Episode 77 - Bar Brawls
Floor 62 - Front Line Floor 63
June 28 - Year 2 – 10pm
Bladescape led Kiefer and Doombunny through the woods, heading west. She was using the map Argo had drawn them. Yes, they were supposed to be bonding with the new Wondercolts, but this trip was important. And it was overnight while the others slept, so they wouldn’t be missed. If this location panned out, they could train them here until Argo sold the information off and other players came. But that would all depend on the type of training location it proved to be.
If it was group oriented, the location would fill up quickly as squads, parties, and guilds worked on team dynamics while grinding for XP. Those places were usually lower for XP per hour, but the teamwork gained, honed, or kept well oiled was a good tradeoff.
Solo oriented training grounds were usually higher XP per hour, and less players came. The solo locations usually were not the most advantageous for obtaining guild quotas. Less players liked to risk the higher floors for a solo location, even for nearly insane XP rates. They had always been the riskier training locations. Bladescape had often used them for her overnight trips, and she had to be extra vigilant. Those were also the days before Laughing Coffin.
The sand crabs were a great hybrid location. They could be fought by small teams or solo, and the other party members could rest and stay fresh while still getting XP. It got crowded though, and it was high time they had a better location. Unfortunately, Floor 61 was a wash with the entire thing being a lake.
The three of them finally came to the spot. Several taverns and other buildings were stuck in a mountain crevice to make a town. According to Argo, the town was not a safe zone and the only buildings available to players were the three taverns.
Like Argo had said, they sat up on ledges. Straight ahead of them was The Flying Duck. On the north ledge was the Bull and Bear. Directly across from it on the south ledge was the Green Boar. They looked stable despite their shabbiness.
Bladescape led them up to the steep steps to the Bull and Bear. Inside, the bar spanned the entire length of the wall to their right. At the end was the cellar to hold the alcohol, blocked by a door. The stairs to the second floor were also blocked by a door. There was a large group of gangly NPCs around the various tables. Most seemed to be doing business transactions. Col was being passed across the tables, or under them. Despite the questionable nature of the NPCs, there were absolutely no whores or wenches in the tavern. The only worker was the barkeep.
"Stay there," Bladescape said, pointing to the only open table. She walked up to the counter. "I'd like a room please," she asked the barkeep.
"All full," the bartender spit. His voice was adequately deep for his large size. "All the rooms in each tavern are booked for the, uh," he chuckled deeply, "for the Black Velvet Band's annual convention."
"Fine," Bladescape nodded. She watched him give a mug of ale to the guy sitting next to her. "How much for a drink?"
"5 bits," he huffed.
"All out of bits," Bladescape replied.
It was time to really test the information Argo wanted. Bladescape blatantly pulled the mug from the NPC next to her and took a chug. His ugly scarred face was shocked for a moment. He growled and stood up clenching a fist and ramming it into his palm. Bladescape held up her hand and continued to down the entire mug. She slammed it down on the counter and burped in his face.
"That was my ale," he growled. He had a good eight inches on Bladescape, and he was wider than she was, even in her plate armor. "I'm going to pound you to bits and then use what little is left of you for more ale."
"Do your best," Bladescape grinned.
Bladescape didn't need an outside system skill to predict his punch. He pulled his arm all the way back. She sidestepped it with ease and drew Harmonic Salvation. She cut him down before he could recover.
The room froze, except for the barkeep who kept drying the same mug he had been when they had entered. Slowly the others stood up and drew their own weapons. They now looked like a rowdy gang of thieves and bandits.
"Um, Blade," Doombunny nervously said. "Now what?"
Bladescape laughed. "Oh yeah. I didn't tell you the interesting part of this place. Argo got into a long fight here. Don't worry yourself over their levels, they have low defense stats and their weapons are crap. She believes that once you start the bar fight, it doesn't stop until you exit. We are here to test that."
Kiefer's fist glowed and he threw a great cross to the NPC closest to him, right across the chin. It was a simple strike that knocked off two thirds of the NPC's health. That was the last straw and the fight began. The NPC tags went from blue to red, indicating they were an enemy. They didn't just fight the Wondercolts. Some were fighting the other NPCs they had just been doing business with. Deaths were happening all around.
