Monk-ing Around [Elkeid/Combat]

[Hirosame]

Hiro made his way carefully through the marshlands, wading his way through slowly. He didn't want to get his clothing too gross and disgusting, because he'd have to fight in those exact clothes not too much longer from now. He needed some new armor, of course, but he didn't know of any tailors or crafters that would be able to make him a new set of clothes. He should probably spring for some armor instead, but that would come with time. For now, he just needed to level up a bit further. He was already level five, after doing only a few quests, which he found to be rather nice. He liked the idea of being able to get stronger so quickly, just as a normal MMO would allow you to. He was excited to be on yet another combat quest, so he could always get stronger. This was ultimately his goal, to become strong enough to take on a lot of damage, and deal even more in return.

Today's quest was simple: Kill 6 Weak Goblin Scouts. Sure, it was a bit of a simple monster to kill, and the number may not be massive, but certainly it was a quest worth doing, nonetheless. This would get more experience for Hiro in the long run, and make him achieve his goal just a bit quicker. He was excited for another chance to prove his strength, and perhaps make a new friend along the way. He knew that he wouldn't be alone on this quest, and with someone he's never met before, no less. This was going to be a good day for him, and he could feel it down to his core. He continued along the swampy path, going deeper into the lowlands. He figured that this mission would be cake, for sure.

He gathered a bit of information on his ally ahead of time, accepting the quest at the same time. Elkeid, another Monk, was going to be joining him for this bout. It would be nice to fight alongside yet another martial artist like himself, and possibly get to know more about his class, if this person was skilled with Elder Tale online. However, if this weren't the case, it'd be nice to be able to learn more about the class together with a noob as well. Granted, he was less of a noob now, since he hit level 5, but that didn't make him a pro. He was making his way up in the world of Elder Tale, and he'd eventually find himself in the upper echelon soon enough. For now, it was normal quest after normal quest.

Hiro arrived at the meeting place for the quest to begin, and he decided he'd go ahead and lean up against a nearby tree. He looked around, trying to keep a keen eye out to make sure he wasn't about to get jumped by a bunch of monsters. Or worse, other players. Especially much higher leveled players, like those who own the guilds in the Old Parliament Building in London. He shuddered at the thought of getting jumped so quickly and violently in such a place as this, and he hoped that that wouldn't happen. He tried to put the thought off to the back of his mind for a little bit, and focus more on the mission just ahead. He kept repeating to himself that that wouldn't happen, and his partner would show up soon.

[Elkeid]

'I can't believe I'm doing this. It's even weirder that I'm not ill right now. How many beers did have last night?' Elkeid's mind was abuzz with activity as she slowly and carefully picked her way through the marshlands. She had drunk a good deal last night, even by her standards, but here she was, moving around in broad daylight. Normally she would be wearing a pair of shades if she was forced to be out and about with a hangover, but that certainly was not the case today. She had felt a little ill this morning when she first woke up, but that feeling was long gone by the time she set off from the inn. Some idle searching through her skills list brought up a little snippet about brewers and their immunities to status debuffs from drinks and potions, and they recovered from sickness quickly, as well. All in all, it was a rather pleasant surprise for someone who had not anticipated these helpful bonuses.

Even if she wasn't feeling well, she still would have trekked out here to meet a fellow monk, a player by the name of "Hirosame." She disliked breaking her appointments, and was used to getting up and right back to work during the nights she binged. Plus, this was an excellent time to scout out the marshlands, something she was wary of doing on her own. The player was also a few levels above her, which was another reassurance. Hopefully he was more skilled at this game than she was. For someone to be that level so quickly, they must be quite efficient, anyway. She, herself, was still a lowly level one player, having yet to even spend the AP she had accumulated thus far. 'I could try, but I don't think seven is very much. I can't possibly level up with that much, right?' She would see about changing that later, though, if this quest went well. All she had to do was knock around some Weak Goblin Scouts. How hard could that be? They were within her level, like those rabbits and young boars, so she should be able to manage. 'They're also humanoid enemies. They'll be a hell of a lot easier to fight if I pretend they're muggers.' She'd had to fight off a few, thanks to those self-defense classes she had taken back in the real world. If these goblins had balls, she would certainly be kicking them.

