//------------------------------// // Episode 45 — Scorpia Queen Of The Arachnida // Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace // by Mindrop //------------------------------// Episode 45 — Scorpia Queen Of The Arachnida Twelfth Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 12) in the Year of the Dragon Floor 35 — Boss Room Reisenki let the giant pincer clamp down on his shield. The stinger from the giant scorpion was whipped at him, but he stood strong. Bladescape stepped out from behind him, slashing the stinger and preventing it from finding its mark. Reisenki buried his axe into the pincer holding his shield, causing it to let go.   The Wondercolts were running heavy as a blocking unit for the raid, positioned on the left flank, along the wall. Their familiarity with working alongside each other was exactly what the raid party needed for a flanking unit. Malus, Reisenki, and Diemond were shielding their damage dealers: Bladescape, Natora, and Thunderborne. Malus and Thunderborne were paired up, Natora was helping Diemond stay steady, and Reisenki was having fun blocking their right flank with Bladescape. Since she was more of a forward than a damage dealer, Bladescape was a great bridge between her and the next squad over. They were a two party squad; one that was all tanks from a variety of guilds, and a second of pure damage dealers, also from several guilds.  They couldn’t advance. The giant scorpions had plenty of HP and high defense. They were able to push against the raiders and keep them at bay, protecting their queen and mother. It was going more or less as expected. It was a bit more drawn out than anticipated, but they were progressing.  The Thirty-Fifth Floor Boss, Scorpia Queen of the Arachnidas, was a logistical nightmare. Despite having a full raid party, she was barely touched. Her three Health Bars were all still in the green after thirty minutes. The problem resided in her horde, the Arachnida Deviants. She kept laying clutches of eggs. Their information didn’t mention that she could lay them anywhere, allowing her to lay several clutches around the boss chamber, which would soon hatch and grow into the deviants, who then mercilessly charged the invaders. They were not small either. Their oversized pincers had an ability to grab something over two meters wide and their length was over four meters. The tail was nothing to balk at either. If a player was in range of the pincers, they were in range of the stinger.  The deviants had a short paralyzing effect if its stinger pierced your armor. Anyone in heavy metal armor was protected, the stinger couldn’t get through it or shields, but everyone else was vulnerable. Many, including Bladescape, had felt its effect.  Compared to the deviants it hatched, Scorpia Queen of the Arachnidas was twice their size. It had smaller pincers and a longer and thicker tail. It was a tail meant to deliver its stronger poison. Not only would it pierce any armor, it would both paralyze and poison any player it hit. An affected player’s survival was in the hands of their friends and allies. So far, she was still on the far side of the narrow hall and laying another clutch of eggs. Each clutch had an incubation time. One of the three was about to hatch.  Reisenki watched Bladescape hack apart the deviant that was assaulting them with a six combination skill. It left her in a heavy delay, but Reisenki was there, shielding her from the scorpion that took its place. He was actively blocking two, keeping them from grabbing his shield with their pincers. They were ahead of the others, exposed, but not for long. The squad on their flank took advantage of the changed target, killing the scorpion and triggering a rolling wave of advancement along the front.  Bladescape’s gloved hand slapped onto Reisenki’s shoulder. “Good job,” she praised. “I have an idea, can you handle it alone?” “No problem,” Reisenki replied. He was confident in his ability to hold the line without assistance.  As the “lightest” of the Wondercolts tanks, he was the quickest and fastest. Malus had taught him to stand firm, he wasn’t as good as she was, but he could hold his own better than most. His axe gave him an offensive edge Malus was lacking, the same for Diemond. Both were heavy blockers and heavy hitters when they struck. Reisenki struck back more often because he had the agility to do both. If he didn’t have a heavy shield, he would probably be considered a forward. More forwards were using heavy metal armor, just lighter weight pieces than what he was. “Execute!” Bladescape yelled.  Reisenki had to block a stinger, but he saw Thunderborne and Natora vaulting off the wall with their acrobatic skills. Thunderborne went much higher in her vault, flipping a few times for the fun of it. Natora was more practical, but her acrobatic skill was a lot newer.   Malus and Bladescape aggressively advanced, killing another Arachnida Deviant. The one facing Reisenki turned to them and he didn’t hesitate to attack. He darted inside the pincers, blocked the stinger by throwing his shield above his head and buried his axe into the eye of the deviant. On his own he hacked it to polygons. It was satisfying to do that as a tank. He loved blocking for his friends, but going on the offense had its perks.  