Noah happened to be walking in a smaller rural town in the region of Pormont. He had ended up here to trade in a few supplies he had picked off of some of the monsters around the region. While he was still a noob in the grand scheme of things, he mainly stuck to hunting creatures like deer, rabbits, and other simple ones that did not require too much direct combat. He was still trying to learn the trade of the rogue mastery and the one-handed sword after all. As he sat there and counted the small bit of gold he netted from those rabbits paws. As he started to leave the merchant stall a small screen popped up right in front of him. Thinking it was Dempsey trying to contact him, he was a bit surprised it came from some group known as Monster Hunter League. “Hmm who are they and why are they contacting me?” He began to read the message and discovered that there seemed to be some sort of creature sighting nearby this town. The town, to Noah’s knowledge, did not have really any guards or standing militia nearby that could help out. He bit his bottom lip and hit the green button before him accepting the request. This was the first time he was going to be fighting any real monsters, he was a bit nervous. Worst case scenario he died, but dying gave you a slew of negative buffs and afflictions. He’d rather not deal with those if he could avoid it. Hopefully he would not be the only one that was given this request. Noah headed out to the outskirts of the town looking for the beasts that was said to be headed this way. The little screen had mention that the beast was a man eating thorn plant, that did not sound like the nicest thing out there. If it was capable of eating men, then it had to be at least a couple meters tall. It should by all accounts stand out in a crowd. Noah placed his fingers on his forehead and started scanning the area. As he gazed into the horizon he noticed a cloud of dust and a few people running from that area. As the cloud settled his vision locked on the thorn plant monster. It was indeed at least 2 meters tall and probably had a reach with its limbs of about that range as well. “Well this should be interesting…” He pulled out his sword and started to slowly approach the beast, opting to walk in an arch like manner in an attempt to come at the creature from its blind side. He was still some distance away so he should not be the creature’s main focal point at the moment. @Beatle the Bard
Beatle was relaxing on a bench, playing his guitar and practicing his spells. The more he fiddled with it, the more naturally it came to him. It reminded him of all those days spent in his basement as a child, rocking out to guitar hero in front of a virtual crowd. Only now, missing a note or two could mean life or death. Beatle's thoughts raced back to his first dungeon; the helplessness he felt when the serpent towered down in front of him, the pain of combat, the fear of death... Playing guitar in the midst of all that was no simple task. Beatle was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the commotion beginning to stir around him. He was in the middle of an AOE movement spell when his menu popped up with a message. As Beatle put down the guitar to reply, he caught on to his surroundings and grimaced. A giant plant-creature covered in thorns was rampaging near him, evidently heading for his location. Beatle grabbed his guitar and began to run, simultaneously checking the message. "Slay the thorn beast?" Beatle stopped running and looked back. "Im supposed to fight THAT?! All I have is a bit of magic and music! How am I supposed to..." As Beatle ranted to himself, he spotted some movement nearby. A player was approaching the same beast as he was. If he could enlist an ally, this event would become manageable. He sent a message to the player, beginning to move in the direction of the beast. Beatle the Bard Hey, Wanna help me take down that thorn creature? My Name's Beatle, i'm a Bard. Cant do much in combat alone...
