Problems which Stump you [Oxford/Invite]

[Hyōka]

my name is hyōka

with this name i hold i will scream out

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Hyoka trudged through the swamplands as he headed in no particular direction. His aim for being out here? Nothing. If he had to say, it would be exploration, getting to know the land, getting to know his character and how to move properly, and to gain practical experience, not game experience. Which is why he was mapping out the land in his head as he went and learning what monsters there were. He didn't exactly research all the monsters and stuff before logging in, not that he could since the London Server was brand new. Looking around, he could see some monsters here and there. And the smell sucked. Since he was still level one, it was quite dangerous to be out here alone but he didn't particularly care. He was keeping a well enough guard up and hands free to hopefully prevent drawing the aggro of opponents. On top of that, he was ready to call out his summon if the need be. He had been out here for half an hour already, just doing nothing in particular. One level 1 monster attacked him, but he dealt with it easy enough. Now he only had to make it back when he was finished.

Walking around for a bit longer, he found a random possessed stump, level 1. This one he could at least practice his scouting on. Confirming it wasn't aggressive, he walked up to it slowly and then started scouting. after a few moments, he quickly backstepped in time to avoid a smack in the face. With his hand out in front, he got ready to summon in the event it continued. It didn't continue, so he was safe for the meantime. Backing off, he decided to walk away out of range before it changed its mind. Giving a sigh, his face was rather expressionless as always, unconsciously acting as if the things around him didn't concern him. Always viewing himself from a third person, even now that he had become his own avatar in a game. Finding an isolated, dry and safe spot, Hyoka sat down to rest. In real life, he wasn't particularly into sports, but neither was he unfit.

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TAG: Hyoka, 0xf0rd WORDS: 364
NOTES: none
OUTFIT: none

Temp by Melz @Caution 2.0, cyberlink, @adoxography and RPGD

[Deleted]

HP: 100% MP: 100% Status: The Elusive Stump Weapon: Antiqua Longsword (1H) | Armor: Antiqua Plate Armor The thought had haunted Oxford last night, leaving him tired and sleep-deprived as he made his way towards the Marshlands: Is it possible to tame a Possessed Stump? He couldn't rest until he possessed a Possessed Stump. The Guardian had to know as he made his way into the mud-drenched lands. The familiar sound of the soggy earth engulfing his boots echoed in his ears, determined to keep Oxford from getting the answer to reclaim his sanity. But wait, what was that? Could it be...? Yes, yes it was. A lovely, somewhat-animated stump was wriggling further ahead in the distance. Letting his sleep-deprived state take over, Oxford pointed at the immobile monster and let out an elated cry of happiness. "SCORE!" The Half-Alv held up his tower shield, using it to absorb the brunt of whatever objects the stump could get its rooty hands on. Rocks, mud, twigs, mud, small woodland creatures, mud, you name it. Oxford tried not to laugh when he heard a chittering squirrel smack against his defense with a small thud, but when you're going around with little to no sleep, you find everything funny. Eventually the barrage of objects stopped, the Stump now directly hitting the shield with its bark-covered appendages. Oxford pushed the shield forward with one arm, trying to limit the distance between the shield and the Stump's 'arms', making it harder for the has-been tree to whale on him. Using his free hand, he reached out and touched the top of the Stump's, er, stump. [Scout] took affect, the livid wood creature now letting its limbs dangle in the air, slowly swaying as time passed. Oxford took a couple steps away from it, seeing if it would attempt to move closer to his position. Nothing. The Stump just sat there, its derpy arms moving around like one of those weird crazy dancing balloon men you would see outside in front of places offering a sale of some sort. "Well, that was a good reason to lose a full night's sleep." It was at this point he noticed a presence behind him. Sure enough, there was someone, a person with a dopey look on their face. It was one of those "I don't even give a neep" faces, the kind mysterious people would give off. Oxford was more of a fan of the blank stare, but whatever, didn't matter much either way. "Hey, what's got you down?" A simple question to start off a simple conversation. Words: 413 OOC Notes: -- Tags: Hyōka

