[SP-F3] <<Search for the Hoya>>

[Azide 0]

Around him was a dark and vast forest, with a thick wavering mist blanketing the entire expanse in a murky haze. The denseness of the forest, combined with the perpetual fog, made it a maze in everything but name. But there was something to be found, here in this maze. One simply had to find it.

Azide slashed at the hoofed creature before him. "Can't say I've seen one in person before, but I reckon this thing must be a centaur." His sword sliced deep into the creature's chest, making it stumble over its four legs. "Is a centaur actually half human, or does it just resemble one? Hmm..." He stabbed the creature with his blade, then avoided its leg as the beast attempted to punt him out of the way. "Guess it doesn't matter. An AI, is an AI all the same."

ID: 8692

BD: 10 (Crit +2)

MD: 6 (+2 Evasion) = 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 2 (Skills) + 2 (Crit + 2) = 9

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 5/14 (-9)

[Azide 0]

Azide pulled back his sword, taking a clean kick to the stomach in the process, but managed to take the hit like a champ. "Once again, I'm glad to be wearing the armor that I am. I imagine a hoof to the stomach might be a little more painful if I were to be wearing a cotton t-shirt instead." Shaking it off, rolled out of the way as the creature attempted to overrun him, then slashed at it's neck. The steel of his sword cut cleanly through, leaving behind a glowing red gash that soon disappeared as the entire creature shattered. It left behind of col, as well as a material he could use back home at the lab. He sent his newly acquired resources, then journeyed on through the misty forest, keeping his sword drawn.

ID: 8703

BD: 10 (Crit +2)(Life Steal +1)

MD: 8 (Hit)

LD: 8 (No loot found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Min)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills) + 2 (Crit +2) = 9

Azide HP: 22/22 (-1)(+1)

Centaur HP: -4/14 (-9) [Dead]

*1 material acquired

[Azide 0]

Soon enough, as he continued to navigate his way through the forest maze, another centaur rushed out at him. Where it'd come from, he couldn't be sure- there were far too many twists and turns, as well as nooks and crannies that it might've hidden itself in. "On top of that, perhaps it's even possible that the creature simply spawned out of sight." In any case, he'd been able to jump out of the way by the slightest margin, and figured it'd only been possible because of his lighter armor. "Thank god for Ariel and her tailoring." With the creature left momentarily vulnerable, he charged forward and delivered a clean strike to its flank. Not even to put it down- but enough to ensure that his next attack would.

ID: 8705

BD: 4 (+2 Accuracy) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 7 (+2 Evasion) = 5 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 7

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 7/14

[Azide 0]

Azide then went on to easily dodge the creature's flurry of desperate swings, hopping to safety with every kick of the centaur's feet. "This is almost embarrassing," he thought. Not for himself, obviously, but for the poor creature that was about to meet its end. Meet its end by the end of his blade, that was. He darted forward, display of a high level of agility and mobility, then leapt forward and delivered the deathblow. His blade buried itself deep into the centaur's flesh, before shattering it completely. The beast vanished in a display of scattering crystals, which soon faded from view. That had become a familiar sight, in this world. This creature left behind a small sum of col, along with some more material he'd be able to work with back at the lab. "Could be better, but for what it is, decent work."

ID: 8707

BD: 10 (Crit +2)

MD: 1 (Miss)

LD: 11 (Loot found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 0/14 (-7)

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

** Centaur HP (14) x 5 = 70 col acquired.

[Azide 0]

This time, it was Azide who'd spotted his enemy, as opposed to the more usual opposite. He peeked his head around a thick tree trunk and spied a centaur up ahead. With his blade already drawn, he made his way slowly and steadily towards the monster, attempting to take the creature by surprise. This plan, however, failed after he snapped a twig on the way over. "Damn it," he thought, watching as the centaur turned around. Knowing the battle was far from lost because of his error, he sped towards the creature and dodged its attempted attack, then landed a slash on its flank. A thin line glowed red down the length of its body, then faded away.

