[PP-F2] Quest for Venom <<Long Live the Queen>>

[Piera 0]

Piera had been a bit busy of late. Not long ago she had completed the quest 'Earning a Living' with Lee's help. This of course enabled her with the ability to open up her own shop. But the question was where. She searched for quite a while before settling on the third floor. It wasn't too high leveled, had a nice area and the floor had good alchemical reagent materials for her to collect easily. Which was essential for her to level up her craft. But while she had indeed claimed her 'shop', she hadn't set it up and opened it quite yet. She wanted to open with something special. An item that not many had. In her grinding, she had heard a rumor about an area boss that respawned and dropped a potent venom that one could apply to their weapon. That would definitely sell well. Piera was a bit worried about being not quite high enough level to breeze through it so immediately knew she was going to need some help. Lee was busy grinding and since he was the same level as herself that might not work out quite well. Same went for Carmine. Lowenthal seemed distracted as of late so she didn't feel up to bothering him with something fairly trivial. That left Jomei. The brunette relaxed in safe zone and sent out a message to her ginger friend asking him if he was busy and if not, if he felt up to assisting her in collecting some venom from a boss on floor two.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei smiled as he walked into his shop on the Second Floor. He felt as thought it was forever since he had set foot in this place, and it felt good to be home. Jomei had just gotten back from trip to the Fourth Floor, where he visited a newly re-opened tailor's shop in the hopes of getting a new set of armor to call his own. His old jacket seemed a bit outdated.. and definitely would be showing signs of battle if it weren't for the game's mechanics. So with a lift of his hand, Jomei opened up his inventory and scrolled through until he found the new set of threads. Tapping on the item with his finger, the clothes on his body momentarily glowed a bright light. The bright light changed shape before dimming back to the regular lights and shadows of the game. He looked down at himself with a grin on his face, the armor Ariel had made for him was perfect, it even came with a cloak. His light chuckles were interrupted by a *ping.* Jomei lifted his head to see a small mail icon in front of him. Tapping on it revealed he was sent a message from his friend Piera, stating she needed assistance fighting a boss on this same floor. Jomei smirked and replied to her message, stating he would be there shortly. He then closed his menu and turned for the door. Upon walking off of his store's front porch, Jomei let out a sharp whistle, calling for Adere who was perched on a small roof above him. She flew down and perched on Jomei's shoulder. The two made their way to the rendezvous with Piera.

 

It did not take long for Jomei to find his friend relaxing nearby waiting for him. He was approaching from behind her, and decided to send a slight surprise her way. He quickly looked at Adere and pointed at Piera, telling her to fly over to her. Adere hopped off of Jomei's shoulder and swooped over to Piera, switching to her shoulder and nudging her head against her face. Jomei soon followed after laughing, "Hey there Piera.. Guessing you want to fight the Queen?"

[Piera 0]

Piera was zoning out, thinking of the positives and negatives of being stuck in this game as she often did. Suddenly a yawn took over her mouth, stretching it wide as her eyes closed, not noticing a small fowl flutter onto her shoulder. Thus she was quite surprised when she felt something soft nudge her cheek. "GAH! Oh jeez Adere..." THe brunette's hands had flown up protectively but now went limp in relief as she sighed and pet the little owl's head. "Just about gave me a heart attack. Wait..."

 

Her brain finally kicked in gear as it put two and two together and she looked around before her eyes settled on Jomei's form before she broke into a smile. "Sneaky bugger." She chastised as he laughed and approached the pair. Nodding at his question she elaborated, "Yup. I've heard she drops this cool alchemical venom and I'd really love to open my shop with it as a special item. Have you fought her before? Not too hard, is it?"