[Hyōka]

my name is hyōka

with this name i hold i will scream out

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Walking on further, he came upon a weird sight. Another player, a guardian by the looks, was challenging a possessed stump, standing there with a shield as random things were thrown at him. Oh, there goes a squirrel... Stating one thing in his head on what he saw, he continued to watch as the person got closer to the monster before finally attempting to scout it. And unsuccessfully by the looks of it. With his hair still covering his eyes, the gaze of Hyoka's blue eyes was hidden from the person who suddenly turned to him. Wandering what he would say, he was disappointed that the person whose display name was 0xf0rd could only say so much. ｢If my face is showing a negative look, then sadness wasn't what it is. If anything, it would be disappointment, or hidden evil.｣ Saying those words casually, he approached the stump cautiously in an attempt to scout it himself. If he was lucky, he might get this on the second try. If not, then so be it.

Checking the level, it was again a level one so he should be able to do something. Staying just out of arm's reach but too close to have things thrown at him, Hyoka started scouting. Result: failure. Well, he wasn't expecting much. Moving away so as to not be attacked, he looked at the guardian with his usual expressionless face. ｢Hyoka. Animal Trainer. You?｣ Not wanting to drag out a conversation, he used the bare minimum words with no gestures in order to find out more about this person. As for himself, being a level one, there was no point being afraid. The one in front of him appeared higher level, but there was nothing to gain from someone still level 1. He would probably be going up soon, but he had nothing valuable on him except his starting gear. Emotional responses aren't really applicable to Hyoka who cuts himself off from most things. While waiting for a response, he began looking around to confirm where he was so he wouldn't get lost. He had the beginner skill, Call Of Home, but he preferred to do things himself. Spotting a couple of monsters that were low level, he was tempted to go train, but if he drained his health and mana too much, he would have a harder time getting back.

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TAG: Hyoka, 0xf0rd WORDS: 395
NOTES: none
OUTFIT: none

Temp by Melz @Caution 2.0, cyberlink, @adoxography and RPGD

[Deleted]

HP: 100% MP: 100% Status: Tag-Team Trunk Taming Weapon: Antiqua Longsword (1H) | Armor: Antiqua Plate Armor The Guardian stood by as the Summoner attempted to approach the Stump as he tried to process the adventurer's response. Apparently, he was bummed out because he couldn't manage to Scout the Stump Ox had already gotten. It didn't take long for the effect to wear off, the Stump now throwing things at the pair of adventurers. The Summoner got up at this, approaching the Stump while trying not to get hit with the deluge of mud and other assorted swamp objects. Another Animal Trainer? His guess was confirmed when the Summoner came back from his unsuccessful attempt Scouting attempt. He responded in kind when the Summoner told Ox his name and subclass. "Oxford. Same thing." Hyoka began to walk around to search for other lower level monsters, Oxford staring back between the stump and the Summoner as a plan came to mind. "You know, if you need help Scouting the Stump, I can help you with that." Without waiting for a response, Ox walked back over to the stump and performed a [Taunting Shout], pulling full aggro from the creature. He held up his shield again as the stump began to fling things towards the Guardian, its attention riveted to Oxford. "Alright, you can get in behind it and Scout it easier now." He had hoped he made a wise move to let Hyoka get some more Animal Training experience. Otherwise, he'd gotten his armor dirtied for nothing. The Possessed Stump continued to throw and throw, like a perpetual pitching machine that never ran out of baseballs. The way it was throwing some of the occasional rocks at Ox, they might as well have been baseballs. A hit to the head from one of those would probably render you comatose. Words: 291 OOC Notes: -- Tags: Hyōka

[Hyōka]

my name is hyōka

with this name i hold i will scream out

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Hearing the Guardian's proposal as he walked, Hyoka halted on the spot as he thought about it. Didn't seem to bad of an idea, but what did he have in mind? Seeing the Guardian use an aggro skill, Hyoka understood the intent as he began approaching from behind the attack, not bothering with his guard at this point. Once within range, he used his Scouting again on the stump. This time it was... a success. Surprisingly. As the stump 'warmed up' to him, the amount of debris it threw decreased. After it stopped for a little bit, it quickly picked up one last rock and tossed it at Oxford. Having nothing better to do, Hyoka began translating actions into random things. ｢It says it doesn't like you.｣ Right after that, it threw one last scoop of mud for good measure. ｢And it hates your shiny armor.｣ Of course, all of this was made up. Giving a little talk to the stump, he walked away from it satisfied.