Their advance once again caused a chain reaction that advanced the whole front line. It was why they were the far flanking unit. Bladescape appeared behind Reisenki. “I need to help Diemond,” she explained. “We need to progress along the wall.” “I’ve got it,” Reisenki said. “There’s a reason why you put me on the right.” Bladescape chuckled a few times. “Yes, there is. I sent Thunder and Natora to eliminate the egg clutches, if they can.” “Good plan,” Reisenki said. “Now go move the left forward!” Bladescape slipped away as Reisenki battled onward against a fresh deviant. He balanced offense with defense, taking more of a risk than he probably should, but he was always cognizant of where that stinger was. He eliminated the deviant and saw that the way was clear. Natora was avoiding the pincers of the boss while Thunder was out of sight, likely targeting a clutch.  Reisenki didn’t think as he bolted forward, passing the deviants engaged with the other tanks. They were only one deviant deep. He was trying to get ahead to help out Natora. He was almost there when she slipped up, getting hit with the stinger. Reisenki wasn’t about to lose another friend to Sword Art Online. He tackled her.  They slid under the massive boss, out of her sight. He rolled on top of Natora, protecting her with his body as her life slipped away. He pulled out several crystals, dumping them on the floor and grabbing the green one.  “Activate!” He ordered to the crystal. It broke apart, eliminating the poison affecting Natora. He grabbed the yellow one, giving the same command to cease the paralysis. He rolled off her as he grabbed a red one, called out “heal” as he pointed it at her. Natora’s health jumped all the way up to full as she adjusted the grip on her spear.  Natora smiled at Reisenki and he understood what she was intending to do. He raised his axe up. In unison, they triggered their chosen skill and drove them up into the belly of the queen. She was exposed and could not get to them. She tried to shift so they were no longer under her, but Reisenki crawled along the ground with Natora, keeping up with her movements and driving attacks into her belly.  Nothing mattered except staying under her where it was safe and attacking when they could. The underbelly wasn’t any softer, the scorpion was encased in a carapace. Its protective exoskeleton was difficult to pierce. Thrusting weapons and heavy weapons like hammers and maces worked best. Reisenki’s axe was better than a sword because the force was focused on a small bit, not all along the blade. At some point, Scorpia Queen Of The Arachnidas backed herself into a corner. It was her most defensive position and she tried to climb backwards, up the wall to get at them, but she couldn’t. The others arrived and Reisenki continued to assault her from beneath along with Natora.  It was exhausting work, exacerbated by the odd position they were in and tight space. Crawling had not been easy, especially to match her speed. Reisenki buried his axe into her abdomen once again. He didn’t have a chance to pull it free as she shattered, filling his ears with the sound of breaking glass and flooding his vision with colorful polygons. He collapsed onto his back, glad it was over as the congratulation music played. He smacked the menu that had popped up to get rid of it. He had come in with a clear inventory and didn’t care about what it had to say at the moment.  “Nice job,” Natora panted from where she was. “Thanks for saving me.” “No problem,” Reisenki said in between breaths. “It was a pleasure fighting beside you. I couldn’t let one of my leaders fall in battle.” Reisenki watched as Asuna approached Bladescape. “What happened?” she sternly asked. “Suddenly there were no more deviants to fight and now they are under where the boss was?” “I don’t know how Reisenki got there,” Bladescape said with a shrug. “But I sent Natora and Thunder over the line to eliminate the eggs she was laying. A risky tactic, but the only option I saw. It was worth a shot considering the pinch we were in.” “Bold plan,” Asuna admitted. “Thankfully that worked. We can’t keep going into boss fights with incomplete information.” “Didn’t we scout this one?” Bladescape asked. By “we” she meant the Assault Team. Asuna just gave a silent nod back.  “Something to think about then,” Bladescape said, sounding troubled, as she helped Reisenki to his feet while Thunderborne helped Natora up. Reisenki slipped his axe into his belt and unequipped his shield. He stretched now that he was able to.  “That was an adventure,” Reisenki stated. “I never thought I’d end up crawling around, under a scorpion, for my survival.” “There’s a lot that I’d never thought I would need to do,” Natora joshed back. “Including a having a guy laying on me while I was helpless to move as he saved my reckless butt. Kind of the thing of nightmares.” Reisenki chuckled nervously. “Sorry.” Natora’s smile was sly. “No need. You were a gentleman and acted fast to save me. I’m standing here because of you.” “What exactly did happen?” Bladescape asked. “Last I knew, you, Reisenki were in line with the rest of the raiders. Then there was a gap.” “I saw an opening and Natora was in trouble,” Reisenki explained. “They needed a tank. Or backup of some kind. Actually, I never saw where Thunder was.” “The queen backhanded me with a pincer,” Thunderborne admitted. “Sent me flying into the wall on the other side.” “Better than the stinger I got,” Natora said, playfully shoving Thunderborne. “I thought it was over. Then I was on the ground and very confused. Anyway, let’s get out of this place. Where is the stairwell?” The stairwell to the next floor had appeared near the door. Everyone had to go back to the entrance to the scorpion pit to head up. Where the first town of Floor 36 was took a bit to figure out. It wasn’t immediately obvious.  They split up into three exploration groups, with the major guilds split among them. That way, they could see what their fellow guild members mapped to help direct them. Reisenki was with Natora in the group that went south.  They wandered around, trying to get a better vantage point or find a road. They had to eliminate some Rock Tortoises along the way, but their group had fifteen members. Eventually, Thunderborne sent them a message directing them north. Reisenki announced the news to everyone. Multiple players had gotten similar updates too, he just was the first to convey the message.  The hike there wasn’t tough despite there being no path to follow and having to run off their updated maps. Their exploration group unceremoniously split up as soon as they got to the city. Reisenki and Natora were the last Wondercolts to arrive at the tavern. They toasted their victory and their success. Once again the Wondercolts stood out among the Assault Team and again it was in a good way; as team players, not lone wolves.  Once they were done with their drinks, they headed back to Mishe. This was their first time returning home after a floor boss raid. It was nice to not have to shack up at an inn. Konpeito had been cooking up a meal for them while they were fighting the boss. She didn’t need Reisenki’s help so he went to his room.  In the few days they had since buying this place, they had purchased inexpensive beds for everyone. They were way better than most of the inns, as plain as they were. However, they would be perfect for visitors using the spare room. The Wondercolts had better beds coming and Diemond and Bladescape had decided that the guild would cover the bed, a desk with a chair, and a wardrobe. The col from the boss raid would go a long way to helping cover what Diemond had planned.  Reisenki changed into a track suit that Diemond had made. He liked this one. Like everything Diemond made, it was superior in its style and feel. The black tracksuit had three stripes on the sides: white, red, white. It suited him perfectly. Plus, she had made him matching fingerless gloves to wear with them. She knew he liked that look and feel. In battle he had to wear full gauntlets. These were simple, light fabric.  He sorted through his drops, tossing the junk into a cheap chest he had bought to hold his vendor-trash drops. Everyone had privately bought a chest or two for random storage. The crafters had plenty already made, ready to be bought. The type and material, plus the crafter’s skill, determined how much they could hold. All of them were simple ones, chests made while leveling their carpentry skill. The crafters had nothing better to do with that stuff, other than sell it cheap for some turnover, and more players were buying property now.  Reisenki materialized the next item and caught it. It was a peridot green ring, almost translucent. It was a sickly color, yet eye catching. Reisenki opened the menu and his jaw dropped. The Leiurus Ward prevented any poison effect from afflicting the wearer. Not even the Ruby Krait could poison the wearer. Colorra could do her best and still not poison him, not that he wanted to try it out. This was an above average drop, even for a floor boss. There was little doubt in his mind that it was the LAB. He hadn’t paid attention as he collapsed. He hadn’t even been able to see the others who were attacking, just Natora. It never entered his mind that he might have scored the LAB. It wasn’t on his radar because of the precarious spot he was crammed in.  No one knew he got the LAB and he didn’t owe anyone an explanation for any drops he got. They supported each other and loved to celebrate great drops as a guild, but he wanted to keep it quiet for Bladescape’s sake. She was good, very good, and patient, but he knew it wore on her despite her best efforts. She probably didn’t recognize how often she sacrificed the Floor Boss LAB for the greater good or because she put herself into a position that supported or led the whole group. She, out of everyone on the Assault Team, deserved most a Last Attack Bonus from a floor boss. The Black Swordsman was still a lone wolf and snagged many of them because of it. Reisenki equipped Leiurus Ward. It fit under his fingerless gloves, since they had a slight finger column. He put it out of his mind and finished sorting out the obvious junk. He would take the good stuff to be evaluated by Knightstar, who would be assessing everyone’s drops before Natora offered Agil first refusal on everything. Natora would then take all of the vendor-trash and sell it to NPC merchants in order to raise her sales negotiation skill, and often get a better price. Natora would give him the col for all of his sold items later, along with the sales receipts.  