[PP - F9] Tank vs DPS<<The Iron Guardian>> [Jomei, Takao, Azide]

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Floor 9, a certain pathway towards Phoenix town. A team of four was heading a location that was just next to the town. After receiving a new quest from a random information broker there. Ariel PMed some capable people in her friend list and gathered up quite the party. It totally slipped her mind but she set up a full DSP team for this one. As they gathered she briefly explained the quest and that they had to retrieve a certain item from a knight type mob. They rest of the team looked quite powerful so she had confidence that they will finish this quest with ease. She showed a smile thinking that everybody seems to be quest hunting as the time for taking up the new floor boss draws closer. fluttering her hair behind her neck she gazes at the team. Azide, ex-guildmaster of S1 and a dear old friend, Takao ex-guildmember..currently a solo player and Jomei, a regular client at her shop. She didn't knew much about him but invited him, maybe this opportunity will allow them to become friends as well. Adjusting her gray cloak that bore the blue bird wings on the back, she addresses the group. "How about it a nice item retrieval quest.. doesn't sound like much work. Has any of you done it before? she asked as she shifted her gaze from one to another.

[Takao 0]

"I've been meaning to take a shot at this one." Takao said as he sped up his stride to match the rest of the group that had gathered. He was more or less familiar with the three that had been gathered for the same cause, though he'd yet to speak with any of them at length. His dragon-like familiar scurried alongside him on all fours in an effort to keep up, though it continuously fell behind after something would catch its attention. From what he gathered as they walked, they were heading west, and they had quite a way ahead of them yet. "But I haven't done it yet, just read a little about it." he finally admitted. He rolled his shoulders and directed his attention forward. A quick glance over the weapons that were visible had given him a good idea of what his role on the team would be. Two rapiers and one dagger meant that he'd have the best sword arts to take out multiple enemies, though it was likely his single target damage would be trumped by the more specialized weapons. He sighed and dug around in his inventory in order to retrieve a crystal, which he prompted crushed with his grip, thus enabling the damage increasing effects.

[Azide 0]

Somehow, he had failed to notice it before; and yet, there it was- the azure avian insignia which represented a familiar force. He had not seen the mark of the Guardians in many months, not since before even his own hiatus. Could it be that Lessa had returned?

"I guess one could make that claim that Lessa stood me up at the Valentine's Day Festival. Although to be fair, she'd asked me to show up purely for business purposes," he reflected, recalling how the young lady had entered some sort of unresponsive daze shortly after they'd arrived. It had been very confusing at the time, and almost nearly as cold, on account of being on the fourth floor. Still, there were no hard feelings involved, and the abrupt end to their last encounter elicited a quiet laugh from Azide.

His eyes darted away from the emblem encrusted upon Ariel's cloak as the blonde-haired girl addressed them with a question. "I can't say I have," answered Azide with a shake of his head. "Still, I'm pretty sure we've all recovered the lost cargo from the woman in the desert, and that was fairly straight forward. So retrieving an item? I mean, how hard could it be?"

[Jomei 0]

The irishman walked alongside a group he was fairly familiar with.. but knew none of them personally. Takao he had met on multiple occasions and even completed a task with him before. He knew him to be a good friend and very powerful in battle. Ariel, who was the party leader for the day, owned the tailor's shop where he had purchased his armor. He had never met the woman outside of the walls of her shop until now. Finally was Azide, whom he had met during his friendly duel with best friend and guild leader, Lowenthal, on the beaches of Floor Eleven. The mysterious man had introduced himself to them.. but he still hardly knew anything about him. Nonetheless, Ariel had summoned the group to Floor Nine, where they would be completing a quest to retrieve some sort of item. "I've heard of this before.. just background talk between players and info brokers.. Planned on going out to get it to use in the boss raid.. but doesn't seem like I will be going this time." He turned his head to Ariel and smirked, "But at least I'll be able to say I helped in retrieving it for the same purpose." A small brown owl flew just above Jomei's head as he walked with his rapier slung on his shoulder.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"So basically we're all first timers on this." said the blonde with out a ounce of shame, fully aware of the other interpretations of her statement. It seemed that time flew incredibly fast as the group found itself at the place described in the quest info. Bringing forth the quest specifics, the blonde let out a satisfied nod then dismissed the HUD window. next her hand reached for the thorn themed hilt of her rapier. While slowly drawing it out, revealing the nostalgic black blade, she addressed the other:

"I know some of us didn't fought together before, so this is a good opportunity to make up for that. Have no fear, while I have a healing items on me, I'm sure our local alchemist has some some up his sleeves." She shot Azide a quick look and a grin then focused on the group. "Okay any more chatting will just be a waste of time. I propose that after you make the proper preparations, we charge in and fight those knights." As she ended she navigated through her Inventory and switched her steel-like armor with a new one she made recently. The only visible difference was the crowned lion logo on the upper visible part of her right vambrace. She then awaited for all the others replies.

[Takao 0]

Takao nodded in agreement and reached his hand over his shoulder to grasp the handle of his sword. He pulled it free of the scabbard and rolled his wrist to spin the blade, testing the weight and balance purely out of habit. He pointed the end toward the ground and held it off to the side, away from the others, and glanced sidelong at the group that had gathered. "If you guys focus on the Guardian, I can take out the Knights and hop in afterward if it's not already dead. It'll take me a couple hits though I think, unless one of you wants to try hitting them with a weaker AoE." he said, knowing fully well that his ability to target multiple opponents was mediocre at best compared to other weapons, but given the lineup of skills they had currently it'd be the best way to go about it regardless. "I'm ready when you guys are."

[Azide 0]

Mirroring Ariel's actions, Azide summoned a panel representing his current inventory and removed his characteristic green coat. After a few taps, another coat reappeared over his white undershirt, looking very much like the one that had come before it. In fact, the two were visually identical- the only difference was a slight modification in the armor's enhancements. "While I do happen to carry a worthwhile supply of health crystals, I don't know if you guys want to be testing my stinginess in the heat of battle," he said, sliding Chemikaze from its leather sheath. As his fingers clasped around the cold steel, he was especially appreciative of the knife's definite feeling of quality- he enjoyed the weightiness as he held it in his hands. The thought of switching back to an un-enhanced anything made him shudder.

"Anyway, let me at the Guardian. I'm just dying to test this thing out," he remarked, flashing the newly minted dagger. "Albeit, hopefully not in the more literal sense."

[Jomei 0]

The irishman looked to his new comrades and took a deep breath. This was not going to be an easy fight, for if what he heard was correct, they would need to push through a group of knights before being able to take a hit at the field boss. Being they were on Floor Nine, as well, they were going to be quite the opponents. He brought his Summerthorn off of his shoulder and held it pointing towards the ground. He took his other hand and undid the clips holding his cloak together at his collar. He then threw the green cloth to the side, the item disappearing back into his inventory. He was not merely wearing his armor, which was a brown leather chest piece over a short sleeved green shirt. The owl landed on the larger shoulder pad located on his left shoulder. His voice took a much deeper and serious tone, "Ready.."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Listening to Takao's suggestion the blonde nodded. "yeah, sounds good. How about you and Jomei deal with them " she looks at her rapier and shows a wry smile. "As thin as this thing is, it does have a weak AoE attack than cam complement yours. Me and Azide can lead the attack on the main boss and you guys the follow, that way we attract the aggro" she turned towards the other two. "What do you say?"

As the rest responded, they had reached their destination. And welcoming them stood 4 Iron Knights. "What a coincidence" said the blonde with a smirk, "There are 4 of us as well!" Behind them could be seen the main boss, the Iron Guardian. She turns towards Takao and smiles: "Well, guess I'll leave you to finish them:D" And with that she unsheathed her rapier and began to lower her stance. Once she reached the optimal stance, her body started glowing a faint golden tinge and in the next second she charged towards the main boss. The Knights roared and tried to block her path but she dodged them and stopped in front of the main boss. Her black rapier also glowed a dark shade of blue as she activated a charge type sword art in the same time as she activated the charge sword skill. It took the mob by surprise, revealing it of a nice chunk of its HP but it soon retaliated and with a powerful downwards slash, it forced the blonde on one knee as she tried to deflect it with her vambraces, now locked in a X stance. She had used her trump move combo, now she would hope that she will be the main focus of the mob while the rest finish its guardians and it.