｢This one's done. Wanna find another?｣ Still speaking without adding any sort of emotion to his speech, his blank and expressionless face just added to the uncaring appearance of his. Without waiting for a response, he waved goodbye to the stump and continued walking, looking around for another stump. There must be one out there somewhere. After a while, he found another level one stump just sitting around doing nothing in particular. Summon Familiar - Skeleton. Saying that command in his head, he summoned his skeleton soldier in front of him and told it to grab the stump's attention. It was funny to watch as Bones walked up to the stump and banged it on the head with his shield before backing off and raising its shield up again to block incoming attacks while protecting his summoner. Looking towards Oxford, Hyoka used a simple head gesture to tell him to get moving. His eyes were still hidden. Turning his attention back to the fight, he made sure Bones didn't go rushing ahead and also that his HP didn't drop too low.

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TAG: Hyoka, 0xf0rd WORDS: 347
NOTES: none
OUTFIT: none

Temp by Melz @Caution 2.0, cyberlink, @adoxography and RPGD

[Deleted]

HP: 100% MP: 100% Status: Oh Hey, It's Skeletor Weapon: Antiqua Longsword (1H) | Armor: Antiqua Plate Armor Why all this Hate? To answer simply, it probably had something to do with Ox aggroeing the stump. But on the other hand, the thing was under Hyoka's Scout ability, so why did it still attack him? He knocked away the rock that the Stump threw at him with his shield, only to leave him open to receive a nice glob of mud on his chestplate. The putrid smell hit his nostrils, causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust. When Hyoka had asked him if he was ready to find another stump, he nodded towards him, waiting until he was done waving goodbye to the stump before moving on. Taking his shield in both hands, he raised it high above his head and brought it crashing down on the Stump. [Hammer Beat] worked like a charm, the stump disappearing in data bits as the Guardian slung his shield behind him. "Whoops, sorry. My hand must've slipped." Oxford managed to find the Summoner, who had already found a stump and was having his skeleton summon teach it a lesson. He let out a little laugh as he watched the skeleton dance around the stump, hitting it on the head as he jumped around. He caught a glimpse of movement from the Summoner's direction, motioning for him to go ahead and tame the distracted stump. Oxford let out a sigh as he walked up to it and placed his palm on the trunk's head. He made sure to wait while the skeleton was being bombarded with projectiles before putting his hand on the stump. Didn't need Skeletor whacking him on the hand with his shield. No sooner had the Guardian placed his hand on its surface, the roots of the stump wrapped itself around Oxford. It wasn't the kind of entanglement meant to ensnare or strangle someone, but more of like...well, like a hug. "Okay, okay. I love you, too." He patted one of the roots as he simultaneously tried to pry it off of him. Despite being only a level 1 Possessed Stump, this thing's grip was hella tight. He gave the Summoner a look of his own, a look that said "a little help here?" Words: 366 OOC Notes: -- Tags: Hyōka

[Hyōka]

my name is hyōka

with this name i hold i will scream out

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Seeing the expression Oxford was making, Hyoka first showed a face like "you expect a low level like me to be able to do something?" before turning his head to the side, as if shunning the guardian. A few moments later, Bones went ahead and cut the stump's grip, followed by cutting its arms and then slicing the stump apart without giving Oxford a chance to complain or even celebrate having scouted it. To finish it off completely, Hyoka fired a spell shot using his grimoire for good measure. Once that was over with, he unsummoned his skeleton and walked over the the guardian. ｢So? Satisfied? Or do you wanna keep going?｣ Since he had nothing in particular to do, he could tag along for the meantime. Also of note, the reason the stumps attacked the person who didn't scout it is probably because the two weren't in a party. Though, this was probably for the best if they want to keep going with the bait and scout tactic.

