[SP-F10] Into Darkness (Complete)

[Azide 0]

"So this is the tenth floor?" he thought. A few of the other floors had seemed like desolate wastelands at first, though this one seemed as if it wanted to knock out the rest of the competition in one fell swoop. In fact, he could barely even see here. "It reminds me of the time I went into the caves to search for the NPC girl. Then again, the lighting returned to normal as soon as I'd left the caves. The darkness on this floor seems a lot less escapable..." He looked up, but failed to see the top of the cavern from his current position. All around him was the scent of death and decay. He straightened his jacket, then began to walk off. "I'd better familiarize myself with this floor if I want to take on its boss."

[Azide 0]

In the distance, he saw what was likely the village of Yomi, the main settlement of this floor. 'Yomi..." he thought. He recognized the word as being Japanese in origin, though he couldn't place a meaning on it. "But that doesn't make it sound any less nefarious." It was almost silly, in a way. After all, how could a simple name sound evil? He wasn't quite sure, though there was a certain ominous quality to the sound of it.

"I haven't faced a single boss as of yet," he thought, keeping his eyes turned toward the village. "Some might call me reckless for wanting to take part in the coming raid. Hell, even I might've called myself out on that, if it were a different situation. And yet, I don't feel afraid." He turned his head and lowered his gaze the slightest bit, but continued onward toward Yomi. "Not for myself, at least. I've been preparing for this ever since I left the Town of Beginnings, after all. If that's not enough preparation to survive, then I deserve to die. And yet, we're playing with real lives here." His eyes narrowed, and he kept on walking, silently.

[Azide 0]

"Yomi," he repeated, wordlessly. The name kept coming back to the forefront of his mind. It was only a small part of the floor as a whole, and yet it set the tone for the place as a whole. "There's a certain darkness to it, and to this entire floor," he mused. "It's not like the floors before it. Could there be a reason to the grimness of the tenth floor?" he wondered. Up until the tragic losses suffered on the ninth floor, most of the previous raids had gone relatively well. "Almost shocking well," he thought, "Especially for a game without any re-spawns." Perhaps the theme foreshadowed a much tougher boss than the ones before it. But then again, it was possible that he'd simply been reading into it too much. He shook his head, then looked back at the village in the distance, clenching his hand into a fist.

[Azide 0]

As he came closer to the village, he now spotted what appeared to be a large dragon standing by the main gate. It wasn't dead like the rest of the 'life' he'd seen on this floor. Not technically, anyway. There was still flesh clinging to its bones, and the flesh had not yet rotted, and so it continued to live. It had a skeletal look to it regardless, and it seemed as if it hadn't eaten in a long time. "Better not to tempt fate," thought Azide. He eyed it cautiously, then altered his path to instead travel around the village. It'd eyed him back, though the beast showed no intentions of chasing after him. Despite the hunger in its eyes, it seemed quite content to laze around until an unlucky soul wandered into its path. "Everything here is a mockery of life," he thought.

[Azide 0]

Despite the change in direction, he continued to keep close to the outer wall of Yomi. The fence surrounding the village was wooden, and though it might've once been a proud sight, its current state was one of disrepair. Even without entering the settlement itself, he was able to glimpse through the many cracks between the wooden posts, as well as through the spaces left from missing slats. "If the name weren't an obvious enough giveaway, this place definitely does have a Japanese-inspired feel to it. I'm not particularly a fan of the decor, but the whole abandoned look probably isn't helping."

Like the fence that ran around its perimeter, the village itself had likely seen better days. Where color and pride had once stood had slowly been replaced with rot and decay. Nobody could be proud of such a place. Eerily enough, lanterns seemed to hang from every building in the whole town, as well as from lines of rope that ran between them. "Why the lanterns?" he wondered. "There's nobody to use them."

[Azide 0]

Suddenly, he noticed a figure pass in front of one of the buildings. It was a bit hard to see through the fence, but he could definitely tell that this individual's gait and posture were less than ideal. In fact, the figure shuffled at such an agonizingly slow pace that it was as if it were half dead. "Is there actually someone still living in this decrepit place?" he wondered, pressing his face closer to the fence. His question was quickly answered as the creature turned, revealing the ghastly sight of a decayed citizen that continued to shuffle about, dragging its legs one at a time and moving towards god-knows-where. He drew back and shook his head. "I'm better off staying out of there anyway," he decided. He continued traveling along the wall, stealing glances at the village every now and then. It was now that he noticed the entire place was home to these zombie-like creatures.

