[SP-F1] Of levels and loot -Completed-

[Nikki Styx 0]

A cool breeze swept across the grassy fields of floor 1, bring the sweet smell of spring flowers with it to all who ventured out of the starting city today. In the sky a few clouds swept lazily along casting obscure shadows as they went. There was no threat of rain today, in fact as far as days went this would clearly be one of the better ones. Out in the fields small herds of monsters roamed about, disinterested in anything accept grazing. It was a day to hunt.

Nikki sat on a small rocky outcropping that stuck awkwardly out of a small grassy hill. From here she could see a large area around her. She was taking an opportunity to have something to eat before setting off on her own private hunt. It had been just over a month now, here in SAO, and she had become fairly well adapted to living here. It was pretty easy actually. Everyday she went out, killed a few dozen mobs, looted them, went back to town, and sold the loot. It would pay for food, and boarding and kept her days interesting. It also provided her the opportunity it level up so that she could get to the front lines and really challenge the game.

A few lazy moments passed as she continued to eat her food, a boar meat sandwich with butter and what tasted like cheese, before Nikki decided that it was time to start up. She still had half the sandwich left, so she made sure to check its durability timer before packing it up. Luckily it still had 3 hours left so she would be able to have the rest later. She smiled at her fortune as she wrapped the article of food up and used her menus to deposit it back into her inventory. She took a few more moments now hovering her fingers over the menu as she read out the few items she had. She did this everyday, checking, rereading, and wondering why she ever needed to have so much in the real world when she needed so little here.

A small cloud passed by overhead casting a shadow over Nikki shocking her back to focus. Right it was time to go, those MoBs weren't gonna clear themselves. She smiled to herself, closing her menus and with a small heave pushed herself off the rocks with her arms. She landed neatly on the ground, touching down with her right hand in a sturdy little three point landing. As she stood she re opened her inventory menu and equipped her weapons of choice, her spear and shield. So far she had proven to be a devastating foe using this combo, taking advantage of the shields defense and the midrange attack options she had, she had also began developing her own attack skills, utilizing the shield itself as a weapon to finish off stagger opponents at close range.

"well there is no time like the present." She announced cheerfully, before heading off to the nearest group of boars.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Boar. Probably one of the easiest MoBs to kill in the entire game. Depending on the level they had 3 to 5 health, and had a 1 point damage attack. They were predicable and slow, and to top it off they were easily intimidated into fleeing. They would drop Boar Meat and Boar skin, and on occasion Boar tusks, as well as possibly having 1 to 5 G if you were lucky. Most level 1 players with daggers had no problems killing a boar. But when they were in herds with multiple agro, a solo player could find themselves in a heap of trouble really fast. For Nikki however this was no problem, as she had learned how to deal with the them a while back. The secret of course was to pull agro and engage them one at a time. At least until she perfected her crowd control and AOE attacks.

Nikki Crept up on the small herd, making sure to avoid their detection range as much as possible. Like others before she would pull them by entering into the detect range of one and having it follow her to a safe engagement zone. This particular group had no more than 6 boars, there was a lot of experience to be had here, and some decent loot if she could pull it off.

The first boar was easy, he was a lvl 1 that had actually wandered a small distance from the herd. Nikki wasted no time in moving into its immediate range and getting its attention. As all other boars do it challenged her, snorting loudly and pawing at the ground with its hooves. Normally she would then have a few seconds to back away and drop agro, but in this case she wanted him to attack. She waited now presenting her shield as a target for the animal to charge. Sure enough as soon as its attack timer ended it charged.

