Trials, tribulations, and too many monsters DE Quest

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Quest Name:

Trials, tribulations, and too many monsters


Who can participate?:

Maki


Quest Time Frame (How long it takes):

3 to 5 pages


Quest Setting (NDE/DE):

DE


Quest Synopsis:

Not much is known about the Masurao. Especially not after their slaughter by the hands of the Vandenreich. What is known however is that back when they were more than a collection of a few surviving family members they were not a house to be taken lightly. Even the Vandenriech had to take some consideration and care when it came to actually sending off individuals to fight them. Few ever really understood how one house could produce so many powerful individuals. Especially in such a short amount of time. It's not normally possible. However what wasn't known outside the family was that there were a couple "specialty" items the Masurao had crafted specifically to ensure their members were as strong as possible. Thus enter Maki, a fresh younger member who has only just finished their overall basic training of being a quincy and more specifically what a free quincy means. With the family as it is currently it's no surprise that Asmoskon allowed Maki to use the secret method of the Masurao. A dungeon specifically catered to push someone, especially younger family members, to their utmost limits.

The only reason it, normally, wouldn't be used on someone just as fresh from training as Maki is because the threat of death looms to those unwary, cocky, or otherwise too weak to be suitable for the challenge. However times as they are strong family members are necessary. Especially to regrow the house to it's prior strength. Thus Maki takes on the challenge of the dungeon with the promise that if she succeeds she will be far more capable than she had been prior. With this in mind Maki now throws herself head first into the gauntlet. Complete the challenges, defeat her enemies, and maybe she'll have something to show for it. If not? Well she'll serve as fodder for the next Masurao that attempt the guantlet.


Maximum Number of Participants:

Singular


Overall Goal:

1. Defeat the chalice dungeon

2. Grow in power


Number of missions involved:

Main Mission:

1. Find the switch that unlocks the path to a lower portion of the dungeon. - Easy

2. Defeat the Beast-Possessed Soul - Medium

3. Find the second level's switch to progress deeper into the dungeon. - Easy

4. Defeat the Keeper of Old Lords - Medium

5. Find the final dungeons switch and progress to the last boss - Medium

6. Defeat the Pthumerean Descendent and escape the dungeon - Medium



Side Mission:

1. Defeat the available side areas - Easy


BASIC Synopsis of each Quest mission:

Main Missions:

1. So pretty self explanatory. Every level has a switch that prevents the trainee from going to the boss. Until the switch is found and used the trainee cannot go further into the dungeon. This is hidden somewhere within the current floor and is usually guarded by a stronger than average mod enemy.

2. Basically the guardian of said floor. The entrance to the next level of the dungeon is guarded by the floor guardian. Kill the guardian and the door opens allowing the trainee to deeper within.

3. Same as the first mission just a bit harder since enemies are a little stronger.

4. Another floor guardian, another door to unlock. Kill the guardian and move onto the final level. Harder than the former guardian but not an impossible fight, even for a weaker character.

5. Same as the first and third mission. Except this is the hardest switch to reach. A multitude of enemies, a few deathly traps hidden here and there, and of course more higher grade enemies. Harder to do than the former levels but not impossible.

6. Final floor guardian. And the guardian that's actively keeping Wynne in the damnable dungeon. Let alone brought her in. Kill it and she can finally escape and with a reward for completing this "training" facility. Easy peasy.



Side Mission:

1. Between the main dungeons there are extra areas. They simply have more enemies to kill with a special grade enemy for that area as it's "switch guardian". However unlike the main levels these guard useful items that will ultimately aid Wynne and may even be brought with her outside the dungeon if she succeeds. Second and Third level have their own extra zones.


Recommended Class for entry:

Class 8


Special Conditions:

1. Step Techniques are limited to once a post regardless of class. In addition Step techniques only travel 5 feet maximum.

2. Maki can spend Souls (QP) to increase his class level and/or purchase non-release techniques BUT this can only be done at a check point.

3. Maki can be "updated" but only after completing a mission objective. The side mission is applicable to this. Updating specifically means changes in rank, changes in total training SP earned, techniques purchased/refunded outside the quest, and type changes can be applied to Maki.

4. Maki has 2 additional lives. Thus only Wynne's third death is permenant. And on that note if Maki does die their soul is condemned to this dungeon. His fate to be determined by the powers that be.

5. Upon completing a mission, death, or killing special enemies, Maki regains all reiatsu, release posts, stamina and physical health. Status effects that are detrimental cease. Techniques/abilities with cooldowns are reset.

6. There will be an item shop with items themed by the vendor from the game as well as Bloodborne items. These can be purchased by spending bloodechoes (QP). Brief Descriptions will be given upon talking with the vendor. In addition to the vendor certain items will be hidden away througout the level. Descriptions for these items will be given upon aquiring them.