[Azide 0]

In spite of his discovery, he continued moving. "This particular revelation doesn't exactly leave me wanting to stick around," he thought. As he continued to follow Yomi's outer wall, he eventually spotted a massive stone construct in the distance. It looked like an ancient fortress from here. "Or perhaps a prison," he thought, remember Mari's words. "Assuming that's what I think it is, then I should also be able to spot the tower housing the floor boss once I clear the remaining section of this wall." A part of him resented the fact that these things had been told to him, rather than discovered by him, though the logical side of him reassured him that there would be many chances to contribute to the front lines in the coming weeks. "Next time," he thought.

[Azide 0]

He was knocked out of his daze by the sudden appearance of a stranger figure in the distance. "Could it be another clearer scouting out the floor?" he wondered. He knew that was certainly possible. After all, other people were definitely here getting ready before the raid. "At least, I'd certainly hope that was the case," he thought. He quickly realized, however, that the figure was most definitely not a player. He drew his rapier from his sheath and shifted to an offensive stance in a single smooth motion. "If you're one of the citizens of Yomi, then you'd best not take a step closer. Actually, don't take a step closer either way," he warned. Normally, he'd rush the thing straight away, but it was possible this was simply an NPC that'd wandered through the gate. The creature continued to shuffle toward him, without acknowledging his request.

[Azide 0]

As the creature continued ambling slowly toward him, he couldn't help but notice a tumbleweed tumbling around in the background, as was customary for weeds of the tumbling variety. In any case, it tossed and turned and continued rolling until it caught on his shoes. "Wow, that thing got here significantly faster than the zombie," he thought. He looked back at his slow moving adversary, who seemed as if he still hadn't budged an inch. With a shrug, he decided to crouch over and pick up the tumbleweed out of curiosity. "A crafting material," he thought, recognizing it. He added the find to his inventory, then straightened himself back up.

ID: 11148

LD: 17 (Material found)

*1 material acquired.

[Azide 0]

"Oh wow, what're the odds?" he thought, glancing down at his shoes. He crouched down and briefly glanced up at the zombie, which continued to be the most minor of menaces. "Geez, you sure are taking you sweet thing there." Figuring he still had a bit of time to burn, he picked up the newly arrived tumbleweed and added it to his inventory. "These tumbleweeds will make an excellent addition to the lab," he reflected. "Just a bit of grinding with the old mortar and pestle and I'll be able to bottle it up for later use." He stood back up and turned his attention back to the zombie. "If I actually wore a watch in this game, now would be the time where I checked it for comedic effect..."

ID: 11150

LD: 16 (Material found)

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

[Azide 0]

"Oh wow, another— never mind," he thought, looking down at his shoes. "Damn those phantom feelings. I could've sworn another one of those tumbleweeds had rolled right up to me. Maybe this agonizing wait is finally getting to me..." He looked back up at the zombie and twirled his rapier once in his hand, then repeated the action in the opposite direction. "Hey, if you're actually hostile, you sure are taking a while to actually attack me. Seriously, I could've just left already. In fact, I could just walk away right now, and not have to worry about being pursued."

ID: 11154

LD: 13 (Nothing found)

[Azide 0]

Once again, the creature gave no signs of acknowledgement, aside from a few groans and grumbles. "Although I don't believe that counts. To be fair, the guy's been doing that the whole time. But maybe he's just really talkative..." He shook his head. "Now isn't the time to start drifting off." Tired of waiting for the fight to come to him, he decided he'd be the catalyst for the inverse. He sprang forward with the speed and ferocity of a shark through water, appearing before the zombie an instant later. During that same instant, he'd dodged sluggish swing of the creature's arms while simultaneously slashing at its side in passing.