Nikki took a few steps back as she prepared for the impact. If she could crit hit it, and get a flank bonus, she could end it in one shot. All she had to do was deflect it off her shield and retaliate, press it to the side and she would have her flanking. It wasn't to big of a challenge, and even if she failed miserably she still had plenty of health to keep going with.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage, No Retaliation

8-9 Block Succeeded, Retaliation

10 Block Succeeded, Critical Retaliation

Dice Roll = 4

The boar plunged headfirst into her shield, this time with an intensity she had no expected. Nikki could feel her feet sliding on the soft earth, and she very nearly lost her footing. Still though she held her self upright and pressed back eventually slowing the boar and then stopping it all together. She was now locked in a pushing match with a miniature tank. She would have to be careful now and put some distance between it and herself so she could try again.

[Nikki Styx 0]

A small grunt escaped Nikki's lips as she continued to push back against the boar, but she would find it impossible to win this pushing match while her feet kept sliding. Instead she would need to change the game and start getting offensive. She had a few options now, the first was to try her Punt technique. Punting is a crowd control option that can knock a single opponent back several feet, or with practice multiple opponents can be hurled great distances. She had only the level to try and push this one back a few feet. Her other option would be to stab around her shield and try to land a shot on the boars face. Hands down this was probably the easier route to go.

The boar continued to push against her, and now like before her feet were slipping again. Nikki needed to decide her course of action fast, or she would be knocked over and take damage. The spear was easier but the punt was safer. If she failed the spear she would be knocked down for sure, but if she failed the punt she may be able to move around again. She would attempt the punt.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Punt Fail, Fall Over, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Punt Fail, Deflect Boar, No Damage

8-9 Punt Succeeded, Boar thrown 5 Feet, Follow up with Quick Strike 1 Damage

10 Punt Succeeded, Boar thrown 5 Feet, Takes 1 Impact Damage, Follow up with Quick Strike 1 Damage

Dice Roll = 4

Nikki pressed her weight into her shield, bringing her spear arm up and pressing into it as well. Everything she had went into this attempted attack. Sadly it failed. Luckily though, in her attempt she had managed to gain a better footing thanks to her weight shift and managed to deflect the boar to her left side. That had been another close one. It was hard to believe that such a low level creature was giving her these problems. Still she now faced a bigger problem still, her deflection had put the MoB to her rear flank, and it was geared to attack again. She would need to be fast if she wanted to avoid damage.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki cursed under her breath as she tried to think of what to do. A small bead of virtual sweat had began to run down her cheek. It was amazing how real the game could feel sometimes, and how much it tried to emulate real life. If she made it out of SAO alive this would be another amazing feature that she would be sure to talk about in her review. For now though she had to fight and she needed a plan.

There was something she had seen in a movie once, a technique that might work here, if she was fast enough. It was an anti-cavalry maneuver that resorted to using spears, pressing their back end into the ground, bracing it with ones foot and allowing the fast moving opponent to run into it. If she used her shield too she stood a better chance of avoiding damage and scoring a hit. Looking up to see a still full health bar Nikki made the decision to try it out.

The boar had started to charge so Nikki only had a second to respond. She spun around on the spot kicking up several small chunks of loose soil as she did. Just like the movie she dug her spear into the ground and stomped her foot down onto it to lock it into place, and finally she crouched down presenting her shield as a target again. She thought for sure this would also increase her defense but there was no stat change.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Anti-Cav Fail, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Anti-Cav Succeeded, Boar Hits Shield, No Damage

8-9 Anti-Cav Succeeded, Boar Hits Spear, 1 Damage

10 Anti-Cav Succeeded, Boar Hits Spear Critical, 2 Damage

Dice Roll = 8

Nikki had managed to get herself ready just in time and avoid the boars wrath, and as she crouched waiting for it to bounce off her shield again she was shocked to feel the impact on her spear. Of all places it had run straight into the sharpest point of her defense taking 1 damage to itself. She made a mental note of this technique for later battles as it would no doubt have future uses. The boar grunted and squealed its displeasure as it back off of her tip and prepared for another attack. Before it could though Nikki would use this chance to get aggressive and finish it off.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Taking a quick Leap back Nikki prepared to attack now and finish this boar. She had spent too much time fighting with it already and at this rate she was not going to be able to hit her kill quota for the day. She was going to use one of her quick thrust combos that would sacrifice her defense for the chance to score multiple hits. On a perfect run she would score 5 successful strikes at 1 damage each, but if she failed the boar would hand out 2 damage instead. Moves like this were always a gamble, but she felt good about her odds.