ID# 33824  BD: 8  MD:10

Ariel: 109/138 HP( -29=56+4-31) [Bleed:0/2]  Energy: 25/32   Sword Art: (7) Shooting Star - [1x7]

Takao: 121/121 HP

Azide: 117/117 HP

Jomei: 89/89

 

• <<Iron Knight#1>> 72/72 HP
• <<Iron Knight#2>> 72/72 HP
• <<Iron Knight#3>> 72/72 HP
• <<Iron Knight#4>> 72/72 HP

1. <<Iron Guardian>> 148/225 HP (-77)

*we will use the hate system for this one so make sure you keep track of your hate, the mob will attack at the end of a round.

<<Iron Knight>>

HP - 72

Damage - 30, Bleed on 9 or 10 for 2 turns dealing 1 damage.

Thorns - Deals 2 Damage To Enemy if hit.

 

<<Iron Guardian>>

HP - 225

Damage - 54, Bleed on 9 or 10 for 2 turns dealing 4 damage.

Thorns - Deals 4 Damage To Enemy if hit.

 

Edited October 6, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Takao 0]

"Sounds good to me," Takao said with a nod as he refocused his attention frontward. "Leave 'em to me 'n Jomei." Their destination lay ahead of them, and a total of five beings awaited their arrival. Ariel turned to him, and in response he gave her a smile and thumbs up with his left hand. She charged and leapt over the four Knights who attempted to strike at her but ultimately missed, which opened up an opportunity for Takao. His feet slid apart and his body poised itself in such a way that the blade began to glow blue. Using a combination of his own charge skill coupled with the sword skill, Takao quickly closed the gap between himself and the Knights before letting the system take over. He kicked off the ground and used the momentum of swinging his legs to perform a single mid-air flip before righting himself and positioning his blade point down. When the sword came in contact with the ground, electricity rippled outward, attracted to the metal that the Knights wore for armour. The monsters were electrocuted and subsequently destroyed by the lightning-based sword art, which had little issue with reducing their health to zero. "Jomei, I got 'em! Go for the Guardian instead!" Takao called out while he struggled against the sword art's post-motion rigidity.

- -

» ID : [[ 33853 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (2 + 3(ACC) + 1(Concentration)) ]]
» MD 1-4 : [[ MISS (7 - 3(EVA)) ]]

« Takao »
[[ 113/121 HP ]] [[ 2 Thorns * 4 = -8HP ]]
[[ 15/29 Energy ]] «Lightning Fall» used. (-14 Energy)
[[ Hate : 1 ]] (Iron Knight 1-4)
[[ Hate : 0 ]] (Iron Guardian)

« Iron Knight 1 »
[[ 0/72 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]
« Iron Knight 2 »
[[ 0/72 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]
« Iron Knight 3 »
[[ 0/72 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]
« Iron Knight 4 »
[[ 0/72 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]

Edited October 6, 2015 by Takao

[Azide 0]

 

With the briefest of conversations having come to a close, he listened as Ariel reviewed their plan of action; as the girl spoke, he looked beyond her at the four shining suits of armor standing in the distance; behind these pinocchio-esque knights loomed an iron giant, whose immensity in relation to its more modest company was comparable to an aircraft carrier in the midsts of several destroyers.

Azide nodded as he was designated to engage the Iron Guardian itself, while Takao and Jomei were tasked with dispatching its underlings. By now, their group had made enough progress to come within sprinting distance of the enemy, and he bowed his head to the party leader. "Ladies first," he said, as Ariel drew her rapier. With the sun hanging unflinchingly overhead, he raised a hand to block the bold rays and watched under their meager cover as the young lady hurtled forward before scoring a monstrous hit. Meanwhile, Takao arrived before his own targets a mere moment later, and eviscerated all four knights in a single sequence.

With the dexterity of a pianist, Azide flipped open the leather pouch at his hip and slipped his fingers around the dagger's grip. "Sorry Jomei, but this one's about to go down as well," he called, plucking the blade from its sheath as his sights locked onto the towering figure. He charged straight at the Iron Guardian, figuring that a slight boost in damage couldn't hurt- even if it would be unnecessary under most conditions. As he stepped within striking distance of his target, Chemikaze inherited a red glow, and he prepared himself for what was to come. 

