[PP-F9] A Little Practice Never Hurts! - Bandit Camp (Calrex&Kalesh!) [Complete!]

[Kalesh 0]

To: Calrex
From: Kalesh
Subject: Want to come do some training with me?

Hey, how you been? I've gotten a lot tougher since the last time we met! I was wondering if you'd like to tag along as I do some hunting on the ninth floor! Farming and training is boring solo. Much more exciting when someone else is there, even if just to chat with! I'm in town right now if you want to meet me by the gate.

I'll do my best to keep up with you~!

Having sent off his private message to Calrex he smiled and stretched his arms out. The floor's heat was as unbearable as ever, flooding his avatar with such intense heat! He couldn't help but try to wipe sweat from himself every few moments instinctively. It was times like this he was rather glad to have gotten the Survival skill. This blistering heat would have proven a far stronger obstacle otherwise and probably would have resulted in him losing hitpoints from the sheer heat of the volcanic floor! While waiting for Calrex to receive his message and reply or arrive, he stared out into the horizon. For one reason or another there seemed to be one particular area devoid of players. He didn't know why they were so empty, but to him it was just a free spot. If there was something dangerous, all the more reason for Calrex to be there. He doubted it would be anything as grand or exciting as a dragon unfortunately. That would be too easy, sadly. "This game sure enjoys hiding their dragons... Or are they just getting killed over and over" He mumbled to himself as he tapped his foot to a rhythm to keep himself distracted. Worst case scenario Calrex refused and he headed out himself is what he reasoned himself too. He could fight one on one with enemies on the twelfth floor, surely the ninth would be a cakewalk!

Edited October 29, 2015 by Kalesh

[Calrex 0]

"Huh, haven't heard from Kalesh in a while, not since we helped Lowenthal return to being a green player."

Sending a quick response Calrex activated his player locator, heading for the ninth floor, "That place again...geezes at least I'm finally used to the heat ever present on that floor."

Since it was going to be on a significantly warmer floor than the fifth he decided to forego equipping the Grand Chariot: Legacy, preferring to wear the Grand Dragoon to help somewhat with the heat. As he materialized he activated his <<Reveal>> skill to discern the redhead's location as he made his way over, giving a friendly wave as he saw the young man come into view, "Hey Kalesh, long time no see!"

"He's wielding different weapons than before. Are those claws? I guess he's one of the first players to use the Wild Dance skill. Definitely something unique."

"Alright then, I'm all set to do some hunting if you are!"

[Kalesh 0]

While waiting for Calrex, Kalesh was sipping on some water he had in his inventory, drinking from the waterskin and looking to the side when he heard a familiar voice and then saw a familiar face! He puts the water back into his inventory and then waves his clawed hand towards the color-themed tank! "Heyo! Yeah, it's been a while. I used that time to get a bit stronger." He clicks the metal finger tips of his claws together "And specialized into something a little different~" He was happy to point out. Even if they were not a new skill he would have gone with them, claws were one of the coolest types of weapons in his mind. With Calrex questioning if he was ready to hunt he eagerly nodded and gestured a clawed finger towards the horizon.

"See that? Hardly any players around in that area. I think if we hurry we can get there and get some good kills in without needing to share." He smiled happily as he looked to the seemingly playerless area. From the volcano which the town was set upon one could see decently far. He didn't have any items that boosted his ability to find things, but his accuracy gave his eyes some sharpness at seeing what was not hiding.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, sounds good to me. Let's get a move on!"

Giving an approving nod he readied himself to follow Kalesh to the location, "Now that I think about it I think you're the first player I've ever see use claws as a weapon. I guess they just recently discovered it or something. They definitely seem, to suit you. If you need I can take point and keep an eye out for any potential ambushes, just like last time."

Giving a calming breath, activating his <<Reveal>> skill as the landscape became see-through, allowing him to view the other side. There were certainly a decent amount of monsters in the fields around them, but with the two together he felt they shouldn't pose any real threat. Drawing the Grand Blade he gave a calming breath as he readied himself, "So how have things been with you? The last time I saw you was when we helped out Lowenthal."