7. When the thread is started, determined by Maki's initial response post, there is a deadline of 2 weeks maximum between posts. Exceptions apply for special circumstances.

8. Air ground doesn't exist naturally. Techniques that create objects in the air are usable however.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Today was the day. Maki had long since talked with Asmoskon about using the chalice. But finally after a couple weeks of him mulling over other options to rapidly increase her combat potential he'd finally agreed. It was a gamble, one that would put her life on the line even. But how was someone supposed to grow if they did not stare death in the eye and push past their current limits? Yes there were slower more life assured ways but time wasn't exactly on any quincy's side, not with the Vandenreich around. So despite any apprehension or even, fear, Maki had already made herself as mentally prepared as she could.

The ritual / final chance to consider another approach was swift. There was a final discussion about what kinds of monsters lied within. With the admission that it could have easily changed given how it hadn't been used in decades. A finaly chance to back down without fear of reprisal. However a quick "No" from Maki made this come and go. From there she'd been led to a more remote vault within the secluded Masurao. One even she'd not realized was present despite her tour of the secluded and varied vaults. And once the entrance to it waas revealed there sat her prize. A chalice. Made of gold, engraved beautifuly with pictures of quincy, various monsters fought, and the death of both sides with Quincy ultimately succeeding. What would be most concerning however was the subtle but ever present aura it radiated.

It was not outwardly aggressive. In fact it was almost inviting. But it held malicious undertones and spoke quietly about threats to a participants life. Obviously this was non-verbal but the closer Maki got the more she realized that every other moment she was getting a vision of a failed attempt. One time a child prodigy who slained even the guardians with ease but was ultimately so cocky that he allowed himself an attack hit him. His lower half did not remain after. Another was a pair of siblings that between the two of them could outmaneuver and critically harm those who challenge the both. Yet a trap seperated the two and they almost immediately were gutted and consumed by various enemies within as they had no fighting style that did not involve the other.

The last, and honestly most horrifying was one of a mother. Though she had no child with her it Maki was shown how frequently she looked to her locket of her child. She was fierce yet patient. Waited for opportunities when her opponents were aggressive and capitlized on mistakes made from even the lowest enemies to the strongest. And she'd almost finished the chalice, she had endured to the final guardian and in fact had almost beaten it. Yet when asked for mercy so long as the means to escape was given she agreed. And as she was about to leave was cut down never to see her family again.

All these visions and more would reveal themselves to Maki as she got closer. The last vision stopping when Maki was finally within touching distance. The aura had even receeded some and she was back to her senses. Asmoskon was watching, waiting to see what her ultimate decision was from near the entrance. The time was now. Enter and attempt to succeed where many, many others had failed. Or refuse and be guaranteed to live for awhile yet. The weight of this decision was damn near physical. Yet regardless of whatever hindrances that would have pushed her to leave the decision had been made prior. She'd join the fray and she'd leave.

Thus when she finally grasped it she felt her sense of control over her body become lost. Her hands would grasp the chalice on either side and bring the open top to her eyes. Within it she saw what she'd assumed to be muddy water or age old wine prior yet upon this closer inspection the answer was incredibly obvious. It was blood. And it was specifically the blood of all other quincy that had failed it's trials as well as the blood of other monsters in there. Yet while Maki was assaulted with this revelation and yet more visions of failed attempts she would be unable to respond or even notice the roiling and bubbling of the blood. How it grew so dark that pitch looked bright compared to it.

Then to even Asmoskon's surprise the blood lept out and with the bodily parts of every being within they grasped at Maki bringing her ever closer. Until the contents of the chalice ultimately consumed her entire person. As far as Maki was concerned she'd have only a last moment to see just how horrifying the various distorted faces of participants and beasts within from the blood before everything went dark and she lost conciousneess. From the outside perspective she was consumed with the blood rejoicing at it's new feast and the faces/appendages reveling in the young quincy's choice. It flailed around before finally being forced to return to it's container. And ultimately settling into a perfect stillness. No bloodstains. No signs of Maki or the sentient blood having ever been present barring one thing. The addition of a new engraving upon the side of the chalice. One that looked eerily like Maki.

When she would finally come to Maki was in an enclosed space. It was made of stone though the energy it radiated off would inform her this was not the natural stone she'd know from the human world. Further more there were roots that came out of various nooks and crannies and trailed the walls to the ground. The floor somehow had managed to have grass and other small forms of plant life grow in between the stones. And the entire place had a subtle glow as though the stone was wetted yet upon inspection would be dry. From where Maki would find herself there was a simple lantern lightning up the room in a gentle lavendar light. Moving on from this room there was a short hallway and a dully shinning gold door hiding whatever room was behind it. On either side were two normal lanterns providing the hallway the light necessary to see.