In the next instant, metal collided against metal in a dizzying whirlwind assault. Azide's dagger nipped away at the giant's armor with increasing ferocity, sending sparks into the air as he spun like a grindstone against its iron legs. As the motions began to reach their conclusion, a rumbling groan emerged from somewhere in the hollow suit as the Guardian's legs were severed at the point they'd been struck. The metal greaves shattered first into a cloud of pixelated blue, followed shortly after by the toppled giant himself. 

ID:33968 

BD: 3 (+3 ACC) = 6 (Hit)
LD: 18 (loot found)

Eternal Cyclone = (4x4)[1 (base) + 1 (Athletics) + 1 (Familiar) + 1 (Charge) + 2 (Equipment) + 5 (Dagger Skill)] = 176 DMG

Ariel: 113/138 HP | 25/32 EN
Azide: 113/117 HP (-4 Thorns) | 12/28 EN
Jomei: 89/89 HP | 21/21 EN
Takao: 121/121 HP | 29/29 EN

Iron Guardian: -28/225 HP

+1 mat to Azide
+1125 col to party

[Jomei 0]

Jomei listened to Ariel draw out their plan of attack. He was to accompany Takao in taking out the Iron Knights that guarded the Guardian.. ironically. Azide and Ariel had slipped past the four knights and made their way directly to the Iron Guardian behind them. Jomei looked to Takao as he had already began his attack. With a powerful charge combined with a sword skill, Takao plunged his blade into the ground, causing a wave of electricity to shoot out at strike all four of the knights. After a moment, their hit points plummeted to zero, and one by one they turned into white data fragments. Jomei smirked, "Heh..I'm not too good at hitting multiple guys like that anyway." 

The irishman then launched forward, sprinting towards the main baddie at the other side of the battle. Takao had told Jomei to go on ahead as the knights were demolished by his attack. Azide must have heard Takao, for he apologized in advance for Jomei not getting an attack in with the Guardian. Confused, Jomei watched as Azide made quick work of the field boss, unleashing a furry of strikes onto the opponent's armor. Soon, just like the knights, the Guardian was toast. Jomei stopped in his tracks and rubbed the back of his neck, "Jeez.. you guys took all the fun. But I guess its good that it was easier than expected." 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde was now recovering from the previous blow when she saw with the corner of her eye how Takao had defeated the whole group by himself.'Guess I underestimated him' thought the blonde as she impaled the rapier in the ground and used it as a support to get up. Next her vision was invaded by a huge polygonal mass, as Azide defeated the field boss in one quick and powerful blow.

'That makes it twice' continued the girl as she showed a self mocking smile. "Since when are you so proactive with the dagger?" she asked Azide as she caught sight of the weapon he used. 'Overkill' was another thought that crossed her mind but didn't get the chance to say it as a surge of pain crossed through her right arm, under her vambrace.

"What the???" she muttered, only then noticing the 'Bleeding' status under her health bar. She let out a audible 'tsk' as she frowned but it didn't last long as she next addressed Jomei. "Sorry, it seems that I underestimated these guys. They got a lot stronger since I last saw them... How about we next hit a quest with a higher level of difficulty?" this last question was directed towards all the party members. 

Ariel: 105/138 HP [Bleed:1/2] (-4)

OOC:

*extracted the thorns damage(received previously..now fixed in the post)... and the bleed dmg(this turn).

*@Takao you should have received 4x thorns dmg from the guards as well.

[Takao 0]

Takao's eyes shifted over to the Guardian as the last blow was dealt. All five of their enemies had been dispatched with relative ease, leaving behind colourful fragments of data that quickly disappeared into oblivion. His gaze shifted away from the group and glanced up at the grouping of health gauges that hovered in his peripheral vision. The damage they had sustained, save for Jomei, was minimal. His own health gauge had only somehow been reduced as a side-effect for attacking the four Knights, despite him never getting within range. He shrugged and shifted his blade in the ground before hefting it from the digital soil. "A quest with more challenge?" he asked as he approached Ariel. "Y'mean like the Butcher?"

[[ OOC : My bad, fixed. ]]

[Azide 0]

"Amazing what a couple of all-nighters can do for your weapon proficiency, isn't it?" asked Azide, with a glance over the shoulder. Slowly, his body once again became his own as the influence of CARDINAL faded away with the dying glow of his blade. He sheathed the knife before turning to face the rest of the party. All in all, the Iron Guardian and its metalhead groupies had been rather underwhelming with the firepower they'd had at their disposal. Their prospects seemed bright in the approaching showdown on the eleventh floor.