Knightstar was in their meeting hall, which was still empty of any furniture or decorations, sitting on the floor as she sorted through what Natora had gotten. Knightstar was obviously able to do the appraisals or she wouldn’t have started with Natora’s. Reisenki sat beside them and began to pull items out of his menu so Knightstar could easily start on his drops when she finished. She was done before he was finished and quickly began to appraise each item and write up the sales receipt Natora would need.   “That was a crazy fight,” Natora said to Reisenki. “I keep replaying what I thought were my last moments alive. I had no idea you were coming. I’m grateful you did break ranks. I know Blade is too and not simply because you saved me. She always wants us to act on our honed instincts and take those opportunities. It’s just hard when we have to work with so many other guilds in the boss raids.” Reisenki nodded back. “Yeah, but we looked very good. I expected Asuna to go off about it with how her tone started.” “I don’t know what was annoying her,” Natora stated. “I was stuck along the wall, not in a position to see the rest of the raiders.” “She was along the right wall,” Reisenki said with a shrug. “Leading the second party from the KoB. I don’t know what was going on over there either.” “Bladescape likely was spot on when she pointed out the boss had been scouted,” Natora added. “Asuna mentioned lacking intel. I’d be annoyed as the lead strategist if we were once again missing critical information. At least this time we didn’t lose anyone, but it would have been nice if we had set up a team from the start to eliminate the eggs. A lot faster too.” “It would have,” Reisenki said with a nod.  Knightstar held up a dagger and a helmet. “Doom’s always looking for new daggers and the Queen’s Aculeus is quite good. The helmet is called Buthidea Full Helm and it's better than your current one. Both are very good drops with some interesting properties.” “What do you mean by interesting?” Reisenki asked as he took both from Knightstar.  “I’ve only had both of your drops to examine, but I’ve never seen regular boss drops be themed with the boss. Last Attack Bonuses, well Konpeito is still wearing that cape and Doom just got the Beast Tamer’s Charms. But regular loot hasn’t been themed.” “What about the third floor’s boss?” Natora asked. “We all got tree branch weapons.” “Yes, but then everyone was getting themed drops, which wasn’t really a theme,” Knightstar explained. “A few called out Treants, but those monsters have been encountered in several areas of Aincrad, not only as bosses. They drop a variety of branch looking weapons. In comparison, aculeus is the technical term for a stinger and Buthidea is a major family of Scorpions. Nineteen of the twenty scorpions that are considered potentially toxic to humans are found in the family. The dangerous genera include Androctonus, Centruroides, Hottentota, Leiurus, Paraburhus, and Tityus. Androctonus comes from the greek, meaning ‘man-killer’ and refers to fattail scorpions, which best fits the description of the boss.” That was more information than Reisenki needed or could take in, but he expected that from Knightstar. He recognized one of those names. “What was that leruse one?” “Leiurus,” Knightstar said, kindly correcting him. “The genus is best known for the one commonly referred to as the deathstalker. It’s yellow, sometimes skewing a bit more green, looking a little translucent. It lives in North Africa and the Middle East. As dangerous as the toxin it produces is, there rarely is enough delivered to cause death, just a bad few days. Envenomation can cause serious side effects such as triggering anaphylaxis or pancreatitis, however, death as a direct result from the venom is usually from pulmonary edema. Anaphylaxis is simply a very bad allergic reaction to something causing the throat to close and the pancreatitis can be treated.” “I’m probably not going to remember half of that,” Reisenki admitted.  “That’s okay,” Knightstar said with a shrug. “Without school to dump my knowledge on, I know I’m dumping it on my friends. I don’t expect people to remember most of it.” Reisenki looked at the helmet, but he was thinking about what she said about the deathstalker scorpion and the Leiurus Ward he was now wearing. That information made a lot more sense as to the name of the ring.  “Are there cases where multiple things are dropped as Last Attack Bonuses?” Reisenki asked. “Considering we have two with the boss’ theme here.”  “None reported for any level of boss,” Knightstar answered. “Even Doombunny’s Beast Tamer’s Charms are considered, at least by the system when they were dropped, as a single item.” “Did you score the LAB?” Natora asked.  “I cleared my screen,” Reisenki admitted. It wasn’t a lie. “It was oriented wrong because I plopped onto my back, so I never saw anything.” “It was impossible to tell what was happening from our angle,” Natora said with a shrug. “I blindly cleared mine too. I didn’t get anything special though.” Reisenki opened the helmet’s menu. The stats were significantly better than his current one. “This may be better, but I’m not sure if I want to be wearing a scorpion on my head. Even though it doesn’t look like one, I now know the meaning of the name.” “That’s fair,” Knightstar said. “I probably should have held back more than once from telling you the meaning. Still, it would fetch a handsome price. More than enough to get a custom one of similar quality made, or better. Or to buy one close to it. Just be wary of the names.” Reisenki shrugged. “You did once. I probed. It’s my fault. I never would have let you give me an incomplete answer. And I mean incomplete by your standards.”  Knightstar went back to sorting through the rest of Reisenki’s stuff. Diemond joined them, looking to have her items appraised and sold. She also had a list of items for Natora to buy, so she could raise her purchase negotiation skill.  Reisenki didn’t stay once his stuff was appraised. He went to find Doombunny. He knocked on her door and she told him he could enter. She was at a cheap table, working with her chemistry set. Whatever she was distilling, it likely had to do with Colorra’s venom.  “I have a dagger that Knightstar said you might be interested in,” Reisenki explained.  “One moment,” Doombunny sweetly said as she poured one liquid into a vial filled with another. The concoction fizzled and evaporated, shattering the vial. Doombunny let out an exhausted sigh. “Sorry, I’m trying to develop a stronger poison from Colorra’s venom. Mine is weak. It was the first version that worked, but I know it can be made much stronger. Especially with where my skill is at.” Reisenki held out the dagger. Doombunny took it and examined the menu. She drew it and visually examined it, while also feeling the weight, balance, and how it felt in her hand. The blade was single edged, mostly straight, having a slight curve at the tip to meet the spine. The thrusting point was still in line with the handle.  “It feels good,” Doombunny declared. “It’s appropriately named.” “You know what it’s named after?” Reisenki asked, shocked.  “Mhm,” Doombunny nodded. “Knightstar might be the scientist, but I’m the animal lover. That includes the insects. Mostly butterflies, but I know most of the general knowledge. Aculeus is an easy one used in multiple types of insects.”  Doombunny pulled out col and presented her offer to Reisenki. It was a lot higher than he was expecting. While he was still too shocked to answer, Doombunny explained that the offer was less than what materials for a newly forged dagger would be. He didn’t argue. It was a fair offer for a superior weapon. He really didn’t understand the costs of daggers, but she did. She always needed spares since their durability was low, albeit quite a bit higher than a rapier.  Reisenki went back to his room and set the helmet on his chest. He sat on his bed, looking at it. He was trying to decide if he could handle wearing it. Yes, he could do a trial run, but then he couldn’t claim it had never been used. As soon as an item was used, the durability began to wear down. At this moment, the durability was suspended. That was noticeable as no item ever had perfect durability. No matter what type of item or what its durability stats were, the first point was taken off after a second or two of activation or if an enhancement was done. An item that had never been used was easy to tell and always fetched a better price. Someone knocked on his open door. It was Bladescape. For once she wasn’t in her armor. Instead, she was wearing a skirt, leggings, and shirt that Diemond had made her. “I heard you got some good drops,” she said. “Good job today. I was hoping to get my jacket repaired, but it can wait till tomorrow.” “I can do it now,” Reisenki said, standing up. “I’m just waiting for dinner and trying to figure out if I can wear the helmet. My mind could use the distraction.” Bladescape handed over her leather jacket. Reisenki had repaired it plenty of times. She would likely need to upgrade soon, as she had been wearing it for a while and the rest of her gear was newer with way better durability than the jacket. He was very familiar with everyone’s armor. He typically repaired all of their equipment, minus their weapons and shields. He didn’t have the grindstones and buffstones required for weapon or shield repair. Repair work was always a simple process that didn’t take much time. Plus, it raised either his Equipment Repair Skill or Metal Equipment Repair Skill. Simple repair work was costly because crafters knew players needed it done. Not enough players had either skill in his opinion. Many who didn’t want to leave the safe zones, such as his friends, could make a decent living if they just repaired equipment.  “Tell me about your issues with the helmet,” Bladescape asked. “If you want someone to bounce it off of.” “Oh, it’s just something Knightstar explained,” Reisenki said. “Apparently it's named after a family of scorpions. It doesn’t sound like it.” “Ah,” Bladescape said. “Is it the Last Attack Bonus?” Reisenki was glad he was focused on repairing the jacket and had his back to her. He didn’t think his shock was easy to see. There was no way she had seen his menu.  “Not that I know of,” Reisenki answered. It was getting harder hiding it from his friends. He knew he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but they were all tight. It was starting to feel wrong. “I didn’t check my drop menu before I cleared it.” “No one hit it,” Bladescape said. “She was about to attack, we had all fallen back to be ready to handle the stinger or pincers. Then we found you two under her. If it wasn’t you, it was Natora.” “She was like me,” Reisenki stated. “She collapsed and blindly cleared the menu.”  Reisenki knew Natora had just pulled back from an attack when he struck. They had coincidentally fallen into an alternating rhythm. Neither could see the queen’s health from their position. The Last Attack Bonus had gone to him.   “Natora would have given me some kind of signal,” Bladescape said. “I already got my equipment appraised and saw her then, so it wasn’t her. Good job.” Reisenki was done with the repair. He handed it to Bladescape and pulled off his left glove, exposing the ring. “Then this is the last attack bonus.” “Neat color,” Bladescape said. It was clear she was trying to push past her own feelings. Ignoring it was one thing, but she had come searching for answers. Lying or stepping around the truth would hurt her more. He trusted her because she was his leader. “What does it boost?” “It doesn’t boost anything,” Reisenki explained. “It prevents me from taking any poison effect.” “Wow,” Bladescape stammered. “That’s a truly legendary drop. You will always have a use for it. Doom’s charms will always have a use, that’s clear despite her attempts to not talk about them. I’m not sure what’s up with that. Kiefer’s braces are still relevant, but won’t always be so. Long ago Konpeito had to upgrade from the axe she got from the third floor’s boss. She still is using the cape from the eighth floor boss and I have a feeling she will never stop that one.” “At least it will always give her night vision and boost her agility,” Reisenki stated. “Night vision might be easy or common later on,” Bladescape said with a shrug. “As to the agility, we don’t actually know the stats on that or the defensive properties. It may not be that great of a boost. She’s in love with that fur cape and likes keeping aspects a secret. The fact that it's a secret fuels her desire to keep it one even more, but that’s Konpeito. As long as it fits in her look and she is having fun, she will keep using it. It’s not a bad thing, it's just her. I’d rather it be something truly long lasting, like your ring.  “Again, good job. You certainly earned it after fighting by yourself and saving Natora. But I have to go. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.” “Where are you off to?” Reisenki asked. “Konpeito has a meal prepared.” “I got a message requesting me to meet with some others to discuss boss information,” Bladescape explained. “That’s why I wanted my jacket repaired. I’m still not sure if I will show up in my gear or not. Part of me wants to show off Diemond’s real work, the love she puts into our clothes.” “Why not?” Reisenki shrugged. “And we need to fix that information issue. Whatever it actually is.” “Yeah,” Bladescape said with a sigh. “That will be the first question asked. Konpeito knows I have to go, so do half of the others. Thanks for the repair, no matter what I decide to go in. Again, congratulations. Good job.” Bladescape ducked out and then stuck her head back in. “Oh, and don’t overthink the name of an item unless it looks like something. That looks like a normal full helm.” “Thanks!” Reisenki yelled after Bladescape. She was right. Nothing on it looked remotely like a bug. It was only the name and even that required a person to know the name of the helmet and the scientific name of the scorpions. There was no valid reason not to use it. BLADESCAPE: Level 60 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint —  Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry  NATORA: Level 56 —  Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics  KNIGHTSTAR: Level 54 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry  MALUS: Level 57 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search  THUNDERBORNE: Level 56 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce  KONPEITO: Level 56 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense —  Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing  DIEMOND: Level 56 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor  — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging  DOOMBUNNY: Level 54 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search  KIEFER: Level 54 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor  — Weapon Defense — First Aid  — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging  SORYUTO: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce  REISENKI: Level 55 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid —  Battle Regeneration — Cooking