[SP - F5] «Feeding the Enemy» [COMPLETE]

[Takao 0]

The settlement of Armadillo was nothing more to him than a small speck in the distance. He had traveled far enough away from the city that the safety it offered barely registered with him anymore, or at the moment at the very least. The dunes he climbed were becoming taller and taller, and although he definitely was not a fan of the intense heat and uncomfortable environments, he couldn't deny the beauty of the view.

- -

» ID : [[ 26812 ]]
» LD : [[ 19 + 2(Vitamins) = 21 ]]

+1 Material

[Takao 0]

Takao slowly slid down one of the tallest dunes in the area until he nearly reached the bottom. The sheer size of it had blocked out the sun and provided the base with a good deal of shade, which Takao had decided to take advantage of. Despite the fact that he didn't exactly feel tired, overexerting himself in the simulated heat was sure to be a bad thing, of that he had no doubts. He settled into the base of the sand dune and exhaled a long breath, idly glancing around what little bit of the desert he could see.

- -

» ID : [[ 26813 ]]
» LD : [[ 5 + 2(Vitamins) = 7 ]]

[Takao 0]

Takao climbed to his feet and stretched his arms after a few well deserved minutes of respite. He brushed the grains of sand off his clothes and stretched his legs next, then cracked his back. The incline of the sand dune didn't make for an ideal spot to rest, at least in terms of comfort, but the cool shade from the sun that it provided was more than enough to make his stiff body worth it. He started off in the direction of the town, now expressing a new desire to stay close to the settlement in the event that something should happen.

- -

» ID : [[ 26814 ]]
» LD : [[ 6 + 2(Vitamins) = 8 ]]

[Takao 0]

Fifteen minutes of trudging through the harsh desert environment had brought him much closer to Armadillo than he had been prior, the city appeared much larger in the distance as it drew closer with each step he took. He had no plans on returning just yet; after all, he'd only spent about an hour searching for a familiar, even if his results had come up dry. He held out hope though, as he was apt to do, as he was sure he would find a beneficial familiar eventually.

- -

» ID : [[ 26815 ]]
» LD : [[ 5 + 2(Vitamins) = 7 ]]

[Takao 0]

* Familiar Attempt *

Takao idly glanced around the desert from atop another tall sand dune, his green eyes scanning the vast expanse for anything of interest. He could see several monsters spawning in the distance when he focused on a particular area, and some others already roaming around. He noted that there was a remarkable lack of potential familiars that he could attempt to tame, so after a sigh of disappointment he moved on.

- -

» ID : [[ 26816 ]]
» LD : [[ 11 + 2(Vitamins) = 13 ]]

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao slowed his walking pace to a complete stop upon feeling the sand beneath his feet shift. He glanced down at the loose sediment and raised an eyebrow out of confused interest, then took a few steps back after noticing that the sand had stopped shifting beneath his feet and moved on ahead. "Uh... huh. I have a bad feeling about that." He said aloud to himself as he recalled his fight with the Sand Shark field boss weeks earlier.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Takao reached for the sword on his back just as the ground in front of him erupted into a geyser of sand. He nearly choked on his breath as he stepped back and away to put distance between himself and whatever had burst through the loose sediment. As the debris settled, the silhouette of a massive serpentine monster slowly revealed itself. It was green and yellow with tough looking hide and menacing red eyes that glowed and glared at him. Takao drew his sword and frowned slightly, the sheer size of the monster was enough to put him on edge.

[Takao 0]

"So... there's no way we can talk this out, huh?" Ever the optimist, or perhaps ever the naive, Takao mustered up a half-hearted attempt to reason with the monster whose only desire was to see him dead. Maybe it was just his way of coping with the situation of being confronted by a large beast of a monster that was well over triple his size in terms of length. The hissing Sand Snake hastily lunged at him, prompting Takao to attempt and succeed at dodging the incoming beast that slithered across the ground. "Yeah... I'm starting to think you don't want to talk."

