KeotsuEclipse
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I turned my gaze to back to the flaming spiders, as this new player placed his back against mine. If he was a solo player like I thought he was, he should be able to handle himself. If he was a scout for a party, though, then all the better.
Trusting in this new player, I was suddenly more at ease – my odds for survival had just doubled.
Taking this into account, I quickly rushed forward, not intending to give the system the chance to make the first move. As I neared the spider that was to my left, I quickly lifted my blade, setting its position in the air as I also readied my shield.
The spider jabbed forward with its foremost legs, but I was ready: my shield caught one leg, stopping and deflecting the fiery appendage before it could damage me. The other leg, however, was severed, as my sword flew in a horizontal arc, purple tail trailing.
Quickly stepping forward as the creature was stunned from my Sword Skill, activated a single-hit thrusting sword skill, and plunged my blade directly into the thorax of the spider…which, seems like it may have been a mistake.
While its health bar plunged to zero rapidly, the spider suddenly expanded and exploded, in a torrent of flames, the sheer force of which picked me up off the ground and tossed me backwards several feet. Having lost a good 20% of my HP, I picked myself up off the ground and did a quick check.
Gintoki was dancing around one of the spiders, running circles around it and slicing it with his scimitar. Though one would think that the arachnid would be able to scuttle about fast enough to keep the warrior in its sights, Gintoki was making good use of Sword Skills to stun the beast, and thus keep it confused.
From the carcass of the spider I had just defeated, though (or, what was left of it, as it exploded into a shower of orange and red polygons), came four smaller versions of the beast, about the size of a soccer ball. These seem to glow more brightly then their parent, and their flames seemed to roar more viciously.
I made a quick mental check – they most likely didn’t have as high an attack stat, or even HP, but I would be willing to bet that they were not only fast, but that their damage-over-time from the fire itself would be nasty.
“Heads up!”, I yelled, “They explode and split into smaller ones when their HP reaches Zero! And the explosion hurts!”
“Got it!” yelled back the silver haired man. I watched him quickly crouch down, pulling his scimitar behind his back, and then launch forward, while forcing his arms to explode outwards, causing his body to spin rapidly, like a top. An orange spiral was painted in the air as he dashed past the spider, splitting it open, and causing it to explode. Luckily, the momentum from his Sword Skill carried him out of the blast radius before the explosion could damage him.
Quickly returning to the fray, I turned my attention to the large spider remaining on my side – the little ones seemed content to just run about for the moment, and so I would deal with them later.
The spider suddenly reared up, as I began approaching, and launched a ball of fiery silk at me, to which I raised my shield. Though my shield blocked the concussive damage of the flaming orb, blocking it in general had been a bad idea – the silk exploded outwards as it slammed into the wall that was my shield, and wrapped itself around my upper body like a streamer might.
Though the damage was small, it was doing very consistent burning damage. Taking a moment to leap away, I grabbed the mess by the handful, and threw it to the floor. A quick glance told me I had about 60% HP remaining.
Time to step up my game.
As the spider reared up again to launch another volley at me, I was more prepared this time. Rushing towards the beast, I crossed my sword arm across my chest, and began charging energy into my blade, the longsword glowing purple.
When the spider actually launched the shot, I swung my blade as I stepped to my left, sending the mass of flaming silk into the ground, and avoiding any damage as I approached the arachnid.
My shield in front of my body, I plowed right into the beast, and sent it sprawling onto its back, as it had been poised in an upright position. Taking note of my earlier mistake, I recharged, once more, that sword skill, Violent Line.
My sword bit into the chitin shell of the spider as it was splayed helplessly on its back, torn asunder by my steel blade, <<White Rose>>.
I felt a wave of heat wash over my back, as I passed by the explosion – checking my health, though, I could see that I was moving fast enough when I had struck that I had move out of the blast radius, and that I was safe.
Pivoting on my foot, I could see that Gintoki had also finished dispatching the last spider, and was already working on chasing down the straggling, smaller ones.
