Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #21 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) After having been thrown into the ground a second time by the large beast, Takao tumbled across the coarse volcanic rock until he naturally rolled to a stop. A long breath escaped his avatar's lungs as he sat up, then glanced off to the side at the monster that was slowly recovering as well. He grunted as he stood, though his eyes widened as he flexed his right hand. It was... empty? He couldn't feel the sword in his grasp anymore - quite possibly because the sword was no longer in his hand. He frantically looked around for his blade, and found it teetering uncomfortably halfway off the edge that he'd been thrown close to. At some point during his tumble, he must have accidentally released it. Takao took a step closer, and immediately upon doing so felt the ground rumble beneath his feet.His green eyes slowly worked their way over his shoulder, glancing at the beast behind him, one of the three heads dangling lifelessly while the other two looked positively enraged. He looked back to his sword and saw the blade shifting off the edge. The tremour the monster had caused upset his blade's delicate balance, and it began to slide off the edge. Takao winced, exhaling a sound of surprise he'd rather not hear again from his lungs, and took off running for his sword. He didn't dare to look back, but from the ground that shook under his feet, he knew the monster was closing in. Just as he reached the blade, it finally fell off the edge, but not before Takao dropped down into a slide and went down with it.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28247(BD+CD+MD2) | 28248(MD3) ]]» BD : [[ MISS (2 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (6 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 4 ]]« Takao »[[ 46/63 HP ]] (1(Environment) = -1HP) + (1(Burn DMG) = -1HP)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ 22/30 HP ]]« Cerberus Head 3»[[ 30/30 HP ]] Edited August 20, 2015 by Takao Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #22 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 "...Hoooooly crap." Takao's grasp on the edge of the cliff tightened as he glanced down. In his right hand, he held the sword he had just barely managed to catch before it plummeted down into the river of lava below. "I bet my real body just pissed itself so hard. ...I am really glad these avatars don't need to use the bathroom."Approaching quickly from the southern side of the volcanic platform was the monster, which he could hear thanks to its large paws pounding against the stone. He grunted and pulled his body up over the edge to safety, sword still in tow, and glanced at the monster that had not only closed the distance between the two, but also lunged at him. He made that same odd sound of surprise again before pushing off the ground and scurrying off in the opposite direction. The beast landed, though struggled to stop immediately, and began to fall toward the edge. Much like Takao before it, the beast managed to catch itself at the last moment, and began to pull itself up while Takao prepared a sword skill.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28249(BD+CD+MD2) | 28250(MD3) ]]» BD : [[ MISS (2 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (2 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (5 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 10 ]]« Takao »[[ 48/63 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ 22/30 HP ]]« Cerberus Head 3»[[ 30/30 HP ]] Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #23 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Although Cerberus possessed less overall health than the strongest monsters he'd faced, something about the monster still did wonders to uproot his confidence. Maybe it was just how life-like it was, especially now with one of its massive heads hung lifelessly while the others snarled and growled at him, but he didn't like fighting it, not in the slightest. He usually got some kind of twisted enjoyment out of fighting in Sword Art Online, a kind of thrill that he'd never experienced before. He often attributed it to the risks and consequences that came with in-game death, but even now that the risks weren't at their greatest, he felt the most unease. Takao shook the uncertainty from his head and released control of his avatar to the system, thus allowing it to guide his sword through the canid monster that had only just successfully climbed back up over the cliff. Unfortunately, he hadn't afforded himself enough time to evade, and the large monster's claws tore through into his armour. The force sent Takao tumbling across the ground, though he was much quicker to recover this time.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28251(BD+CD+MD2) | 28252(MD3) ]]» BD : [[ HIT (4 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ C.HIT (9 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (2 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 9 ]]« Takao »[[ 44/63 HP ]] (3(DMG) + 1 critical = -4HP)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ 16/30 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)« Cerberus Head 3»[[ 30/30 HP ]] Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #24 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 He knew how little he could afford to give the hulking monster before him the opportunity to fully recover, so before the beast could return to its feet and take on a proper stance, he had descended upon it with a sword skill readied. He relinquished control over to the system, which in turn took his blade and guided it through the front left leg of the monster. The heads were weak points, but they were also the most dangerous places to strike, so he would wait to hit them last. The health on the leftmost head was nearly drained, he estimated the gauge only contained enough hitpoints for one last attack, though it would have to wait for the rigid effect of his sword skill to wear off first.