SP-F2 <<Long Live the Queen>>

[Reusririasuir 0]

...

 

...

 

Reu found himself sitting alone on a bench, inside a town called Urbus on the second floor of Aincrad. The town wasn't particularly populated at this time of day, but all in all, the courtyard was far from empty. Lazily scrolling through his menu's, Reu found the message from the information broker which very cleanly spelled out "Meet me in the Urbus, NW Courtyard, at 10:30 AM...".

 

Well...here I am. Where's this information broker? Reu wondered to himself. Sitting back, Reu took a long look around the courtyard. Urbus, as a town was situated in what would look like a crater inside a mountain, if viewed from above. The entire second floor was quite mountainous really, a sudden and dramatic shift from the rolling plains of the first floor. Urbus appearance itself resembled that of a Medieval Kindom, castle walls and all. When he first arrived, Reu had thought the town very interesting and had spent a fair amount of time exploring and interacting with the NPC's here; though Reu could say that about every town he came across, as Aincrad was such an interesting place. Still, at this particular moment, Reu was just hoping to meet the Information Broker who summoned him here..

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"You know, you could really do with a better sword Reu! For 1000 col I could have one requisitioned for you, for 1200 col I could keep it a secret too."

 

Reu turned, eyeing the character in front of him. The character known as Argo the Rat. Argo had the appearance of a cat-like character by virtue of being such a small person in real life, though added to that was the fact that Argo had painted lines across her face, and also prefer'd to use claws for weapons. They were an interesting weapon choice, being about the closest close-range weapon you could use in SAO. Reu guessed that Argo must have been directing her stats towards Stealth, because he never heard her coming, and it would be the only way to get close enough to the monsters in SAO to use those claws.

 

"Thanks Argo, but I'm just fine with this blade. Don't you get hot in that hood of yours?" "Hot, never. Now, do you know why I called you here?"

 

"To mine me for Col?"

 

"NO!"

 

"I called you here, because I wanted to give you a gift. As payment for helping me out a few weeks ago. A new quest, here on floor 2, which you should be more then able to handle."

 

Reu perked up, it wasn't like Argo to give out free information, even if he HAD done her that favor by delivering that thing to that person that one time. "I'm very appreciative Argo, what do you have for me." His tone was serious now, losing the light-hearted inflection it had earlier.

[Reusririasuir 0]

"Well you see Reu, out in the mountainous terrain, between Marome Village and Taran Village, is a prime hunting spot for Wind Wasps. The wasps aren't particurally difficult, and they also don't yield much experience, for that reason they have been mostly ignored by players. That is, until news of this next quest gets out. See, a few days ago, some lower-leveled players WERE out in the fields farming wind wasps. After they killed several they were, reportedly, attacked by a large wind wasp. A wind wasp, who's name is 'Wind Wasp Queen', and she's apparently a field boss."

 

At the term field boss, Reu whistled, long and low. A field boss is a kind of mini-boss, capable of dropping items which may help you against other bosses, and also serve as large experience point givers. Getting this information this early from Argo really was a gift. Reu smiled and after a few more minutes of conversation with Argo, found himself making his way out of town, towards the fields and mountainous areas between Marome Village and Taran Village. He had a queen bee to see.

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Reu found himself standing on a perilous mountain ledge. When he had looked at this trail from up there, it looked a lot wider. Down here however, it was barely wider than his shoulders. Reu was slowly moving across the narrow path, hoping to use this path as a shortcut to an open-field which he had seen tucked into the side of the mountain-face. It may not have been the best idea though. Every few steps part of the trail crumbled, dropping into the valley below. The valley which was very, very far below. A fall from here would certainly be perilous, and there was no guarentee that the only dangers in Aincrad were from monsters. Taking a deep breath, Reu continued walking towards the clearing. Hearing a buzzing in front of him, Reu could see a Wind Wasp blocking the trail in front of him. Mainge a leaping attack at the Wind Wasp, but missing, Reu prepared himself for the wind wasp's counter-attack, but it also missed.

 

ID 15208 BD 2 MD 2

 

Reu 31 / 31

Wind Wasp 16 / 16

[Reusririasuir 0]

Swinging his sword in a continuous arc, Reu brought his blade against the broad-side of the wind wasp, ripping a gash into its thorax. The attack forced the wasp to miss it's directed stinger strike. Undeterred, Reu continued making his way down the foot path. He was in a mobile battle, determined to get to the end of the foot-path before slipping off or being forced off by the persistent wasp.

 

 

ID 15209 BD 7 (5 + 1 Dog Tags + 1 Savvy  = 7) MD 2

 

Reu 31 / 31

Wind Wasp 14 / 16 (-2)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Reu made an attack at the Wind Wasp, and hit! His attack sent blood spattering against the cliff wall. After he struck the wasp, the wasp flew up and dove down, attempting to strike Reu from above with a vertical strike. Reu was ready, he actually used his a few steps of evasive footwork to throw off the wasps attack. Juking back and forth, he managed to elusively evade its' attack.

