PP-F2: Thrill of the Hunt (COMPLETE!!)

[Mack 0]

Standing inside the heavy blackened wrought iron gates of the city of Urbus on the second floor of Aincrad, Mack considered his options. On the one hand, he could start farming trees for lumber within about thirty feet of the city's gates. On the other hand, though, Mack knew from experience just how slowly things went when a player tried to farm lumber from the trees in the forest. The short answer was that it took forever because the game preferred it when players put themselves in danger. His mind made up, Mack unsheathed Guillotine from his back and, holding the blade over his shoulder like a lumberjack, he headed off into the forest to find creatures that would be far from defenseless to slaughter so he could obtain crafting materials.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

ID: 27438
BD: 6 (5 + 1 Charm)
Mack: 27/27
Moose: 9/15 (-6 Dam.)

As Mack moved through the hilly, and heavily forested, region that was the second floor of Aincrad he kept his eyes peeled for for any animal that might be able to harvest some crafting materials from. The soldier stopped for a moment and listened when he heard the sounds of something large moving nearby, it was clearly a hefty animal and, it sounded like it was eating too. Probably not something that would want to eat him and, as he crept closer, he could tell that the animal was eating something that sounded like leaves or other plant matter. Parting a few shooting trees with his hand, the blonde man spotted the thing that was making all of the noise.

A moose, and a rather hefty one at that.

Slipping through an opening into the small clearing where the moose was contentedly chewing its meal, Mack drew Guillotine back over his head and then brought the blade swishing down to slam into the creature. As the moose was too busy eating, it didn't notice or at any rate didn't pay any heed to the warrior. Until the axe blade found its mark, then the moose suddenly cared what was going on quite a bit.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27444
MD: 10
Mack: 24/27 (-3 Dam., 2 DM)
Moose: 9/15

The moose bolted forward several feet before whipping around to face its attacker and snorting in anger. It was then that the blonde behemoth realized, in actuality, just how much bigger that moose was than him. The two of them could look one another in the eye, and Mack was certain that the bull moose was in an entirely different weight class. With almost no warning, the bulky mass of matted brown fur charged. The animals antlers slammed straight into Mack's chest, expelling the air from his lungs in a loud whoosh. The blonde warrior hung there for a moment, just managing to keep his grip on Guillotine then, reaching the decision that holding onto the bearded axe was more important than holding on to the moose, he let go of the animal and fell beneath its hooves. Hussar's Protest saved him from the worst of the damage, but Mack certainly didn't escape unscathed from the exchange.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27460
BD: 10
Mack: 24/27
Moose: 1/15 (-8 Dam.)

As Mack picked himself up off of the ground the moose was already completing its own turn around to get into position to charge again. For being as large as it was, the moose was deceptively fast. With an angry snort the moose narrowed its eyes and charged again. This time, though, Mack was ready and as the moose closed the distance the soldier pivoted to one side and swung Guillotine in a flat arc. In an attack that was part skill and part luck the blade of Guillotine succeeded in slipping below the antlers of the moose and the weapon slammed into side of the giant animal's head with enough force to stagger the creature and send it careening away.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27463
BD: 10
Mack: 29/29
Moose: -1/15 (-2 Bleed)
Bear: 10/18 (-8 Dam.)

As the moose was staggering away, reeling from the massive blow it had received from Guillotine the shambling and shaggy form of a black bear suddenly exploded out of the underbrush. Interestingly enough, rather than trying to attack Mack, the bear made a bee line for the injured moose. Bears were, at times, scavengers and so it was hardly a surprise that this one, sensing that the end was near for the moose, was going to try and finish off the kill to get itself an easy meal. As the bear came hauling mail out of the forest, though, its path took it directly in front of Mack. As the burly warrior was well aware that the moose was dead from the bleeding damage that Guillotine had caused to it, and not wanting to miss this golden opportunity, he swung a downward chop at the bear as it tried to streak by and buried his blade deep in the middle of the bear's broad back before ripping it free again.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27465
BD: 6 (+1 Acc Charm)
MD: 8
Mack: 26/29 (-3 dam, 2 DM)
Bear: 2/10 (-6 dam., -2 bleed)