As Noah slowly crept up towards the thorn beast a green window popped right in front of his face. It was a party invite but from whom? The name tied to the party was Beatle the Bard...He glanced around the area until his eyes fell on a young male not too far from him. He quickly accepted the invite and opened up the channel for the two of them to talk. “Yo… so you’re trying to take on this beast as well? Having little direct combat skills, Noah was hoping for some sort of sneak attack that could possibly cripple the beast. Perhaps having a second person around would give him such an opportunity. He had no idea what this guy was capable of but judging from the guitar in his hand, it was highly likely that he was some sort of bard class. In most other MMOs the bard was used as a buff support style player, that focused on giving their party increased stats while lowering the stats of the enemy. If that were true perhaps this guy could increase Noah’s striking power and speed while lowering the thorn beast’s speed and defense, then perhaps the two of them could whack this weed. “That guitar you have, are you a bard like class? Does that mean that you can boost my stats? Because if I can get behind it, I might be able to deal a strong blow or two weakening it up a bit...Or if you have any other ideas I’m game.” He did not want to take charge and make this person do whatever he said, if this Beatle guy had a solid plan, Noah would be more than willing to hear him out and try it. @Beatle the Bard
Beatle grinned as the man accepted his party invite. "Noah, huh?" Beatle thought. "Glad people are open to communicating in this game." Suddenly, he could hear Noah in his head, inquiring about the guitar. Beatle looked at the instrument, then bit his lip, trying to think of how to reply. He sent another message to Noah. Beatle the Bard Yeah Im a bard. Sorry, my system doesn't let me speak in-game. I like your idea, and I think I can add to it. I'll move ahead and get it's attention with my music, which will be a dmg buff for you to attack from behind. Sound Good? Fair warning, you'll be taking the lead in this one. Beatle hoped that his brief explanation would be enough, because there wouldn't be any time for him to speak once they engaged the beast. @Noah Krane
Beatle’s system could let him speak in game? That was going to make teamwork a bit trickier, though it was still doable. It seemed that the young male was in agreeance to the plan of attack. It seemed that Beatle would not only boost Noah’s base attack power but he would also act as a distraction for him. This would be ideal, since it would allow Noah to sneak behind the plant. He nodded his head towards the boy to single that he was down for their makeshift plan. His attention returned to the creature before them. It was still going wild, there were a few animals, mainly horses, in its vicinity keeping its attention for the time being. Only two structures seemed to be close to the beast, a farmhouse and a barn. Noah speculated that if he could get to the top of the barn he could jump down and add the force of gravity with his boosted strength and deliver a powerful blow to the beast's’ neck region. As Beatle would start his distraction Noah made a run for the barn. Inside there was a simple ladder that led to the second floor which would have a large double door window that was used to get hay in and out of the barn. He kept to the shadow of the inside and waited for the ideal time to jump down. The beast was still semi focused in this direction but once Beatle got its full attention it would turn its back leaving a clean opening. He just had to lay and wait until then. @Beatle the Bard
Beatle breathed deeply, thankful that the communication wouldn't be an issue. Beatle began playing a simple speed buff, enhancing both of their movement speeds. Beatle made his way near the plant, and once he saw Noah take position, Beatle threw a rock at the plant creature, strumming his guitar dramatically as it turned to face him. Without hesitation, Beatle cast Vine Snare, halting the plant's onslaught and drawing it's aggro. Beatle breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the spell actually rooted the plant. "So Naturamancy does still work..." he muttered to himself. Suddenly, vines began erupting from the ground, jetting towards Beatle like spears. All he could do in responce was run, duck, dive, dip, and generally dodge to live. The Creature wasn't letting up it's onslaught, making it difficult for Beatle to focus on his music, but after a few seconds, Noah's weapon would begin to glow with a greenish hue. If he looked at his status bar, he'd notice a buff appear next to his health. It had no expiration, so long as he was within earshot of the music. Beatle could only pray that this would be enough to put an end to the beast sooner rather than later. @Noah Krane