 

 

ID 15210 BD 8 (7 + 1 Dog Tags = 8) MD 4 (6 - 2 Shakespearean = 4)

 

Reu 31 / 31

Wind Wasp 12 / 16 (-2)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Playing off his footwork from before, Reu used the momentum to carry into a heavy critical strike against the wind wasp. Reu felt confident while the wind wasp buzzed angrily. Suddenly, the wind wasp counter-attacked, but in doing so missed. Reu found a comfortable position on the cliff face, a position where he wasn't as likely to slip and fall, and prepared himself to launch into his next strike.

 

ID 15211 BD 9 MD 6 - 2 Shakespearean = 4

 

Reu 31 / 31

Wind Wasp 9 / 16 (-3)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Feeling braced, Reu swung his sword at the Wind Wasp, only to have it dodge his attack, as he flailed hopelessly, still, Reu was cognizant of the Wasps own attempt at an attack. The attack, was low and to the side, as if the Wasp was aiming for Reu's right leg. However, using a swift back-flip, Reu deftly avoided the strike with little difficulty. He then moved several steps forward, continuing to inch along the narrow mountain path. The clearing ahead, looming ever larger.

 

 

ID 15212 BD 5 (3 + 1 Savvy + 1 Dog Tags = 5) MD 2 (5 - 2 Shakespearean - 1 Athletics = 2)

 

Reu 31 / 31

Wind Wasp 9 / 16

[Reusririasuir 0]

Worrying more about advancing to the field then attacking, Reu passed up an opportunity to strike to instead advance several more steps. In doing so, Reu exposed himself however. The Wind Wasp, not failing on capitalizing this opportunity, quickly swiped at Reu with extremely sharp pincers. The beast dug into Reu's arm, drawing blood-virtual blood, not letting go until Reu slammed it against the wall in a desperate attempt to get it to let go before the creature managed to tear his entire arm off.

 

 

ID 15213 BD 2 + 1 Dog Tags = 3 MD 10

 

Reu 28 / 31 (-3)

Wind Wasp 9 / 16

[Reusririasuir 0]

Reu could feel the restorative energies of his battle healing ability kick-in. The soothing feeling was a bit like taking a warm shower, in that you just felt good 'all over'. Reu watched his HP guage tick up a number. Reminding himself he really needs to invest more points into his Battle Healing skill, Reu decided to go and continue on with a basic attack against the Wind Wasp. His basic strike was a success! He had landed a fairly decent strike into the creature, and in doing so, caused the creature to careen into the side of a wall; dizzy and ditsy. The wind wasp was too shaken up to launch it's own attack, and buzzed around with the coordination of a drunkard.

 

 

ID 15215 BD 7 (6 + 1 Dog Tags = 7) CD 12 MD 1

 

Reu 29 / 31 (+1 Battle Healing)

Wind Wasp 7 / 16 (-2)

[Reusririasuir 0]

The next attack by Reu was made simply as a distraction technique. With no real chance of hitting, Reu wasn't surprised when it failed too. He had used this attack to allow him time to run down the path, and by moving down the path, Reu found himself easily able to avoid the Wind Wasps next strike. Reu was much closer now to the opening, probably within 150 meters, though the path was still quite treacherous.

 

ID 15216 BD 4 (2 + 1 Dog Tags + 1 Savvy = 4) MD 5

 

Reu 29 / 31

Wind Wasp 7 / 16

[Reusririasuir 0]

Eyeing the dangerous trail ahead of him, Reu found himself needing to attack the wind wasp and get it off his back. If it continued harassing him, Reu could slip and fall to his death. Not happy with a 250 foot drop, Reu slid into place, dug his feet into the earth, and levied a critical strike against the Wind Wasp. It was an extremely damaging blow, but the Wind Wasp still attempted to counter-attack, thankfully Reu was also in a good position to duck the counter-attack, escaping unharmed.

 

ID 15218 BD 10 MD 5

 

Reu 29 / 31

Wind Wasp 3 / 16 (-4)

[Reusririasuir 0]

For his next strike, Reu delivered an overhead blow, ripping his blade into the creatures belly. That was a common attribute flying monsters had-a tendancy to fly overhead when attacking-and so Reu had developed an overhead whirling attack to take advantage. Green goo oozed from the wasps underside as it dove in an attack against Reu, however with all the calm of a Buddhist monk, Reu waited until the last possible second, and then side-stepped. Sending the wasp careening past and allowing Reu to avoid the blow.

 

ID 15234 BD 6 (4 + 1 Savvy + 1 Dog Tags = 6) MD 4

 

Reu 29 / 31

Wind Wasp 1 / 16 (-2)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Taking a wide stance, Reu made an attack at the Wind Wasp, and hit! The lifeless wasp exploded into a cloud of shiny data bits in front of him. "Haha, Killed it!", Reu joyously exclaimed. He happily looked over the results of the battle, one material and eighty col, not bad at all for a battle in which he got away relatively unscathed. Feeling ready to keep moving on, Reu turned his attention back to the trail in front of him. It was slippery, and crumbling away.