Crimson blood began to flow freely from the deep gash in the bear's back that Guillotine had caused when it had bitten deep into the animal's flesh. A happy bonus of the strike was that the bear was now, officially, distracted from going after the stricken moose. Indeed, just as Mack had landed the blow on the bear the moose had collapsed and disappeared into pixelated nothingness. So, that would make at least one crafting material for him. Turning his attention back to the bear, which had risen up on its hind feet, Mack launched and over hand chop that found its mark in the bear's left shoulder. But, the bear, not one to be deterred decided the best thing to do with this pesky problem was to crush it, and so it brought down all of its weight in single strike on Mack's shoulders, knocking Guillotine from his grasp as he tried to shove the bear off of him.

[Mack 0]

Mack: 26/29
Bear: 0/18 (-2 Bleed)

As the bear was trying its hardest to crush and otherwise dismember the blonde axe-wielding warrior Mack was well aware of the fact that all he only really needed to outlast the creature. It would bleed out in just a few seconds, just as the moose had done before it. Sure enough, even as the bear was doing its best to try and crush and kill him, slowly it became apparent that the animal was weakening. Its snarls and growls became quieter and its attempts to bite and claw at the unarmed axe-man became weaker and weaker until, almost meekly, it simply dissolved into pixels and was no more. 

Picking himself up off of the ground Mack made his way over to where the moose had died. On the ground, there was a bolt of leather and he gathered it up and added it to his inventory. That done, he returned to the spot where the bear had died. The first thing the hulking blonde man did was to retrieve Guillotine and strap it to his back. Feeling much better to be armed again, he retrieved the bearskin that was on the ground waiting for him and added it to his supplies. Another crafting material. 

[Mack 0]

ID: 27466
LD: 15

Feeling pretty pleased with how quickly, and relatively easily, he had managed to gather the first two crafting materials for the day Mack paused for a moment and considered his options. He was in the forest, surrounded by trees. It really would be a very simple matter to go ahead and gather up some lumber. Or, at least, to thunk Guillotine into the trees a few times to see if anything came out of them. Given how quickly he'd managed to kill both the moose and the bear, the blonde man had to admit he was feeling a bit lucky. Unslinging Guillotine from his back, not more than five minutes after having put the weapon away, he advanced on the nearest tree and swung the axe. Sure enough, there was a spray of wood chips and a piece of lumber suitable for crafting chipped off for Mack to scoop up.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27468
BD: 6 (5 + 1 Acc)
MD: 5
Mack: 27/29
Wolf: 9/15 (-6 Dam)

As Mack was bringing Guillotine back to swing the axe again in another strike on the tree, fully expecting to get lucky and retrieve yet another crafting material in less than fifteen minutes worth of work, he was abruptly interrupted. An extremely angry, and feral, looking grey wolf came bursting into the clearing, foaming at the mouth. Clearly, the animal was suffering from rabies. Wolves were hardly ever to be found alone and the large amount of white foam around the creature's jowls made it clear that it was quite sick. This one needed to be put out of its misery. As the animal came growling and snarling forward, completely heedless of any precautions concerning its own safety, Mack neatly side stepped it and swung the horizontal blow he had intended for the tree into the side of the wolf to land a solid blow.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27470
MD: 7
BD: 8 (7 + 1)
Mack: 25/29 (-2 dam, 2 DM)
Wolf: 2/15 (-7 dam.)

