Azide stayed within range of Treesus, intending on staying close enough to give himself a chance to attack. "As a tree, I'm almost sure the things roots have stretched out over a considerable amount of area. Even if I were to keep my distance, it'd likely still be able to attack me all the same. But at the same time, I'd only be putting myself at a disadvantage- being both vulnerable to attack, and unable to attack myself." The tree's roots continued growing out of the ground like weeds, then began rocketing towards him, lashing out at the player repeatedly. He managed to avoid being ensnared by any of the vine-like structures, however, and managed to maneuver out of their reach. At the same time, he found himself unable to attack the beast at the current time.

ID: 8629

BD: 1 (Miss)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Misses)

Azide HP: 20/22

Treesus HP: 14/14

[Azide 0]

Finally, an opening appeared- a weakness that could be exploited. Azide leapt over the grasp of a quick-moving root, which had very nearly grasped around his ankle. "That was a little too close for my liking," he thought, having been able to feel the wood brush against his foot. He darted through a field of roots, with more of the tree's roots springing up from the ground left and right. "It's like a minefield over here. Or rather, a mix between a minefield and a zombie graveyard." After escaping the reach of the final root in his way, he'd reached the root of the problem at last. And ironically, the root of this problem was not the roots at all- rather, it was the tree itself. In any case, he charged forward and plunged Quantum Slicer deep into the creature's trunk.

ID: 8631

BD: 5 (+1 Accuracy) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 5 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Treesus) = 7

Azide HP: 20/22 (-0)

Treesus: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

Azide withdrew his sword from the trunk of the living tree. "Actually, on second thought, trees are alive either way. Perhaps it'd be better just to refer to it as an 'animated tree'." He nodded his head, approving of this little bit of revisionism. Getting back to the task at hand, Azide ran to the back of the tree in order to escape Treesus' newly sprouted roots, and easily managed to outmaneuver their currently tiny ranges. With a swift, yet concentrated movement, he drove his blade deep into the heart of the tree, then watched as the tree and all the roots around him shattered and disappeared. The felled monster left behind a single seed. He picked up the lone prize for his efforts, then sent the material to his inventory. "I'll take what I can get."

ID: 8634

BD: 8 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

LD: 10 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Treesus) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills)

Azide HP: 20/22 (-0)

Treesus HP: 0/14 (-7) [Dead]

*1 material acquired (4 materials acquired, total).

[Azide 0]

Azide found another one of those bushes he'd searched previously. "Or rather, like I noted before, simply another bush of their species." He walked over, deciding to keep the needless obligatory rant on the shorter side, then began rummaging through it for any berries it might have. "By this point, I'm expecting absolutely nothing at all," he thought, recalling his previous two experiences with this species of bush. Finding nothing, he brushed his hands together and stood up, sighing. "Geez, these animals must be awfully hungry." Spotting another bush of the same variety nearby, he approached it cautiously. "Do I really want to set myself up for more disappointment?" he thought. He crouched down and shrugged. "Might as well."

ID: 8636

LD: 7

[Azide 0]

"Oh boy!" mumbled Azide as he searched through the bush. He pulled out his hand, holding a handful of air, then opened it. "Nothing! Exciting." He sighed and continued frisking the bush quite thoroughly, vaguely holding out on the hope that there might be a single usable material in the shrubbery. There was not, and he soon discovered this fact. "Stupid bushes." He stood back up and walked off empty-handed. "Suppose I'm more of a hunter than a gatherer. That's actually a pretty unexpected, yet welcome surprise. Either way, this is mindless work." He set off in search of finding one more monster to finish his expedition before calling it a day.

ID: 8637

LD: 7 (Nothing)

[Azide 0]

Out of nowhere, some thing attacked Azide. The blindsided player picked himself off the ground, and looked at the creature without actually paying attention. What the creature might be, he had no idea, and couldn't be bothered to identify. He stretched out his arms and yawned, then rubbed his eyes. "Man, this is tiring and boring work. Let's just get this over with already." He ran up to the thing, whatever it was, and swung lazily. His minimal effort, however, missed.

ID: 8639

BD: 4 (Miss)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 2 (Mitigation) = 1 (Min)

Damage taken (Mountain Thing) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 19/22 (-1)

Mountain Thing: 14/14 (-0)    

[Azide 0]

Azide walked up to the monster, then swung at the creature once again, managing to cut deeply into its side. He took a bit of damage in the process, with the thing managing to pierce his armor, but the portion that'd managed to actually pierce through all the way had been minimal, keeping him on the rather safe side. "I'm in no mortal danger at all." He looked at the thing, still not able to discern what it was meant to be. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about you."

ID: 8686

BD: 7 (Hit)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 2 (Mitigation) = 1 (Min)

Damage taken (Mountain Thing) = 7

Azide HP: 18/22 (-1)

Mountain Thing HP: 7/14