As she neared the meeting place, Elkeid began to actively search for the player. The only distinguishing feature she had been given was his red hair, which shouldn't be too hard to pick up from this gloomy atmosphere. There were very few players traversing the area, each deeply engrossed in their own affairs. Elkeid reached absentmindedly for a cigarette that was not hanging from her mouth, and sighed. She was really itching for some good tobacco, though the odds of it tasting like anything other than filth were dreadfully low. The food here, as she feared, was god awful, just like the "water" she had ingested not so long ago. The bad taste didn't matter once you were too smashed to care, though.

Elkeid ignored her quietly rumbling stomach. She'd fed it earlier, though not much. There was only so much she could handle. 'It's so weird how real everything is here. If it weren't for a few things, I could easily forget that this was a video game.' Something colorful caught the corner of her eye, and she subconsciously turned towards it. 'Oh, is that…' She squinted at the color - a vibrant red that stood out amongst all the grey. The owner of that red of messy, red hair was apparently her partner for the quest. She picked up her pace until she was taking long strides, ignoring the sucking noise when she stepped into the occasional stretches of mud. It took her a few minutes since she often stepped in what felt like quicksand, but she was by Hiro's side in no time.

She inclined her head slightly at the male, unable to help but notice how much younger he appeared to be. 'It's to be expected. Most adults are too busy to be playing video games.' "Hello. I'm Elkeid," she said by way of greeting. "Shall we get started?" She was a rather straightforward person, and there had been an agreement between the two of them to make this a short and easy quest - assuming all went well, anyway.

Words:754

Muse:Troublesome Visitor

Notes:0/6 Weak Goblin Scouts

Tags:Hirosame

made by benetnasch of ET

[Hirosame]

Hiro turned to greet the slightly shorter female, but before he could, she had already asked if they could get started. He didn't mind it, though, since the two of them had already agreed on making this quest short. The quicker they got done, the quicker they got their AP. "Pleased to meet you, Elkeid. I'm Hiro. And yeah, let's get this going." Hiro stopped talking immediately and looked around, spotting a small group of three of their targets off to his right. He turned the other way, and saw three more, as he dashed off towards the left to begin combat immediately. He figured that the female would pick up on the motion, and start attack the ones that were to his right. For now, he'll focus on the monsters at hand, readying his body for the fight.

He neared the first Goblin Scout, and held his arms back, cupping them together. He smirked, as he charged his newest skill. Letting a small ball of MP appear in his hands, he recoiled himself back further, before shouting, "Aura Dragon Fist!" He released the small ball of energy into the first enemy, and dealt about 20% of its life in one shot. The blast crashed into the foe, and sent it back a few feet, before the trio turned to face the human, and charge. Hiro learned that he could use that attack in rapid succession a few times, at a cost of 10% of his MP per shot. So, he went ahead and started shooting the attack four more times at the first enemy, causing it to disappear into the wastes. He celebrated a little bit, as he started to charge in return towards the foes before him.

Hiro brought his fist up behind him, and started to engage the second enemy. Hiro brought his fist into the face of the second enemy, and decided that he wouldn't take on both at once. He forced the one Goblin back, and dodged over the other one, leaping above it. Hiro planted his fist into the Goblin, dealing more of its health in a quick strike. He hopped backwards, before being clobbered by the third Goblin. He took a fair deal of damage, about 10% of his life bar had vanished. This was surprising to the man, as the slimes he fought earlier weren't as powerful as these Goblins. He backed away from the beast, and continued his attack on the other Goblin, slamming his fist into it once more. This was almost enough for him to dispatch the monster, and all he needed to do was just hit it one more time. He delivered the final attack with a swift follow-up kick to it, sending it up into the air before disappearing. He turned around, and had begun to engage the final monster in his part of the quest.

[Elkeid]

Hiro's response was just as brief, which she of course did not mind. Listening to him speak was irritating, especially since she could actually identify a few of the words he was speaking. 'It's going to be quite a while before I can get used to this sudden change,' she thought with a soft, internal sigh. It would take even longer for her to stop her habit of reading lips and body language, if ever. She hardened her thoughts and clenched her hands into fists as Hiro sought out a few victims for them to fight. Six, the number of enemies they would be fighting in this quest, were within range, nicely grouped into two groups of three. 'How wonderfully convenient.'