When Maki was ready she'd be able to move without any issues. Despite the horrifying entrance she was yet left unharmed and was in fact at her current physical and spiritual peak.From here on it would be on her to keep that trend going. Because quite simply, her life depended on it.

[Maki Masurao]

It was interesting how life could change in merely a moment. Just around a week ago, Maki had assumed her mother was the last living relative in her family lineage. How wrong she had been. Masurao. That had been her last name for all of her life, but she had only recently figured out what the name truly meant. She was a descendent from a line of powerful Quincy, ones that had mostly died out due to the actions of the Vandenreich. Why her mother hid this from her she knew not. Perhaps to protect her, perhaps to hide her from the pain of knowing her family history. Either way, blood will eventually find blood. And whether it was fate or something else, she had met Asmoskon, and learned the history of her family.

There were perks to being a Masurao it seemed. They had ways to strengthen their youth. Relics, rituals, and otherworldly things. The chalice was one such thing. It was dangerous of course, as most things were. But Maki needed to gain strength as quickly as she could. The Vandenreich would eventually come once again to purge their bloodline, and she needed to be ready. She was weak, not even strong enough to form her own Quincy bow. She wouldn’t stand a chance against the things to come. But that was only for the time being. She would get stronger, or she would die trying. There was no other choice for her.

The chalice that would decide her fate was sculpted in gold and covered in exquisite engravings, showing off a battle between Quincy and monsters. While the imagery was pleasant to look at, Maki couldn’t help but notice the strange aura it radiated. It was sinister, almost curse-like. And the closer she got, the stronger the feeling became until it eventually overwhelmed her. In an instant she was bombarded with visions, telling tales of different Quincy. One was a child prodigy, another was a set of twins, and the final was a mother. All of them met a gruesome end.

The cause for their unfortunate demise was different all across the board. The prodigy died because of his pride, thinking himself infallible. The twins died due to being separated. Although they had each other all their lives, in the end they died alone. Maki had heard a saying once that said no matter how many people you have close to you, in the end you’ll only have yourself. In her opinion, the way the mother died was the worst. She had almost made it, but in the end she was killed because she trusted a monster, never to return to her child. Humans were one of the most deceitful creatures to exist, and monsters were even worse. If you wanted to live, then you should never trust the words of such a creature.

Maki would keep all of these situations in mind and learn from their failures. From the looks of it, she was weaker than all of them, but that was okay. Sometimes you needed more than strength to succeed. She wouldn’t be prideful. Instead she’d be careful and treat every battle with the care it deserved. Second she’d be on the lookout for any trickery. All it took was one mistake for her life to be over. Avoiding such a thing would be in her best interest. And finally she’d treat the enemy with no mercy. The creatures she was sure she’d eventually find were feral beings, horrible monsters, and she would put them down like the beasts they were. If they wanted a chance to repent, they could find that chance in Hell.

Once she got all of her thoughts organized, Maki found herself being pulled into the chalice, unable to resist. How such a thing was possible was unknown to her, and she didn’t even try to figure it out. Smarter people than her had no doubt tried and failed. No, she’d focus more on the present, and the upcoming fights that would be the death of her if she was unprepared. And in the next few moments, her vision turned black, and her thoughts ceased. She had been wholly consumed by the blood.

Opening her eyes, Maki pulled herself off from the ground and looked around warily. She had no idea where she was, a different dimension perhaps? And with no way out. But even if there was, she wouldn’t leave. She would leave this place stronger than before, or not leave at all. Tightening the protective gloves around her hands, Maki pulled off the polearm from her back. Giving it a few twirls, she observed her surroundings in more detail. Stone surrounded her. And not normal stone either. She could feel some sort of strange energy radiating off of it, yet she wasn’t sure what it meant. Scratching the wall lightly with her weapon, Maki examined the mark she had just made. Perhaps she could find some clues by doing this?

The ground beneath her feet was in disarray. Mother nature had claimed her territory once more. Various plants and grass sprouted underneath her feet, surviving even in this oppressive darkness. While her vision wasn’t the best here, she wasn’t left in complete darkness either. The surrounding stone had a subtle glow, and a lantern lit up the rest of the room. Leaving her starting position, Maki began to creep quietly through the only pathway forward. She had a feeling she wasn’t alone here, and she’d rather initiate the meeting between the creatures here rather than vice versa. Touching the walls on either side of her with a frown, Maki wondered if the space would open up further inside. She had her bow on her, but shooting it in this environment might actually be detrimental. She would have to see what the situation called for when she got into a fight.