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh grinned and said while they both walked out into the floor's unsafe zones "Okay, but this time direct us towards the ambushes." He winked playfully as he said that, remember the troubleless trip they had the first time they had met. He shrugged his shoulders while he himself looked around. "You taking point is probably the smarter idea though, you can see things I cannot." He did however nod in agreement as he said "Yeah, I like claws a lot. Nothing quite like getting good and feral on a monster. It's just more primal, y'know? Less about finesse I guess."

While thinking back on that rather scary moment of dealing with a gigantic statue that could have one-hit killed him he said "I've been training, mostly. Pushing my limits to see what exactly they were." He chuckles softly "The twelfth floor for example... I can kill the monsters up there one on one if I try. I haven't had amazing luck fishing up there, but the killing was going pretty nice." He glances down at his hand "I am pretty much limited to single-target battles." With that set aside he happily continued "Otherwise I've been helping new players take their first steps out of town. Just give them a little bit of motivation to get out there." He chuckled softly as he scratches his head while mindful of how sharp his fingers were. "How about you? Everything going well for you frontliners? Psyched up for the big boss up-top?"

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a congratulatory nod as he heard about how much Kalesh had grown from before, "Nice work. If you can take on monsters on the twelfth floor, you're certainly well on your way. I don't think it will be much longer before you're fighting alongside me and Teayre in the frontlines."

As the two continued on he took point, making note of the closest cluster of monsters that the two could attack, maneuvering them in that direction.

"Heh, well the main thing I'm glad for is that we're making faster progress now that we have been for the past few months. You probably were not really adventuring just yet, but for the longest time we were all stuck on the first ten floors, with no efforts to try and progress into a month or two ago. Now we've cleared two floors in such a short amount of time. Of course..."

Looking down at his blade he gave a small smile as he reminded himself of how far he had come since the last time he saw Kalesh, "...I've been hard at work training as well. I've actually strengthened my armor skill even more, plus I've unlocked the extra Sword Arts that are for my sword skill. So far it seems like I can't really make any more real progress until we clear the next floor, or another quest is discovered."

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh whistled when Calrex mentioned his armor skill getting stronger and unlocking extra sword arts! "Very nice. It'll be even harder for me to break your guard then!" He chuckled softly as he rolled his eyes while looking ahead. "If I'm reading everything right, claws seem to... enhance themselves passively once you get better at martial arts. Not a new skill so much as bringing out their full potential, you know?"

He was honestly a little perplexed at the thought that the other players had been totally stopped so long on a single floor, raising an eyebrow he questions "Was the tenth floor that spooky? I've never been there, I just hear it is undead themed." He grinned, pretending to himself something that was not the case was the case. "Is everyone just afraid of the dark~?" He was trying not to laugh at the image of Zelrius and the other frontliners all getting spooked by the 'scawy' floor.

He momentarily found his attention looking up and to the side. The labyrinth tower was in the distance, making him smile as he said "Heh. Me up there?... Maybe." He thought about it a moment. He could kill the floor enemies in one hit, even two or three in a row. "I have been considering it, honestly... He goes through his inventory and momentarily reveals a safeguard potion before shutting his inventory and opening his jacket, showing off the teleport crystal that was always tucked into the inner pocket. "I've been stocking up a teensy bit. I have an overhealth on the way too." All in all, he was about as ready as he was going to get in his head.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, well that would be pretty funny. Unfortunately I think it was because of some problems happening with the higher levels. I was not strong enough to join the frontlines just yet, so I'm not really sure what happened. All I know is that the team that took on the floor boss was a team of four players. Somehow everyone survived and they cleared the floor."

Giving a nod Calrex continued onward as he gave a nod, "Enhanced Sword Arts from the skill sounds very useful. Hopefully they'll come in handy. The only thing I got out of it was my most powerful Sword Art, Meteor Break. Luckily enough I've got enough energy to use it four times."

Looking he saw that Kalesh had begun stockpiling his own personal inventory of items, giving an approving nod. He had originally done so when he was first starting, always making sure he had spare potions on him. Now, since he had such a high amount of health, he only for the most part carried various pieces of equipment and a few enhancement consumables. "Nice work, it's always better to be prepared."