The man left her side to take on one group, leaving the other to her. This made Elkeid frown just a bit. She was sort of hoping they would be fighting together, so that she could secretly observe how another monk fought and apply that to her own methods. 'There are so many skills, though, that I doubt we have the same ones.' Oh well. She could observe him from afar, at any rate. "I'll do my best," Elkeid called out, a little softer than she usually would have done. Now that she was aware of her own speech, she was also a bit self-conscious about her pitch. It made itself all too apparent in the inn last night.

Elkeid nibbled on her lower lip as she trotted forwards, toward the clustered group of goblins. She crashed right into the middle of them, sending them scattering into different directions. At least two of them sounded pissed at her rude interruption, but why should she care what bits of pixels and data felt? Did she care when she kicked one right in the crook between its legs? No. Did she care when the goblin broke out in tears? No. Did she care about making the goblin infertile? Certainly not. She was far too busy treating the goblin's groin as a small soccer ball. The goblin scrunched up its face and turned its head to the side, its mouth contorted in pain as it desperately sought to cover itself. 'I bet you regret not buying that cup now, huh?'

She could see it now - the goblins were crowded around the small pond they treated as the office water cooler, shooting the breeze while they discussed banking at Gringotts or tricking some kids into whitewashing a fence. One of them would start to brag about how he was susceptible to kicks, but that he always had a backup plan. The second goblin would jokingly suggest that the first invest in a cup, before someone came along and kicked him in the giblets. The first goblin would laugh it off, as always. "Don't be ridiculous, man. What kind of person would nail a goblin in the balls?! That's just rude and unsportsmanlike. Everyone knows you don't hit below the belt!" Finally, the third would pick up and proclaim that only women and dishonorable men kick below the belt, to which the first would respond with "Women? Questing? Shouldn't they be in the kitchen or on their knees?" The small group would burst into laughter and resume their idle chatter.

The first goblin looked as though it were regretting that imagined conversation. If it could talk, it would certainly be begging Elkeid to stop, but why the hell should she? She needed these AP points, and if brutalizing this goblin was the way to achieve her goal then so be it. Rough hands grabbed her from behind, prompting her to draw her focus away from the downed kobold. Memories of training in her self-defense classes instantly sprung to mind. "THAT'S MY PURSE! I DON'T KNOW YOU!" This was a phrase she was taught to yell out at assailants, and what followed was the standard kick to the groin. The goblin's eyes rolled up into the back of its head as it cupped itself and fell to its knees, gasping for breath.

The third goblin looked doubtful, but still it lurched towards her. She intercepted it, attempting to grab it, but the creature grappled with her. "LET GO OF MY PURSE!" She rammed her knee into its groin. "I DON'T KNOW YOU!" She knocked this goblin aside and pivoted around, ready to punch the next goblin that tried grabbing her. This turned out to be the second goblin, which was already recovering from its first kick. It apparently had not learned its lesson.

She tackled the goblin and rolled around a bit with it, raining down a series of punches as she did so. The goblin fought back, of course, but it did not prevail. Elkeid blinked in surprise as her arms came up empty. 'That's one down - for me, anyway.' Hiro had already killed two. 'I should pick up the pace,' she thought as she turned her sights on the two remaining goblins. The first was trying to crawl away. 'Don't you know it's ill-advised to turn your back on your opponent?'

Elkeid dropped an elbow hard into the small of the goblin's back, pinning it to the ground. It's health bar was an absolute wreck, one that dropped to zero when she punched it in the back of the head. 'It looks like kicks to the groin are just as effective here as they are in the real world.' She was smiling now. 'Time to wrap this up.'

Words:917

Muse:Bobby goes nuts: Nut shots

Notes:4/6 Weak Goblin Scouts

Tags: Hirosame

made by benetnasch of ET

[Hirosame]

Hiro peered over his enemy for a moment to look at his ally's progress. This girl was nuts. She wasn't even carrying a purse, and yet she's yelling it out like she has one. Although, "nuts" was the perfect word to use, since this woman was kicking everything in sight in their nuts. Hiro shivered a bit, realizing that he, too, had male genitalia, to which could be kicked severely. He wanted to keep his distance from this woman, almost at all costs. He somewhat regretted accepting a quest with her in it, despite how well she was using the Monk class' ability to hit unarmed for more damage than one would expect. Again, he shivered as the thought of being kicked with that kind of force would send him about two octaves higher than he wanted to be.

