Moderator

Emerging from the dark cave and into the broad, clear sunlight of the well-kept ACDC network, Seafoam and her troupe were greeted with a setting that seemed calm and safe by comparison to their other encounters so far today. The cave itself was tucked away by a blind rocky outcrop on the shaded side of a low hill, one of several small rises dotted about a space that looked like mostly flat parkland. The ground had the look and feel of short, soft grass, though a quick inspection showed that this was purely cosmetic; the panels underneath remained a stable, neutral 'normal'. Trees poked up from the landscape here and there, most of them in small ringed beds as though they'd been placed deliberately as part of some wider beautification project. In the distance to one side, a narrow river seemed to run between well-formed banks.

Here and there were signs of the network's welcoming and quaint design - a bench by the river, a walking trail between the trees, and far off in the distance from where she emerged, Seafoam could make out the signs of more structured civilisation beginning to take shape in the form of more regimented paths and lots. One way or another, they had definitely made it safely to the ACDC network - not too close to established network paths, so her entourage was probably safe for now.

Behind her, there was a small scattering of excited 'Meep's as the met trio edged out into the light and looked around, clearly relieved to see a network they recognised. The group seemed like they were about to wander off, now that they were as close to 'home' as a metool virus could get, but the map-wielding met stepped up close to Seafoam and she felt a small tug to get her attention. It held its map up towards her in a neatly rolled bundle and gave a bright 'Meep!' as it tried to give the rolled map to her, its eyes making small happy arches as it did.

The WineGlass private beach resort stretched along a gently arcing curve of beach that made a sheltered bay in a secluded area of the beach net. Sparkling blue waters met glittering white sands that in turn transitioned into shady tropical trees that gave the hinted suggestion of hidden lagoons and beautiful natural walking trails.

The resort itself nestled in the central section of the bay's curve, a scattering of various amenities, cafes, restaurants, shops and other beach-side comforts, while it rose to luxurious private accommodations amidst the trees further inland. Between the main resort buildings and the beach itself, a sheltered area also housed several pools and spas set up to give good view of the beach and the bay without the worry of sand or tides.

Out on the bay, a number of small pleasure-craft drifted or sailed back and forth, chartered by vacationing navis while the beach itself was strewn with beach umbrellas, lounges, volleyball nets and marked areas for other beach games. There was a partition part way down the beach, with some signage on it that seemed to divide one area of relaxation from another, though one would need to get closer to read what the division was all about.

The resort was modestly busy with various navis enjoying the space, and the sun was out and shining bright on the mid-morning setting while a gentle breeze drifted from one end of the cove to another, just enough to refresh and rustle the leaves on the trees.

Delta would arrive at the designated co-ordinates on the southern end of the beach just at the edge of the resort grounds, directly by the entrance to one of the open-air cafes that the complex housed - the cafe looked to be unstaffed – likely menu purchases were delivered automatically and charged to resort customer accounts. This one appeared to be empty of morning guests, save for a single other navi quietly sipping a fruity-coloured drink as she looked out at the shoreline with her back to where Delta would arrive.

At first it might be easy to mistake her for a child navi – her form was slight and small, and her feet clearly didn't reach anywhere close to the ground from the high stool she was perched on; if she were standing, she'd be maybe three feet tall at best, barely reaching Delta's hip. Long rabbit-like ears that lay back in a relaxed state gave her a few more inches, if one were feeling generous. Height aside, she was covered in a very short, soft coat of pure white fur and a glance at her profile showed her face to bear other similarly lapin features. She was wearing a dark red swim-suit made of a side-hitch bikini bottom with a tailored back clasp for what looked very much like a small tufted rabbit tail, and a narrow chest band up top that, given her build, didn't have much it needed to support and was just there for modesty. A small pair of stylised wings were picked out in silver thread against the red fabric on either side of the back-hitch.

Given that the navi seemed to be the only person present at this particular cafe, and the likelihood that her small frame might match the voice he'd heard in the mission brief, it seemed reasonable to guess that this navi was probably Delta's client, though she didn't seem to have noticed him yet if he wanted to slip away and do any other recon before engaging with her.