Stealthily approaching the gold door, Maki placed her ear against it, hoping to hear what was on the other side. If there were no concerning sounds, she’d attempt to open it as quietly as she could, pushing it just far enough to squeeze herself through so no light would shine through from the hallway behind her. Once in the room she would aim to keep out of sight and keep her senses keen. Listening for anything strange and trying to spot anything out of place. What foe she would encounter down here was a mystery, and she needed to be prepared for whatever she might face. The odds were stacked against her, but she would persevere. As the Masurao did.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Type: Gadgeteer

Strength: 40
Speed: 50
Spiritual Pressure: 50
Reiatsu Strength: 25
Instinct: 45
Senses: 45
Energy sensory: 25
Healing Expertise: 0
Light Aura: 50
Dark Aura: 50

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Lack of Fear: 1
Weapons (Polearms): 1
Pain Tolerance: 1
Stealth: 1
Anti-Stealth: 1
Crafting/Forging: 1

SPOILER: Click to show

{Items}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spiritual Steel Polearm (Class 7)}Name: Spiritual Steel Polearm
Description: A rather basic weapon, this polearm is about five feet in length with a blade of approximately eighteen inches at the end. The blade is made of spiritual steel, and the shaft is treated to be similarly durable, though it is slightly weaker than pure steel.
Type of Item: Weapon
Class: 7-1
Item Power (IP): 125 + 100/Class (Max IP: 725)
Offense Type: Physical
Durability: 1.75x Base IP
Bonuses: None
Drawbacks: None
Costs: 3000 Ryo + 1000/Class

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spiritual Steel Longbow (Class 7)}Name: Spiritual Steel Longbow
Description: A rather basic longbow, six feet in size and primarily made out of spiritual steel. Includes a quiver with purchase.
Type of Item: Weapon
Class: 7-1
Item Power (IP): 100 + 100/Class (Max IP: 700)
Offense Type: Physical
Durability: 1.75x Base IP
Bonuses: N/A
Drawbacks: N/A
Costs: 3000 Ryo + 1000/Class

SPOILER: Click to show

{Arrows (20) (Class 7)}Name: Arrows (20)
Description: Spiritual steel arrowheads attached to a shaft made from a low-weight synthetic material. Intended to be used with a bow.
Class: 7-1
Item Type: Bow Ammunition
Item Power (IP): 200 + 100/class, maximum 800.
Offense Type: Physical.
Durability: Equal to Item Power.
Bonuses: Intended as disposable ammunition, the shaft of each arrow melts into gaudy pink gel shortly after impact, leaving only the arrowhead behind.
Drawbacks: Consumable items; once used, these items are lost, regardless of thread rating. Each individual arrow may only be used once. Using bow ammunition requires a bow of equal or lesser Class than the arrow.
Cost: Sold in 20 arrow bundles for 2500 Ryo + 750 Ryo/Class.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Protective Gloves (Class 7)}Name: Protective Gloves
Description: These gloves are made of a flexible carbon-fiber substance woven with spiritual steel threads, protecting the user's hands against attacks up to a certain degree.
Type of Item: Armor
Class: 7-1
Item Power (IP): 100 + 75/Class (Max IP: 550)
Offense Type: N/A
Durability: 3x Base IP
Bonuses: These gloves are particularly effective against blades, so any attack with a bladed weapon will be treated as though these gloves have 10% more IP than normal (i.e. 100 becomes 110).
Drawbacks: N/A
Costs: 2000 Ryo + 2000 Ryo/Class.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

For all Maki's inspections of the space she was now within all she'd figured out was that it was an alternate dimension that was flooded with spiritual energy. In truth it wasn't all that different from the inherent nature of the Soul Society. Everything made of energy but still eeirly similar to the physical world. The same held true for this place. When Maki scratched the stones she'd made just a simple scratch. No earth shattering revelation. The room and it's contents stayed the same. Dim but not imposing her vision. If she looked around long enough she'd find a couple small bugs crawling around doing their thing.



The golden door was much the same as the rooms prior. It held no traps and when she listened through it she heard nothing. Well nothing that indicated an enemy was nearby. The only noteworthy thing was that she heard air flowing through the door. Which given the edges weren't 100% fitted made sense. This was so no section of the labyrinth wasn't air tight. The only big thing that might have come as a concern to Maki about the door was that it was akin to a gate. She had to lift it up to open it. And when she was half way through lifting it, the door continued to open itself. And her reward for opening the door? Another hallway. Same as the one behind her. Made of stone, with grass and some other plant life crawling through the cracks and spaces in the ground. More roots in the cieling doing much the same. And a soft glow all over the stones helping ensure she could see. The hallway was about 30 feet long and at the end was a large room.