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28253(BD+CD+MD2) | 28254(MD3) ]]» BD : [[ HIT (7 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (5 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (2 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 5 ]]« Takao »[[ 42/63 HP ]] (1(Environment) = -1HP) + (1(Burn DMG) = -1HP)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ 8/30 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)« Cerberus Head 3»[[ 30/30 HP ]] Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #25 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Paying close attention to how far the health gauges dropped after each attack allowed him to gauge roughly how much health each of the heads had. In terms of vitality, they rivaled the Hellhounds from earlier almost exactly. The only exception was their affinity for scoring critical hits, which negated his both his armour's damage mitigation property as well as his natural damage mitigation. It also inflicted minor burn damage over time, though that damage could be neglected for the most part. Given time to fester, both it and the occasional environmental damage that slipped past his Survival and Battle Healing skills could prove to be troublesome, but he didn't exactly think he'd be staying long enough for that to happen. His blade cleaved through the last of the rightmost head's health, and left it limp on the large body. Only one remained now, and it had the same health as a normal Hellhound. It had no evasion properties, no damage mitigation, and no accuracy buffs. Any fear that may have been left in his head from earlier was gone now, and replaced with confidence and determination to finish the fight.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28255(BD+CD+MD2) | 28256(MD3) ]]» BD : [[ HIT (6 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (5 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 6 ]]« Takao »[[ 42/63 HP ]]« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ * DEAD * ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP)« Cerberus Head 3»[[ 30/30 HP ]] Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #26 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Only one head of the original three remained active and alive, and from its sluggish and sloppy movements, Takao could tell the dead weight was having an effect on the monster. It could no longer pounce with the force and grace it had earlier, but instead opted for heavy running at a frantic pace. Its unrelenting desire to kill the brunet however had not wavered in the slightest, which meant that Takao still had a bit of a fight left to wrap up. The beast lunged at him, but fell short, and instead slid along the ground while snapping its massive jaws in his general direction. He had moved out of its way well before it slid to where he had been standing prior, and unleashed another sword skill upon the beast. It cleaved away a fair chunk of health, and Takao felt confident that he'd be able to regain control over his body before the monster got back up.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28258 ]]» BD : [[ HIT (8 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (1 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 3 ]]« Takao »[[ 41/63 HP ]] (1(Environment) = -1HP)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ * DEAD * ]] « Cerberus Head 3»[[ 22/30 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP) Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #27 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 The massive head swung at Takao again, though it was too sluggish with the extra dead weight attached to either of its shoulders. He almost felt bad for the simulated death machine that had been consistently trying to kill him for the entire duration of their encounter, and although he desired to put it out of its misery quickly, there was a limit to how much damage he could inflict. Takao had prepared a sword skill after effortlessly dodging the monster's attack, and unleashed it upon the unprotected neck of the beast. His blade cleaved through the digital flesh and left a large wound in its wake upon exiting out the top. "Alright... Just two more hits." Takao said aloud, the fatigue that had set in had made whatever usually kept him from speaking out loud to himself obsolete.