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh smirked and looked to Calrex while saying "Somehow? That doesn't sound too surprising considering the rumors I've heard. A lot of it sounds like hear-say that got garbled. Like someone actually attacking through mitigation?" He shrugged his shoulders "If there was a skill that let me avoid dealing with a tank's defense, oh man, that would be awesome. A bit OP, but awesome." He chuckled softly. He was much weaker back then, he didn't stand a chance of coming as he was at the time, that felt like it was different now, if dangerous. "The closest I could get is if I got bleed on these claws... I wish I could get burn instead though. Bleed sounds cool, but fists wreathed in the elements?... MMF is the only noise that suffices."

Speaking of his fists, he looked his claws over and said "The enhancement sounds pretty useful I suppose. Basically there is a chance that my sword art will upgrade itself to be more powerful. Like, an art meant to do seven strikes will do nine instead." He chuckled happily at the idea. It could end with some decent damage, but he most important detail was what he said next "And it doesn't cost more, so it's good for energy economy." He shrugged his shoulders "So I am lead to think, I haven't put anything towards martial arts yet." He looks over to Calrex and says curiously "How tough is Meteor Break exactly?"

He didn't have too-too much to say about his inventory but he did nod in agreement "Yeah, a little bit of a boost is never a bad thing, even if you don't need it. It's better to have too much than too little is my general motto. I'm going to grow up to be a grandpa and still be saying that." He chuckled as he imagined himself old and wrinkled while saying such things to his children and grandchildren like it was some wise words of wisdom despite it not being that clever.

[Calrex 0]

"Heh, well let's just say it actually gives the one-handed straight sword a high damaging Sword Art. Originally without the best attack it can do didn't compare to some of the max damage techniques of the other weapons. Having the Martial Arts linked skill fixes that. As for the last fight...you're probably right. You met Zelrius the day that we helped Lowenthal. He was the one that used a technique that seemed to do that. I'm certain that ability isn't open for everyone to discover, and is probably one of the rumored Unique Skills in this game. I don't know how he got, but frankly I'm not surprised. He's been a powerful player ever since I started adventuring, and he's only gotten stronger since. I just hope I can eventually become strong enough to keep up."

"If anything, to keep Teayre safe..."

Dismissing his thoughts he gave a smile and a nod as Kalesh spoke about his extra items, "Yeah, definitely. Better to have more and overkill, then to have too little. I remember something my dad told me one time was on the lines of that, which is better to know how and never use, than to not know and have to use. I think it was in terms of one's abilities and the idea of expanding your skills."

Looking over Calrex extended a hand as he saw that there was group of monsters just behind the rock formation the two had arrived at, "Alright, they're right on the other side of this boulder. Go ahead and take the opening strike, I'll draw their attention."

Edited October 28, 2015 by Calrex

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh nodded softly in understand of Calrex's words "Not surprised either... In fact... that explains a lot." He chuckled softly and added "Saying I 'met' him is being generous. I saw him, I yelled hello, the boss died, he left... but the things I have seen of him in passing and at parties? Ohhh, it explains so many things if he has that much power." He sighed softly as he puts his palm into his face. "He brought a sword to his own birthday in a safe zone, and he came fully armed to Mack's pre-raid party at a hotspring. Say what you want, give whatever excuses you like, he is scared of something." He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms. Nobody could convince him that Zelrius didn't have something to be afraid of. There was the angle he was showing off his uniques, but he didn't believe it for a moment. "... What would you like in a unique skill?" Kalesh asks while glancing over to the ultramarine knight "My absolute ideal?" He grinned mischievously "Something that lets me cover my weapon in flame, lightning, or poison. Basically just an aura whenever I wish it. Ohh man. Sadly it sounds too magical I guess..." He does look down at his hands though and says "... Bah, as if. I don't think there are going to be many skills I can unlock with these. That kind of stuff normally has specific items in mind..." He scratched his head "Things like a greatsword aren't compatible with claws, you know?"