As far as Maki could tell there was nothing out of place here. In fact aside from the stones and plant life there wasn't much of anything at all. Except in the big space. Something that looked eerily reminscient of coffins were laying against a wall. And some other broken wood was on the floor. That was a bit strange considering the place didn't look like it had much plant life that could produce wood. Perhaps though the chalice had been a storage facility prior to it being a dungeon that housed things to test the mettle of the Masurao. Another point to note however was how dead silent this place was. Nothing, not even out in the middle of nowhere was dead silent. Not unless one wasn't paying attention. But Maki was, and there wasn't a sound being made. Well, aside from perhaps the click of her feet against the ground but that was it.



Now what Maki didn't know was that at the end of the hallway in the big room there was a single enemy. One who'd heard her enter the private realm. Let alone open the door to the connecting hallway. Mind you this thing, a frail and almost skeletal humanoid wasn't exactly the smartest thing around. And certainly not the strongest. However it was waiting with bated breath behind to the right of the entrance into the big room. And with a dagger in hand it was ready to stab whatever came through. And having waited gods know how long since the last time anyone came in, it would wait another millenia if it needed to, to ensure it could get the first meal it'd had in a long time.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Undead corpse Stats / Skills}
Stats:

Strength: 80 (120)
Speed: 60 (75)
RS: 10 (5)
SPPR: 10 (5)
Instinct: 60
Senses: 60
ES: 0
HE: 0


Skills:

Weapon-Knives: 1
Pain Tolerance: 2
Bleeding Tolerance: 4
Poison Tolerance: 4
Battle Focus: 1
Stealth: 1

[Maki Masurao]

The golden door that Maki opened was interesting. In the way that it was more of a gate, rather than a door. Not many doors opened upwards after all. She only had to lift it up halfway before a hidden mechanism raised the other half. On the other side of the door was another long decaying hallway. Judging from the fact that she had crossed such an environment a few moments before, she had a feeling that long creepy hallways was a theme in this area. Roots of various sizes were interspersed above her, so she was most likely located somewhere underground. She wasn’t sure what to do with this information, but she’d keep it in mind in case she needed it later.

A large room was situated at the end of the hallway, and with no door blocking it. Odd. Squinting her eyes in suspicion, Maki tightened her grip on her weapon as she inched forward slowly. It was strange that she hadn’t seen any enemies yet. It was less of that they weren’t there, and more of the fact she just hadn’t spotted them yet. This strange dimension was meant to train her, so having no enemies appear would ruin the whole point of the chalice. If she had to guess, there was an enemy somewhere up ahead in the room in front of her. She just needed to figure out where it was.

Creeping up quietly to the entrance of the room, Maki peered inside to see if she could spot anything strange. Coffins lined the walls, arranged in a peculiar manner. Along with broken wood. Which was never a good sign. She would prefer if the dead stayed dead, but judging from the signs it didn’t seem like that was the case. All evidence pointed against it. The greenery that grew from the ground wasn’t enough to produce the wood remnants that were scattered on the floor. No, something that was inside a coffin had broken out, she was sure of it. Somewhere in this room there must be a broken coffin, she just needed to spot it. After figuring out where its inhabitant went of course.

Another unnerving thing was the silence. There was no sign of life, yet Maki knew it was just a facade. Monsters lurked in these halls, foes she needed to vanquish. The only sound she could hear was the faint sound of her footsteps, which she quieted to the best of her ability. While her stealthiness wasn’t the best, it was still pretty good. Well above average if she had to guess. Not only that, but she also prided herself in being able to reveal those who tried to remain hidden. Which was how she found out where her first foe was hiding.

Her opponent was deadly silent, blending in almost perfectly with its environment. If she only relied on her ears, perhaps she would have never noticed it. But Maki utilized all her senses to the best of her ability, not just her ears. The light in the room was dim, but it was light nonetheless. And with light came shadows. As she poked her head in through the door and examined her surroundings, she noticed the vague silhouette of something strange to her right. The coffins lining the walls created shadows as well, but they were uniform. Rigid. The thing on her right side was not. It could just be another strange shaped object, but she’d rather jump at shadows than be taken by surprise. And jump she did.

Leaping into the room as quickly as she could, Maki brandished her weapon and faced towards the right side. And it was there she saw her foe, staring at her motionlessly, with deadpan eyes and a haunting look. Ignoring the goosebumps that were now lining her arms, she examined the creature closely. It resembled some sort of undead, which made sense assuming it came from a coffin. Only certain types of creatures left those after all. It was frail, almost skeletal. But appearances could be deceiving. Who knew how much strength lay hidden in those bones. It was also brandishing a sharp dagger, and one didn’t need much strength to make such a weapon dangerous. Still, Maki felt she had the advantage currently. It was why she liked using polearms so much.