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28259 ]]» BD : [[ HIT (3 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 12 ]]« Takao »[[ 43/63 HP ]] (2 HP Recovered)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ * DEAD * ]] « Cerberus Head 3»[[ 16/30 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP) Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #28 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Another futile charge was met with effortless evasion as Takao circled the beast. It was barely able to stand, falling back down onto the hard ground each time it lifted its exhausted, battle-worn body up to attack him. He forced out a heavy breath from his lungs and raised his blade to the beast's head. With the sword skill already prepared, the system took over, and his blade hacked away at the monster's remaining health. It dropped and dropped, slowly reduced from its previous green colour to orange after falling below the halfway point. The beast tried to bite him again, but fell short without him even needing to move. "It'll be over in a minute, dude. Just... hold on, I guess." It was strange to feel sympathy for something he knew wasn't real, something that just couldn't comprehend the words he was saying or the emotions he was feeling. Everything he was looking at was a simulation, an incredibly complex combination of binary whose only goal in life was to kill him.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28260 ]]» BD : [[ HIT (6 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (5 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 6 ]]« Takao »[[ 43/63 HP ]]« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ * DEAD * ]] « Cerberus Head 3»[[ 8/30 HP ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP) Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #29 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 His sword was poised high, the blade was glowing a bright vibrant green, and the monster's death was imminent. Even if it didn't feel pain, the brunet's strong morals wanted to put it out of whatever simulated misery it was displaying as soon as possible. He had just barely considered allowing the system to take control when the monster lashed out at him with the last of its strength, trying desperately to take him down before he could deliver the mercy strike, but ultimately failed when he canceled the sword skill and moved just barely out of the way. With his coup de grâce squandered, Takao grumbled and resumed the sword skill he had just opted out of.- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28261 ]]» BD : [[ MISS (2 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 9 ]]« Takao »[[ 43/63 HP ]]« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ * DEAD * ]] « Cerberus Head 3»[[ 8/30 HP ]] Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #30 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 The beast lay slain at his feet for only a moment, before the system rid the world of its corpse. It flickered and shattered into a field of colourful data shards that fluttered away in the slight cavern breeze, and upon doing so triggered a menu to appear in front of Takao. It informed him of the fruits of his labour. Experience, col, and the item granted upon completion of the quest. All the aforementioned items were packed away safely by the system, which then congratulated him on leveling up and informed him of his increased parameters. He dismissed the plethora of menus that crowded his vision and glanced back at the rubble that blocked his exit. Upon defeating the beast, the heavy volcanic stones were pushed aside by a rough geyser of lava.In fact, there were a lot of geysers of lava, now that he took a moment to notice them. Certainly more than there had been upon entering the cave. It very quickly dawned on Takao why this was - the cave was collapsing. The ground beneath his feet shook violently as the roof overhead began to crumble, threatening to crush him if he hadn't reacted as fast as he did. He had taken off running down the way he'd entered, and just barely passed through the cave's entrance out into the wide opening he'd fought the first Hellhound in. The crevasse behind him was soon completely engulfed in rubble, making re-entry to the cave impossible. He took a moment to catch his breath, then stood up and sheathed his sword."Well. Alright then, guess there's no going back into there."- -« Battle Sequence »Takao » Cerberus Head 1 » Cerberus Head 2 » Cerberus Head 3» ID : [[ 28262 ]]» BD : [[ HIT (4 + 2(ACC) + 1(Herbs)) ]]» MD1 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD2 : [[ MISS (8 - 3(EVA)) ]]» MD3 : [[ MISS (3 - 3(EVA)) ]]» CD : [[ 5 ]]« Takao »[[ 42/63 HP ]] (1(Environment) = -1HP)« Cerberus Head 1»[[ * DEAD * ]]« Cerberus Head 2»[[ * DEAD * ]] « Cerberus Head 3»[[ * DEAD * ]] (8(DMG) = -8HP) Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #31 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 After reuniting himself with his familiar, the brunet and the red reptile set off on the long trek back to the ninth floor's main settlement: the village of Vulcan. He hadn't even the slightest desire remaining in his body to stay in the area, especially not with the cave having just collapsed and filled with lava. He didn't want to take the risk of being in the entire area, in case it too decided to erupt into flames. It was definitely going to be a long walk back, he estimated the trip to be just as long as it had been when he originally found the cave. Two days, three nights. Plenty of time to rest and reflect on his success, although he was much more prone to just rest. Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted August 20, 2015 Author #32 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 RESULTS4 SP850 col«Cerberus Soul» Quote Report Link to post Share on other sites
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