[PP-F2] (Complete) Trial and Error {Breaking the Unbreakable} (Calrex/Ariel)

[Niklaus 0]

The day was young, as Niklaus stepped out into the area just beyond the gates of Urbus. He had one goal to day and that was to find his sister. Rumor has it she was last seen around an are just past the main dungeon on this floor. Once he passes through the dungeon it would be smooth sailing from there. Making his way through the fields, he noticed a few players still scattered around the area. Soon you will all be pawns in play against Kayaba. whether you want to or not. But until then, I must get stronger.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a sigh as he did a quick combo, performing a hook kick followed by a straight punch, finishing with a tornado kick as the assisted system kicked in, his foot glowing yellow as it drew a circular arc before he took a breath and calmed himself.

 

"It's been some time since Teayre had messaged me. I hope she's doing alright. Maybe I'll send her a message after I finish some more training."

 

He looked over with the corner of his eye as he observed a player nearby looking around the area, as if scanning for something. He gave a sigh as he stepped back, his fist glowing yellow before he thrust it forward, a straight flash going out as he executed a straight punch. With that he looked over, seeing that player still looking around.

 

"I wonder if he needs help with something. His crystal is green, but I'd best be careful."

 

He walked over over to the player as he gave a friendly wave, "Hey, did you need a hand with something?"

[Niklaus 0]

Niklaus was snapped away from his thoughts when an unfamiliar voice called out to him. Help? Do I look like I need help. I'm merely observing this floor's pathetic inhabitants, of which you currently seem to be a resident. But I can't say that and expect to have underlings in the future ah well. "No I don't necessarily need help. Though if you could point me in the direction of this supposed boulder that's blocking the main dungeon of this floor that'd be appreciated." Twisting a grin, Niklaus turned and faced the boy. "The name is Niklaus. Niklaus Mikaelson." Though he didn't bother with a handshake, Nik assumed the giving of his name was kind enough.

[Calrex 0]

"No I don't necessarily need help. Though if you could point me in the direction of this supposed boulder that's blocking the main dungeon of this floor that'd be appreciated...The name is Niklaus. Niklaus Mikaelson."

 

As the player named Niklaus introduced himself Calrex's eyes scanned for a second. Something about this player seemed off. Calrex made sure to keep his face unaffected as he observed Niklaus' body language for any obvious signs of a hidden agenda. Calrex was used to putting on various personality masks in social situations, but it seemed like this guy was doing the same thing. Even so, it seemed like something in his voice seemed...not very interested in conversation.

 

"This person...I wonder what's in his head..."

 

Even though he didn't extend his hand Calrex understood that some people didn't like physical contact. "Calrex, nice to meet you Niklaus. As the the boulder in front of the main dungeon I think I now where you might be referring to, although you should probably confirm it with an information broker."

 

"Somehow...I feel like I shouldn't let my guard down around this guy..."

[Niklaus 0]

Blue haired boy was quiet. Nik could sense the player glancing him over and gaining a so called for impression. "If you're worried about an attack, don't be. I have nothing to gain from killing another player at the moment." He let the words wriggle off his tongue. I wonder what he's thinking. No that I care if it's about me as a person but rather what are his gains in this game? For me I have one goal. Everything else is just filler until I return home. The silence between them grew as the boy finally spoke.

 

He introduced himself and explained his limited knowledge. "The coordinates will be enough. The information brokers here are nothing more than gutless bastards with a hard on for Col. Like I'd waste my money on filth. Anyway the coordinates please?"

[Calrex 0]

"If you're worried about an attack, don't be. I have nothing to gain from killing another player at the moment." 

 

"Not what was on my mind, but I do appreciate the reassurance."

 

"The coordinates will be enough. The information brokers here are nothing more than gutless bastards with a hard on for Col. Like I'd waste my money on filth. Anyway the coordinates please?"

 

"Hm, seems to be on some kind of high horse, without a level to back it up. Might be brought up under some kind of rich livelihood, or maybe under some kind of circumstance that would give him some kind of elevated ego. I'd best make myself scarce around this guy...but I also can't just let him go off and get himself killed. I'd best find out what he's going to use the information for."