Her reach was longer than the undead, around 4 feet longer if she had to guess. As long as she kept her distance, the fight should go in her favor. Holding her polearm in her hands firmly, Maki would attempt to thrust her weapon at the undead’s legs, aiming to restrict its movement first. The strategy for this fight would be simple, keep her distance while bombarding the enemy with attacks that outranged it. First she would go for the legs, and then the arms. She doubted stabbing it in the chest would do anything since it was already dead, and the head was too difficult of a target to aim for. No, damaging the leg was a safer bet.

As Maki fought, she would attempt to fight as safely as she could. This was her first foe, and she wasn’t sure of the strength its decaying body held. She needed to be on the lookout for any tricks. It wasn’t even human, so she couldn’t treat it like one. She doubted it could feel pain, and it could probably fight past life threatening wounds, seeing as how it wasn’t alive to begin with. She would also keep an eye out on the nearby coffins. If one undead could break out, that meant another could as well. And she would hate to be caught off guard.

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Skills Utilized: Lack of Fear, Weapons (Polearms), Stealth, Anti-Stealth

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

The corpse, if it could, would have let loose a smile that made children cry. It was missing several teeth and its skin was like a rubber band stretched far too thin and tight against the frame of it's body. Sadly it was hidden behind bandages long since worn and useless. Not to mention it's body was only able to move so much with the muscles atrophied to the point they were now. Still that didn't stop it from raising it's right arm up and attempting to stab Maki dead in the head. The only issue with this was how slow it was to actually commit to this. By the time it actually went for the kill Maki had decided to receed into the entrance and then leep out.

For better or worse she'd found it out. And now it was going to be a fight that it didn't really want. Especially considering it was locked in a corner due to the strange space they were in. Still this wasn't it's first fight so it knew one thing. It had to get closer, but that polearm wasn't going to make it easy. Or so it thought. When Maki made an attempted swipe at it's legs it simply hopped over it and landed directly on top of it. Unfortunately for Maki moving it would be hard given how much difference there was in the strength between the two. Still it did look like it was using all it's strength to pin the weapon. And thus was still in just as much an odd position as prior. Given if it moved any she'd have fair play on it's legs.

With this in mind the corpse then did the only other thing it could do. It flung the knife at Maki's chest. She only had a few feet between them. And in order to fully dodge she'd likely have to let go of the polearm. Or she could tank the knife and keep him pinned. If she did the latter the corpse and it's limited sentience wasn't actually sure what it'd do after. It was really banking on her dropping the weapon and dodging. From there getting in close and clawing at her would be easy. Until she made her decision however the corpse simply continued to exert the full extent of its strength on the polearm to keep it down and immoble.

[Maki Masurao]

Maki’s foe was quicker than she thought it would be, showing that it's atrophied muscles were just for show. Her initial jab was evaded, and with a simple hop she now had an undead currently standing on her weapon. It was an impressive feat, since the shaft of her weapon wasn’t that large. Regardless, she was unable to pull it from beneath her opponent’s feet. Perhaps if she was stronger she might be able to, but since she wasn’t, her weapon was there to stay for the time being.

Naturally Maki did not remove her hands from her only close ranged weapon, as she would be virtually defenseless if she did such an act. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that the undead’s brain wasn’t as rotted as its body. Which it quickly showed by throwing it's dagger at her. Now she was left with two options. Evade to dodge the attack and leave her weapon, or tank the hit which would leave her wounded, but with her polearm still in her hands. Luckily for her, Maki prided herself for being prepared. And while she would have never imagined a situation such as this, she still had the means to deal with it. If there wasn’t an option favorable to her, then she would make her own!

With her right arm still holding onto her polearm, Maki would raise her left arm to block the oncoming dagger. Normally such a thing would be foolish, as her arm would be rendered useless once it was hit. But that was only the case if it actually hit her arm. No, her arm wasn’t as defenseless as it seemed, seeing as how it was covered by protective gloves. And not just any gloves, but gloves made of carbon-fiber woven with spiritual steel threads! It had cost her a pretty penny, but she would rather lose money than lose an arm. Not only that, but these gloves specialized in blocking bladed weapons, something that the dagger was.

Only time would tell if her gloves were as durable as the seller made them out to be. Once the dagger situation was dealt with, if Maki was left with no serious wounds she would attempt to remove her weapon from underneath the undead’s feet. If she was successful, she would change her battle strategy and thrust her weapon at its neck instead, seeing as how her opponent’s footwork was more impressive than she thought it would be. If the blocked dagger was in her reach, she would pick it up before throwing it back at its owner, aiming for the head. Even if it missed, it wouldn’t be that much of a concern for her, seeing as how it wasn’t her weapon to begin with.