Wasting no time, the slobbering wolf wheeled about and sank its teeth into Mack's left ankle. His heavy leather boot did a little bit to absorb some of the damage, but the vice-like grip of the wolf's jaws insured that some damage still got through. "Damn it," the blonde bruise swore, his voice coming out in a growl. Raising Guillotine in his hands, he drove the iron butt cap of the weapon straight down on top of the wolf's head. There was an audible crunch as the iron cap connected with the wolf's skull. Either unfeeling, or uncaring, the canine creature continued to try to gnaw Mack's foot off bothering to neither let go of the limb or to try and escape from its attacker.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27471
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 2
Mack: 25/29
Wolf: -5/15

Well, if the wolf was disinclined to let go of Mack's ankle that was just fine with the blonde brute. It made the animal much, much easier to hit. Raising Guillotine high above his head, the enormous fighter brought the blade down directly one the grey wolf's neck. The animal itself didn't make a sound, but as it dissolved into the nothingness of the Sword Art Online game engine the the wolf did let go of the smith's leg. Though even that it seemed to do begrudgingly. In the wake of the animal, there was a wolf skin and Mack picked that up off of the ground and added it to his supply of crafting materials. That was the four he needed to collect for the day in order to get all of his crafting attempts completed.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27556
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 5
Mack: 25/29
Honey Badger: 8/15 (-7 Dam.)

Deciding that, probably, he shouldn't push his luck trying to completely farm out the area Mack shouldered Guillotine and rested the blade against his right shoulder as he stepped out of the clearing and set off in search of more game to eliminate. Of course, with the way the day was going, he had barely made it twenty feet out of the clearing when a nasty little creature sprang up. Where the blur of fur had come from, the warrior couldn't tell. One minute there was nothing, and the next here came a brawny member of the weasel family. The honey badger came sprinting from a short distance uphill and took a swing at Mack with its claws. The smith could tell that the badger just didn't care about much of anything. Swinging Guillotine down from his shoulder in a rough approximation of a golf swing, Mack swung the blade of the weapon into the badger as it charged down the hill and, when he connected, the badger when rolling away in a roiling, hissing, growling mass of fur, fangs, and claws.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27558
BD: 8 (7+1)
MD: 7
Mack: 24/29
Honey Badger: 1/15

As much as the honey badger didn't seem to care about much other than attacking, Mack didn't care about much other than killing the nasty little creature. As it came tearing in again it leaped and took a swipe at him. Even though the claws missed, the animal managed to sink its teeth into Mack's hand when the smith tried to catch it in midair. With an angry yelp, he dropped the honey badger and took another swing at it as the animal tried to scamper away. Again, the blade of Guillotine found its mark and the animal was knocked head over tail by the flat of the harden steel blade until it came to stop against a tree with a dull thunking sound.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27560
BD: 6 (5+1)
MD: 1
LD: 10
Mack: 24/29
Honey Badger: -5/15

As the honey badger picked itself back up after its most recent tumble which had ended with a close encounter of the maple kind it staggered a bit. Swinging Guillotine free and easy in his hands, Mack advanced on the hapless creature and readied himself to put the thing out of its misery. To say nothing of ending its stupidity. Seriously, he couldn't fathom how the honey badger had possibly thought that it was likely to win this confrontation. Reaching the side of the animal, Mack cocked back his right foot and kicked the badger in the head with enough force to slam its skull against the base of the tree's trunk which, in turn, result in the animal exploding in a shower of pixels and producing a crafting material for him to gather.

+ 1 Crafting Material

Edited August 15, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

ID: 27563
BD: 6 (5+1)
MD: 7
Coyote: 9/15 (-6 Dam) (Base Dam. 3)
Mack: 23/29 (-1 Dam, DM 2)

For several more long moments, Mack continued through the forest. In truth, he was moving in relative silence or, at least in the absence of other people to talk to the only noise to be heard were his own footsteps and the ambient noise of the forest itself. Soon enough, he emerged into another small clearing and watched as a coyote launched itself high into the air to try and pounce on a hare. The rabbit went tearing off and the coyote came up empty before turning it's hungry yellow eyes on Mack and making a straight snarling charge for the axe-man. As it came in the canine creature dodged Mack's first swing at it and fastened itself around one of his ankles. Why were these animals always going for his legs? Raising the haft of Guillotine in his hands, Mack brought the iron butt cap of the weapon slamming down on the coyote's skull and it let go of him in a hurry before backing off and letting loose with a low growl.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27575
BD: 6 (5+1)
MD: 5
Coyote: 3/15 (-6 Dam.)
Mack: 23/29