Leaning in Nikki pulled her shield to the side as she prepared to push off of her rear leg for the attack. Launching this one requires a small amount of momentum so it was necessary to do it like this. As she fell foreword into her stance she tightened her legs and then in one swift movement she pressed off lunging towards the boar with surprising speed. She also had to time her attack properly, starting too soon meant half of her combo would be guaranteed to miss, and if she started late the boar was guaranteed a retaliation. It had to be perfect and nothing else would do.

Rolling Dice

1 Attack Fail Critical, Take 2 Damage

2-5 Attack success, 1 Hit Combo, 1 Damage

6-9 Attack success, 3 Hit Combo, 3 Damage

10 Attack success Critical, 5 Hit Combo, 5 Damage

Dice Roll = 4

She had started too soon, way too soon. 4 of her intended strikes had fallen short of the boar all together. Perhaps she should have used her sprint ability to close the gap faster, especially if she wanted to land all those shots. Still though Nikki had managed to land a single shot, which put her that much closer to finishing this thing off. Naturally she had wanted it done sooner, but now she could do it. She was in range for it. The boar itself seemed to have had enough of her as well as it lowered its head in preparation to charge.

[Nikki Styx 0]

This was it now, The boar was down to its final hit, and Nikki was not going to let it get away again. Too long it had been lucky, but that was over. The boar continued to paw the ground while she took a couple of quick jumps back giving them both some room. She even began preparing herself now, focusing on the animal preparing for the impacts, and getting ready to end it. For a brief second she even wondered how she would handle the other 5 MoBs if she had such difficulty with this one. She erased that thought from her mind however, as this one was clearly a fluke, and it was done.

The boar continued to paw the ground, looking almost as though it had bugged out and gotten stuck in its pre attack phase. If this happened she would simply need to walk up and poke it to win. At this point that would have been terribly unsatisfying, so instead Nikki prayed it would charge soon. Sure enough a moment or two later and the boar kicked off running full tilt towards her again. Nikki crouched down as she prepared to block.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage, No Retaliation

8-9 Block Succeeded, Retaliation

10 Block Succeeded, Critical Retaliation

Dice Roll = 6

Nikki threw her shoulder into her shield at the last second, slamming the boar with everything she could muster. It bounced back and she quickly fired off a jab in retaliation. Sadly her spear met with nothing but air as the boar bounced back again to safety. Nikki let out a shrill shriek of frustration at her miss. "THERE IS NO WAY THIS IS HAPPENING... DAMN YOU.." She shouted at the animal as she stood up straight to stare at the MoB.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Now she was upset, frustrated beyond belief, and ready to do something stupid to try and finish this fast. No more defense, it was time to assault this animal with everything she had. Nikki intended to use her rapid hit combo again to kill the beast and this time she wouldn't miss., all she needed was one shot, all she needed was one damage but that wouldn't satisfy her now. She wanted to destroy the boar, to overkill it, Land all her hits, as if to set an example and remind all other MoBs why they should lay down and die for her. Nikki let out her breath as she lunged back at the boar again. All of her focus was on killing this one animal, and in her mind nothing else mattered. She didn't even care about the loot or the experience, all that mattered is it would die.

