Learning How to Sword [CG: Carebear]

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

: Words :
876

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
N/A

“Meh…” The tired spat came from the short white fox that stood up tall on the old, aged, stone platform which extended out from underneath a wooden overhang. Said overhang was on the verge of collapse, but the man did not pay much attention to it. He was safe on the extended rocky stone and it would take more than a windy breeze to knock over the support beams of the structure. The place was one of the many abandoned train stations around Londinium, and it was also one of the quietest ones. Ryker never really had got much time away from people ever since he joined Elder Tale so it was nice to get a break. However, as he stood there with his rusty katana in hand, he learned that doing such a thing was a bad idea.

Ryker’s first mistake was thinking that he could practice his sword skills without any assistance. His second mistake was thinking he could practice without a dummy or any kind of target. His third mistake was thinking he could actually practice. Ryker had never used a weapon until a few hours ago when he met a new friend, and he had done very poorly during their little grinding session. After doing so, he planned to learn how to fight better. Seeing as after only ten minutes he was giving up, that idea was going brilliantly! Yea not really, Ryker was a terrible fighter. He was a fisherman and he fought with a fishing pole to reel in his catch. He was not a soldier, a fighter, or anything like that. Ryker actually disliked violence and avoided it as much as he could but the more he lived in his new reality, the more he learned that combat was inevitable.

If that was true then he needed to learn how to fight and he needed to learn fast. Ryker was a Cleric but his class allowed him to be close to the battle while performing magical skills. If he could tie his healing abilities in with his offensive skills, then he could become incredible useful to other players both on and off the field of battle. However, he would have to make sure that he kept the party ahead of himself. Ensuring that everyone remained healed was much more important than making sure something was killed; it was all about the health bar. If your health bar outlasted your opponents and you regained health faster, you would win in the long run. Ryker didn’t care if a battle had to be drawn out, as long as everyone lived. That was why he picked Cleric in the first place. He didn’t want to see anyone die and would rather use his skills as a supporting player to ensure the victory of his allies.

Yet he also didn’t want to be completely dependent on other people. Ryker wanted to be able to hold his own in combat and wanted to be able to fight alone if he needed to. People weren’t always friendly and Ryker understood that, so making sure he didn’t have to rely on others one-hundred percent of the time would be very vital to his survival. It would also allow him to branch out from the city and explore more. Ever since he joined, Ryker had been confined to the walls of Londinium and could not go further than a mile or so from its walls lest he risk being killed. He had attempted to go further once, but the signs of player-killers made him think twice. Some could say he was getting desperate, and Ryker would agree.

I need some help. Would you mind lending me a hand? Only if you’re free of course. –Ryker

Desperate enough to call on the help of a player he had met once, but a player whom had reminded him that he could call on her if he needed help. Ryker was not one to lean on others often, but in this situation the person he sent a message to was probably the only one he could call on; literally. Aside from the female player, whom he nicknamed Carebear due to her long and difficult to pronounce name, Ryker had only met two others. Those other two weren’t very skilled either so asking them for assistance would be foolish. Ryker needed someone who knew how to swing a sword, and Ryker was hoping that the woman would know enough. He had partied with her, glanced at her player class and stats briefly and learned that she was a capable fighter, much more than he was. As shameful as it was to ask a woman to teach him how to fight, Ryker added his location to the message and then hit the send button. Thankfully, he was in an abandoned space for the most part. If all went well, no one would come walking by.

“You’re a fisherman, not a soldier…” Ryker whispered to himself as he walked over to the wooden structure. He frowned to himself and set down his katana, sheathing the weapon as he did so. Then, he sighed and closed his eyes. Hopefully the female player would come. If not, Ryker would have to learn on his own.

@dindeen - Level 79 - Samurai

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusWary. OOC Notes--- Tags@dindeen Ryker Caerbannog was, for lack of a better word, utterly bored. The guild house was mostly devoid of people what with everyone else going out to do their own things. @0x1dea was usually asleep or doing whatever in his room, Kumori went out on dates scouting missions, and the rest of the guild ran around on their own. Events occasionally did bring their people together, but those were few and far in between. And so the samurai laid there in her cave with her frenmic rabbit Hrairoo sleeping soundly by her side; she’d have laid there for days if not for a message which suddenly came in. It was one of the newer names, and one that left an impression on her because the adventurer was strangely chipper for someone trapped in Elder Tale: the cleric Ryker. The message was left with a short response of “OK. See you anon.” from her, mostly because she was surprised. But the cleric sounded serious and so the samurai got up as soon as her reply was sent, unsummoned Roo so as not to get him in trouble what with his measly level, and then the girl equipped her usual armor and schoolgirl vanity. By her side, she wore her nagamaki, something that was yet to be replaced with a decent weapon, but that was for another time and place. Caerbannog, once ready, quickly made her way out of the guild house and through the streets of Londinium, then out through the gates. Ryker had included his location and it was easy to find enough. Train stations weren’t exactly like trees in terms of number and appearance, and so the samurai eventually found her way to when the cleric was. Ryker was pretty much the same as their first meeting. The samurai walked towards him without any attempts to hide her presence, so once she got his attention, she put a hand up and waved at the man. Maybe it was due to his height which was not too far from her own- Caerbannog felt at ease around him even though they were in an abandoned place and she’d had a bad experience with being player-killed before. Ryker was Level 1 and a cleric... what would he do, heal her to death? While that thought almost made her laugh, she noted that he was indeed armed and with a katana nonetheless. “Hello~ need help adventuring?” was her question to the cleric. The samurai kept her distance though lest Ryker decide to try out his sword skills on her. She had not seen a sword cleric before, but any blade was dangerous in the hands of a lander, and even more so in the hands of an adventurer. She glanced at the sheathed weapon but then, thinking that rude, Caerbannog looked up at the cleric’s face once again. With about a meter and a half of distance between them, she could probably parry his attacks if it came to that. She hoped that he was not kind of person though, and hoped too that he genuinely needed her help with something. WC: 515 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