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Item Utilized:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Protective Gloves (Class 7)}Name: Protective Gloves
Description: These gloves are made of a flexible carbon-fiber substance woven with spiritual steel threads, protecting the user's hands against attacks up to a certain degree.
Type of Item: Armor
Class: 7-1
Item Power (IP): 100 + 75/Class (Max IP: 550)
Offense Type: N/A
Durability: 3x Base IP
Bonuses: These gloves are particularly effective against blades, so any attack with a bladed weapon will be treated as though these gloves have 10% more IP than normal (i.e. 100 becomes 110).
Drawbacks: N/A
Costs: 2000 Ryo + 2000 Ryo/Class.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

There were many options that could have been chosen by either individual. In fact Maki was in a rather good spot to have more decisions than the corpse was. What the corpse never expected to see however was that a pair of gloves could be used for legitmate protection. Sure a grip was one thing. Sure to protect from the elements was another. But flat out deal with a weapon? That was not something it'd ever seen. Now that isn't to say the it couldn't deal with it but this did put the corpse into a bit of a bind. The glove at best got knicked but seemed to suffer no real damage at all. Not to mention the knife was actually bounced off about 5 feet from Maki. So neither could get to it easy.

However that's when Maki made the opening it needed. She tried to pull the polearm back and return the weapon would but not because she managed to do it on her own strength. Instead the corpse quickly grabbed it and aimed it's butt end to her stomach and pushed. This would ensure that she'd get slammed by the polearm and give the corpse an opening to run away from the corner. Granted it was not going to make it to the knife in time but it could be in a more open section of the large room.

Speaking of the large room, it was far larger than any other room Maki had been in up until this point. It was a room shaped like a perfect cross amd about 60 feet in length from either rectangle. However the width of the room was about 30 feet, making the entire space increddibly large. Except where the main walking tiles were there were large pillars on about 5 feet wide that extended from the surface to the ceiling. These were spaced out every 5 feet from one another and lined the main walkway. There was no door before Maki but there was a door to the rooms left and right most sections. The left most door was hidden behind a gate with it's lanterns a dull violet color. Meanwhile the right entrance was less a door and more just an opening with a couple super rusted and barely present hinges.

To no one's surprise the corpse did not in fact run to the doorframe it instead ran to the nearest pillar and hid behind it. Every intent to have Maki guess where it would come from. Thankfully though it didn't have to pick immediately. It could wait Maki out and determine which way she was going off of how her feet clicked against the stone floor. From there it would make its decision and then, hopefully, end this for good. It was hungry afterall and it wanted to consume Maki's flesh like no other.

[Maki Masurao]

“Oof.” Letting out a grunt, Maki tensed her stomach as the undead rammed her polearm into her stomach. In the time it took for her to regain her breath, it had already vanished, hidden behind a pillar. Annoyingly the pillars were quite large, enabling her opponent to easily hide behind it. From her position, she could no longer see any part of the creature, which made things quite dangerous. She would need to be careful with her next move.

On the bright side of things, her gloves were well worth the money, easily protecting her limbs. Her opponent was now weaponless as well, although it could still use its claws and teeth as weapons, so it wasn’t completely defenseless. Still, it was better than it having a knife. Walking to the prone dagger cautiously, Maki picked it and placed it in her fanny pack. This way she gained a weapon, and the undead wouldn’t be able to pick it back up.

The area in front of Maki branched out, with the left and right sides disappearing into the darkness while the area in front of her ended in a dead end. She couldn’t really see more of the area past that point since she would have to cross the pillars before doing so. If she didn’t want to die, she needed to deal with the ongoing threat first, and then figure out where to go next. The question was, what was the right move? She doubted she could wait the undead out, seeing as how it was dead and she was alive. She had no idea how long it had been in this room, but it was probably longer than she was alive. No, she would have to take the initiative. That was the only way to gain the advantage.

Since it's senses were pretty keen, Maki decided not to take it slow this time around. Running towards the rightmost corner of the area she was in, she leapt past the rightmost pillar and attempted to spot the undead. She was pretty sure it was behind one of the middle pillars, so there should be a few feet of space between the two. If she spotted the undead, she would rush it and attempt to thrust her polearm at him, aiming for his upper torso and neck area, all while keeping a few feet of distance from it. If she didn't spot him, she would continue her journey to the dead end in front of her before quickly turning around, leaving her back to the wall. This way there would only be one direction the undead could approach her from.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

The corpse was being as clever as it's remainder of a brain allowed it to be. And clever enough that the opening had given it the chance it needed to escape. Still as it listened it could only do so much when it came to getting an idea of where Maki was. Sure it could hear her footsteps against the stone but even that was pretty basic. And it couldn't really tell specifics unless she was actively getting closer. This meant the corpse had only one real means of making sure it knew where Maki was. And that was by poking it's head out and making sure it could glance at Maki. There was one major downside to this however. One it didn't have much a means of figuring out until it was a bit too late.