Rolling Dice

1 Attack Fail Critical, Take 2 Damage

2-5 Attack success, 1 Hit Combo, 1 Damage

6-9 Attack success, 3 Hit Combo, 3 Damage

10 Attack success Critical, 5 Hit Combo, 5 Damage

Dice Roll = 9

"From hells heart I stab at thee..." She hissed furiously as she rushed foreword assaulting the boar 1 last time. Right off the bat she felt her spear connect. It struck the boar in the right shoulder, causing 1 damage. This was it, She had killed it, but she wasn't letting it off that easily. Instead she struck again, this time missing, her third strike also missed. Even in death this proved to be the most evasive boar in all of SAO. her fourth and fifth attacks landed however striking the boar in left shoulder and left leg respectively.

The boar stood still a few moments as the final damage calculated and then it exploded into pixels. Nikki let out a shout of joy that could probably have been heard at the city gates. It was also then that she got her level up notification, and loot pick up. For a moment she stared at the notifications, almost in disbelief of their appearances.

It took her a second to realize that she could go through and check her inventory now, but once she did she was happy with the results. She had managed to pull a Boar Pelt and a Boar Tusk. Though she hadn't managed to get any G, she was still able to make use of the items she had gotten. With a smile she closed her windows and prepared to attack the next boar.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki now turned her attention to the remaining boars, 5 of them. She had been lucky that this one had wandered off on its own, that had left it easy to pull, and easy to deal with. 3 of the closer ones had clumped up, making it more likely that she would attract the attention of more than one if she tried, but on the other side of them another solitary boar had split off from the group. This would be her target.

Nikki brushed a long strand of blue hair from her face, tucking it back behind her ear. She really wished she had cut it a bit before logging on but who would have known there avatars would be turned into themselves. It was also a shame that there existed no way to alter their current in game appearance. There was no time to dwell on this trivial fact however as she was still burning daylight. Without another absent thought she raised her spear and shield and began to circle the boars to get to the singled out creatures.

For safety's sake Nikki chose to keep a fair distance from the MoBs , there was no point in getting ambushed and killed by creatures like these. In real life she wouldn't have been able to deal with the shame of loosing to such small creatures, then again if she did now she'd be dead and wouldn't have to live with the shame. Perhaps that was the lighter side of this whole experience, even if she lost the game she would not have to hear about it. As she crept along Nikki made sure to keep low, as if she were some predator stalking her prey in the tall grass. This would decrease her detection threat, as well as to anyone who saw it looked cool.

[Nikki Styx 0]

As Nikki neared her target boar she was able to view its stats. It was a level 2 monster, which did nothing for its attack, but did afford it one extra hit point. She smiled to herself knowing that if anyone here could do it, it was her. She took her time approaching it, working hard to stay out of the detection range of the other animals. Her goal was not to pull this one away, but instead to attack it flat out with her combo attacks, and rather than rely on her shield she wanted to try and evade its retaliations using her high level of agility.

The boar continued to ignore Nikki as she approached it, and even turned its back on her entirely granting her the chance to double her damage while performing a backstab. She couldn't believe her luck as she stopped a few feet from the boar. She could hear it breathing it was so close now, one thing was for sure, it was not the most observant of creatures. She crouched a few more moments before leaping into the air towards the beasts hind quarters with her spear in front of her.

Rolling Dice

1 Attack Fail Critical, Take 2 Damage

2-5 Attack success, 1 Hit Combo, 1 Damage

6-9 Attack success, 3 Hit Combo, 3 Damage

10 Attack success Critical, 5 Hit Combo, 5 Damage

All outgoing damage doubled for BackStab

Dice Roll = 1

The attack had been an incomparable failure. She had the perfect opportunity to kill the boar in one shot, and instead she missed all together, but not only that she landed hard on the ground next to the boar. Naturally this triggered its agro and retaliation, which resulted in it landing a solid attack across her midriff. Nikki gasped in shock as she rolled away from the boar, eventually getting to her feet. she crouched down again holding her shield out in front of her as she prepared for another attack from the animal.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki rose back to her feet. She paid no heed to the injury as one could not feel pain in SAO. Still this was certainly not her day and she could tell that luck was not on her side. All things aside though this boar would not go unpunished for its crimes of goring her. She had taken 2 damage, but her battle healing would fix that soon so long as she just blocked. A smile crossed her lips as she crouched down keeping her shield up and her eye on the pig. It wouldn't hurt her again, and soon she'd add its loot to her inventory before moving on to finish its friends off. The boar soon charged and Nikki held her ground digging her feet in and bracing her shield.