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26836 ]]
» BD : [[ 2 ]]
» MD  : [[ *5* - 3(EVA) = 2 ]]

» CD : [[ 4 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 50/50 HP ]]

Sand Snake stats for reference:
Damage : 5
Mitigation: 2

[Takao 0]

Takao returned the stare that the monster bore into him, though not with anywhere near the same intensity or hostility. He raised his sword and positioned the flat of the blade across his back, his ears listening for the low hum and whir of the sword skill he prepared with the practiced <<pre-motion>> he had effortlessly slid himself into. The Sand Snake seemed to hesitate for only a moment before it snapped forward, slithering at him with greater speed than Takao had been expecting. He allowed the system to take over and shot forward at a greater speed than he could've achieved on his own, his blade cleaving into the side of the monster and leaving a large red wound in its wake. As the post motion caught up with him, he found himself unable to evade the monster's massive tail that crashed into his chest and sent him tumbling across the ground.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26840 ]]
» BD : [[ 8 ]]
» MD  : [[ *9* - 3(EVA) = 6 ]] (+1 critical damage)

» CD : [[ 10 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]] (5(DMG) + 1 critical - 5(MIT) = -1HP) (2 HP Recovered)

« Sand Snake »
[[ 44/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

[Takao 0]

Takao slowed his pace by slamming the palm of his gloved hand on the ground, and used the third point of contact to right himself and regain his balance. His legs tensed and he pushed off the ground, breaking into a brief sprint that quickly closed the distance between himself and the Sand Snake. Before the monster could react, his sword bit into the beast's digital flesh and tore open a second large wound down its length. The massive tail whipped around, though Takao had little problem with diving and ducking into a tumble to evade it. A fleeting glance to the monster's curved health gauge that floated beside its head made his eyebrows furrow in thought. "I'm doing less damage than normal. No debuffs, so it must have natural damage mitigation."

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26859 ]]
» BD : [[ 6 ]]
» MD  : [[ *1* - 3(EVA) = -2 ]]

» CD : [[ 12 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Sand Snake »
[[ 38/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Just as he completed his strike and adjusted his stance to inflict another chunk of damage, the monster shifted suddenly. It whipped its entire body around and snapped its large tail forward, aiming straight for Takao's... well, his entire body, really. The large tail was nearly double his length along, and rivaled him in overall size. It crashed into his chest with tremendous force and a thunderous thud, which sent him flying back a good ten meters before his body finally made contact with the sand and resumed tumbling another fifteen meters. When he finally slowed himself to a stop he was face down in the sand, exhaling a loud yet muffled groan of displeasure into the sediment. "Ohkhey - nao yew've thdun it!" He shouted to the monster as he worked on spitting out the sand in his mouth.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26860 ]]
» BD : [[ 3 ]]
» MD  : [[ *10* - 3(EVA) = 7 ]] (+2 critical damage)

» CD : [[ 11 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]] (5(DMG) + 2 critical - 5(MIT) = -2HP) (2 HP Recovered)

« Sand Snake »
[[ 38/50 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

Having disposed of the sand that had managed to get into his mouth after sustaining the hit, the damage of which Takao noticed had already been healed by his <<Battle Healing>> skill, Takao pushed off the loose sediment and sprinted back up to the Sand Snake. It swiped its body at him again, though he dropped down to his knees and used his momentum to slide just barely underneath the tail before returning his his feet. He also made sure to take a mental screenshot of the feat he'd just pulled off. As he returned to his feet, Takao placed both hands upon the handle of his sword and swung down on the Sand Snake. The blade crashed into the monster's body and tore through another chunk of health before Takao put some distance between him and it again to let it thrash around and hiss in simulated pain.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26862 ]]
» BD : [[ 8 ]]
» MD  : [[ *1* - 3(EVA) = -2 ]]

» CD : [[ 12 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Sand Snake »
[[ 32/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

[Takao 0]

His sword swung wide and missed the large serpentine monster that stood before him by a small margin. The monster returned the favour by swiping its massive tail straight at him with incredible force, though Takao happened to be both agile and acrobatic enough to evade by performing a single backward hand spring. He landed with a soft thud as the soles of his boots hit the hard soil beneath, and his attention stayed locked and fixed on the Sand Snake. "I've never fought monsters with additional attributes unless they were field bosses..." He mused, narrow eyes watching the monster carefully. "I haven't seen any other players in the area either. Maybe the system is spawning things based on my level and parameters?"

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26863 ]]
» BD : [[ 2 ]]
» MD  : [[ *8* - 3(EVA) = 5 ]]

» CD : [[ 1 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 32/50 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

"This is gonna take a while..." He glanced at the monster's health gauge after managing to land another successful hit. It slowly ticked down until it hovered just barely a point above the halfway mark. From his very quick calculations, he deduced that the monster had at least five more hits in it before it would go down. He inwardly groaned, though his internal annoyance was interrupted by the massive body that leapt off the ground. It came crashing down on top of Takao, who simply stared up at the sky with an expression that mixed pure terror and shock as he laid supine underneath the body of the monster.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26865 ]]
» BD : [[ 5 + 1(Concentration) = 6 ]]
» MD  : [[ *9* - 3(EVA) = 6 ]] (+1 critical damage)