Colorra was very happy to be in a fight with squishy NPCs. Doombunny didn't need her parrying dagger or buckler, but she trained it anyway. Mourning Protector was the only blade she needed. The NPCs were armorless. They died faster than a poison could be registered. Kiefer switched back and forth between Mistmane's Fury and his Martial Arts Skill. He needed to train both, but Martial Arts was the newer skill. Bladescape began to use the wider sweeping attacks of Greatsword. Bajutsu would be the wiser choice, but she couldn't train Greatsword with it. She had tried, but the handle wasn't long enough to trigger the start of a Greatsword Sword Skill.
They fought for a while before Bladescape stepped over the bar again. She slapped down several pieces of Col. "Three of your finest ales please."
"Coming right up," he casually replied. He set each mug in front of her and then went back to drying the same one he was programmed to dry for eternity. The bar fight was of no concern to him.
Bladescape grabbed the handles in one hand and cut down one bandit in her way. She set them down at the table that her friends were loosely around.
"Drink up," Bladescape said. "We need to stay hydrated."
Both Kiefer and Doombunny killed their bandit and stepped over the table. They clashed mugs and took a solid drink before they were forced to address more vagabonds.
The outside door opened and familiar faces entered. Bladescape had just killed half of them. The door to the second floor banged opened and more enemies came at them. They certainly had a high respawn rate.
Their stats were pathetic. Bladescape got stabbed in the chest by a rusty cutlass. She looked at where her armor had stopped it and then back at the bandit who had no idea what to do now that his weapon failed. He had knocked 10 HP off her full health. He didn't have to worry any longer as Colorra twisted up his body, pinning him with the her coils, and then bit him in the neck. She looked at Bladescape and nodded. Her expressions were hard to read since she was a snake, but Bladescape had learned to distinguish the difference between Colorra's joy look and angry look. She dropped into a coil as the bandit shattered. Immediately she began to stalk another target.
At their fifth round of drinks, Kiefer spoke up. "Blade, you have things handled here. I am going to take Doom and Colorra and check out the Green Boar. We should make sure that they keep coming and that the others are the same. Easy, fast, and fun."
"Go," Bladescape laughed. "I do have this. But we meet up at 4:30 in the center of the town."
They both agreed. Bladescape pulled up her menu and switched out Harmonic Salvation for Bajutsu. Without the others, she would need the shorter sword. It was all one hit kills, but she needed to address their numbers and ensure she did not get overwhelmed.
Outside the tavern, the window popped up for Kiefer and Doombunny. Kiefer’s jaw dropped as he saw the XP gained. It was rather pathetic Col, about 15 for each kill, but it was insane how fast they racked up the number he was looking at. This was going to be a hot solo training spot. They could ignore unit tactics for the moment and just hit the XP for the leveling quotas they were instituting.
Kiefer and Doombunny headed across the town center and into the Green Boar. They found out that the Green Boar was the exact same bar as the Bull and Bear, with only two differences. The bartender was a female, but she was also drying a mug in the exact same pose and routine as the male bartender. The second was the fact that the Green Boar was a card and betting tavern. The highlights included some unknown card game with cards that didn't look like anything Kiefer had ever seen, the classic knife finger game where you bet you wouldn't stab yourself, and a card game that resembled the dueling games in the real world.
Kiefer ordered two drinks, which he kept at the bar, and then walked over to the knife hand game. He waited until one of the four players started and then slammed his fist on the table. The NPC sliced a finger off at the shaking of the table
"Shoot!" Kiefer exclaimed. "I don't have the cash to match your bets."
That was all that he needed to trigger the NPCs to turn hostile and start fighting the two Wondercolts. They also turned on the cheating poker players, which was everyone playing. Doombunny and Colorra kept their same thing going as before. Kiefer just worked on Martial Arts. It was more fun in this set up than using his large katana.
Punch, sidestep, hook, duck, uppercut, turn to next opponent and duck, uppercut and then double jab.
It was fast and easy banging heads together. It had been a long time since they had killed anything so easily, and especially without stress. Doombunny and Kiefer eventually met at the bar and sat down to drink their ale. Colorra was dealing with the bandits.