Adjusting my sword, I watched the spiders to see if they moved in any discernible pattern, and, after focusing on a single one, found that they tended to move in a predictable four loop pattern.
Rushing forward, I stabbed into one of the small spiders, and watched as it exploded with a satisfying “pop!”, and disappeared in a shower of polygons.
Though I had to predict their path, Gintoki seemed to be able to move fast enough to just dash at each of the spiders, and dispatch them with a single slash.
It was only seconds before the smaller spiders had been dispatched.
I could definitely understand the layout of this area. The four spiders would likely be too much for a single player to handle, and if your party was too large, it was likely that lots of people would take burning damage as they stood in the way of the paths of the smaller spiders. It was a cruel tactic that – I assumed – would be very prevalent in the Floor Dungeon. Here, we were simply being introduced into the mechanic.
Sheathing <<White Rose>>, I approached my savoir as I dismissed the congratulating window, and watched as simultaneously, the treasure chest descended back down to the floor.
Taking a few Health Potions from my inventory, I quickly healed up, and then tossed a few to Gintoki, who accepted them with a nod of his head.
“Huh, so, I guess I owe you the treasure?” I said, motioning to the chest in the center of the floor. “Technically, I would be dead if you hadn’t intervened, and the spoils would have been all yours to begin with.”
“Oi, don’t make me out to be some kind of scavenger. I saw someone in trouble, so I ran in to help. Just the type of guy I am. Though, if it’s Col, I’ll definitely be fine if you decide to split it with me.”
I smiled, and on that note, walked over and opened the chest. There was a small golden light as the items inside materialized within the wooden box. Reaching inside, I pulled out what looked to be a dusty book.
“Hm? A book? Well, then you can definitely have it. If it’s not a JUMP, I have no interest in books,” said Gintoki, flashing me crass smile, as I began to finger through the aged pages.
“Oh? Even if it starts a quest?”
“Hm?”
I saw an adventurous curiosity light up in the man’s eyes and thought that, perhaps, I had just made my first friend.
For, there were fewer ways to forge a better bond with someone, than to save their life.
Trusting in this new player, I was suddenly more at ease – my odds for survival had just doubled.
Taking this into account, I quickly rushed forward, not intending to give the system the chance to make the first move. As I neared the spider that was to my left, I quickly lifted my blade, setting its position in the air as I also readied my shield.
The spider jabbed forward with its foremost legs, but I was ready: my shield caught one leg, stopping and deflecting the fiery appendage before it could damage me. The other leg, however, was severed, as my sword flew in a horizontal arc, purple tail trailing.
Quickly stepping forward as the creature was stunned from my Sword Skill, activated a single-hit thrusting sword skill, and plunged my blade directly into the thorax of the spider…which, seems like it may have been a mistake.
While its health bar plunged to zero rapidly, the spider suddenly expanded and exploded, in a torrent of flames, the sheer force of which picked me up off the ground and tossed me backwards several feet. Having lost a good 20% of my HP, I picked myself up off the ground and did a quick check.
Gintoki was dancing around one of the spiders, running circles around it and slicing it with his scimitar. Though one would think that the arachnid would be able to scuttle about fast enough to keep the warrior in its sights, Gintoki was making good use of Sword Skills to stun the beast, and thus keep it confused.
From the carcass of the spider I had just defeated, though (or, what was left of it, as it exploded into a shower of orange and red polygons), came four smaller versions of the beast, about the size of a soccer ball. These seem to glow more brightly then their parent, and their flames seemed to roar more viciously.
I made a quick mental check – they most likely didn’t have as high an attack stat, or even HP, but I would be willing to bet that they were not only fast, but that their damage-over-time from the fire itself would be nasty.
“Heads up!”, I yelled, “They explode and split into smaller ones when their HP reaches Zero! And the explosion hurts!”