ID: 11158

BD: 8 (-1)(+3) = 10 (Hit)

MD: 7 (-2) = 5 (Miss)

Damage taken (Zombie) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

Azide HP: 37/37

Zombie HP: 11/20 (-9)

[Azide 0]

Wishing to continue his momentum, Azide made a quick turn and sprang back to action, then shot off towards the Zombie for a second strike. In the process, however, he'd taken a direct a hit to the chest. It was nothing major, in relative terms. After all, the creature's swipes had been softened considerably by the armor he currently wore. "And yet, that still did more damage than I'd been expecting," he thought. "Are they finally getting stronger?" He moved out of the way as the creature attempting to follow up on its first hit, then counterattacked with a second slash when the opportunity arose.

ID: 11164

BD: 6 (-1)(+3) = 8 (Hit)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

CD: 10 (+1 HP)

Damage taken (Azide) = 5 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 3 (Mitigation) = 3

Damage taken (Zombie) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

Azide HP: 35/37 (-3)(+1)

Zombie HP: 2/20 (-9)

[Azide 0]

"From the looks of it, their health bars have been steadily increasing as well. Actually, I was already aware of it, but up until now I'd been able to take these things out in two hits or less," he reflected. "True, the thing only has a sliver of health left, but their growth is beginning to overtake my damage output. Not the best sign." He shook his head. Hell, he'd been aware that this phenomena would begin at some point, having witnessed it with the higher level players. "Still, who would've thought it would've happened so soon?" In any case, now was not the time to whine. He ran forward and evaded the creature's desperate swipes, then ran it through with the end of his blade. It shattered into a countless number of blue particles that soon faded slowly from view. On the bright side, however, the encounter had left him richer in both col and crafting materials. He deposited both into his inventory. "For such a desolate floor, the payoff isn't too shabby," he thought.

ID: 11176

BD: 8 (-1)(+3) = 10 (Hit)(Life Steal +1)

MD: 4 (Miss)

LD: 17 (Loot found)

Damage taken (Zombie) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

Azide HP: 36/37 (+1)

Zombie HP: -7/20 (-9) [Dead]

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

**HP (20) * 5 = 100 col acquired.

[Azide 0]

With the zombie problem taken care off, he felt content to return his weapon to its sheath, then continued walking along the path he'd been following before being attacked. "Although the term 'attacked' is somewhat questionable. Does it really count if the thing was coming at me slower than a snail? I did sort of end up making the first move," he thought. But he dropped these thoughts as he laid his eyes back on the stone fortress in the distance. Soon enough, he'd be close enough to see it with a bit more detail. "And I'll also be getting a glimpse of that tower as well," he decided. For now, he'd continued traveling near the village's outskirts, so as to limit the directs he could be attacked from.

[Azide 0]

"God," he mumbled. "I forgot how painfully boring walking around could be." So far all he'd done was admire architecture through cracks in a wall and kill something that was already dead, in addition to a whole lot of traveling. He looked behind him, the back in front of him. It was true that he'd come a long way, and he was just about to pass the village altogether, but it felt more like a chore than actual exploration. "Damn it, I'm being whiny again." He shelved the thought, turning his attention to what was ahead of him. He'd had his fantasies of playing hero as a kid, just like every other boy, but nobody ever talked about all of the really boring parts in between.

Within a few more minutes, he'd finally passed the edge of Yomi altogether, finally allowing him to see past its walls. In the distance, he caught his first glimpse of the tower that'd been described to him. "So that's where it's hiding, huh? Soon enough, that's where it'll be resting as well." He turned his attention back to the prison. "But there's no point in going there now. I'd only be risking my life for nil." With an end in sight, continued onward with renewed vigor.

[Azide 0]

At last, he'd made it to the giant stone structure he'd spotted seemingly ages ago. Like the village of Yomi, this place had likely seen better days, when the wear and tear had not been so obvious. Though it wasn't quite as aged as the coliseums of rome, its state of complete disrepair had left it looking much older than it really was. "Looks like this is the prison after all," he thought, spotting metal bars blocking various windows from up high. He pushed lightly on the door, surprised when it opened up entirely. "Somehow, that doesn't seem like a good sign," he thought. Cautiously, he peeked inside, and at first saw nothing. Just darkness. Carefully, he stepped into the building after wedging the door open with big stone he'd found by the entrance.