ID: 8708

BD: 7 (Hit)

MD: 6 (+2 Evasion) = 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 7

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

The centaur attempted to attack him once again, which was no surprise in itself. The creature had, after all, been programmed to do such a thing. But its attempts were feeble and pointless, at least as far as Azide was concerned. "With this new equipment, it doesn't stand a chance in hell in even injuring me, let alone beating me. Not hell, nor here." His mobility proved to be too great an obstacle for the creature to overcome, and allowed him to dodge its strikes one after another. Seeing his opportunity, Azide struck the creature once, then stabbed at it to ensure its death. The creature gave way and shattered, leaving behind no col, but did provide him with some materials to work with.

ID: 8709

BD: 8 (Hit)

MD: 5 (Miss)

LD: 8 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 0/14 (-7)

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

[Azide 0]

"Well would you look at that? Surprise surprise," thought Azide, watching another centaur gallop out of the forest. "This place is just absolutely crawling with those things. Getting kind of boring. I'm about ready to start fighting those Minotaur at this point." He tightened his grip on Quantum Slicer, then charged forward at the beast, leaping out of its path before the creature could stampede him. Now that he was positioned behind the creature, he found the perfect opportunity to deliver a crushing blow. He darted forward as the beast attempted to turn around, but was a bit too slow due to the liability of its extra limbs. Azide slashed at the creature's back, then jumped backward so as to remove himself from its range. "Don't want to fall prey to any counterattacks, after all."

ID: 8710

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 6 (+2 Evasion) = 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

The creature stumbled over and fell to the ground in a slump. "Looks like it's just dying to die," thought Azide. "God, I wish someone was around to hear that." He sped forward, easily evading its dying throes as it thrashed and lashed about it. As the creature finally began to steady itself and rise back to its feet, Azide threw himself forward and latched onto its back, then drove his blade deep into its flesh. The creature emitted inhumane shriek that gave him some moderate chills, then shattered in the usual manner, leaving behind more materials. He sent the material off to his inventory, then dusted himself off. "Definitely don't want centaur hair, or fur, or whatever on my new equipment." With another enemy taken care of, he set off to continue navigating the desolate forest. "I don't even know what a Hoya is, but whatever it is, I want it."

ID: 8712

BD: 9 (Crit +1)

MD: 1 (Miss)

LD: 6 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills) + 1 (Crit +1) = 8

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: -1/14 (-8)

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

[Azide 0]

Again came yet another centaur, which charged out at him and managed to actually take him by surprise. But once again, the creature's attack was too weak to fully overpower even the light armor he wore. Although he'd been knocked back a fair distance, his armor had managed to take the brunt of the force. "Not entirely sure how wearing a jacket provides the amount of protection that it does, but I'm not going to complain." He landed on his feet, then steadied himself before charging at the creature to deliver his counterattack. His blade plunged deep into the creature's flesh, healing him the slight amount of health he'd lost a few moments ago.

ID: 8766

BD: 10 (Crit +2)(Life steal +1)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 3 (Mitigation) = 1 (Min)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 3 (Skills) + 2 (Crit +2) = 9

Azide HP: 22/22 (-1)(+1)

Centaur HP: 5/14 (-9)

[Azide 0]

Azide drew his blade from out of the centaur, then quickly returned it to the creature's body. "Returning it is definitely one way of putting it." As his blade lodged into the side of the beast, he kept his hand firmly grasped around the handle of his sword, allowing to dying creature to strike a few glancing blows against him. All in all, however its efforts were in vain, and accomplish net zero. He watched as his health bar rose back up to replace the point of health he'd lost. The creature soon shattered, leaving behind nothing but another material. Even still, he was happy to take it. "Actually, I'm just glad that this is going so smoothly."

ID: 8770

BD: 10 (Crit +2)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

LD: 3 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 3 (Mitigation) = 1 (Min)

Damage taken (Centaur) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills) + 2 (Crit +2) = 9

Azide HP: 22//22 (-1)(+1)

Centaur HP: -4/14 (-9) [Dead]

*1 material acquired (5 materials acquired, total).