Keeping on walking, he did nothing in particular as he traveled. He kept an eye out for anything attacking him and for potential monsters to scout, but if anything he wanted some combat experience. He still had to upgrade the gear for his skeleton. Maybe get some full plate armor and turn it into a knight if you can't see any bone. But would that break the bones, not being able to support the weight? Then he had to decide what weapon style it would be. One handed open hand, two handed, sword and board, or whatever else was available. Still, these marshlands were rather annoying to walk through. It would be better if there was something worthwhile on the other side. Maybe he might just go and take a trip to find another city. Not like he has anything better to do. Looking around once more, he found a stump at level 3 and a goblin scout at level one in the opposite direction. ｢So, what do you want to do?｣

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TAG: Hyoka, 0xf0rd WORDS: 341
NOTES: none
OUTFIT: none

Temp by Melz @Caution 2.0, cyberlink, @adoxography and RPGD

[Deleted]

HP: 100% MP: 100% Weapon: Antiqua Longsword (1H) | Armor: Antiqua Plate Armor Ox was free from the stump's embrace, thanks to the Summoner and his pal Skeletor. He moved his arms around freely, glad that he was free of the super-friendly, super-clingy stump. Skeletor was sent back to his lair as the Summoner unsummoned him, Hyoka asking the Guardian a question afterwards. "Eh, I've had better scouting/taming experiences." At this, he went ahead and summoned Omo, his level 9 pet Brier Weasel. The little guy's head poked out of Oxford's side-pouch, staring at the Summoner with his big dark eyes, studying the Summoner carefully. After the weasel performed its mental assessment, it climbed up the Guardian's arm and took its usual perch on Ox's shoulder. "See? Met this guy walking through the woods one day." He scratched underneath Omo's chin with his finger, the weasel closing its eyes in approval as it moved its head around to allow Oxford to scratch the spots that needed attention. "If you want, I can help you out with building up your Animal Trainer level. That way, you could get a travel companion of your own." Sure, Hyoka was a Summoner and could summon his own pals if he wanted to, but those friends came at a price. Namely, the Summoner's MP. Tamed animals were vastly superior to summons in this regard, as they didn't require an MP upkeep to have them around, but they never leveled up once you tamed them. No big deal, Ox just liked to have a wingman around whenever he went out alone. Omo let out a little yip, pawing at Oxford's face to get him to turn in the direction of whatever subject of interest that the weasel had noticed. Another wriggling stump could be seen, along with the most pathetic looking Goblin Scout he had ever seen. Only one word could be used to describe the thing. "Weak." Then an idea popped into his head when Hyoka asked him what they should do next. "I've got an idea: Why don't we see if we can Scout that Scout, and then sic him on that stump." Scouting both the stump and the goblin would've been fine too, but that would be boring. Life's just not worth living if it's boring, and Oxford took every chance to make life more interesting, be it in a good way or a bad way. Words: 390 OOC Notes: -- Tags: Hyōka

[Hyōka]

Nothing is left at the end of the unchained me Watching the brier weasel, Omo, while the conversation occurred, Hyoka nodded on the suggestion of the guardian, walking towards the goblin. How would he play this? Walking up to it and not being attacked thus far, he had an idea. He probably couldn't be heard by Oxford this far away. What he spoke to the scout about was that the stump a little distance away was teasing him about how goblins are trash and whatnot. After aggravating the goblin enough, Hyoka gave it an offer of teaming up with him to take it down. After some contemplating, the goblin agreed as it followed along and then walked towards the possessed stump which looked like it was laughing and grinning. The goblin wasted no time in getting ticked off as it charged straight ahead. Using his grimoire, Hyoka fired off his spell shots to counter the sludge being thrown to the best he could with his aim. With the added support, the goblin scout managed to get up close and start hacking away at the stump without a problem. Because the goblin was only level 2, it was having a harder time dealing with a level 3. Its hit points were slowly decreasing as well, at about the same rate or faster than the stump. Throwing in some extra support, Hyoka fired a few basic shots off at it as well for good measure. It was somewhat entertaining to turn the monsters against each other, but also a bit poor in taste. Still, his goblin came out the winner, completely exhausted and near death. After that, it wandered away like the lost scout it was. ｢Your turn. This time, you can scout a stump and see how far it can throw sludge at something I tame.｣ With that in mind, his emotionless voice rang out into the ambiance as his footsteps make squishy sounds. Finding another scout, he walked up to it and talked for a while, managing to scout it successfully. It'd be useless to pick up the scattered petals