[Jomei 0]

Piera mentioned she wanted the venom dropped by the Queen to use in her alchemic shop. Jomei remembered he actually already owned <The Matriarch's Stinger>.. two in fact. Should he simply give them to the girl to use in her shop? Surely he was not going to use them any time soon.. then again, what would be the fun in that? Jomei chuckled, "Aye, I've taken her on before. Twice in fact." He scratched at his chin, thinking of the two times he took on the nasty bug, "I don't remember her being too much of a challenge though.. Easier than other bosses I have fought." He pointed his finger at her and placed his other hand on his hip, "What you really have to worry about it her minions.. They can get you when you least expect it." The last time Jomei had fought this Wind Wasp Queen, she cllaed upon her lackeys to fight him whenever she felt threatened. It really was quite a hassle. However, this time he would not be alone.. so if that were to happen again, it should not be a problem. "Maybe we will get lucky this time and not have to worry about them while fighting Queenie.. I do know , however, we need to take out a few of them first to get her to spawn. Nothing too difficult though, maybe only 3 or 4." Jomei crossed his arms, "But don't worry.. if things start looking bad, I'll draw their attention off of you."

[Piera 0]

Piera's eyebrows raised slightly as Jomei mentioned that he'd actually gone against this floor boss two other times. But her smile returned as he reassured that it was fairly easy to beat considering that it was still technically a boss. "That's good then. This'll be my first boss!"

 

The brunette straightened and paid close attention as her ginger friend pointed to her seriously and explained what she in particular would have to look out for. She nodded faintly as she listened closely to her guildmate's rundown of how this fight would likely go. Piera frowned in thought but nodded once again. "Makes sense, queen bee an all that. Do they have any special attacks or anything like that? Paralysis, poison or something?" Piera was a bit wary of encountering unfamiliar monsters and since he had gone through this multiple times, wanted to make sure she knew everything she could before going into the fight.

 

As Jomei crossed his arm and stated seriously that if things looked bad, he would draw their attention off of her, she gave a sad sort of crooked smile. "Thanks Jomei. I'd prefer it not come to that though." Piera doubted that his life would be in any danger due to his high level...but it was a death game and she'd prefer not to take any chances. Shaking her head from such thoughts, she used her index finger to scratch Adere on the side of her neck, wondering if her shoulder was more comfortable than her owners or perhaps the owl wanted a change of scenery. "Should we head out then?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei shook his head, "No, they don't have anything special like that.. The only special attack the queen can do, like I said, is just call to the aid of her minions during battle... which could get to be a pain. Hopefully we can take her out in enough time so we aren't overwhelmed by it." Jomei had to rethink it over for a moment.. he was almost positive the queen and other wind wasps did not have any special modifiers.. Maybe he was just mixing them up with other enemies he had faced. He was hoping his assumptions were right, for Piera's sake at least. 

 

Jomei let out a slight chuckle, "Id rather it not come to that either.. but if it comes to that, thats what I will do. You have things to come back to, and I'm sure I will be the one to hear it if anything were to happen to you." he made light of the situation by joking that Lee would kill him if he let anything bad happen to Piera. He placed his hand on the shoulder opposite of where Adere sat, "But don't worry.. thats worst case scenario. I promise we will both be fine." He then turned around confidentially, facing in the direction where the exit of town was.. despite not being able to see it at the current moment, "Alright, lets head out." The two began to walk through the city towards the gates of Urbus.

[Piera 0]

Piera felt a bit more relieved as he assured her that the wasps didn't have any special attacks or anything weird like that, other than the queen's ability to summon more monsters to her aid. "Heh. I'm sure you can take her out in enough time. I just hope I can keep up and pull my own weight. Kinda wish I'd forced Lee to come to be a meat shield." He was still a level or two behind her though and was busy grinding to catch up.

