[PP-F1] Secret Medicine of The Forest

[9Lives 0]

9Lives moved fluidly in an arc minding the aggro range of the other creature as he circled around behind the <> pulling the blade back and charging once again the his attack. Saix didn't call for the Switch which through off the rhythm he was accustomed to but 9 lives figured it was a tactic to keep aggro. once in position behind the creature he activated <>. The sword ability activated properly propelling him forward and slashing into the back of the <> with a successful strike.

[Saix 0]

<> Shrieked in anger, it's wide mouth atop it's bulbous body gaping and trailing foul liquid. Starting to turn, it was clearly intent upon attacking it's new attacker, with 9Lives having drawn aggro. As the broad body turned, almost comically upon it's stubby little root feet, so that it might direct it's whip like vine arms in an attack against 9Lives Saix pulled his sword to the right, positioning his foot on his rearward right foot and stamping hard with his left, twisting at the waist and activating One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <> with a flare of blue upon his blade. Yet as the creature turns, it sways barely out of reach of the short blade of his sword, and his attempted attack misses, leaving his partner with the creature's aggro.

Saix: 15/15

9Lives: 11/11

Flowering Little Nepent: 8/12

[9Lives 0]

9 Lives was now in the creatures reach and his partners attack came up short. Now holding aggro he pulled his shield up to charge for defense. his shield began to blue the distinctive blue as he pulled his blade up and set it on his shoulder. <> lashed out in a <> attack that met 9Lives shield shattering teh thorns on the vine and sending the vine off to his left. His sword now glowing the golden color, he activated <> critically piercing through the creature in a clean motion with him landing next to his partner.

[Saix 0]

Nice hit! thought Saix with appreciation as his friend's <> blasted through the creature in a digital spray of red, the frame flashing to show that he had landed a critical blow. Trying to capitalize on the momentum, and pull aggro away from his friend rather than leave him the target of their enemy for another turn, Saix cocked his blade up over his shoulder, letting the <> activate in a pale wash of blue light enveloping his sword as he brought the blade downwards in the One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <>. His blade fell like a hammer, slamming into the <> with a frame flash that signaled his own critical blow. <> howled in rage, butting towards him with it's vines, meeting his shield in a crash of sound. It's Hp had fallen into the <>, it was entering <> state.

Saix: 15/15

9Lives: 11/11

Flowering Little Nepent: 4/12

[9Lives 0]

as he landed next to his partner, Saix dashed forward with his own attack with a frame flash of his own. 9Lives pun on his right foot pulling his blade back up onto his shoulder to prepare for a second strike. the Blade flashed golden once more and he activated <>. once again he leapt forward thrusting and cleaving through in a flash with another Critical.

[Saix 0]

They were moving in total harmony now, like a machine with the sole purpose of destroying the enemy before them. Each moving to seize the opportunity afforded by their consecutive attacks. So as 9Lives landed a second critical, Saix cocked his blade downward, crouching low to engage the <> before releasing the One-Handed Straight Sword Skill <>. This was a skill he had rarely used before, and he failed to account for the shortened range. With a curse, he realized that the range of this particular skill was no conducive to his short sword at all, as his attack missed completely. He would need a longer sword to make full use of these skills, that much was clear.

Saix: 15/15

9Lives: 11/11

Flowering Little Nepent: 2/12

[9Lives 0]

9Lives landed next to his partner once again who laughed his own attack, this time stationary in movement. 9 Lives pulled his blade black behind him to charge for his next attack. once Saix attack slashed up 9 Lives activated <>, not waiting to see if Saix' attack landed. The short distance made his attack swing all the quicker as he slashed downward tearing through the <> which sprayed out form the killing blow covering 9lives in a textured coat of green that quickly faded as the creature exploded in a polygon eruption form the 4th critical hit landed on the creature.

[Saix 0]

That sound like shattering glass was music to his ears as <> burst into prismatic fragments and faded away following the final attack that carved it's Hp down to zero. The battle had gone by without incident, but it was still the strongest creature he had faced in the world of SAO yet. If he had fought the creature alone, there was no telling how dangerous things might have become. He was relatively sure he had the higher Hp value, but he had missed a few of his attacks, and would have been far more vulnerable had he not had his friend with him to help mitigate damage by sharing the aggro and catching the creature between them. But that was the whole point of developing their coordinated battle tactics, to ensure survival by crushing their enemy between them.

Saix: 15/15

9Lives: 11/11

Flowering Little Nepent: 0/12

[Saix 0]

As the «Flowering Little Nepent» faded into digital oblivion, a menu popped up before him, giving him a list of accumulated experience and col for the battle. Glancing only briefly at the values, Saix's attention is instead focused on the item reward for the destruction of «Flowering Little Nepent» a strange seed like globule called «Little Nepent's Ovule», the quest item that he needed to turn in to complete the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest that had brought the two out here in the first place. With his required item safely in hand, Saix turned to his friend with a grin. "We should get going before any additional mobs spawn. We can be back in Beginning City within the hour." He was eager to get out of the field and back to the city. Not only could he then turn in the quest, but the duo could rest and try to recuperate. While it was true that their digital bodies did not require rest in the same way as their physical bodies, repeated use of the < in combat would bring about mental exhaustion, which was just as deadly. An exhausted mind would make mistakes, and mistakes would get you killed.

[Saix 0]

Roughly One Hour Later: Starting City

The journey back to Starting City had been without incident, by sticking to the main road the duo had managed to avoid any encounters with <> and other common monsters of the First Floor. Between Col and Experience Points, the day had been a very profitable experience. No doubt they would be able to afford to eat well tonight, treating themselves to something a little nicer than their normal Crust of Bread and Water. It was hard work trying to stretch their money to last longer, but as they spent more time on the battlefield, their fortune was continuing to rise. Currently Saix stood before the NPC where he had accepted his instance of <>. Handing the large, rather lumpy, moldy smelling <> over to the grizzled Quest Giver, who was himself an Alchemist, Saix was just glad to have finished the task. "Ah, great, ye found it. With this I can make a powerful medicinal potion." Said the NPC, earning a blanch from Saix at the imagined taste of the lumpy and moldy smelling <>. Geez, no thanks. It was disgusting enough as it was. "As promised player, yer reward is right here." Continued the Alchemist NPC Quest Giver, as a window appeared floating before Saix, displaying quest completion Experience Points, Col, and the <> One-Handed Straight sword that had made driven him to find and complete the quest in the first place.

[Saix 0]

COMPLETE