With just one foe remaining for now, Seafoam launched an attack that took advantage of her target's heightened elevation, striking it from above with a barrage of aqua needles while its attention was still focused downwards. With less time to react to the unexpected attack, the bat was pummelled into submission before it could drop back down, leaving Seafoam and her charges free to continue their exit from the cave.

Beside her the formerly-fearful metool seemed to let out a breath and relax again before wandering back to convene with the other two. The map-wielding met took the lead once more, falling in line behind Seafoam while the sculptor gave a few more careful chisels on his its project – a stalagmite now artfully turned into what looked like a metool wearing a pointed safety cone instead of its normal helmet – and trailed along behind the others.

-=Cavern Cravens=-
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. A: DELETED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. B: DELETED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. C: DELETED

-=Hopefully Home=-
Map-Wielding Metool: 40Hp [Normal] [Behind Seafoam]
Sculptor Metool: 40Hp [Normal] [Behind Seafoam]
Substantially-Less-Nervous Metool: 40Hp [Behind Seafoam]

-=Met Protector=-
Seafoam.Exe: 80Hp [Normal][RageClaw: 5/6]

-=Are we back in Kansas now? =-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Battle 1, Victory!=-
Spoils: 450z

All around him, the incessant buzzing of the hives grated as the two on the ground gave rise to fresh swarms of bugs, but Delta was ready to be done with this encounter and focused his attention solely on the shadow-cloaked tree. North of him, the tree seemed to loom tall and foreboding, despite its torn and rent trunk, sinking into the depths of the gloom once more, but Delta was ready for its trickery this time. His first lunging slash cleaved through to shadows of the corrupted entity, revealing yet another inert tree in its place, but Delta was already moving with his follow up. He turned and struck a second time, this time connecting with the tree itself before it could strike at him.

His blade dug into the already damaged trunk of the tree and cleaved the wood apart, drawing a last howling shriek of tearing timer from the virus, caught out at last and its tricks spent. It seemed to rear up, only tenuously connected to the baste of its trunk, then fell towards Delta in its death throes in a last attempt to crush the navi with its final fall. Even this Delta was prepared for, however - his freshly reformed shield caught the weight of the dying virus and let him shove its bulk to the side even as the force of its fall shattered his shield again.

With the tree fallen, a quick salvo of shots swiftly deleted the loose hives as well, and the still-forming swarms of skeeters above them dissipated into the surrounding forest, fleeing the scene. With a last pulse of glowing energy, his candle healed its last and faded away, leaving Delta standing in the dark again, but the victor of the clearing all the same.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: DELETED

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B3: ESCAPED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C2: ESCAPED

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 155Hp [In the middle of the clearing][Grass]
Candle: EXPIRED

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North: SLICED
Twisted Tree North-East: DELETED
Twisted Tree East: DELETED
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree West: DESTROYED
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]

Ancient Beehive A: DELETED
Ancient Beehive B: DELETED
Ancient Beehive C: DELETED

-=Battle 5, Victory!=-
Spoils: 1100z, 15 BugFrags, Shadow1Effect: Shadow
Accuracy: S
Description: Grants the user Shadow. This reduces all incoming non-Slashing attacks to 0 damage, and reduces accuracy on ranged attacks by 20%.
Duration: One turn
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D, Skeeter Bounty +5

((As an aside, for clarity - Many viruses do have a behaviour pattern that involves putting up an iron- or metal- body defence and not attacking, but it's not a feature of the defence, just the pattern for those viruses. If there was anything on the site that led you, as a player, to believing that the defence worked that way, let me know, and I can check it out and see if we need to clarify something))

Moving towards her target, Lyntael would let out a devistating flashkick that would tear through the Shellnerd with little effort, a sicking crack would cry out between the thundering sounds across the field, deleting the Shellnerd within it's own shell, whilst the disentigrating force would fly out towards other directions, just barely missing the Aquagear as it moved just in time and clipping the Tubby as it continued to prepare to blast it's musics, whilst the Fishy was busying itself with escaping the mud, popping out just in time to watch the instrument get blasted, this did not stop it from beginning to sing however, an annoyingly off-pitched tune escaping from the living instrument, grating HEAVILY on Lyn's mental stability, if not stopped before long she'd likely go insane!...or the closest analgue for her at the very least.