The brunette chuckled along with her friend as he agreed that he'd rather not have to put his life on the line for her but her smile drooped just a little as he said that he still would. Her expression developed into a frown as he explained that she had things to come back to and that there would be consequences for him if something happened to her. "Hey, c'mon, you have things to come back to too. Lowenthal, the guild, Carmine. What would I say to them, huh?" She sort of avoided talking about what Lee would do to him. Or what would become of him. She stopped for a moment as the ginger rested a hand on her shoulder and she gave him a bittersweet crooked smile at his promise. "Yeah, you're right. It's just a buncha bugs." Piera followed him as he turned and walked towards the gates as Adere hooted softly on her shoulder. With a sly smile, the bespectacled woman asked, "Don't suppose you have any Raid?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's ears seemed to perk up when Piera mentioned Carmine's name. Though his face may not have been currently visible to Piera, the soft hum he let out signaled the mention of her made him smile. He lifted up his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah. Guess you have a point." he turned his head to Piera, his smile now visible "But like I said, we will be fine." He brought his hands back down and placed them into his pockets while looking up at the sky, the sun shining on his orange hair. "We both have a lot of people depending on us, so lets not think like that." He laughed at Piera's comment about him having bug killer, "You're the alchemist, lass.. I should be asking you that." 

After exiting the city, Jomei quickly scanned the area trying to remember where he last saw the Wind Wasp Queen. He pointed froward at a forested area off in the distance. He then brought that arm in front of him and opened his menu, equipping his rapier. "You ready?" 

[Piera 0]

Piera glanced to the side as her friend acknowledged that she had a point and she couldn't help but smile happily at his smile, thinking cutesy things about her two friends with a little spring in her step. As the sun hit his already flaming hair, the brunette couldn't help but appreciate how he looked right now and idly thought that Carmine was a lucky lady. "Yup! We're going to astound them with our martial prowess and everyone shall flock to my new shop!" She skipped ahead with a leap and punched her fist into the air before pausing and looking back at the ginger before finishing ruefully, "To buy my pitiful level one potions, heh."

As Jomei laughed at her question about the Raid, Piera pouted and explained, "I'm sure there is a potion for that but I definitely can't make it yet. Though when I can you can be sure that I'll be making plenty of that." If there was one thing she was happy about being stuck in SAO it was that there were no bugs. At least in safe zones. No spiders lurking in the corners of rooms.

As they left the city, the young woman paused along with her companion as he looked around before pointing in a particular direction and then equipping his weapon. Opening her own menu to ready herself, a black two handed spear with golden wrapped blade appeared in her hands before she nodded, her expression more serious now. "Yes. Lead the way."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei turned his head back to Piera when she mentioned her potions as being pitiful at such a low level, "Potions are potions lass, they will always help out. Hell, a level one potions saved my life once when I was out in the caves of Floor Seven.. Nasty place to be alone.. So trust me, they won't be 'pitiful'" giving the girl a confident smile and a thumbs up. He looked forward again, drooping his head slightly, "The only 'pitiful' thing here is owning a music shop with songs that can't do anything" he ended with a sigh. 

Jomei led the two through the fields surrounding Urbus. It had been quite a while since he had last encountered these wasps, but he had a general idea of where their targets could be. For the sake of saving up their health, the two were easily able to bypass any of the mobs hanging around in the fields, which consisted of mostly bears and dire wolves. Despite the large distances between themselves and the mobs' aggro zones, Jomei kept his hand on his sword.. ready for anything.

The amount of trees around them slowly began to increase, starting off with only a couple scattered trees and eventually becoming more infested with them. The two had only just entered the area with only a few trees when Jomei began to hear that familiar buzzing noise. He threw his arm out to the side to signal to Piera to hold her position. He quickly looked to his left to see a small swarm of Wind Wasps flying towards them. He pulled his rapier from its sheath and held it pointing forward towards the enemies flying towards them. Two of the wind wasps broke off and hovered at a distance while another two went towards the players. Jomei leaned in to Piera with a smirk on his face, "You take the ugly one on the right, I got the ugly one on the left." 