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[Deleted]

HP: 100% MP: 100% The scouting situation had turned into something akin to a snowball fight with monsters. Each round consisted of each Animal Trainer using Scout on a monster, then pit them against each other gladiator-style. It was sick and twisted, yet Oxford was enjoying every bit of it. A grin appeared on his face as he thought about how to approach the stump. "Omo, you should do cute weasel things to distract it." The weasel gave Oxford a curious look, then jumped down to the ground as the stump began to throw things at it. The root-like growths acting as arms began to grab at Omo, but the weasel was too quick to be ensnared by it. As the stump was trying to grab at the Guardian's pet, Oxford came up behind the stump and gave it a little pat. Scout took hold, the stump halting its efforts to capture the wily weasel who was now sitting on top of the stump. Oxford leaned against his warrior as he watched the Summoner chat with his monster, simultaneously managing to find a couple of rocks for his stump champion to lob at the Summoner's challenger. "Alright, you ready?" After receiving confirmation from Hyoka, Oxford gave a rock to the stump and pointed at the goblin scout standing a good distance away. "Okay, what I need you to do is attack that monster over there. Just fling this rock at it as hard as you can." The stump's arms reeled back, flinging the stone into the air. It sailed across the sky in a beautiful arc, only to hit a tree behind both the scout and the Summoner. A couple of birds flittered out of the tree. Oxford sighed as brought a hand to his face. "Well, your power's good, but we really need to talk about your aim." He placed another rock in the stump's root-hands, pointing again at the goblin scout. "Focus those knots you call eyes on that thing, and let 'er rip." This time, the stump took a little longer to focus on its opponent, the rock managing to find it's target but failing to complete the journey. The rock fell short and rolled towards the goblin, the stone bumping one of its feet. Oxford let out a sigh, exasperated with this stump that could either do one thing or another, but not both. I swear, it's like having a land-based Magikarp. Words: 400 OOC Notes: -- Tags: Hyōka

[Hyōka]

Nothing is left at the end of the unchained me The goblin and Hyoka whispered to each other upon seeing the results of the enemy. To be frank, they sucked. The goblin scout started taunting the possessed stump by throwing a rock, and luckily hitting spot on first try, then facing its rear end and shaking it with an evil grin. Following this, it started walking back and forth, tempting the stump. Hyoka stood to the side to make sure he didn't get hit by a stray rock or something. Though, seeing how the stump had thrown over and had bad accuracy, nowhere was particularly good. Not feeling like waiting anymore, the goblin scout began running towards the possessed stump while following the direction of Hyoka from earlier, swaying side to side and zig-zagging its way to make it harder to hit. Once it was within a few meters, it stopped and began to circle the stump. Running circles around it, Hyoka walked over to where Oxford was standing. ｢Live Dubbing...｣ With just those words, he stood there with a blank face, watching the scene. Every now and then, the goblin would stop and do some taunts, making noises with its mouth which were probably its own language, so Hyoka began adding in his own dialogue. ｢You suck at aiming. Why do you try. Can't touch this. You wanna fight, come get me.｣ Saying these comments, Hyoka's tone of voice sounded lazy and added the bare minimum of emotion to them. After every taunt, the goblin scout would drive its blade into the stump and then back off, toying with its pray. The amount of damage it was dealing was about equivalent to the damage it would take from a hit from the stump, if not a bit less. It'd be useless to pick up the scattered petals

[/font][/font] WORD COUNT; 285
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| NOTES; So, when'dya wanna finish this thread? After this little battle?
| made by lafayel ♡ btn[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]

[Deleted]

STATUS

STUMPED GOBLINS

HP: 100% MP: 100% - EQUIPMENT - W.A. Longsword (1H) W.A. Tower Shield W.A. Plate Armor SKILLS - None Active - Words: 381 Tags: Hyōka Notes: I guess we've done enough. Exit post.