Rolling Dice

1 Block Failed , Battle heal 2 points, Take 1 Damage

2-9 Block Succeeded, Battle heal 2 points

10 Block Succeeded, Battle heal 2 points, Boar Takes 1 Impact Damage

Dice Roll = 1

It had happened again. Another failure. This time the animal had run right over her, tossing her easily to the side. Nikki hit the ground with a thud, sending up a cloud of dirt. What the hell was wrong with her today, she couldn't win to win. Luckily her battle healing had triggered due to her inactivity, and she had actually gained a point of health. Still she wished to have avoided damage all together.

Nikki stood up now dusting herself off. Anger was welling up inside her as she turned to face the MoB. It had already turned so she lost the chance at a rear strike., that was a damn shame as now she had to kill it slowly again. A small frustrated sigh escaped her as she began walking towards the boar again.

[Nikki Styx 0]

She was going to try attacking with her combo strike again. She prayed that it would land this time so that she could finally get some control over the scenario. The boar itself began pawing at the ground again preparing to attack. It was of little concern now as Nikki was in range to strike. All she had to do was land 2 hits. @ strikes to do 4 damage and end this miserable creature. That couldn't be so hard could it? She crouched down again, and in a flash leapt foreword, striking at the boar again.

Rolling Dice

1 Attack Fail Critical, Take 2 Damage

2-5 Attack success, 1 Hit Combo, 2 Damage

6-9 Attack success, 3 Hit Combo, 6 Damage

10 Attack success Critical, 5 Hit Combo, 15 Damage

Dice Roll = 10

In a flurry Nikki exploded landing strike after strike. Each one hit for critical damage, which given her level was devastating to the small boar. After all was said and done Nikki had landed a full 5 hit combination, striking the boar in its face and chest respectively. It had been the fastest and most accurate she had been ever, and even the system seemed to lag a bit as the boars health depleted to nothing. Even she had to stop and comprehend the damage that had been done, having not believed it herself.

Still as the beast vanished she couldn't help but feel the surreal effect of doing so much damage so quickly. She had to be careful now and not let this go to her head. This had been an extremely lucky show and was no real indication of her power. If anything she could get herself killed banking on doing this again. Despite it all Nikki continued to feel a sense of pride though.

[Nikki Styx 0]

The young woman stood for a moment, debating whether or not she should continue on. So far she had had little luck with the boars, missing many of her attacks and even sustaining a minor wound. It stood to reason that things were just not in her favor. Still She had managed to kill 2 of the 6 and that was a good start. Maybe, just maybe her luck would improve. Of course that's when Nikki noticed one of the boars was unaccounted for. She pulled the first, snuck up on the second, avoided the cluster of 3, so where was the last one?

Her question was answered almost immediately as she felt an impact from behind. It was sharp and fast and she knew instantly that it was her missing boar. It had been lucky and wandered around, and just now entered into agro range. She fell to the ground struggling to turn over and cast the animal off of her. She could hear it squealing loudly in her ear as it tried to keep goring her. She let out a small yell before turning sharply on to her back beaming the creature with her shield and knocking it onto its side.

