OP-F8 Exploring the 8th Floor

[Reusririasuir 0]

Arriving in Florenthia Village, Reu walked out of the teleport gate located in the center of town, and found the nearest bench to sit on. It occurred to him that out of all the floors he visits now, Floor 8 was probably the one he spent the least time on. From his understanding, there was a lack of major quests on this floor and so front-line players tended to avoid spending time here. However, Reu knew that because some of the other players were passing the floor up for the quests on higher floors, that they were probably missing all kinds of treasure trinkets and hopefully heaps of col. Smiling from his location on the bench, Reu hopped up, ready to leave town and go find something worthwhile to get into.

[Reusririasuir 0]

Walking through Florenthia was a challenge in and of itself. The town was suspended by giant tree branches, with homes and shops and all kinds of other places hidden among the insides of the branches. On top of that, was the fact you could literally fall 'out' of the town, and into the perilous, monster-filled waters below. Reu didn't know of any players who had fallen into those depths and survived to tell about it; no doubt the monsters were very strong. However, if you stuck to the main paths, you would generally be just fine navigating Florenthia.

 

With this in mind, Reu kept his feet moving until he stood on the edge of town, looking out over several inter-connected trees which would lead him deeper into this forest of giants. He still wasn't sure what he would find out there, but he was ready to get into some adventure!

[Reusririasuir 0]

Several hundred yards outside of town, Reu found himself staring at new problem. The usual path the players took towards 'Honey Dew Town', was now impassable. Two branches from two separate trees had interconnected here, creating a bridge with which players could transfer trees. But it seemed that these branches had broken off, and must now reside in the waters below. Thinking his journey might quickly be over, Reu decided to take some time to look around for another path.

 

After several minutes of searching it hadn't taken long for him to find out that there wasn't going to be another bridge across. It was plain to see that there was now a sizable gap between the two trees with no other way across. Knowing that his Acrobatics skill MIGHT get him over there, Reu decided not to risk a jump. Looking around again, Reu noticed all the hanging vines on this side of the tree. Suddenly, Reu had an idea...

[Reusririasuir 0]

Backing himself up several feet, Reu grabbed the vine as tightly as he could. He REALLY hoped this wasn't about to break. "Ok, it's just like being in the circus, or being George from George in the Jungle." Finally, banishing his fear of heights, Reu ran towards the gap and jumped, clinging tightly to the vine between his arms.

 

He went from having a thick, solid branch beneath his feet, to hovering several hundred feet in the air on nothing but a thick, green vine. Swinging through the air was liberating but Reu knew he was only going to get one shot at this, as he neared the apex of his swing, Reu jumped. Arms and legs flailing he flew through the air, landing in a crouch on the far trees' branch. Reu couldn't believe it, he had made it! Looking up, he realized, they're were no vines on this side. He'd have to find another way across on his trip back.

[Reusririasuir 0]

Turning, Reu began his walk up the tree branch which would take him towards more of the Eighth Floor villages. Reu was walking among giant leaves, some of which were filled with rain-water droplets the size of Reu's head. Skirmishing across the area Reu kept his eyes peeled for monsters. If the terrain had changed, then most certainly this path had also become much more lethal. Still, the opportunity to look for treasure was too good to ignore, and so Reu slowly climbed the branch in front of him. It wasn't like climbing a cliff, it was more like hiking a very steep hill or mountain-side. Eventually, Reu neared the top. As he did so, he cautiously popped his head up in order to scout the area.

 

In front of him, was a large toucan-like bird, blocking the trail. Equipping his sword, Reu charged the bird, hoping to get in a good first attack! As he came at the bird, he ripped his blade across its stomach before it could take off, and landed a critical hit! The bird, too injured to counter-attack, simply took to the air, and eyed Reu with its gleaming eyes.

 

ID 17230 BD 10 MD 2

 

Reu 39 / 39

Toucan 14 / 20 (-6) (1+ 3 Weapon + 2 Critical)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Sweeping down, the toucan attempted to strike Reu, however Reu skillfully evaded it by running up a secondary branch, and then used the branch to jump on the back of toucan. Once seated on its back, Reu felt the toucan begin to freak out. It began flapping its wings and flying all around the tree, as the pair neared another branch, Reu knew he would need to act fast. He took his sword and drove it straight down into the beast, while also jumping off onto the nearest branch. Turning around, he stared the flying Toucan down.