He shook himself out of his considerations and nodded in agreement with Calrex "Those sound like wise words to me. It's definitely the type of saying a scholar could use often while in the pursuit of knowledge." He grinned happily at the thought. He always did consider himself a bit of a lore nut, so that did have a certain level of resonance with him and worked with his own suggested saying.

He blinked and looked over when Calrex pointed, a smile crossing his lips as he nods and says "Alright then. Let's see how this goes." He takes a deep breath while readying his claws. A moment later he was charging, closing the distance between himself and the monsters ahead. As he turned the corner he was shocked to notice three beasts that seemed to constantly exude flame! There were three in total, one humungous one, and two smaller minion type monsters! "Uh oh." He says as the two minions go in first, both darting straight for the lightly armored player!

The one on his right was the first to strike, its tail swiping across his chest, feeling the intense heat and the hiss as it made impact! The salamander on his left however went in for a bite! Kalesh let out a gasp from the sensation as the large lizard-like creature bit down around his ribs! Kalesh wouldn't stand for it though, raising his hand high and jabbing his fingers down into the monster, hitting at its joints until the creature finally disappeared, along with the source of his pain. "YOU'RE UP!" he exclaims from behind the rock, having a few flaming spots on his body he was patting out before they could cause any damage. The weak ones at the very least didn't seem overly potent. Kalesh didn't feel very threatened, just annoyed he was hit so soon and so hard.

HP List:

Calrex: 185/185
Kalesh: 56/84 [27-15=12]x2
Energy: 14/21 -7
Sword Art: Blade Spirits [8x7x1=56]

Salamander: Dead/45 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage) [56-9=47]
Salamaster: 92/92 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)
Salamander: 45/45 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)

[ID# 36575][BD: 6(4+2)][CD: 2][LD: 1][MD: 10]
[ID# 36576][MD: 5(8-3)]
[ID# 36577][MD: 10]

+1 Material to Kalesh!

Edited October 29, 2015 by Kalesh
Forgot that crits would mean they did +2 damage, derp.

[Calrex 0]

ID: 36579
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3) = 5 (Disregarded Due to Howl)
<<Howl>> Activated (+3 Hate to all monsters)

Calrex gave a nod as he listened to Kalesh's words, "I get what you mean. I don't know the boy well enough to speak for him, so all I can go on is what's been passed around. Somehow I think that he might have been thrust into the spotlight due to his prowess, but in a way he might prefer to just be an unsung hero. He's definitely cocky, and has the strength to back it up, but in the end that will only get you so far."

Giving a small sigh he gave a smile as the redhead began to talk about unique skills, "I don't know everything about what's inside of SAO, but I've heard of two that I might be interested in. I actually dabble in the martial arts in the real world, and it feels more natural for me to use two weapons at once, since the Filipino styles of kali and arnis tend to train with two sticks. The other I've heard of is a shapeshifting armor that supposedly changes to suit the wielder. Although honestly I feel that might be better for Tristan to wear than anyone else, since he's the top tank at the moment."

Seeing the young man engage the creature behind the rock Calrex immediately rushed in after him, drawing the Grand Blade as he raised it high. As his <<Howl>> skill activated his pauldrons and poleyns became covered in a light blue aura as he brought his sword down into the earth. Simultaneously the energy erupted from his armor, sending a loud echoing noise almost akin to a monster's roar. Passing by the two remaining monsters they turned and faced Calrex, eyes flashing red as they locked onto the player with the most aggro.

"Alright, keep at it Kalesh. Nice work on that first one!"

HP List
Calrex: 185/185
   Energy: 45/45
Kalesh: 56/84 [27-15=12]x2
   Energy: 14/21

Enemies:
Salamander: Dead/45
(Hate: C 3 / K 0) Salamaster: 92/92
(Hate: C 3 / K 0) Salamander: 45/45

Edited October 29, 2015 by Calrex

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh smiled as he was praised despite the damage done to him, inhaling deeply as he gave chase after the other salamander, expecting to put it down as well, but it suddenly skittered away towards Calrex as if intent on charging the more powerful player. He was sure Calrex could handle it if the monster tried to hit him. He noticed the larger monster approach Calrex as well, but much slower and more sluggish at first as it lifts a a large reptilian hand coated in fire to slam it down towards the veteran player. "Incoming!" Kalesh warns as the smaller salamander took this particular instant to belch a ball of flame at Calrex's armored self! Kalesh himself was a bit disgruntled that the monster had gotten past him, but he couldn't do anything about it either!