Jomei lowered his rapier to the side of his body and took off running towards the Wind Wasp to meet his opponent head on. The wasp, initially flying with its head first, swung its body around so its stinger was pointing towards Jomei. As the distance closed to only a few feet, Jomei quickly spun his body to dodge to stinger attack. Now behind his foe, Jomei quickly thrusted his rapier forward, into the back of the wind wasp. 

-------------------------------

ID: 26866
BD: 7(+3) =10
DMG: 5
MD: 1 

-------------------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64

Piera: 23/23

Wind Wasp 1: 15/20

Wind Wasp 2: 11/11

((If you don't mind controlling your wind wasp, you can. If not, I have no problem working two))

Edited August 8, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

Piera couldn't help but smile alittle as Jomei tried to insist that potions were always useful no matter the level. But the smile drooped in shock as he explained that a pitiful level one potion saved his life when he was on the seventh floor. "Jomei..." She breathed in worry even though there was nothing to be done now of course. Her smile returned a little with his thumbs up and she nodded. "Alright, I'll do my best to get better though." As his head drooped, stating that what was truly pitiful was being a music shop owner with useless songs, the brunette leaned her spear against her shoulder as she put her free hand on her hip. "Hey, I'm sure they can do something. Don't be so down on yourself." 

As they walked through the fields, her green eyes darted around behind the shield of her glasses, keeping her wits about her as they navigated their way around other mobs. Piera was sure that they would have to fight at least one or two of them, but Jomei managed to lead them away from the aggro zones. The further they went into the fields, more and more trees began to crop up. She was admiring the scenery when she saw Jomei throw his arm out in front of her and immediately froze, scanning the area ahead. It was then that she finally heard buzzing sounds. Seeing the ginger's head turn to their left, she looked that way as well and saw their prey.

Glancing at Jomei as he leaned in with a smirk, she couldn't help but smile in return at his words. "Oh gee, thanks. I can't wait to see a pretty one." Holding her Bleeding Lance at the ready in front of her, the brunette watched as her ginger friend took off at a sprint to the wasp on the left. Gripping her weapon tight, Piera took a deep breath before running to the right at the other wasp, which upon second glance she realized was just slightly smaller than the other one. She twirled the staff of her spear in her hand, slashing downwards at the pesky insect.

ID: 26903
BD: 4
DMG: miss
MD: 8
DMG: 1

HP:

Jomei: 64/64

Piera: 22/23

Wind Wasp 1: 15/20

Wind Wasp 2: 11/11

Edited August 9, 2015 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

Jomei chuckled at Piera's comment, "And if you think the Queen is any better looking, you'd be in for quite the disappointment." he spoke as he flowed with his movements, dodging the enemy's attack and driving in his rapier for the initial strike. As the wasp he was fighting struggled to recover from the attack, Jomei took a quick glance over at Piera to see how she was doing. It was then he realized this would be the first time he would see her in action, which made him both excited and nervous. Her form seemed alright, so it was obvious this was not her first fight. However, her attack just missed its mark, allowing the wasp to get a hit on her. Jomei had almost forgotten about his own opponent, who had flown up above him to try and land a diving strike on top of him. He quickly stepped backwards out of the way and then slashed his rapier down at the insect. 

--------------------
ID: 26968
BD: 4(+3) =  7
DMG: 5
MD: 4(-2) = 2 
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64

Piera: 22/23

Wind Wasp 1: 10/20

Wind Wasp 2: 11/11

Edited August 9, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

Piera grimaced as her twirling downward slash missed and the wasp buzzed left and took the opportunity to sting her. Eyes immediately going to her health bar, it thankfully only went down by one point. Pausing for a moment as she regrouped, the brunette almost looked away from her enemy as she heard Jomei's comment about the Queen. She tutted exhasperatedly and retorted to him, "I'm sure she's quite beautiful and regal in...bug standards. Probably." The spear-woman smiled at the monster as it buzzed angrily at her and she wondered what it would think of their conversation. "I'm sure these guys think that she's quite a catch. Too bad they won't get a chance to court her." Piera emphasized her sentiment by quickly sidestepping to the right and slashing upwards diagonally from the left before holding the spear's staff at the ready in case the wasp made a counter attack. But the wasp was still to quick for her, buzzing around her slash before stinging again. Of course her pitiful attempt to guard was useless as she didn't have a shield or even the Block skill so an additional point of health was taken from her, causing Piera to growl in annoyance under her breath. "This guy's really determined to defend her honor I guess."