He nodded slowly as he made his way back to the group, noting that his energy had taken a massive hit after that little exhibition of Eternal Cyclone. A powerful skill, if there ever was one, but certainly something that could not be thrown around carelessly.

Azide nodded at Takao's reference to the Sando Satsu. He could've sworn that he'd once attempted the quest relating to that particular beast, but for some reason he could not bring himself to recall much of anything from that day. "I say we make our way to the Butcher, and strike while the iron is still hot."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei slowly placed his Summerthorn back in its place on his waist with a frown on his face. He was thankful he went out on this quest with players as strong as the others.. but it also made him feel weak and insignificant. At least being out here with them would give the irish man the experience needed to get stronger.. but he felt like he did not earn it the right way. As the handle of his rapier hit the mouth of the scabbard, he let out a heavy sigh. Bringing his arms up to his chest, he crossed them over each other and looked to the group, who were discussing what they should do next. They suggested going out and tackling another quest while they were out in the fields.. Takao suggesting to take on The Butcher. Jomei had never attempted that quest, nor known anyone first hand who had done so, but from what he heard.. if you are no where near strong enough its a damn suicide mission. Then again, these other guys were pretty strong.. For now he would wait and see what the others decided, for he would go along with it. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

When she thought the fun was over, Takao pitched in a very unique proposition. 'Butcher of sands?' She thought, making a mental inventory of the quests she had done and not. This particular one fell in the last category. Takao, who suggested it seemed OK and Azide was particulary looking pumped about the prospect. Jomei seemed a bit hesitant but who could blame him? This particular field boss was almost on par with a floor boss and attacked randomly. A perfect quest for a team of heavy hitters like them, they had to repeat the same thing they did here. Even better, from what she knew they fought the mob in a areja where he would be alone. With that, Takao could provide some extra damage as well, using single target sword art. With each comment the blonde was more optimistic towards this particular quest.

"Alright I'm down for it. But before we go, I want you guys to get at least one 'safeguard' potion or crystal as backup. If we, by some chance don't kill it in one go, I don't want to risk any of your lives." Then she turned towards Jomei. "This field boss could one hit kill you, do you still want to join us? "

She clenched he teeth once again as the 'Bleed' effect made itself known by sending a surge of something reminiscent to pain throughout her body. 

Ariel: 101/137 [Bleed:2/2](-4)

[Takao 0]

When Ariel suggested that they equip themselves for the battle, Takao's head tilted to the side. Safeguard seemed like an overkill, though he wouldn't disagree with going in prepared. She also seemed to have firsthand knowledge of the boss, enough to proclaim that Jomei would be ended swiftly with one strike. "Well... I've already done that quest so I won't get the reward, but I'd be cool with tagging along still." he said, glancing between the three gathered. "Also, I think Jomei would be fine. I beat it with a group where I had the highest damage output, so... yeah. I think that should kinda speak for itself."

[Azide 0]

Ariel's claim was a bold one. But as far as assertions went, hers was most definitely a head scratcher, as well as lacking in citations. Jomei getting one-shotted by the Butcher? He'd done his research on the boss in the past, and such a scenario seemed incredibly unlikely. The suggestion of packing safeguard crystals seemed like a stretch against something they could likely kill in single round, but it left him with a solution for a certain quandary in the future...

For the time being, however, he turned to Ariel. "By any chance, did you happen to receive an item drop from the big guy?" he asked, recalling the girl's earlier comment. If this were a retrieval mission, then surely they were not yet finished with their objectives. Azide glanced off in the direction of Vulcan, averting his eyes from the low-hanging sun. "If so, then we should probably make our way over to our client before it gets dark." He doubted that any of them had invested in nightvision, considering the skill's more situational advantages.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Azide

[Jomei 0]

Jomei crossed his arms and looked at the group. He did not want to get killed.. but then again.. the three of them just took out The Iron Guardian and its four lackeys in one shot each. That being said, the irish man would most likely be fine in a fight against another field boss. "I will think about it. I'm not too much of a pushover, I just don't have as much of a damage output as you guys do." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Azide is right though, for now, we should try and get back to Vulcan Village before it gets too dark. There we can plan if we want to go out to take on the Butcher."