 

"Fair enough, here's the coordinates, although if I may ask what is it you're looking to find there?"

 

Calrex tried to run though the known quests on the floor in his head, trying to find something of importance.

 

"Only one that might relate to a boulder would be the <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> quest, although when I did that it seemed to be further in the mountains rather than towards the main dungeon."

[Niklaus 0]

Calrex looked him over briefly before replying again. "I intend to break the stone of course. Or at the very least remove it. I hear there's a secret skill involved with the removal of this stone. As such I wish to obtain that skill." Niklaus began to head off towards the destination. The coordinates seemed to head more towards a mountainous area rather than a dungeon. Not even a month has gone by and I'm already being treated like the bastard child my name seems to be accompanied with. Of all the things. Whipping around, Niklaus shouted at the boy. "And you're positive these coordinates are correct to the best of your abilities?"

[Calrex 0]

"Well it seems you're referring to the quest I just recently completed. If I recalled the place I stumbled upon correctly it would be in that particular direction."

 

As Niklaus took off Calrex decided to follow him a couple paces back, still within conversation distance, but not enough to lend to a more intimate discussion. Something about this boy was rubbing Calrex in a strange fashion and he was well aware of it.

 

"Can't really say I could judge him. Depending on his background it could be highly possible I could have turned out a similar way. What's got me curious is his intentions. This quest is practically suicide attempting alone, if what had happened to me is correct."

 

"Mind if I tag along? In case things happen to go south I could lend a hand."

[Niklaus 0]

"So you've done this before? Interesting." Niklaus turned back around and followed his map. Well surely he's no bumbling idiot. I doubt he'd send me on a goose chase. Though if he did, I will find  a way to make him suffer. The last thing I need is a babysitter. However, his efforts may prove fruitful and needed if I am to destroy this boulder. "I'm not one for company but do tag along. I may need your "expert" advice." He continued along the beaten path as the covered cave began to creep into view. "Calrex was it? You have any loved ones in or out of game?" Why did I ask? I certainly don't care. But... yes that'll prove helpful....He looked towards the bluenette and awaited an answer.

[Calrex 0]

"I'm not one for company but do tag along. I may need your "expert" advice...Calrex was it? You have any loved ones in or out of game?"

 

"Well, I wouldn't say expert, although I have done this quest before. However the experience is different for each person, something unique about this game that I didn't expect. If there is anything that bears similarity though I'll be sure to let you know."

 

"I should probably avoid telling him about Teayre for now. I still can't figure out what his motivation is, for all I know they could be malicious."

 

"I've got people I care about on both ends. As for outside of the game I'm sure they'll be fine if I'm away for a little bit. As for the ones that I've met inside this game I wish to do what I can to keep them from having their lives concluded within it."

 

"Should be enough to suffice."

 

"How about you?"

[Niklaus 0]

"Noted. And come on Calrex. I'm not your worst enemy. Yet, and I hope it doesn't come to that. You can tell me just as I will tell you." Niklaus stopped his stride and inhaled deeply. I need to gain his trust. A little information won't ruin my future endeavors. "I have a few siblings. One passed before I was born. Anoher passed after. That leaves Finn, Elijah, myself, Kol, and Rebekah. Fortunately I haven't heard from my devilish siblings Finn and Kol. Unfortunately my brother Elijah constantly tries to alleviate me of my hellish ways, while my sister Rebekah keeps finding new ways to inherently piss me off." The anger could be heard in his voice, but he tried to keep it under control. My temper seems to best me even in the calmest of situations. "Excuse my rant. It was a tad out of taste."

[Calrex 0]

"Noted. And come on Calrex. I'm not your worst enemy. You can tell me just as I will tell you."

 

As Niklaus stopped his stride and seemed to take a pause Calrex made note as he slowed his pace as well.

 

"He's taken a quick pause, might mean he's forming a thought or his next sentence." 