 

 

ID 17231 BD 6 (7 - 1 Toucan Flight Evasion Bonus) MD 5 (6 - 2 Armor + 1 Toucan Flight BD Bonus)

 

Reu 39 / 39

Toucan 10 / 20 (-4) (1+ 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Suddenly the flapping toucan dove at Reu claws first. It's giant claws ripped into bark and tore into Reu all at the same time. Reeling, Reu feebly swung his sword in an attempt to drive the beast off but had very little effectiveness. The giant, colorful bird of prey landed on a nearby branch, watching Reu carefully.

 

 

ID 17232 BD 1 (2 - 1 Toucan Flight Evasion Bonus) MD 9 

 

Reu 34 / 39 (-5) (3 + 1 Toucan Flight Damage Bonus + 1 Critical)

Toucan 10 / 20 

[Reusririasuir 0]

Looking at the perched birds position, Reu suddenly saw a way to reach the creature. Running forward, Reu jumped off the branch he was on, seemingly falling to his doom, Reu landed with a thud on another branch. Running up that branch, Reu went up and over the edge, landing on another branch, finally he was able to use this branch to come up above and behind the bird. Jumping a final time, Reu launched a falling downard sword-strike into the Toucan. The bird, surprised by the attack, attempted to fly off but flew itself straight into a branch. Dizzily, it settled in the same position it was before, mere feet in front of Reu.

 

ID 17233 BD 8 MD 1

 

Reu 34 / 39 

Toucan 6 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Standing this close to the Toucan, Reu charged at the bird, but with a mighty flap of its wing, it sent Reu flying. Slamming against a branch, Reu fell down onto the one below it. As soon as he landed, Reu started running to his left. And sure enough, the giant bird attacked the spot Reu had just been with a giant viscous beak strike. Luckily, Reu managed to escape just in time.

 

ID 17251 BD 1 MD 4 (6 - 2 Armor)

 

Reu 34 / 39 

Toucan 6 / 20

[Reusririasuir 0]

Running through the tree-branches, Reu again jumped from branch to branch with acrobatic skill. Finally, he was on the same branch as the bird and so he ran up, and slashed at it's stomach. Executing a series of backflips, Reu found himself more then able to escape the ill-placed return strike. Thankfully for him, this large bird was having trouble maneuvering in such tight quarters.

 

 

ID 17252 BD 6 (5 + 1 Savvy) MD 2

 

Reu 34 / 39 

Toucan 2 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Despite the trouble the bird was having in such a tight quarters, it was still a viscous foe. It would use its giant claws and its giant mouth to tear whole pieces out of the branches. It was so dangerous that Reu was having trouble getting close enough to attack, all he could do was sit back and dodge, and hope to escape unharmed.

 

 

ID 17253 BD 1 CD 10 MD 3

 

Reu 35 / 39 (+1 Battle Healing)

Toucan 2 / 20

[Reusririasuir 0]

Charging the bird one last time, Reu ripped his blade across its colorful, feathered stomach for the final time. As it perished, Reu checked the drop loot notification and was happy to see he picked up one material and a hundred col. Sitting back a moment, Reu took stock that, during the battle, the bird had carried him to an entirely different area. He looked around, and a feeling loomed on him as he realized had no idea whatsoever of where he was now at.

 

 

ID 17254 BD 7 LD 12 (9 + 2 Dog Tags + 1 Search)

 

Reu 35 / 39 

Toucan 0 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

 

+1 Material

+100 Col

[Reusririasuir 0]

Pulling up his map, Reu tried to figure out where he was out; unfortunately, the area around him was black. He was able to find where he had come from and some other places he had visited, but those were in the northeast corner of his map, and he was very much west of those things. With the twisted terrain of floor 8, he knew he could be taking any number of paths trying to find his way in that direction too. But, he didn't have much of a choice, Reu thought to himself. He would just have to explore this area and see where he would end up at.

 

Reu 36 / 39 (+1 Out of Combat Healing)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Walking East, Reu took note of the intricacies of this map design and how complicated everything seems. The branches he was walking on wove in and under and through the trees themselves. One branch would go on for miles, while others might end after several hundred feet. Often times, the only way forward was climbing up or jumping down a level.