» CD : [[ 10 ]] (2 HP Recovered)

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]] (5(DMG) + 2 critical - 5(MIT) = -1HP) (2 HP Recovered)

« Sand Snake »
[[ 26/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

[Takao 0]

Takao stared at the thrashing beast as it threw its body around from side to side, pounding against the sand in its primal rage. His eyebrows remained furrowed and his eyes focused, not permitting even a single of the monster's movements to go unnoticed. When an opportunity presented itself, as the monster tired itself out and opened up for an attack, Takao stepped forward and closed the gap between them. His movements were swift and precise, hacking into the body of the monster with a swing with practiced skill before backing away from its thrashing body.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26867 ]]
» BD : [[ 6 ]]
» MD  : [[ *8* - 3(EVA) = 5 ]]

» CD : [[ 3 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 20/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

[Takao 0]

"This thing is pretty tough." Takao's thoughts began to wander with the time the monster afforded it as it thrashed around like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Any movements that got close to Takao were evaded with ease, though no openings to strike in retaliation were opened either. "This is just a monster in the fields five floors away from the boss fight, too... I'm starting to wonder what the boss is going to be like."

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26868 ]]
» BD : [[ 4 ]]
» MD  : [[ *1* - 3(EVA) = -2 ]]

» CD : [[ 1 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 20/50 HP ]]

Edited August 8, 2015 by Takao

[Takao 0]

Despite being deep in his own thoughts, Takao kept a keen and observant eye on his serpentine adversary as it thrashed about. The look in his eyes betrayed his emotions, for his expression appeared glazed over and blasé whereas the fight was actually rather exciting. Putting aside floor bosses, this was likely one of the strongest monsters he'd faced so far. The Sand Snake lashed out at him as he continued to move in a circular direction around it, making the mistake to open itself up for an attack. Takao stepped forward with his right foot and swung his sword downward in an arc simultaneously, the sharp blade bit into the serpent's body and chewed away its health before Takao backed off and put a reasonable amount of distance between himself and it.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26869 ]]
» BD : [[ 10 ]] (+2 critical damage)
» MD  : [[ *3* - 3(EVA) = 0 ]]

» CD : [[ 7 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 12/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) + 2 critical - 2(MIT) = -8HP)

[Takao 0]

Takao checked both his own and the monster's health gauge, though his own brought a curious expression to his face. He hadn't lost any health yet, though he had been thoroughly thrashed about by the much larger monster. He shrugged it off and attributed such an anomaly to his vastly unreliable <<Battle Healing>> skill that would tick in seemingly at random. He dodged the monster's attack, and the monster dodged his own, returning the two to the state they had been in just prior with no headway made on either side.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26870 ]]
» BD : [[ 3 ]] (+2 critical damage)
» MD  : [[ *7* - 3(EVA) = 4 ]]

» CD : [[ 8 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 12/50 HP ]]

[Takao 0]

The monster began to make more and more mistakes the lower its health got, the simulated rage coursing through digital veins provided him with ample opportunity to strike. Takao stepped up to the monster after just narrowly avoiding the massive tail that swung overhead and raised his sword. As his foot connected with the ground, his torso twisted slightly, and his blade snapped forward like a whip to cleave through the monster's serpentine body. By the time the monster had reacted and swung again for where Takao had once been standing, he was already gone, having retreated back to a safe distance.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26872 ]]
» BD : [[ 6 ]]
» MD  : [[ *7* - 3(EVA) = 4 ]]

» CD : [[ 6 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 6/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

[Takao 0]

"Alright... just one more hit." Takao told himself as the monster's health gauge passed the orange threshold and switched to a red colour. His gaze became fixated on the monster, knowing that one more hit with his current damage output would end the fight, and he'd be free to return to his earlier endeavours. He ducked, tucked, and rolled under the monster's massive tail as it swung over his head one last time, and plunged his blade into the monster's body down to the hilt. The damage proved to be substantial enough, and the Sand Snake burst into hundreds of shimmering shards of data.

- -

« Battle Sequence »
Takao » Sand Snake

» ID : [[ 26874 ]]
» BD : [[ 8 ]]
» MD  : [[ *5* - 3(EVA) = 2 ]]

» CD : [[ 1 ]]

« Takao »
[[ 59/59 HP ]]

« Sand Snake »
[[ 0/50 HP ]] (8(DMG) - 2(MIT) = -6HP)

Result
+1 Material