While it could hear her footsteps, as mentioned it couldn't determine where she was well because of them. Thus with Maki moving across the space rather than to or away from it it was "blind" as far as it was concerned. Worst yet it was hiding near the right edge of the pillar so as Maki got further to the side she would slowly be able to see more of it. Without the corpse knowing she could see it. This ultimately spelled its doom. When Maki had walked about 10 feet across she'd have seen the left arm of the corpse. And with a couple feet more it's left side. To make matters worse for the corpse it had finally decided to poke its head out to the left to see where Maki was.



By this point it'd notice that it's death was practically hand served for it. This being due to the fact that the corpse without having the time to react had suddenly realized it was impaled from it's upper ribcage, through a lung, and ultimately into and out of it's neck. The worst part? She was still distant enough from it that even at full reach the thing couldn't get close enough to attempt to scratch her. Thus while it's eyes already looked dead, assuming she'd moved the bandages around it's head and eyes, what little life quickly left them. All the while it simply growled and glared wishing to whoever would listen to curse Maki. She'd realize it was dead once it'd gone quiet and had it's head leaning upon her polearm's blade.



From here the path foward was clear. The only open door was the entrance that's hinges had long since deteriorated. If she took a closer inspection it looked like it was another large room. One that was 60 feet tall with two stairs on either side of the room. They led up two stories worth of distance. The first story having an incredibly aged and grey skinned woman just muttering to herself and ringing a small bell. She was in a black cloak and hood alongside a black dress. Around her were three spiders the size of a large dog and worse yet they were red and glowing. They simply skittered to and fro on the level of the aged woman, some affectionately rubbing their body against her. Meanwhile on either staircase there was another walking corpse going up and down slowly. Whether from it's joints being atrophied and locked up or the steps being larger and steeper than necessary could only be told once she was closer.



Lastly she'd see another area on the second story level. However she'd only be able to know it existed. There was no way with the small entrance and the height above her that she could know what was up there. Maki may have thought the singular corpse was bad. But from a first glance into the next room it was obvious this was going to be FAR more challenging than she'd initially anticipated. Especially if she just ran in. So the ball was in her court for now given nothing had noticed her presence and was simply doing there own thing in the next room.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Rewards}
+45 QP from class 8 enemy
+300 Ryo from same enemy

Rewards increased due to DE thread.

[Maki Masurao]

As Maki moved across the pillar, she was immediately able to spot her elusive opponent. Twisting her foot and thrusting herself towards the undead, she jabbed her polearm towards her opponent, piercing through its ribcage. She’d jab it a few more times to make sure it was dead, a few times through the body, and once through the head. If it came back from that, she wasn’t sure what she would do. Taking a moment to gather her breath, Maki wiped off her blade on the undead’s garments. In the near future, she’d have to revise her battle strategy since her old one was a little rough around the edges. Even though her opponents seemed to be undead, they still seemed to value their organs somewhat. She wasn’t sure why that was the case, but she would be sure to use it to her advantage.

Now that she was left alone, she could finish exploring the area. The area to her left was blocked off by a gate, which left her only one path to progress through. The way to the right. This way led to a large open room that seemed to be around 60 feet tall. Quite spacious. Easy for things to hide and move around in. On either side of the room were stairs that went up two stories. The first story contained an old woman with a small bell hobbling around. Surrounding her were three glowing red spiders the size of large dogs. Closing her eyes in a moment of frustration at the sheer absurdity of such a thing, Maki opened them a few moments later and continued her examination of the room. Beyond the lady and her menagerie of pets was another undead, one for each set of stairs. Judging from the amount of enemies and the variety of them, the difficulty of the room was probably at the very least quadruple from the room before. She would need to be very careful with this one.

Pulling her head back from the entryway, Maki looked at the distant enemies as she narrowed her eyes in thought. Picking off the enemies from stealth was her preferred strategy, but she was unsure if she was capable of such a feat. She had barely been able to defeat one undead, and now not only would she have to potentially fight two, but she had the spiders to deal with as well. Normally spiders weren’t that threatening, but when they were the size of dogs, they were suddenly quite frightening. Still, the enemies were spaced out, so if she was fast enough she might have a chance. Plus she had the element of surprise and distance on her side this time around. 

Swapping her polearm from her back with her bow, Maki placed an arrow onto her bowstring and crouched down quietly in the darkness. Narrowing her eyes, she aimed her arrow at the old lady before launching the projectile once she was confident in her aim. Out of all the opponents present, the old lady seemed the most dangerous. So if she was able to get rid of her first, Maki was sure the upcoming battle would be easier. Plus the spiders could only do so much as arachnids, while she wasn’t sure what special abilities the women possessed. And even if the undead of the stairs heard the noise her arrow made, it would still take them a bit to get to her, and she could retreat back into the hallway before they could reach her. It wasn't a foolproof plan, but the best one she could think of for the time being.