 

The branches themselves were thick, gnarly, wooden pieces which both helped and hindered your progress. You would be able to climb easier by being able to grab the handholds, but at the same time, they were rough and hard to walk on. You'd have to watch your footing or else you risked slipping off or having your foot fall into a massive crack. It was difficult going to say the least. After many slips and falls Reu found himself at the top of another branch, and looking around, saw that the only way to keep going was going to be to jump off. Backing himself up as far as he could, he ran towards the gap and jumped. Flipping in mid-air and finally landing on the adjacent branch, Reu was glad he had invested in the Acrobatics skill. If he hadn't who knows if he would have been able to make that jump.

 

After landing he took a long look around, taking in the foliage around him. He was looking for materials to gather, but he didn't find anything. Disappointed he took a long drink from his canteen.

 

ID 17269 LD 8

 

Reu 37 / 39 (+1 Out of Combat Healing)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Suddenly Reu detected movement coming out of the woods. If he didn't have his search ability he likely wouldn't have seen the panter who had an in-game stealth rating of 12. Luckily Reu's search skill was bolstered to a high enough level allowing him to see the beast as it moved out of the green foliage around them. Moving in, the Panther was surprised when Reu attacked IT, but it wasn't so taken off-guard that Reu was able to hit the elusive creature. However, it looked like Reu did scare it from counter-attacking. So now the two were standing out in the open air, staring each other down.

 

 

ID 17270 BD 2 CD 12 LD 13 (10 + 2 Dog Tags + 1 Search) MD 1

 

Reu 38 / 39 (+1 Battle Healing)

Panther 20 / 20

[Reusririasuir 0]

Darting at the panther, Reu flicked his blade across its' side. Drawing blood, Reu immediately turned and threw himself to the side, in an attempt to avoid the predicted counter-attack. Sure enough, the panter had swiped a giant black paw where Reu had just been. Thankful he escaped unharmed, Reu did some fancy sword-play as he stepped back into his battle stance.

 

ID 17273 BD 7 MD 4 (6 - 2 Armor)

 

Reu 38 / 39 

Panther 16 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Once again Reu darted at the cat, this time swiping his blade down across its face. Sending it howling, it ran up through the trees and then attempted to jump Reu from behind, but Reu ready, simply used a quick side-roll to avoid the attack. Stopping himself before reaching the edge, Reu cautiously peered over the edge, realizing that he was only about a foot away from a several-hundred foot drop. Cautiously, he stepped back, away from the edge.

 

ID 17275 BD 6 (4 + 1 Dog Tags + 1 Savvy) MD 5

 

Reu 38 / 39 

Panther 12 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Attacking the cat again, Reu fended off it's leaping attack, and then delivered a strike of his own. The counter-attack he used, was one of a spinning under-cut slash, which allowed him to hit the beasts belly. As Reu hit the belly, the cat roared in pain, and Reu watched its health bar tick ever lower.

 

ID 17276 BD 7 (5 + 1 Dog Tags + 1 Savvy) MD 4 (6 - 2 Armor)

 

Reu 38 / 39 

Panther 8 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Suddenly, the cat darted to the right. Reu, not wanting to lose it, had to keep pace. On and on the pair ran. Clashing blades and fangs and tooth and claw with lethal intensity; neither was willing to stop running, or stop attacking. After darting for what felt like a mile, Reu finally landed a clean strike against the cat, and sent it spiraling down to another branch. Now he stood staring it down, a full branch above it.

 

ID 17277 BD 8 (6 + 1 Dog Tags + 1 Savvy) MD 3

 

Reu 38 / 39 

Panther 4 / 20 (-4) (1 + 3 Weapon)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Leaping down, Reu raised his sword behind him. Whipping his blade around in the final moment, Reu felt the power of critical strike surge as he made contact. The cat fell limp in front of him, and then de-res'd into data; quietly, Reu checked the loot menu. Disappointed that all he picked up was one material, Reu then rushed to open his map. To his amazement, he was back in the 'known' sector. Even better, he was close to Pine Village. It wasn't his original destination of Honey Dew Town, but still, Reu hadn't had his heart set on Honey Dew Town to begin with. Turning, Reu started making his way towards Pine Village.

 

ID 17278 BD 10 LD 4

 

Reu 38 / 39 

Panther 0 / 20 (-6) (1 + 3 Weapon + 2 Critical)

 

+1 Material