Her movement back towards the center of the area would be met with the Aquiagear unloading a torrential blast of water again in turn right under her feet, managing to finally strip away the barrier (60) from her form, but causing a ripple effect that would damage the two she was between with a dual blast of electiricity, sending the Tubby head over ass into the mud, head first, causing it to stand perfectly upright whilst the Fishy was pushed back into the mud, but it would get back up almost immediately this time. All the while the met that could would FINALLY manage to right itself...and watching as Lyn would begin moving against the Aquagear in that moment...it decided immediately to peace the hell out, running from the battle as fast as it's stubby legs could allow.

With her movement against the Aquagear, it tried in vein to avoid her attacks, the first striking clear as day, both typing and it's own conductive lake would GREATLY do it's job, it's internal structure flashing for a brief moment upon it's strike and, moreso there, enough of her strikes landing true to finally remove the annoyance, it's metal body crumpling beneath her strikes before the body sunk beneath the waves, never to be seen again. All the while, her core would bring forth the stormclouds above, rain coming quick and hard, every muddy patch and even the grassy ones, would begin to disappear beneath the waves, as lightning flickered between Fishy and Tuby, the latter disageed with this however...before turning to a blackened ash, dead in a moment. Her words came as the Fishy looked about...and took it's immediate leave, flying off into the distance, knowing full well only an idiot wouldn't take this.

Data scoured the now water logged battlefield and, with it, data Rogan would be happy to take along most likely.

-- Viruses --
Aquagear EXAquagear EX (Raingear)

This virus family is positively deadly when fighting on Ice Terrain, to the point where the players are at a severe disadvantage. Unless you just have it in for the player, try not to combine the two very often. I'm serious about this. -Pally

Area: Yoka, Beach, Sharo

HP: 200
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Aqua + Wide Attack + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Blasts enemy with a geyser that bursts suddenly from the ground.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 80 Aqua + Group Attack + Ground Attack
Secondary Attack Accuracy: D
Secondary Attack Description: Blasts the enemy with a marching line of geysers.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): WaterLine2, AquaTower2, Zenny
Special: This virus' attacks will freeze the target solid on ice terrain.: DEAD
Tuby2Tuby2 (Tuby)

Area: Beach

HP: 150
Attack: Confusion + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Attack Accuracy: S
Attack Description: Plays a tune that confuses its enemies.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Discord (Rare), Zenny
Special: Attacks every other turn.: TOASTY
Fishy2Fishy2 (Fishy)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech, Beach, NetVegas

HP: 150
Attack Damage/Effect: 45 + Stun 1 + Line Attack(5) + Impact + Piercing
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Flies into a group of enemies, and stuns them.
Element: Normal
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DashAttack2, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: RUNNING VERY FAST (Ran)
Metool2Metool2 (Metool)

Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 100
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard2, SonicWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: Can use Recover150 on self once.: PEACE OUT BABY! (Ran)
Shellnerd EXShellnerd EX (ShellGeek)

Shellgeeks alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions Shellgeeks may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Shellgeeks will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. The secondary attack of Shellgeeks can be used to grant an ally of this virus a free movement, or even to knock an ally out of the path of an oncoming attack.

Area: Yoka, Sharo, Beach, Okuden Valley

HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effects: 25 Null x 2 Spears
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Fires two spears at one target.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effects: 50 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Fires a star tipped arrow. Can be used on an ally to move them. Causes no damage to allies.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): TripleNeedle, StarArrow2 (Rare), Zenny
Special: Attacks every other action. IronBody when not attacking.: DELETED

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 340 HP (Sea) (Self-Slow1) (Off-Target1) (Charge2) (Casing20) (ElecBarrier30)

-- Terrain --
100% Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• Terrain changes between Sea and Onsen do not inflict damage upon submerged entities, nor do they eject submerged entities to the surface.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua.

(Waterlogged and rainy field anyone?)