: Words :
1086

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
N/A

Briefly after he had sent the message, Ryker received on. The Cleric didn’t expect such a thing to happen and was actually caught off guard by the annoying notification which pinged in his ears. He was never going to get used to that blasted noise. Its high pitched, rotten, obnoxious chirping and ringing made him jolt every time it went off! It had only gone off a few times so far because of how little true player interaction he had experienced so far, but it was already something he truly despised. Much like he despised—

“Focus.” Ryker mumbled to himself, waving lazily at the air in an attempt to open his menu. He probably looked like a needy cat, but he was having legitimate trouble opening the virtual thing. After a bit of time being in the game, he had mastered little. Opening, navigating, and then closing the menu was not one apart of that little. It took him a bit of time before he could get it open, and a little more to actually get to his e-mail box or message box, whatever it was labeled, so he could actually see that the female player had acknowledged him and she WAS—

“—COMING! HOORAY!” Ryker raised his arms up in victory and whooped loudly. He immediately regretted the action, as his voice echoed through the open space and he became the center of attention for a few birds nearby. The player smiled awkwardly at the creatures and pawed at the menu screen in front of him, wrestling with the interface for a bit until it finally closed. With that taken care of, now all Ryker had to do was wait for her to get to where he was. That could take some time based on where she was, what she was doing, as well as other things that could happen so he would need to wait his turn and be patient. To put it simply; it was time for a nap.

Moving just beneath the wooden overhang, Ryker curled up in the shade and nestled his head against his knees. He wasn’t tired but the motion was a practiced one and his body reacted to it. Slowly, Ryker’s eyelids grew heavy and his breathing slowed. Within minutes, his body slumped over and he slammed onto the floor….

CAW! The frightening, disgusting noise rang loudly in Ryker’s ear and it was followed by a ferocious attack of the beak on his ear. Both caused the man to jolt awake, and his eyes shot open in fear. He shouted in fright and flailed as the black body of a curious crow flapped away and out of reach, but the man continued to swing his hands at it. His ear hurt a lot now, and the wretched thing escaped. Ryker growled, bearing his two fangs, and his hair stood up high. His ears folded back slightly as his virtual body reacted to the angry emotion but they slowly steadied back to a comfortable position as the man relaxed.

“Stupid bird…” Ryker rumbled to himself, but maybe it wasn’t so bad. He had slept for only a few minutes but in the distance he could see a silhouette approaching the station. Unsure of who, or what, it was, Ryker immediately perked up and rose to his feet. Standing there like a meerkat, Ryker stared towards the moving body until the bright, vibrant colors revealed who it was. A smile crossed the man’s face and he scrambled across the station to retrieve his katana, as he had accidentally left the weapon lying on the ground a few feet from where he had laid down. Once he grabbed it, he looked back towards the incoming friend. As she noticed him looking at her, she began to wave. Ryker returned the gesture and jumped a few times to ensure that she saw him. She obviously did though, as she was waving at him… Idiot.

Rather than stand around and let Carebear do all of the walking, Ryker hobbled across the station and closed some of the distance which was left, however he paused as she stopped a bit of a ways from him. It was strange of her to do so but given the circumstances Ryker probably would have done the same… Not really. Who was he kidding? Ryker probably would have walked right over if he was invited somewhere by somebody, even if they had shown him just a little bit of kindness. That single fact, along with the distance his summoned acquaintance kept, added to the experience gap between him and the woman. Some would have taken that as a bad thing; Ryker accepted it as bonus knowledge.