Nikki stood up quickly, her health had dropped another 2 points but she was still going to be fine. She could see the animals health too, turns out she had managed to cause it 2 points of damage with her shield as well. It had been a level 1 so that meant it only had one more point of health left. Still considering how terrible her luck had been she decided to opt into a defensive stance and try to score a retaliation against its next attack. She didn't have to wait long for the boar to stand up and try again. It took only a second to recollect itself and charge her, but this time she was ready. With a steel gaze she held her ground and prepares for the assault.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage, No Retaliation, Battle Heal 2 Damage

8-9 Block Succeeded, Retaliation, 2 Damage

10 Block Succeeded, Critical Retaliation, 4 Damage

Dice Roll = 5

The boar collided with her shield giving way to another pushing match. Nikki had not managed to retaliate against the creature, but instead held her ground, opting instead to take the Healing bonus and try to out muscle the animal. She pressed hard against it, though still saving no ground as she slid backwards on some loose dirt. She needed to do something fast now though, if she continued to slide back she would be pushed into the agro range of the other 3 boars. There really was only one option for her and with a fair amount of grace she spun to her right allowing the boar to slide free of her shield and dart past her.

She took a second to reface the animal and take a few steps back. It had agro locked on her now, she had caused it enough damage that it couldn't lose interest in her. This meant she could lead it away from the herd and deal with it a little ways back. She was prepared to deal with another attack as soon as it charged.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki continued to back up, pulling the animal a little further from its herd. She had no intention of being ambushed like this again. It had been her mistake that had allowed it to happen, and she would not repeat it again. After a few more steps the boar stopped and pawed the ground with its hoof. This meant it was going to charge again, so like before Nikki crouched down preparing to defend against her opponents attack. She need to keep calm and focus now, Up until this point she had been letting her confidence and her own feelings get the better of her. All she had to do was keep focused and this boar would be no problem. She took in a deep breath and released it as the boar charged again.

Rolling Dice

1-3 Block Failed, Take 1 Damage

4-7 Block Succeeded, No Damage, No Retaliation, Battle Heal 2 Damage

8-9 Block Succeeded, Retaliation, 2 Damage

10 Block Succeeded, Critical Retaliation, 4 Damage

Dice Roll = 2

The boar smashed into her shield again, this time Nikki felt her own guard break as she fell back onto the ground. The boar had run clean through her and she had been powerless to stop it. She could feel her own frustration welling up inside her with her failed attempt, but she had to keep control. If she lost it now she would make a mistake and that could be fatal. Instead all she had to d was dust off, pick up, and attack the animal herself. Nothing fancy, just get it done. She was also strongly considering going back to the city after this as today was not a good day at all.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki got back onto her feet a little slowly. She still had lots of health left, but she just felt an overwhelming feeling of defeat. Perhaps it was time for her to return early today, right after she killed this boar. She tapped on her body gently shaking free the dirt n dust that had dirtied her clothes after the last hit. She was amazed at how filthy she had become, and upon thinking of it she had hit the ground a few times already. she let out a sigh as she raised her spear and shield again. Now it was her turn to attack.

It was almost like an explosion of energy that anyone watching her wouldn't have been able to predict happening. One moment she was standing still, and then without warning she was charging the boar with her spear held high. Luckily the animal had not gotten too far away from her and the gap closed quickly. In a moment she was upon it and she took the opportunity to attack now before it could prepare. With a small shout Nikki leapt into the air towards the boar.

Rolling Dice

1 Attack Fail Critical, Take 2 Damage

2-5 Attack success, 1 Hit Combo, 2 Damage

6-9 Attack success, 3 Hit Combo, 6 Damage

10 Attack success Critical, 5 Hit Combo, 10 points of Damage plus Critical 10 Points of Damage

Dice Roll = 7

The attack was a success as three of the intended strikes landed on the boar. It let out a squeal as the system calculated 6 damage to add to the animals health bar. Moments later the bar disappeared and the boar along with it. As always Nikki got her loot notification, but she was not so interested in that right now. She let out another sigh as she turned to head back to the road. "Today is definitely not my day" her words were tired and sore, much like she was feeling at this point. It took her a couple minutes to get back to the road, and once there she opened her inventory, and pulled out her half a sandwich that she had been saving. There was no time better than right now to eat something. It only took her an hour to get back to the starting city.