Suddenly, the sound of running. Not of two legs, or even four. "Who's there?" he demanded, drawing his rapier. Suddenly, he found himself rushed by two surprisingly agile enemies, though they were accompanied by the distinct scent of decay. The first missed him, but his rapier had found its mark as he swung low to the ground. Its call resembled that of the many boar he'd slain on the first floor. Following that attack, however, he felt a short blade stab into him from behind. He winced and cried out, turning behind him to see a ghastlier version of the bandits he'd encountered before, though his stare was cold and dead.

ID: 11228

BD: 5 (-1)(+3) = 7 (Hit)

MD: 4 (Miss)

Damage taken (Undead Boar) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

ID: 11229

MD: 10 (Crit +2)

Damage taken (Azide) = 5 (Base) + 2 (Crit +2) - 3 (Mitigation) = 4

Azide HP: 32/37 (-4)

Undead Boar HP: 18/27 (-9)

Undead Bandit HP: 27/27

[Azide 0]

He quickly knocked his assailant off of him, feeling the awful sensation of his metal blade slipping out of his body. "Damn you," he thought, gritting his teeth. "That thing must be serrated, because it sure as hell didn't come out cleanly." In any case, the pain ebbed away, and before long he found himself under attack once more.

The boar had recovered soon enough, and made a sharp turn to face the player once more. From there, it'd come charging, prepared to impale the him on the ends of its tusks. It gave a shrill squeal of satisfaction as the ivory stabbed through the player's leg, then another squeal of considerably less positivity when it'd been stabbed back in retaliation.

While he was distracted and dealing with the boar, the bandit had managed to slip past his defenses once more, jabbing his dagger into his arm.

ID: 11230

BD: 4 (-1)(+3) = 6 (Hit)

MD: 9 (Crit +1)

Damage taken (Undead Boar) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

Damage taken (Azide) = 5 (Base) + 1 (Crit +1) - 3 (Mitigation) = 3

ID: 11231

MD: 10 (Crit +2)

Damage taken (Azide) = 5 (Base) + 2 (Crit +2) - 3 (Mitigation) = 4

Azide HP: 25/37 (-7)

Undead Boar: 9/27 (-9)

Undead Bandit: 27/27

[Azide 0]

"I've had just about enough of this," he thought, steadying himself. It was still as dark as ever here, though he'd expected as much. After all, he did happen to be standing inside of an old prison while also being underground. It was a miracle that he could even see at all. "Although it wouldn't be very fair if the game followed realistic lighting at all times," he thought. "This floor would've been nearly impossible to complete."

He evaded the boar as it came around a third time, then slashed at it once more. "Three for three," he noted, watching as the creature promptly shattered. It left behind a bit of crafting material, which he quickly sent to his inventory while also moving to dodge the swift advance of the bandit. "I've had it up to here with you, pal. Now that the other guy's out of the way, we can make this a real fight," he said, pointing his rapier at his assailant.

ID: 11233

BD: 6 (-1)(+3) = 8 (Hit)

MD: 5 (Miss)

CD: 12 (+1 HP)

LD: 6 (Nothing)

Damage taken (Undead Boar) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

ID: 11234

MD: 7 (-2 Accuracy) = 5 (Miss)

Azide HP: 26/37 (+1)

Undead Boar HP: 0/27 (-9) [Dead]

Undead Bandit HP: 27/27

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

[Azide 0]

"Not much of a speaker, huh?" remarked Azide, evading the bandit's next charge with ease. "Not so hot in one on one, are we?" He continued to defend against his opponent's assault, and dutifully dodged and deflected every swing and thrust that came his way. Growing tired of the motions, Azide leapt to the bandit's side and slashed at it a single time, managing to steer his swing around his opponent's dagger. His blade met flesh, leaving behind a deep and long wound that glowed red momentarily before fading away. "Let's just get this over with," he thought.

ID: 11238

BD: 8 (Hit)(Life Steal +1)

MD: 2 (Miss)

Damage taken (Undead Bandit) = 1 (Base) + 3 (Rapier) + 5 (Skills) = 9

Azide HP: 27/37 (+1)

Undead Bandit HP: 18/27 (-9)