Hiro turned to face his enemy once more, and narrowly avoided the attack that it had just put forth. He dodged to the side quickly, and followed up with a swift kick to the back of the enemy. He had no idea how, or why, he had lost himself in the thought of being assaulted violently in the nads, but he needed to focus on his assailant now. His part in the quest was almost done, and if he died here, he wouldn't really be able to finish the quest. He wouldn't get the EXP that would come from it, and without that, he couldn't get stronger. Although, EXP probably isn't the right word to use at the moment, since this game relied heavily on the concept of AP to level up your classes, instead of EXP. That was something that he still needed to get used to. It'd happen in time, of course.

Hiro looked at the Goblin, as it started to advance towards him once more. He sighed, and already wished the quest were over. The less time he spends near the nad-kicker, the better, he figured. He walked over toward the beast, and wound his leg back, before kicking it with all his might. He sent the monster into the air, and it landed in a mud puddle not too far away from him. He jumped up, and crushed it beneath his feet. The enemy disappeared into the mud, leaving not a trace behind. He couldn't help but feel that that method of killing a monster was a bit inhumane, but it was a monster, after all. Monsters are EXP-err, AP. And AP meant levels.

He turned back around to see his ally had finished her enemies as well, and he gave her a kind smile, hiding the absolute fear behind a wall of happiness. He waved to her a bit, and threw her a friend request, before slowly making his way through the marshlands. Perhaps she wouldn't be so crazy after all, and he was just misjudging her. But, the further he got away, the more he was concerned for his own testicular safety. His eyes widened bit by bit, as he got further away, wondering if she were coming after him to slam him in the gonads before leaving him to die in the marshlands. Without really even thinking about it, he started to walk faster, and finally get into a full run away from the marsh. If anyone saw him running, they'd wonder if he was alright in the head. He was, but he hoped that he would be in the other head, as well.

[Elkeid]

Oh, how the remaining goblin sniveled. It looked ready to drop down onto its knees and kiss her boots, so she walked up to it and forced it down with the back of her hand. The goblin stared up at her through a film of tears. "Kneel," she commanded. The goblin gaped up at her for a moment before doing as it was told, and when she lifted a foot to hold it under its nose, the creature placed two tentative hands on her cheap boots. "Kiss my boot, and I'll let you live," she lied. The goblin lowered its head and slobbered over her foot. It slowly raised its head and flashed her a smile, showcasing a set of jagged, rotten teeth.

Elkeid snorted. Did it really think she would let it live, when it would not extend the same privilege to her? 'The little bastard would kill me if it got the chance to.' As she watched, the goblin's smile curled up at the edges, and its eyebrows furrowed. She realized too late what it was about to do, and came crashing upon the ground when it yanked her foot. 'Son of a…'

The little goblin was one craft bugger. It pounced on her and drove a fist to her gut. The woman coughed and cringed as pain filled her abdomen. Pain was a very real occurrence in this game. She disliked receiving pain, but giving it was another matter. The goblin took a knee to the chest and was thrown off of her. 'I should really level up my main class. My passive skill is useless to me without any alcohol.'

The tables had turned back to where they were originally standing, with the goblin at her mercy. She kicked it hard in the shoulder, making it roll to the side, and dropped one heel into the back of its neck. These normal attacks just weren't cutting it. They were, however, good enough to subdue and kill weaker enemies, like these goblins. The one at her feet was obliterated with two hard punches, leaving a brief dust of colored pixels into the air before fading for good.

'I think I need a cigarette.'

As there were no more sounds of fighting in the immediate vicinity, Elkeid glanced over at Hiro to see how he was faring. The redhead was smiling rather cheerily, and seemed to be lacking opponents on the battlefield. 'Well done.' His health bar was a little shaky, but that was only to be expected. She waved farewell to him before he trudged off, only to be greeted with a prompt from the system.

It was a friend request.

Hirosame is now following you.

Elkeid wasn't opposed to making allies within the game; hell, it would only make things easier for her. She took a moment to think about it, however, and after some quiet contemplation, pressed the "accept" button.

You are now friends with Hirosame.

'...Why the hell were those parts italicized?' It was creepy as fxxk. She decided to chalk it up to the system's preference in announcing details, and began making her way back to the inn. It was time to level up.

Words:531

Muse:Troublesome Visitor

Notes:6/6 Weak Goblin Scouts

Tags: Hirosame

made by benetnasch of ET