Battle 13 Victory!
13,500z, 25 Bugfrags

With the dark tree no longer clinging to the shadows, Delta was increasingly hemmed in by foes – though it seemed as though the collection of ancient beehives remained inert for now, each with a swarm of skeeters already buzzing above them. The tree itself rattled its branches and the moaning wind through the wood became a roaring wail of sound amidst the rustle of boughs and the fiercely whipping winds. Exposed to it a second time, Delta might notice that the blast of air that rushed through the clearing crackled with viral code, enough to interfere with any fields or barriers he might be using – fortunate for Delta then, that he wasn't in the habit of utilising that sort of defence.

He struck out with his blade, removing another of the dark tree's possible duplicates then turned his attention on the skeeters and their hives... but a grave miscalculation of past experiences seemed to have led the navi astray at a tactical moment. Even as he began making his flurry of swift buster shots at the smaller targets the tree's long scything branches continued to lash out at him, largely unhindered by its iron-bark defence. The tree certainly seemed to be rooted to the spot and immobile, but perhaps this wasn't a condition too unfamiliar to trees in general. It definitely didn't seem to be inhibiting it from attacking him and its branches had Delta well within reach. A storm of rapid shots and swings ensued from both sides of the battle as each tried to assail the other.

Delta's first two shots swiftly eliminated one of the skeeter swarms before it could react, but in turn GloomScythe swung two strikes in his direction, landing one scoring blow on the navi in the process. Amidst the rapid movements the long shadows played in the candle's flickering light and the dark tree seemed to take note of the way the flame was healing its prey and its attention began to split between delta and his summon. It aimed one scythe at each the navi and the candle, but was clearly becoming more focused on the troublesome light – the scythe aimed at Delta missed, while the other bit into the wax and made the flame waver for a moment.

Delta, meanwhile took another pair of shots at one of the hives, destroying it and preventing any further summons from that particular source, while the second swarm of skeeters rushed him, missing by a hair. Not far away, the third skeeter swarm followed suit, this group succeeding at finding exposed points on Delta's body and hungrily draining data from him. Fully distracted for the moment, the tree continued to slash at the cursed light, sending globs of wax flying left and right across the clearing and making the shadows warp and twist while Delta handily eliminated another swarm of insects with another pair of quick shots. If nothing else he was getting good bounty credit here...

The light from the candle continued to flow, healing both Delta and the candle itself, and as the navi continued to destroy bugs and hives, the tree's attention seemed to begin turning back towards the more obvious threat. It struck the candle one more time, but still failed to destroy it, before sweeping its scythes back in Delta's direction – another half-distracted miss, fortunately.

Harried by the attacks, Delta's next target only received one of his buster shots, the other going slightly wide, and so the second beehive remained; damaged and dripping from its ancient combs, but still intact. A final pair of strikes from both the navi and the tree saw Delta take a last pair of slicing blade strikes even as he successfully destroyed the third skeeter swarm.

The deluge of rapid assaults seemed to let up for a moment as the tree's hardened defence faded and the darkness drew in around it again. It was still looking worse for wear and that aggressive assault seemed to have taken some energy for the twisted entity to exert in is damaged condition. Maybe now Delta would have an opportunity to finish it off.

-=Hive-Hoarder=-
GloomScythe.Tree: 80Hp [Directly North of Delta, at the edge of the clearing][Soil]

SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes A2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes B2: DELETED
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes C: DELETED

-=Bee-Seeker=-
Delta.EXE: 125Hp [In the middle of the clearing][Grass][Regen: 5Hp per action while Candle lasts][Sword: 2/6]

Candle: 60Hp [Behind Delta][Grass][Regen: 5Hp per action (it counts as taking a single action each round, refreshing the regen)][1 Round]

-=Terrain=-
(Terrain is mostly grass in the middle of the clearing, with soil around the edges)
40% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

60% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Objects=-
Twisted Tree North-East: DELETED
Twisted Tree East: DELETED
Twisted Tree South-East: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree South: IMMOLATED
Twisted Tree South-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]
Twisted Tree West: DESTROYED
Twisted Tree North-West: 60Hp [Woodbody][Soil]

Ancient Beehive A: DELETED
Ancient Beehive B: 10Hp [Woodbody][Grass]
Ancient Beehive C: 30Hp [Woodbody][Grass]

Capitalising on the momentary hesitation of her foes, Seafoam manoeuvred swiftly to line up the two remaining bats as they each swooped upward to take cover amongst the hanging stalactites. Her shotgun rang out, buckshot scattering across the jagged rock of the ceiling as the main burst of the shot eliminated one of the two bats before it could get out of the way. The piercing round blasted through more of the stalactites but amongst them the second bat wove away from the blast, avoiding it.