Mack and the coyote warily circled one another, each sizing the other up. Unlike the rabid wolf and the honey badger from earlier, the coyote was a more canny and cunning opponent. The animal would bide its time and wait for the right moment to strike. Then, with little warning, the ball of grey and brown fur coiled its legs beneath itself and sprang forward. As the small canine leaped through the air, teeth bared with every intention of locking its jaws around the throat of the blonde behemoth Mack whipped Guillotine around in a flat horizontal arc. Like a big league slugger making contact with a hanging curve, the blade of Guillotine slammed into the coyote, the blade sinking deep into the animal's flesh as it directed the creature well away from its intended target.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27579
BD: 6 (5+1)
MD: 4
LD: 17
Coyote: -3/15
Mack: 23/29

As Mack slammed the coyote into the ground with the force of his blow from Guillotine the blade of the bearded axe buried itself deep within the flesh of the canine, all but impaling it to the ground. Stepping up to the stricken creature the hulking smith raised one white booted foot and brought it slamming down on the animal's head. There was a sickening crunch of bone being fractured as the foot made contact. The coyote never had time to even whimper as its body dissolved into pixels. Where it had been laying seconds before, there was a single bolt of leather as a crafting material and a small pouch with seventy-five col.

+1 Mat
+ 75 col

[Mack 0]

ID: 27580
BD: 9 (8+1)
MD: 3
Big-Horn Sheep: 8/15 (-7 Dam.)
Mack: 23/29

As he continued through the forest it wasn't long before Mack found himself traipsing along near the edge of a cliff that represented a fairly sheer drop off of, perhaps, a hundred and fifty feet. The blonde man could also tell that he was rising higher in altitude too. The oak, maple, and birch trees were beginning to thin out and give way to firs, pines, and evergreens and the temperature was just starting to slightly drop. Not that Mack minded that last part, he infinitely preferred cold weather to hot. As he pushed aside a few boughs of an evergreen tree he happened upon a big horn sheep, the animal couldn't have been more than five feet from him and he was as surprised to see it as it was to see him. With an indignant bleat, it tried to butt him from close range, but with no run up the attempt didn't have much power behind it. Mack retaliated by burying the blade of the axe deep in the left shoulder of the animal. It bleated angrily and backed off, readying itself to charge.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27582
BD: 6 (5+1)
MD: 5
Mack: 23/29
Big Horn Sheep: 2/15 (-6 dam.)

The big horn sheep pawed the ground a couple of times, kicking up small clods of dirt with its front hooves. It was perfectly clear what the goat's plan was. The animal really only had one mode of attack. Lower those enormous horns and charge down the enemy. It wasn't creative, but Mack had no doubt that if the animal hit him with a running headbutt it would hurt. To say nothing of the possibility of being knocked down the side of the cliff and potentially killed. As the animal charged Mack did a sort of odd pirouette and struck out to Guillotine. To his surprise, and pleasure, the blade slid neatly into the sheep's flank as it sped past for another clean, solid hit.

[Mack 0]

ID: 27583
MD: 1
BD: 6 (5+1)
Mack: 23/29
Big Horn Sheep: -4/15 (-6 Dam)

As the sheep whirled around at the end of its charge it wasted no time in pawing the ground and charging in straight again. Mack could tell, though, from looking at the animal's red health bar, that one more good attack would do the trick and finish it off. Deciding that he would risk it to end the fight quickly and easily, Mack set his feet and swung Guillotine up high over his head, the blade glinting in the sun. As the big horn sheep charged into range he brought the blade swishing down with a dull thud into the top of the animal's head. It stumbled and went down, skidding to a stop at the axe-man's feet as a roll of leather that would be suitable for crafting. Stooping, he plucked the item from the ground and added it to his inventory.