HP List:

Calrex: 184/185
Kalesh: 56/84
Energy: 13/21 -2 +1
Sword Art: Miss!

Salamander: Dead/45 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)
(Hate: C 3 / K 0)Salamaster: 92/92 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)
(Hate: C 3 / K 0)Salamander: 45/45 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)

[ID# 36592][BD: 1][CD: 1][MD: 2]
[ID# 36593][MD: 10]

Edited October 29, 2015 by Kalesh

[Calrex 0]

ID: 36604
Battle Dice: 10 (Accuracy +3) = 13 (+2 Damage)
Loot Dice: 7 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1) = 10 (No Bonus Loot Found)
Sword Art <<Meteor Break>> Activated (11 Energy Used / 34 Remaining)

As the monster successfully struck him Calrex gave a small exhale as he quickly activated his <<Meteor Break>> Sword Art, the Grand Blade becoming covered in the sparkling golden aura. Rushing forward he promptly began his combo of attacks, combining fierce tackling maneuvers with powerful slashes before he ended the attack with a falling strike, cleaving the larger lizard in half as it dispersed into crystals. Giving a small sigh he gave a nod to Kalesh, "Alright, another one down. Let's keep at it!"

Turning to face the third lizard he gave a small smirk before preparing for its incoming attack.

Loot List:
1 Material

HP List
Calrex: 184/185
   Energy: 34/45 (-11)
Kalesh: 56/84
   Energy: 14/21

Enemies:
Salamander: Dead/45
(Hate: C 4 / K 0) Salamaster: -31/92 (10+2 DMG * 11 Art - 9 MIT = 123 DMG)
(Hate: C 3 / K 0) Salamander: 45/45

Edited October 29, 2015 by Calrex

[Kalesh 0]

((Actually, you should count that as in your loot range ^^ Rounding down is the general rule, and half of 185 is 92.5 :) I specifically made that monster stronger so you could get stuff too! ^^))

Kalesh grinned as he watched Calrex fell the beast as expected. He was definitely on a whole other level compared to Kalesh but that just made him feel safer at the end of the day. Calrex wouldn't even need to try in order to kill Kalesh, the fact he still lived was all the proof he needed that Calrex wasn't about to go orange on him today. Watching as the Salamander belched yet more flame in the direction of the ultramarine knight Kalesh grit his teeth and ran forward! He slashed his claws along the limbs of the salamander to disable it as he attacked, cutting tendons and so forth until the monster finally shattered and gave him a meager reward for the efforts! "Whoo! That's a group down! Got some col too."

HP List:

Calrex: 183/185
Kalesh: 56/84 (Concentration on CD 5 Turns)
Energy: 7/21 -7 +1
Sword Art: 

Salamander: Dead/45 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)
Salamaster: Dead/92 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)
Salamander: Dead/45 (9 Mitigation, 27 Damage)

[ID# 36619][BD: 6(3+2+1)][CD: 4][LD: 11][MD: 10]

+225 Col
+1 Material

Edited October 29, 2015 by Kalesh

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Lol, I'm having fun interpreting the rules. I think you're right, it doesn't require mitigation in addition to drop loot...I think. XD

IC:

"Heh, nice work Kalesh!"

Seeing the last lizard dissipate into crystals Calrex gave a sigh of relief as he resheathed the Grand Blade, turning to face his teammate, "Looks like we got a pretty good amount of item drops from them. Although..."

"I swear I've been in this area before...but what in the world was it...oh...right..."

"I think we'd best be careful. From what I remember there tends to be a bunch of bandits that camp nearby this area. I've dealt with them in the past, but I'm not sure if they respawn specifically in this area or now. Best to exercise caution I guess."