--------------------
ID: 27018
BD: 1
DMG: miss
MD: 7
DMG: 1
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 21/23

Wind Wasp 1: 10/20
Wind Wasp 2: 11/11

Edited August 9, 2015 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

Jomei felt a smirk come to his lips, but decided to not comment back at Piera's jokes. He was enjoying the conversation between the two as they fought, as it helped to take off the pressure of the battle. However, in this instance, Piera's opponent was managing to avoid everything she threw at her, and retaliated back at her. He felt as thought his comments during the battle may have taken her focus away or made her nervous even.. so he decided to keep any more jokes or talking to himself for now, unless it pertained to the battle. 

Almost immediately after his last strike, the slash across the Wind Wasp's body, Jomei followed up by activating his sword skill. His rapier began to glow a gold hue as he brought the sword past his body, and then forward again in a powerful thrust. As the tip of his blade pierced through his enemy, a wave of static electricity seemed to pass through the insect, signaling he had paralyzed his enemy. Jomei dislodged his blade and turned to Piera, "Do you need any help over there?" he spoke in a more serious tone, making sure she was alright. 

------------------
ID:27044
BD: 9(+3) (Paralyze)
MD:5(-2) 
------------------
HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 21/23

Wind Wasp 1: 4/20 (-6) (Paralyzed until next turn)
Wind Wasp 2: 11/11

Edited August 10, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

Piera's lips pressed together in a thin line as she eyed her health bar before glaring back at the cause of it. Why was she doing so badly? She wasn't fast enough or focused perhaps. Taking in a deep and steady breath, the brunette circled the wasp as she twisted the long spear in her hand to point it at the monster. As she heard Jomei's question behind her, she silently shook her head, concentrated on the task at hand. She didn't have much pride, but she at least wanted to be able to take out one or two monsters without assistance. Her life wasn't in any danger....yet, so Piera was determined to kill this thing on her own. The brunette simply waited, watching the insect closely as it buzzed about and just as it lost patience and zoomed forward to sting her, she shot forward to stab it head on. She wasn't quick enough though. While she managed to get a hit on it, it wasn't before the wasp managed to sting her yet again. At least she didn't miss again though. Glancing over at Jomei quickly, Piera grimaced at seeing that his prey was nearly dead already while she had only just managed to score a hit. "Damn luck o' the Irish." She muttered to herself as she glowered at her wasp.

--------------------
ID: 27218
BD: 7
DMG: 2
MD: 7
DMG: 1
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 20/23

Wind Wasp 1: 4/20 (paralyzed)
Wind Wasp 2: 9/11

Edited August 11, 2015 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

He watched as Piera landed a hit on the wasp and smirked. She was gonna be fine, so now he just needed to finish off his wasp. As he turned his head, he noticed the wings of the bug begin to twitch back to life, since the paralyze effect was wearing off. He let out a sigh as he took a large step forward and shoved the tip of his blade through the head of the wasp. As he quickly pulled the sword back out, the  Wind Wasp exploded into blue data fragments. He looked around at the immediate area, searching for the other two wasps that made their approach along with these two. A familiar buzzing drew his eyes to behind him, where another wind wasp, slightly larger than the last one, made its approach. 