“I don’t think you need me,” Doombunny said as she set her empty mug down. “I should probably grab Colorra and try the third tavern.”
“Go for it,” Kiefer grinned. “This will be fun by myself. I’ll be safe, but a fistfight like this is exactly what I need to train Martial Arts.”
“Good luck,” Doombunny said, getting up. Colorra met her at the door and she exited, leaving Kiefer cracking his knuckles and with a sly grin on his face.
Doombunny stepped into the Flying Duck. "Oh my," she said, blushing. She felt completely uncomfortable about being in this tavern. Poker and shady business she could handle, but the Flying Duck was a whore house. Nothing too lewd. The clothes stayed on until they took it upstairs. Or would if their code didn't keep them doing the same repetitive things.
Doombunny went to the counter, bought a drink, and then walked up to a woman and man making out.
"Um, excuse me," Doombunny sweetly said. "Sorry to interrupt, but he is kind of my man, and I would like for you to get off him and stop kissing him. You know, if that isn't too much to ask."
The whore slapped the man and got off him. He turned to Doombunny. "Fine. Then you and I are going to my room right now."
"No," Doombunny confidently said in her normal voice.
He drew his knife. "I wasn't asking."
Doombunny drew her knife. The duel was over in an instant and Doombunny was untouched. That was all the tavern needed for the fighting to start. Colorra was the perfect backup as Doombunny fought both the men and the women solo. The women came at her with fists, while most of the men had short swords and daggers. With the fight started, there was nothing lewd about the tavern except for how scantily clad some of the women were.
Doombunny switched to her buckler. She worked to pick up what the others had been doing. Not every cut of the blade had to be triggered with a Sword Skill. She started using the buckler to bash a face in here or there, while she dealt with another vagabond. It was effective at breaking the attack algorithms, and it took a surprising amount of HP off their gauges.
It was fast and hot work. Doombunny drank what she could, when she could, but by 4am she was exhausted. She decided she was done with the whorehouse, and how uncomfortable she was getting. It had been 4 hours fighting alone. She left the tavern to meet the others in the center of the village. With any luck, they would also call it a bit early.
Kiefer was already waiting in the center of the three taverns. Doombunny walked over to him, but he spoke first. “That was ridiculous,” He declared. “I raked in the XP. The Col sucks, but the XP is scary.”
He stopped. “You look disturbed. Like the early you, when you had to kill a cute animal. Not the hardened warrior you are now.”
“Sorry,” Doombunny said, shaking her head to clear it. “There was, well nothing. The Flying Duck is a whorehouse tavern.”
“Ah,” Kiefer said with an understanding nod. “I should have gone instead to spare your innocence.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Doombunny replied, rolling her eyes, annoyed. “I am older than you. I can handle myself. This game isn’t that bad. I was not expecting it, but once the fight started, it was the same as the others. I was getting tired of it though.”
“Let’s check in with Blade,” Kiefer suggested. “I know she has several minutes left, but I want to see how she is handling it. That was rather exhausting.”
“Mhm,” Doombunny sweetly nodded, back to her normal self on the outside.
They entered the Bull and Bear tavern and found it in an odd ruckus. Bladescape was having no problem. It was quite the opposite.
Bladescape was sitting in a chair against the wall. The endless spawn of enemies had grown tiring. She was sitting in a place where they could only come at her one by one. All she had to do was swing Harmonic Salvation, training Greatsword, and cut them down. It was a simple move she could perform in her chair. It was maximum chilgrinding. It didn't get any lazier than what she was doing. Rainbow Dash and Thunderborne would be proud of her.
Kiefer and Doombunny were not attacked, so they walked over to Bladescape. They had to slip past the line to get to her side.
“We are done,” Kiefer said. “It is well worth it. For XP, not Col. It’s roughly 15 Col a head. But we could rapidly train the new Wondercolts up to the quotas.”
“Cool,” Bladescape said as she cut down another thief. “Want to bust me out of here?”
Doombunny flipped out Mourning Protector and caught it in a reverse grip. She grinned as she rammed it into the chest of the vagabond behind her, starting her addition to the fight. Kiefer gave a savage kick to the leg of another, knocking him off his feet and then he drove the killing blow down into the back of his head with his fist. Bladescape stood up and thrust Harmonic Salvation through three lined up bandits before they popped.