Beatle’s melody seemed to make Noah’s nimble body even quicker. This kid’s skills were made to be used in a group setting, which was perfect for Noah, though he was left to wonder how well the kid was doing as a solo player. As he waited in the shadows he saw the kid throw a rock right at the creature, a bold move. He hoped that the beast was not quick enough that it would be able to harm Beatle before Noah was able to make his move. As the plant’s attention turned to Beatle, the young muse seemed to have another skill up his sleeve. Plants wove themselves around the giant thorn creature binding it into place. Seeing that this was Beatle’s plan to keep the beast distracted, Noah started his plan of attack. While Beatle avoided the thorny creature's attack, thanks in part to his speed buff, Noah took a few steps back from the window in order to give himself some room to run and attack. Just as he started to run, his sword started to glow a greenish color. Beatle must be buffing me some more! With his sword poised to strike right at the creature’s back neck, Noah made his leap of faith. Thanks to the added speed and attack boost, his blow would strike the creature so fiercely that it would cause it to fall straight to the ground dazed. Noah tumbled to the ground to break his fall and thanks to his rogue skill, sprung right back up with his sword whacking away at whatever limbs of the beast was nearest to him. Hopefully, these blows would be enough to kill or severely wound the enemy. @Beatle the Bard
Beatle watched with satisfaction as Noah leaped through the air, his blade imbued with energy from the guitar. Beatle grinned as the attack landed, carving an impressive chunk out of the monster. Unfortunately, Beatle was a little too relaxed as it happened, and forgot that the beast’s aggro was still on him for a moment. A vine shot out of the ground, puncturing Beatle’s shoulder and doing a nice bit of damage to his HP. Beatle gasped and gritted his teeth, aware by now that his attempts to scream wouldn’t offer him any release. A status ailment appeared on his HUD, alerting him that he was ROOTED. The vine remained lodged in his shoulder, restricting his movement. Beatle had little time to react to it as more began making their way towards him. The creature was obviously damaged, and likely close to death. Beatle had to think on his feet or this wouldn’t end well for him. He had no weapon and no movement, so his only saving grace was his ally. That in mind, Beatle played Song of Valor, which would add an extra attack to his allies next attack in the form of a spectral blade trailing behind the real blade. The 2nd would hit for half damage, effectively multiplying his ally's attack by %150. Hopefully this would be enough to end the beast before it ended him. @Noah Krane
As Noah recovered from the original attack he became aware that Beatle had been harmed by the plant. Things were not going as smoothly as he had first intended. Though Beatle was hurt right now, after that attack Noah seemed to be pulling the argo from the thorn bush. Vines blasted from the ground but thanks to his nimble reflexes he was able to avoid them. As he dodged the vines Beatle started playing a new melody. While Noah felt no different than he did the moment before, he trusted this mute bard to have his back. Now instead of just dodging the blows, Noah, started to make his way closer to the plant. Right as one of the vines came from the ground at him, he did a quick spin causing his left ribcage to be slightly but not enough to prevent him from striking right towards the beast’s face. Though his sword was nothing spectacular, thanks to his skill in the mastery he was able to deal a strong enough blow that the creature was stunned once more. Right as he was started to hop back away a second sword made from the music of Beatle crashed right into the plant seeming to end its life right then and there. Noah gripped his sword tightly waiting to see if the creature would stir once more. Seeming like it was dead, he walked over to Beatle and cut him free of the vine that had jetted out and rooted him. He hoped that the bard was not too injured, if only Noah had a bit more strength and points in his sword’s mastery, he might have been able to end this fight right away and spare the kid from getting hurt at all. Then again, having a magic skill to complement his sword’s attacks would also be something to look into. Either or, Noah had a long way to go before he was able to fight these kind of beasts on his own. Without Beatle’s music, he would not have been so fast or powerful enough to subdue it as he just did. @Beatle the Bard
Upon seeing the beast take the blunt of the empowered attack, Beatle grinned. It was obvious that the beast had been slain, and not a second too soon. Beatle's HP wasn't in any danger of dropping below zero, but the vine in his shoulder made for a very uncomfortable time. Beatle stopped playing as Noah approached him, doing his best to stay out of the blade's path as Noah cut him free. Beatle put a hand on the impaled shoulder, rolling it around a bit as he healed it with his Natura magic. It was a much more satisfying and immediate heal than his Music, but he still struggled to control it. The guitar had several options in terms of its game mechanic, but other magic seemed to be pretty universal in terms of how it's cast. Beatle could only grin at the defeated creature, approaching it and attempting to loot one of the thorns off of the beast. Who knows? Perhaps one day it could be fashioned into a knife?... yeah, not likely. Either way, Beatle shot a message to the guild that hired them. alerting them to the completed task. He held a thumb up to Noah, denoting a job well done.