[Azide 0]

"Well what do you know?" thought Azide, raising his sword. "Another centaur!" He swung Quantum Slicer as the half-man all-beast creature ran by, failing to stomp over the agile player. "I'm not exactly going to stand in one place while it runs me over. That'd just be stupid." His swing was true, and his blade cut deep into the creature's flesh, leaving behind a visible red gash. "I'm dropping them like flies today," he thought. He felt as if he could practically do this forever. And with the regeneration abilities he'd gained from his new equipment, maybe he could. "But I won't. That'd be a very boring eternity."

ID: 8910

BD: 4 (+2 Accuracy) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

A second swing by Azide actually missed, yanking him from his pedestal of infallibility. True- his blade had missed by a hair, if not less, but the reality of the possibility did good for him. "I guess it's better not to develop any delusions of perfection anytime soon. Still, that was quite the streak while it lasted. No regrets there." That being said, he easily evaded the centaur, which had attempted to leverage the miss into a conversion, but failed to do so by quite the large margin.

ID: 8914

BD: 3 (Miss)

MD: 1 (Hit)

Damage taken (Both) = 0 (Miss)

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 7/14 (-0)

[Azide 0]

Whatever had caused him to miss had apparently been righted, with Azide's next swing a sure-hit. With a simple strike to the neck, the mythical centaur had been felled, failing to drop the player's health bar by even a single point. "In fact, my bar is still the very same as when I'd entered this place," he noted. "Maybe feelings of immortality wouldn't bring about a swift end to me after all. Perhaps a long and drawn out decline, but I could probably get away with it for a while, actually." The centaur shattered, leaving behind nothing but some more materials he could take back with him to the lab, which he swiftly sent to his inventory.

ID: 8918

BD: 7 (Hit)

MD: 3 (Miss)

LD: 3 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

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

*1 material acquired (6 materials acquired, total).

[Azide 0]

Another centaur popped out of the brush and charged at him, missing wildly, as they tended to in this forest. "Maybe all of that wavering mist isn't good for their vision." In any case, as the creature ran past, he'd slashed at its side, doing a fair amount of damage against it. "Not the cleanest hit, nor one demonstrating pinpoint precision, but a decent one nonetheless. It'll have to do for now." In any case, the successful strike had still managed to make the creature stumble, leaving it open to a follow up attack.

ID: 8922

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Centaur HP: 7/14 (-7)

[Azide 0]

"Another one bites the dust," thought Azide, now hearing the tune of said song in his mind. With another decent strike, followed by a far-reaching thrust, he'd managed to mortally wound the creature. In the process, however, he'd take a few kicks from the dying beast's hooves. "First time all day I've exited a battle with less than my maximum health," he noted. The creature had shattered just as the rest of its kind, leaving behind some materials, along with a small sum of col, both of which he sent off to his inventory. In the distance, he spotted what he'd been searching for this whole time, albeit he'd been in no rush getting there. "It's like this place is just begging for me to take all of its resources. Or if not me, then somebody else." In the distance, he could spy an entrance of some sort to a small stone encirclement. In front of it stood not a centaur, but it's closely related cousin. "Well, off to slay the Minotaur."

ID: 8925

BD: 5 (+2 Accuracy) = 7

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

LD: 14 (Loot found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 1 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 3 (Mitigation) = 1 (Min)

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

Azide HP: 21/22 (-1)

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

*1 material acquired (7 materials acquired).

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

[Azide 0]

Azide blazed a trail all the way to his target: the Minotaur, guard of the Hoya of Minos. "I'm still not entirely sure of what a Hoya is, but I'd still like it regardless." With a quick leap forward, he thrusted Quantum Slicer deep into the heart of the Minotaur, then withdrew as the creature attempted to swing at him with some sort of battle axe. In any case, it'd been far too slow, and hit only the damp soil of the forest. For Azide it seemed as though it'd been ages since he'd been standing where the Minotaur had swung. "You're a bulky guy, but not the fastest thing around. Good, that'll make it that much easier."