Oxford just stood there with his arms crossed as the goblin performed its crazy little dance. If the goblin came any closer, he wouldn't be feeling rocks on its rump. Instead, it'd be feeling barky whips a-whoopin' on its ass if got any closer. Whenever the stump would miss, Ox would pat it on the head (top of stump, whatever) and encourage it to try harder, despite the Summoner issueing live dubbing taunts as if the goblin itself were taunting it. "Remember, if you find yourself in a pinch, use that." After the mention of that, Oxford patted a large rock in front of him, a boulder about half the size of the goblin. Despite it being level 1, these stumps possessed large amounts of lifting power. Throwing things at passing adventurers must be great exercise for upper-arm strength, apparently. The stump began to use the rocks as clubs, managing to land quite a few good hits on the taunting gob. It began to madly flail its arms about as the goblin scout tried to look for an opening. It gave the goblin one as it threw both of its rocks at the scout, then picked up the massive boulder. The goblin, following its previous attack pattern, ran up and stabbed the stump, finishing it off. The stump may have disappeared, but the rock did not. In fact, it promptly fell on top of the goblin scout, finishing off what remaining life it had left. Their data bits floated up into the sky, disappearing into the nothingness as the wind blew the remnants away. "Huh. A draw. Well, technically, the goblin had already won by the time the boulder squished it." The fun seemed to disappear along with the monsters, nothing much running around except for more stumps (which were in fact NOT running around). Having enough of stumps and temporary monster battles, Oxford turned to the Sorcerer. "Well, hopefully, you managed to learn a little more as to how to Scout monsters." His stomach rumbled signaling that it was food time for the Half-Alv. "Welp, if you'll excuse me, I'll go ahead and be on my way." Oxford turned around a left, giving a friendly wave to the stoic Summoner as he headed back to Londenium to find some lunch.

template coded by oxford of ET

[Hyōka]

Nothing is left at the end of the unchained me Hyoka watched as his goblin finished off the stump. That stump which happened to be holding a very large boulder. Upon the stump disappearing, the rock made a resounding thud as it squished his scouted scout. Well, that was the end of that. Wondering if the guardian wanted more, it turned out this would be the end. With a quick reply, Oxford had put an end to this and began making his way back to Londenium. As he said his farewells, Hyoka gave a definitive nod in affirmation. Only now did he let his eyes look at the figure, no longer covered by his fringe. Turning in the opposite direction, Hyoka began walking around again. He was planning to come through here later and challenge the monsters in more detail, so just learning the land and where everything could be found was all he planned for now. After another hour of walking around and satisfied with the scenery, or lack of it in ways, Hyoka turned around and began making his way back to Londenium. Because of that state of the land, he really didn't feel like coming back here again any time soon. He wasn't much of a person to complain about things, but the amount of sludge that gets on you, especially your feet, was horrendous. Though, that's marshland for you. Passing by the spots from earlier, he saw there were now more stumps again, and some goblin scouts further off. He would get to know them better in the future, depending on his level by the time he next travels here. Stretching his arms, he put his hands in his pockets as he continued back to whatever home was. His clear, crystal blue eyes looked aimlessly at the sky with his usual blank, uncaring face. Whether it was this world or the real world, he didn't particularly care for either. He was living, and that was all he could really ask for at this point. It'd be useless to pick up the scattered petals

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| NOTES; Exiting Thread. That makes it the end.
| made by lafayel ♡ btn[/ul][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table][/div]