--------------------
ID: 27228
BD: 5(+3) = 8
DMG: 5
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 20/23

Wind Wasp 1: -1/20
Wind Wasp 2: 9/11

Edited August 11, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

Piera's feet twitched as she shifted, not staying in place for long not only because of her impatience but also to make it harder for the bug to hit her again. She wanted nothing better than to stab the stupid bug into the ground (repeatedly) but knew that that little feat was a bit beyond her currently and so focused on her breathing to calm her down. She had to settle for the little pinpricks of damage that she did now until she got better. The wasp was fast, aided with having wings and being a smaller target. But she had a bigger weapon and health bar at least. Her impatience got the better of her and she stepped forward to slice upwards at the monster, but it was too quick for her. It took advantage of the opening and dived to sting her once again, infuriating her further. "Augh, stupid bug!" She growled in annoyance under her breath, glancing to see another one coming and now realizing that Jomei must have already killed his respective partner. Biting the inside of her cheek, she stated, "Sorry Jomei. Could you hold that one back?" Even though she had asked him to join her on this quest for this very reason, she had hoped that she would be able to pull her own weight alongside her friend.

--------------------
ID: 27380
BD: 5
DMG: (miss)
MD: 6
DMG: 1
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 19/23

Wind Wasp 1: 0/20
Wind Wasp 2: 9/11

Edited August 13, 2015 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

Jomei frowned as he looked over his shoulder to see that bug getting the better of Piera. He gripped at his sword as the other one quickly approached him, considering going to her aid. He didn't want to see the girl die.. despite still having a lot of HP. He took a step towards her before she called out to him, asking if he could hold off this other one. He looked at the girl for a moment before smirking, "Got it!" He quickly spun around as the wasp was arms length from his position. With a quick thrust, he brought his sword upward, the blade piercing through the insect and passing through the other side. Dislodging his sword, he jumped back and looked over his shoulder to Piera again, "Ill take this one out as soon as possible then I will come help you out!" 

--------------------
ID: 27488
BD: 7 (+3)
DMG: 5
MD: 4
DMG: miss
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 19/23

Wind Wasp 3: 27/32 
Wind Wasp 2: 9/11

Edited August 14, 2015 by Jomei

[Piera 0]

Piera was glad that Jomei was so accommodating, catching the attention of the other wasp that had arrived. She was determined to kill this one wasp herself, even if it killed her. Well....maybe not to that extent, but the sentiment was the same. Her green eyes narrowing behind her glasses, the young woman darted to the left...before suddenly feinting right. She was quick enough to clip the wasps legs, but not quick enough to avoid its own counter attack. The insect buzzed angrily at the damage she caused it before zooming in and stinging her shoulder, causing her to wince more at the close presence of the bug to her face than actual pain. Hearing Jomei's plan, she replied, "If this thing is still alive by the time you take out your second monster....then I think I just might let you."

--------------------
ID: 27553
BD: 5(+1Acc)=6
DMG: 2
MD: 8
DMG: 1
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 64/64
Piera: 18/23

Wind Wasp 3: 27/32 
Wind Wasp 2: 7/11

Edited August 15, 2015 by Piera

[Jomei 0]

Jomei smirked at Piera's confidence in taking out her little friend. He truly admired that in people, especially those he could call his best friends. That being said, he needed to make sure to take out this tough unusually tough mob so he could help the girl if need be. He ran towards the wasp, sword arm pulled back with the blade pointing forward. When he was within striking range, he brought his sword forward in an attempt to skewer the insect once again. But this one was fast as it managed to hover right above his sword. As his body continued to move forward, the wasp came back down, its stinger piercing straight into Jomei's forearm. As the stinger passed through his arm to the other side, the shock caused Jomei to drop his blade to the ground as he quickly pulled his arm back to shake the wasp free. He scowled at the mob as he held his wound. ~"Damn pest."

--------------------
ID: 27572
BD: 1
DMG: Crit. Fail
MD: 8(-2) = 6
DMG: 1
--------------------

HP:

Jomei: 63/64
Piera: 18/23

Wind Wasp 3: 27/32 
Wind Wasp 2: 7/11

Edited August 15, 2015 by Jomei