With the remaining bat lurking up high, Seafoam attempted to reach it with a swing from her newly formed claws, but her opponent was just too high to reach for now. Two more pickaxes flew up towards the target from her allies, followed by annoyed 'Meep's as they deflected off the hanging stalactites. No luck for now, but as the PulseBat emerged from the higher sections of the cave and prepared to swoop down again it seemed that Seafoam would get another chance to nail the irksome virus.

-=Cavern Cravens=-
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. A: DELETED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. B: DELETED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. C: 70Hp [High Altitude]

-=Hopefully Home=-
Map-Wielding Metool: 40Hp [Normal] [Cover behind a stalagmite, checking his map]
Sculptor Metool: 40Hp [Normal] [Cover behind a stalagmite, mining gently at it]
Substantially-Less-Nervous Metool: 40Hp [Guarding] [Beside Seafoam, on her right]

-=Met Protector=-
Seafoam.Exe: 80Hp [Normal][RageClaw: 5/6]

-=Are we back in Kansas now? =-
100% Normal

• No effects.

The main reasoning that I've always been given (it's no oversight - I've campaigned for it multiple times and been shot down by other mod staff) is that chips are meant to have things you can't access any other way and are meant to be better. These reasons never felt very satisfying to me, personally, but it is what it is... Like you say, there are ways around it that come at the sacrifice of other things.

Although, considering it... Our signature system used to have the option of passives, wherein you could pay 4x the signature cost, and (provided it was still under your individual sig limit), have the effect as a passive constantly. It eventually got a bit out of hand, because it threw the action economy out of balance and there was no way to rein it in outside of changing a lot of other things that didn't otherwise need changing... Now, at the value point the statusguard effect would have been, it would have been possible to make it a passive to any navis over level 20-ish... But, passives aren't a thing any more, so that 'risk' isn't really a danger now, so perhaps it might be worth looking into again, who knows ^.^

There are a lot of ways in which the Signature system has gotten the raw end of the stick compared to the Chip system; the system was designed after the games and focused heavily around the assumption that using battlechips would be your bread and butter the vast majority of the time... My Lyntael is actually a very extreme outlier in her non-use of chips at all. (My biggest gripe with it is that ALL chip defences have StatusGuard baked in... and we have NO way at all to get StatusGuard with signatures)

You're not incorrect that attributing a signature as Melee, and then giving it Slashing gives you a default accuracy as C... but if you're a navi that specialises in neither Melee nor Swords, then it kind of makes a certain amount of sense that they might not be as proficient as they'd like with that combination... or at least you could look at it that way.

Here's what I can say: You don't, technically, have to attribute your signature to Melee if you don't want to; by default signatures are treated as having A rank accuracy in lieu of having a nominated range attribution, and you can stick with that, play the signature as you describe and register it, and no-one will complain. You won't get the perks of having it attributed to melee (such as getting effectively a free movement to target), that's all.

Remember also that what actual effects the illusion ha is ultimately up to moderator discretion - you can make an illusion with the intent and hope that it might make things harder for your foes, but you can't say that it gives an accuracy penalty because that's up to moderation. As a general rule, if you sell it well and don't try to over-reach, you're more likely to get what you're trying for.

Most sword chips are B accuracy, while basic buster work is A. Buster chips that make your buster into a slashing sword (not to be confused with Sword battlechips...) enforce that accuracy drop as well, if I recall correctly. Sword subtype navis can negate this with their passive that grants an additional accuracy rank to all sword chips they use, and lets that accuracy surpass A rank if appropriate.

(Edit: compare your Shotgun, Cannon and FireHit with your RageClaw and Sword chips - the adjustment is built in.)