Activating his <<Reveal>> skill once again he began to scan their immediate area, hoping to get some idea of any other potential threats in their immediate vicinity. At the moment the coat seemed clear, but from past experience Calrex knew better than to drop one's guard simply because no enemies were in the viewing range of his Extra skill.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Calrex

[Kalesh 0]

[ID# 36630][LD: 20 Bandits Located!]

Kalesh blinked as he looked around "Bandits? Camp?" He glances upward a bit and smiles as he nudges Calrex and says softly before pointing to the distance. There was a plume of smoke, which meant something was on fire off in the distance from where they were. "... I am sure this floor would have naturally run out of burnable materials ages ago... So I take it that must be a camp, perhaps to cook some food?" He smiled at his detective work, running the bladed fingertips together as if sharpening them.

That aside though he said "And yeah, I've gotten worse hauls, that's for sure." He smiled happily as he stretches his shoulders out and says "Want to take care of the bandits anyways? They'll either cause problems for us or somebody else eventually, hm?" He looked to Calrex curiously, all but asking for trouble at this point it seemed. His eyes were soon trained on the smoke that went into the sky. The salamanders didn't smoke because nothing was burning, they simply had flame. It was also far too small to be a volcano and too consistent to be a geyser.

((If we are perfectly blunt the phrasing of a lot of things in the tutorials is old and in need of adjustment and alteration. xP It falsely claims for ANY monster to drop loot it needs to have half the HP of the strongest player in the RP instead of being on a killing blow basis :P ... I guess I could be wrong. It does say that -bosses- drop loot regardless of mitigation... Hm... On the other hand though it also falsely claims that you would only get loot on an LD11+ instead of on anything that meets the requirement...

Ah! I know my loophole! In the actual looting post "In order to qualify for dropped loot, a Mob must have at the very least, (Floor Level x 4 Health, Floor Level x 3 Damage) and at least half the health of the highest player in the thread." But I will disregard that final part as mods have explicitly stated on several occasions that it's the killing blow that matters for HP. The monsters I spawned have 27 attack and more than 36 HP which is the requirement for the floor, so I don't need to worry about that at all. tl;dr it says nothing about mitigation being required ^^))

Edited October 29, 2015 by Kalesh

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Oops, accidentally rolled XD, early morning and not fully awake. Just ignore the ID 

ID: 36667

IC:

Calrex gave a nod as Kalesh suggested that the two go and dispatch the bandits from their camp, "Probably a good idea. If we're going to be forming for materials and col in this area we might be better off taking care of them first and stopping any potential problems from starting."

Drawing his sword he gave a nod to the redhead as he gave a calming breath, "If this is anything like last time, these ones shouldn't pose much of a threat at all. Of course that time I had decided to test out Clarence's rank 2 damage potion while battling them. It made the ordeal that much easier. Of course with Kalesh here this will likely go by even faster."

Edited October 29, 2015 by Calrex

[Kalesh 0]

Kalesh nodded in agreement, curious and eager to fight more humanoid npc. The last time he had tried that it was against the elves of the lower floors which by the time he found them were hardly a challenge. As they started off towards the campsite Kalesh asked Calrex "Anything I should keep an eye out for, or are they just basic enemies?" He was of course referring to special attacks or buffs they had that would make this a tougher battle. He had already assumed it was a group of bandits, a single bandit was never an obstacle in any games he had played. Power in numbers was regularly the deal. While approaching they started to head up a hill, Kalesh getting lower to the ground as they reached the top, looking over to see the NPCs interacting with each other just a little bit away from Kalesh and Calrex.

[Calrex 0]

As the two continued towards the camp Calrex kept alert as he persisted his <<Reveal>> skill, allowing him to keep an eye on any potential threats lying in wait, "Not to my memory. They're basic enemies with a fairly standard AI, simply trying to attack every single chance they get. I don't remember them having any special enhancements of bonuses to their stats, so this fight should be a cakewalk. I don't even believe they are outside of the Hate system's influence, so if need be I can still tank their attacks while you rip them up."

Crouching low Calrex took note of the redhead's action, signaling that they had come into viewing distance of the camp. Peering out from their position he gave a nod, "Well, we can approach this one of two ways. We could try and sneak around, taking them out one by one, or I can use my Howl skill and get them all to attack as a single group."