 

"I have a few siblings. One passed before I was born. Anoher passed after. That leaves Finn, Elijah, myself, Kol, and Rebekah. Fortunately I haven't heard from my devilish siblings Finn and Kol. Unfortunately my brother Elijah constantly tries to alleviate me of my hellish ways, while my sister Rebekah keeps finding new ways to inherently piss me off...Excuse my rant. It was a tad out of taste."

 

"No, don't worry about it. Family matters tend to get the better of us no matter what we do. Also trust me, I have no intention of making enemies within this game. Doesn't seem to be worth it in the end."

 

"Hm...odd that he decided to pause before talking about his siblings. Could be because of the past things he's had to endure, could be because he might be giving out the information to possibly get something in return. How should I play this..."

 

Calrex put a hand in his jacket pocket casually as he responded, "As for me there's been a couple of people that I've made to be close friends. One of them is a guy by the name of Oikawa, who runs one of the forges on the first floor. A few of them are new players getting the hang of things, Riksis, Warnik, and Takneil. I've met a bunch of people, but those are just a couple of them."

 

With that Calrex began to resume his regular pace, "Excuse me if it's too much to ask, but are any of your siblings stuck inside of this game as well?"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The second floor, she found herself there once again. Near a cave with a huge rock in front of it, a slim figure could be spotted. No correction, two figures could be spotted there, one significantly taller that her four legged counterpart. As a light gust of wind appeared unannounced making Ariel's blond hair roam wildly behind her but she didn't mind notice that too much. Most of attention was directed at the boulder in front of her: "So this is the quest item Skylar was talking about?" said Ariel while carefully examining the rock's surface, apparently talking to herself. From her right Kimba would scratch the rock with her claw then looking at Ariel while letting out a growl. "Yeah IDK how he did it, maybe if we can freeze it somehow? you know, like when rocks start breaking in the winter due to extremely low temperatures. But this floor has a spring or summer theme so I don't see snow falling around here soon. " she wondered while continuing to observe the massive obstacle in front of her.

[Niklaus 0]

"Yes my family's differences seem to run deeper than any ocean ever conceived. That aside I do still care deeply for my siblings. My parents on the other hand, specifically Mikael, can rot for all he's worth." A more menacing scowl crept along his face they rounded the corner with the rock in sight. What was unexpected, was the uninvited guest that appeared to have the same intentions as Niklaus. "Your friends seem splendid. One could assume you're closer to Oikawa since you elaborated on him. Am I to expect that you have a.." he paused for a bit. His eyebrow arched at the continuation of the sentence. "..relationship?" Nik smirked as he let the question roll off his tongue. "As for siblings in-game, I can only confirm that one of them has entered. Whether they are alive or not is another question entirely."

 

As he neared the rock, Klaus would yell out to the stranger. "Well what do we have here? A blond with intentions to complete the same task that lays before me. Any luck with removing it love?"

[Calrex 0]

"Your friends seem splendid. One could assume you're closer to Oikawa since you elaborated on him. Am I to expect that you have a...relationship?" 

 

At Niklaus' response Calrex almost fell over in surprise like he had accidentally stumbled over a rock. He could feel a few beads of sweat form on the side of his head as he got a hold of himself, "Ahem, I guess that I gave off the wrong signals..."

 

"..and possibly was a little too standoffish...*sigh* No, this isn't like me. If there's any awkward tension during a battle it could lead to some serious complications. It'd be better in the long run if I was a little more straight with this guy...that was a horrible way of wording it after Niklaus' question."

 

With that he gave a sigh, looking back over at Niklaus, "If you got that impression I apologize. I guess I haven't been really completely straight with you. There is one more person in this game I'm even closer to. Oikawa and I are just good friends, and someone that I can put my complete trust in. But the other player is Teayre. She's the one I'm going to do whatever I can to keep safe, and before you ask, yes we're in a relationship."

 

Calrex put a hand behind his head to add to his following sentence, and also as a way of lightening the mood in an attempt to break any awkward atmosphere, "Although I'm sure that she'd more likely cut down a boar than hiding behind me."