The three of them meant business this round and cleared out the tavern before anyone could respawn. They bolted out the door in victory.
“Wow,” Bladescape exclaimed as she saw the mass of XP finally dumped onto her from the nonstop fight. “6 hours got me this?”
“Yeah,” Kiefer chuckled. “Totally worth it as a grinding spot. But it will fill up fast.”
“Let’s get back,” Bladescape said. “I say we teleport.”
They agreed and teleported back to their new home on Thorn Island.
Bladescape (SS): Lvl 83 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry - Greatsword
Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 75 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search
Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 78 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics
AFCK(PP): Lvl 75 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument
Diemond (R): Lvl 75 – Heavy Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – Tailoring – Light Metal Armor Forging – Heavy Metal Armor Forging – Jewelry Making – Extended Weight Carry
Doombunny (FS): Lvl 78 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal -- Fencing
Astro (PS): Lvl 75 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry
Kiefer: Lvl 73 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts - Search - Armor Pierce
Lessa: Lvl 72 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search - Acrobatics
Joltron: Lvl 75 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Cooking – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry
Stats
Page generated in 0.105 seconds
Total duration
1,019 users online
2,148,529 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
That was an amusing chapter! A funny chapter title for this would have been "Bar Room Blitz"
10502991
That would also have made a good title. lol. It was a fun chapter. The next, to me, is more amusing. Hehehe.
10502994
oh? I look forward to it! Can we expect any future chapters in the Asides?
Ah, another in Nano. I too will be trying this year.
Great chapter, grinding is always the worst.
10503003
Probably not anytime soon with school, and attempting NaNo this year. That's a lot on my plate.
10503007
I'm always down to buddie up if you want to. My profile if the one linked.
10503022
As soon as I figure the website out, lol.
Who isn’t entertained by a good bar fight? Probably whoever needs to clean up afterwards, but everyone else finds it fun.
Since when was their currency called bits? Thats more equestria then sao
I wonder if the green boar is shaped like a hat and serves crap food 🤣
10503259
Bits, coins, change, dollar, all of them are used interchangeably. But it was intended to reference Equestrian currency.
I'm also not sure what you referring to for the Green Boar.
Rule of the good barkeeper N1, you can stop polishing a mug only if there's a customer ordering a drink.
Nice chapter but even a spots like this gets unrewarding eventually unless you're ready to grind for a whole day.
10503310
I had too much fun writing the clueless NPC barkeep. I also had a lot of fun with the NPCs killing each other for cheating, lying, and stealing. lol. And Doom...Doom was way to perfect of a start.
10503292
I was referencing the boars hat from seven deadly sins
10503428
Not seen it. Actually, the Green Boar is a hybrid reference to the Green Dragon (Lord of the Rings) and the Blue Boar (Robin Hood).
Well I’m glad that Sunset and Co. were able to train up some of their non maxed skills. That’s especially important for Kiefer because so far he has only maxed out one skill. Get on your A-game bud, if you’re busy training people you won’t have as much time to train!
That sounds like an extremely fun hunting spot. If I was playing I'd probably grind there. Just to see how creative I can get with kills
No whores or wenches?! What kind of disreputable, shit hole establishment is is NPC running? LOL I could tell you had fun writing that.
10504115
I had a lot of fun. And I have more planned, but couldn't put it all in.
yugioh, i presume?
10504018
i would probs do what kiefer did and beat the crap out of everyone
10505625
heh same.
10505622
No idea. I just thought it would be a fun, quirky thing to add as one of the betting activities.
10506783
Fixed. Thanks.
This is something that just kinda hit my brain out of nowhere is this following the anime or the game
10512240
Light novels/anime.
10512690
THANK GOD
10512804
I have not played any of the games. The canonicity of the materials is the Light Novel (since they were written first), then the Anime, then the Manga. I don't use anything from the game(s).
10512843
Good cause the games are separate from the story just like the witcher games and the witcher on netflix
him with her coils,*
Who would play a game that involves not stabbing yourself!?!?
whore house*
whore house*