 

Reu sighed, ok I guess I don't have a choice. Sheathing his sword, Reu put his back against the wall, and began inching his way down the trail. Praying that the ground wasn't as nearly unstable as it looked.

 

 

+1 Material

+80 Col

 

 

ID 15235 BD 7 (5 + 1 Savvy + 1 Dog Tags = 7) LD 11 (8 + 2 Dog Tags + 1 Search = 11)

 

Reu 29 / 31

Wind Wasp 0 / 16 (-2)

[Reusririasuir 0]

The winds blew around him, though the winds at a high rate of speed they weren't exactly making Reu feel refreshed. These were gales of hurricane level proportions, doing all they could to send Reu tumbling into the abyss below. Not being one to falter, Reu continued, slowly inching his way to the clearing. His feet stumbled, and struggled to find a proper foothold at points. The ground beneath him was truly unstable, at times, Reu would step only to see the path where he had tentatively placed his foot go crashing below. Still, Reu pushed forward. His eyes focused on the goal in front of him.

 

Finally, Reu came upon the end of the path. The mountain-side opened up a cut-out inside its side. Inside this cut-out was a monstrous cavern, one which held a small forest area, and a running stream which was a sparking bright blue, visible through to its river-bottom. Reu finally felt like he was able to stop and take a breather. Walking up to the rivers edge, he searched the area. 

 

ID 15267 LD 16 (13 + 2 Dog Tags + 1 Search = 16)

 

To his delight, he noticed that the rocks in the bottom of the river-bed were a rare ore. He quickly reached down and gathered some. Curiously, Reu made a mental note that he would want to explore the area upstream further, to see if the ore was being carried down-stream from some sort of mineral deposit.

 

After a few more moments of rest and drinking in the refreshingly cool water, Reu turned. Looking for his next Wasp to farm.

 

 

+1 Material

 

Reu 30 / 31 (+1 Out of Combat Healing)

[Reusririasuir 0]

A short ways away was a loud buzzing sound. Hovering near a group of flowers, was a Wind Wasp. Reu felt ready to leap out and strike at the Wasp, as he prepared himself to do so, a loud crunch erupted from underneath his foot. His cover blown, Reu had to abandon his dreams of attacking and plan only on dodging the attack from the Wind Wasp. Doing so however, allowed Reu to easily dodge the incoming blow with no worries whatsoever.

 

Man, that was close, but my dodge, heh, that was so cool! Backflip followed by another backflip!

 

 

ID 15268 BD 2 MD 2

 

Reu 30  / 31

Wind Wasp 20 / 20

[Reusririasuir 0]

Now that they were both out in the open, it was much easier for Reu to strike out at the Wind Wasp. Reu was excited, he became thrilled at the idea of combat with a powerful enemy. Clearly this was was a powerful enemy to test himself against. Reu swung his sword in a broad arc, finding his target; consequently the Wasp was too disorientated from the blow to launch a proper attack. Reu found himself able to easily side-step the flying monsters' attack.

 

ID 15268 BD 6 (4 + 1 Savvy + 1 Dog Tags = 6) MD 4

 

Reu 30  / 31

Wind Wasp 18 / 20 (-2)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Not willing to give any ground, Reu found himself circling looking for an opportunity to lash out. For several moments the two circled, meanwhile Reu could heard the sound of the quickly-moving stream to his right, and the sounds of the wildlife around them. Circling, slowly circling, the two exchanged steps. First a bit to the right, then a sudden movement back to the right. Actually, both were so paralyzed by the others movements that they both failed to see opportunities to attack.

 

ID 15269 BD 2 MD 4

 

Reu 30  / 31

Wind Wasp 18 / 20

[Reusririasuir 0]

Lashing out, Reu went for a haphazard strike, one which left him flailing and off-balanced. Quickly shuffling his footing, he was able to perform a very acrobatic roll and slip the Wind Wasps incoming attack. As he came up out of the roll, Reu quickly spun about, levying his swords at the creature in front of him. The two animals of war began circling each other again, with slow, deliberate movements.

 

ID 15270 BD 2 MD 4

 

Reu 30  / 31

Wind Wasp 18 / 20

[Reusririasuir 0]

Once again the sequence repeated, Reu launching an attack he wasn't prepared to launch, and missing, meanwhile the Wind Wasp would counter-attack, leaving Reu no choice but to jump out to the side to avoide being damaged by the Wasps ferocious strikes. As the Wind Wasp flew by, Reu could hear the uninterrupted sound of its buzzing, and not having a choice, Reu felt compelled to cover his ears. The sound was horrible to Reu, loud, and like grinding sandpaper on sandpaper.

 

ID 15271 BD 2 MD 4

 

Reu 30  / 31

Wind Wasp 18 / 20