 

"As for siblings in-game, I can only confirm that one of them has entered. Whether they are alive or not is another question entirely."

 

"Fair enough. I'm guessing you have checked the Memorial of Life to see if they had used their real name as their avatar name?"

 

"Well what do we have here? A blond with intentions to complete the same task that lays before me. Any luck with removing it love?"

 

As Calrex's eyes traced over to where Niklaus was speaking to he saw a familiar blond haired player and her faithful companion. With that he gave a friendly wave, "Hey Ariel, long time no see!"

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

While deep in thought as to how can anyone break this thing only using their bare hands, Ariel could hear a couple of greeting from behind her. She appeared to recognize these voices but couldn't pinpoint to whom they belonged to. With her left hand resting on the hilt of her rapier, The blond spun around 180º in one graceful motion. Kimba appeared to be unfazed and kept touching the rock with her paw. Her gaze meet with the other two, taking her a split of a second to connect some names with the faces she saw:

 

"Oh It's you guys, yeah its been awhile Caldrex." she looks behind them for a another person but fails to locate her. "How come your girlfriend isn't with you?" she lets out a chuckle while mentioning the last part. Next her focus went to his companion, this time addressing him in a little more serious tone than Caldrex: "Nice to see you too, Nick. I'd appreciate that you'd refrain from addressing me with that word in the future. And as for an answer, no I don't know how somebody can break this thing with their bare hands." she says while half turning her head to face the boulder. 

[Niklaus 0]

Ariel. I knew the blond was familiar. she was there along with the girl with two-toned hair. Niklaus smirked as he strolled up to the girl. "I believe you need to be a tad more specific. I can infer that it was either blond or love, however, I never took you for someone who'd be offended easily." Stepping back, he took in the view of the enormous rock. It's enhanced to be immune to weapon damage but not unarmed damage. Interesting. "You. Calrex. How did you remove this rock the first time. Maybe it'll be a clue to how to remove it now." Niklaus returned his gaze to the blond. "As for you love, I'm surprised you haven't bested this rock yet. It's unlike you to be stumped. At least what I can tell from your personality and our brief meeting before. Speaking of which. Anima was it. She was of no use in the hunt for my sister. A waste of time that one was."

[Calrex 0]

"How come your girlfriend isn't with you?"

 

Calrex gave a friendly smile as he looked to the side, his cheeks turning a slight change in red, "I think she's off doing a couple of quests on another floor. I've been checking in with her and so far it seems she's doing alright. She's does need to introduce you to our new companion though. She obtained an eagle during the <<Feeding the Enemy>> quest."

 

"You. Calrex. How did you remove this rock the first time. Maybe it'll be a clue to how to remove it now."

 

"You, Calrex...why does that feel like a noble to peasant type of attention grabber. Maybe my suspicion of him having some kind of high-horse personality wasn't too far off the mark."

 

"Well, going from what I remember this area definitely isn't the place I did it before, although the giant boulder isn't the same either. However, the way to activate it was to strike a soft spot in the rock. Of course you two ought to be prepared. If you've played any other games before this one, you might be familiar with golems. I ended up having to fight one without the use of my weapon."

 

Calrex felt a shudder get the better of him as he recalled the battle, "It's the closest I've been to dying in a while."

 

With that he used his Acrobatics ability to jump onto the rock, beginning to inspect the top of it. As he felt around he couldn't seem to find any particularly spot areas like he had done before.

 

"Hm...I wonder..."

 

He brought his right arm back, clenching it into a fist. As the assisted system engaged his fist lit up with a yellow glow before he delivered a straight punch to the rock. As the resounding strike echoed a green screen popped up in front of him.

 

Quest Already Completed

May Only Assist Other Quest Participants

 

"Well I guess that answers that."