ID: 8929

BD: 6 (Hit)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

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

Azide HP: 21/21 (-0)

Minotaur HP: 16/23 (-7)

[Azide 0]

As Azide approached the Minotaur once again, it attempted yet another overhead swing of its heavy axe, only for results that mirrored its previous attempt. "They say insanity is trying the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result," remarked Azide. He doubted the creature could understand him- having the head of a bull, and therefore its brain, as opposed to that of a human's. "It's incapable of intelligence, but that was already obvious." With its weapon lodged into the ground, Azide ran up the length of its arm and plunged his sword straight through its head, then pulled it out and leapt back to safety. He could see he'd done quite a bit of damage with that last attack.

ID: 8932

BD: 9 (Crit +1)(Life Steal +1)

MD: 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Minotaur) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills) + 1 (Crit +1) = 8

Azide HP: 22/22 (+1)

Minotaur HP: 8/23 (-8)

[Azide 0]

Azid came rushing at the Minotaur once again, encouraged by the success of his bold maneuver. As the creature brought its heavy battle axe crashing down, Azide attempted to block it with is rapier. Though he had some degree of success, the strain he took from the clash proved to be too great, and still costed him a slight amount of health. Realizing he wouldn't be able to overpower the stronger monster, he retreated and rolled out of the way. With the minotaur's weapon lodged in the ground once again, he ran up right in front of the beast and stabbed upwards through its chest, impaling its heart and shattering the forest guard. It left behind a decent amount of col, as well as a hide he'd be able to make use of in some way. 'In any case, the guard of the Hoya has been slain. No need to mess around with the other one that's hiding around here somewhere." Glancing up at his health bar, he could see that his final strike had healed him a bit of health. "And once again, all is right with the universe."

ID: 8935

BD: 10 (Crit +2)(Life Steal +1)

MD: 8 (Hit)

LD: 13 (Loot found)

Damage taken (Azide) = 4 (Base) - 3 (Mitigation) = 1

Damage taken (Minotaur) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 3 (Skills) + 2 (Crit +2) = 9

Azide HP: 22/22 (-1)(+1)

Minotaur HP: -1/23 (-9) [Dead]

*1 material acquired (8 materials acquired, total).

**Minotaur HP (23) x 5 = 115 col acquire (255 col acquired total).

[Azide 0]

With the Minotaur now defeated, Azide was now allowed free entry into the entrance in between the walls. As he stepped inside, he noticed a small shrub that looked rather hostile for a plant. "It reminds me of that Treesus fellow I took on back at those mountains," he thought. In any case, he thought it would be a good idea to dispatch it before continue. It was immobile, but he didn't like the thought of it staring at him as he walked towards the pedestal in the center, which presumably held the Hoya. "Still don't know what a Hoya is, but still want it." He walked up to the creature and bisected it, watching as it shattered into pieces, leaving behind nothing. He sheathed his sword, then continued on his way towards the pedestal.

ID: 8946

BD: 9 (Crit +1)

MD: 5 (Miss)

LD: 12 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Azide) = 0 (Miss)

Damage taken (Sproutling) = 7 (Base+Rapier+Skills) + 1 (Crit +1) = 8

Azide HP: 22/22 (-0)

Sproutling HP: -1/7 (-8) [Dead]

[Azide 0]

Azide alighted the marble steps which led up to a platform raised higher than the ground all around it. In the center of the platform stood a lone pillar, which seemed to be the focus of a ray of light that pierced through the wavering mist. "Surely no coincidence," he thought. On top of it sat a pendant, which he figured must be the Hoya of Minos. He picked it up and held it in the light, inspecting it. "So this is the Hoya of Minos? It doesn't appear to do anything, but it makes for some decent eye candy," he remarked, sending it to his inventory.

The pendant had been forged from what appeared to be white gold, and had been set with a large, bright sapphire. He'd thought it looked rather nice, but would probably make a better gift than anything. On his way out of the maze, he'd searched around for any materials he might be able to salvage, but despite the entirety of the forest around him, he'd been unable to find a single thing for such use. "In any case, that settles that." He stepped out of the maze, then began the long walk back to town.

ID: 8947

LD: 9 (Nothing found)