“Got it!” yelled back the silver haired man. I watched him quickly crouch down, pulling his scimitar behind his back, and then launch forward, while forcing his arms to explode outwards, causing his body to spin rapidly, like a top. An orange spiral was painted in the air as he dashed past the spider, splitting it open, and causing it to explode. Luckily, the momentum from his Sword Skill carried him out of the blast radius before the explosion could damage him.
Quickly returning to the fray, I turned my attention to the large spider remaining on my side – the little ones seemed content to just run about for the moment, and so I would deal with them later.
The spider suddenly reared up, as I began approaching, and launched a ball of fiery silk at me, to which I raised my shield. Though my shield blocked the concussive damage of the flaming orb, blocking it in general had been a bad idea – the silk exploded outwards as it slammed into the wall that was my shield, and wrapped itself around my upper body like a streamer might.
Though the damage was small, it was doing very consistent burning damage. Taking a moment to leap away, I grabbed the mess by the handful, and threw it to the floor. A quick glance told me I had about 60% HP remaining.
Time to step up my game.
As the spider reared up again to launch another volley at me, I was more prepared this time. Rushing towards the beast, I crossed my sword arm across my chest, and began charging energy into my blade, the longsword glowing purple.
When the spider actually launched the shot, I swung my blade as I stepped to my left, sending the mass of flaming silk into the ground, and avoiding any damage as I approached the arachnid.
My shield in front of my body, I plowed right into the beast, and sent it sprawling onto its back, as it had been poised in an upright position. Taking note of my earlier mistake, I recharged, once more, that sword skill, Violent Line.
My sword bit into the chitin shell of the spider as it was splayed helplessly on its back, torn asunder by my steel blade, <<White Rose>>.
I felt a wave of heat wash over my back, as I passed by the explosion – checking my health, though, I could see that I was moving fast enough when I had struck that I had move out of the blast radius, and that I was safe.
Pivoting on my foot, I could see that Gintoki had also finished dispatching the last spider, and was already working on chasing down the straggling, smaller ones.
Adjusting my sword, I watched the spiders to see if they moved in any discernible pattern, and, after focusing on a single one, found that they tended to move in a predictable four loop pattern.
Rushing forward, I stabbed into one of the small spiders, and watched as it exploded with a satisfying “pop!”, and disappeared in a shower of polygons.
Though I had to predict their path, Gintoki seemed to be able to move fast enough to just dash at each of the spiders, and dispatch them with a single slash.
It was only seconds before the smaller spiders had been dispatched.
I could definitely understand the layout of this area. The four spiders would likely be too much for a single player to handle, and if your party was too large, it was likely that lots of people would take burning damage as they stood in the way of the paths of the smaller spiders. It was a cruel tactic that – I assumed – would be very prevalent in the Floor Dungeon. Here, we were simply being introduced into the mechanic.
Sheathing <<White Rose>>, I approached my savoir as I dismissed the congratulating window, and watched as simultaneously, the treasure chest descended back down to the floor.
Taking a few Health Potions from my inventory, I quickly healed up, and then tossed a few to Gintoki, who accepted them with a nod of his head.
“Huh, so, I guess I owe you the treasure?” I said, motioning to the chest in the center of the floor. “Technically, I would be dead if you hadn’t intervened, and the spoils would have been all yours to begin with.”
“Oi, don’t make me out to be some kind of scavenger. I saw someone in trouble, so I ran in to help. Just the type of guy I am. Though, if it’s Col, I’ll definitely be fine if you decide to split it with me.”
I smiled, and on that note, walked over and opened the chest. There was a small golden light as the items inside materialized within the wooden box. Reaching inside, I pulled out what looked to be a dusty book.
“Hm? A book? Well, then you can definitely have it. If it’s not a JUMP, I have no interest in books,” said Gintoki, flashing me crass smile, as I began to finger through the aged pages.
“Oh? Even if it starts a quest?”
“Hm?”
I saw an adventurous curiosity light up in the man’s eyes and thought that, perhaps, I had just made my first friend.
For, there were fewer ways to forge a better bond with someone, than to save their life.