 

With that he leapt back down to Ariel and Niklaus, "I think one of you two ought to take a strike at it. Unfortunately it looks because I completed this quest already I cannot reactivate it."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Her left eyebrow twitched when Nik casually said the respective words..again..and again. With a frown Ariel responded in a cold voice: "Both, and if I got offended I wouldn't simply 'tell you', it's kind of a bad habit that I got from spending too much time the front lines." She let out a sigh before continuing: "In any case today is just a recon trip. I was recently informed that breaking this thing was actually a quest, although I must recognise that I have no idea in how to do it. " at the mention of his sister's search, Ariel turned her gaze towards the sky and spoke, changing her tone from cold to a serious one, mixed with a tinge of sadness: "I mentioned the first time we meet that she was a fellow guildmate, right? Unavoidably the Guardians got disbanded since them, just wanting to give you a heads-up that she might have joined another guild like me. I for one joined the Brigade, so I can tell that she didn't since I don't see her name in the guild members listing. IDK how that might help you in your search but I just wanted to keep you updated." She then turned her attention to Cal as she mentioned something about familiars:

 

" I see " said the blond while listening to Cal's answer, then with a light smile continued: "Lately all people seem to find a companion..well guess that's more playthi.... I mean friends for Kimba here." she said, closely avoiding saying the full word 'playthings'. Her companion didn't meant it but she wanted to play with almost everyone, be it another familiar or player, so that word expresses the truth but some might find it offensive so she refrained from saying it. As she saw Cal jump ontop of it and try to 'activate' the rock, punching it without any result. "I know it says to destroy it with your bare hands but punching it? will that really work? " she ask genuinely confused by his actions, completely oblivious of the Extra Skill reward this quest had. Once caldrex was back on the ground Ariel simply stated: "Maybe another time for me, like I said today is just recon. I don't plan on punching rocks but you can give it a try if you like Nik."

[Niklaus 0]

My my quite the temper this one. Reminds of Mikael. However at least she doesn't lash out at people for the hell of it. Though i doubt she would if she could. I hear the orange status comes with some rather nasty disadvantages. Hmph "I will try to refrain from calling you those...Ariel. My thanks also goes to you for the new information. I know exactly what I'm going to do next"  Just as he finished Calrex began to speak about how he solved the puzzling obstacle before them. He even jumped on the rock to demonstrate. 

 

Nik took note of how his arm glowed right before he struck the rock. "Your arm. It glowed briefly before you struck the rock. That was obviously a skill but it required no sword. How'd you obtain it? Is it the reward for this quest?" It makes since. A rock that can't be destroyed by weapons and it grants the completer of the quest with a new skill. Calrex has completed this quest already and has an unarmed skill. It's no coincidence. Klaus walked over to the rock. Placing his hand on it he slowly felt around the rock. Along the edges and across the surface. Nothing felt out of place. He was just about to give up when he felt a switch of sorts between the rock and the wall surrounding it. Flipping it, the ground shook and and a mob spawned. 

 

A message popped onto Niklaus screen.

 

 

Breaking the Unbreakable Quest

Challenge:

Defeat the training dummy Mob before you. You may not use weapons. You may not retreat from this battle. You must fight alone.

Accept?

 

[X] [O]

 

Niklaus glanced at the others. "Its no Golem but it looks like a bother nonetheless." Tapping yes, the notification was sent away. And the battle commenced.

 

Martial Arts Dummy- HP: 10 DMG: 1 Bleed: +1 on 9 or 10 for 2 turns.

 

Niklaus took a rough boxing street-fighter like stance. The dummy took a stance similar to a basic tae-kwon-do stance. Nik ran at the dummy, raising his fist he attempted to connect a vicious haymaker right along the dummy's face. The mob quickly threw up a blocking armor and twisted its body so it could deliver a quick low sweep. Niklaus instinctively jumped back and surveyed the Mob. "This is gonna take awhile. You lot might as well grab popcorn and a seat if you plan to stick around." He said gesturing to Ariel and Calrex.

 

[12803] BD: 2 (1+1 Acc) CD: 8 MD: 1

 

Niklaus: 15/15

 

Training Dummy: 10/10