Upon being greeted and questioned, Ryker’s smile faded a little and his eyes dropped. He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head as he lost all of the courage he had built up within seconds of the interaction. As he casually lost his ability to speak, he looked down towards the weapon in his left hand. He had gone as far as to ask for the help of someone whom he had just met and she had come all the way out to meet him on a whim. He didn’t want to admit it but that alone was enough for Ryker. He didn’t like asking for things because he always felt like he should be giving, so asking even for a thank you was difficult. With that in mind, he stared at his weapon, continuing to laugh a little to himself. Well, he laughed until that vanished too.

“I… I uh…” Forcing himself to speak, Ryker spoke softly and stared at his weapon. His hand dropped off his head and he lifted the starter sword in front of himself.

“I… I… ehhh…” His tongue twisted and his stomach churned, his mind went blank. That was when he sort of… lost it.

“I need help.” Duh. He had said that. Speak, you white haired idiot!

Don’t you tell me what to do! Women aren’t my thing! YOU DON’T HAVE A THING!

“Would you fight me?” Fail.

“No! NO! I mean help me sword.” Closer.

“I uh.. No. Teach me how to you...” What?

“TEACH ME HOW TO FIGHT PLEASE!” Ryker raised the katana above his head and bowed slightly, his ears folding back and hiding underneath his mess of a hairstyle. He shut his eyes, quivered, and shook. That was probably the most difficult thing he had done in his entire life.

@dindeen - Level 79 - Samurai

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusAttack stance. OOC Notes--- Tags@dindeen Ryker Ryker suddenly seemed a bit off when Caerbannog popped the question. Was it that difficult to answer? He was the one who called her over after all. But then it occurred to her that much like herself, the cleric could be the type of person who did not like having to rely on anyone. That, or he was wary of her too and had just realized that they were no longer in a safe zone. She nodded at the fox tail as he tried to word his explanation, up until he asked her to fight him. What. WHAT? Caerbannog’s brow furrowed at that. Did he really just challenge her? Or was he as bad at stringing words together as her? To her relief, it was the latter. Sure she could help him sword; the girl got the gist of it anyway. But before she stepped towards him, Ryker still blurted out a few more words which cleared up the misunderstanding. If it was a request for adventure though, it would have been easier for the samurai. But to actually teach someone when she herself just learned everything after many trials and errors? It was inevitable what with her level, and at least they were away from the crowd so if either the cleric or the samurai made mistakes, it would be their secret to keep. “Wakarimasu,” the wolf-hair stepped forward when Ryker bowed. She was calm and fairly deadpan actually, much like the face that she pulled a few times during Sarum combat. It meant that Caerbannog was rather serious about the whole ordeal. The cleric held up the katana with both hands and bowed too, so she was not going to answer that with a half-assed attempt at teaching him. She already had something in mind to train the cleric in actual combat without having to fight her, but that was reserved for a little later. At that moment, Ryker had to get into the proper stance. The samurai put her hands over the cleric’s own and pulled them and the sword down close to his chest. Her hands were then placed on his shoulders which she pushed not too gently so that he would straighten up. Caerbannog put her hands down, took two steps back and looked at the ground beneath the cleric. With her right foot, she nudged Ryker’s feet so that they were farther apart, just enough so that he would be lower towards the ground and at a more stable pose. She then stepped away until about a meter of distance was between herself and the fox tail. “Sword on non-dominant side, hand on it,” the girl said as she put her left hand on the sheath of her nagamaki. Her feet were a bit far apart much the pose that she made Ryker take. “Dominant foot forward,” in her case, it was the right one. “Dominant hand on hilt,” and at that, she put her right hand on her nagamaki. “Knees slightly bent,” and as she did so, Caerbannog tilted the sheath slightly so that her elbow would not end up in an uncomfortable position. “Then draw,” the wolf-hair unsheathed her sword slowly so that the cleric could follow it, and then she moved her wrist so that the tip of the nagamaki would end up pointing towards Ryker. Since her weapon was half-half in total length, it was positioned a little farther to her left side so that the butt of the hilt would not hit her torso; and then Caerbannog put her left hand below where her right one gripped the weapon, “Two hands for grip and control.” The final pose was an attack stance with her nagamaki pointing towards Ryker’s face. WC: 620 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

: Words :
1092

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
N/A

Ryker’s inability to communicate went better than he thought, or worse depending on how the female player now viewed him. Seeing as she had not cut him in half after he finished talking, Ryker took it as a sign that he had passed the correct torch. And once again, the instant his feet were stable they were swept out from underneath him. The word the female player responded with made his mind explode and he stood straight up as he began attempting to resay it in his brain. He stared up towards the woman, his face vexing as he tried to wrap his tongue around the word. Wakareemasew? Wakamiasou? No, macarenayou. Wait, nope, not even close. Strike three, that was it. Ryker gave up and stood still as the woman began to approach him, trusting that she wasn’t going to slice him into tiny pieces; hopefully what she said didn’t mean lunch.

Every step Carebear took, Ryker began to get hotter. He was scared, frightened of being slaughtered by someone he had considered trustworthy. The light breeze didn’t help, nor did the silence. Damned birds, why did they stop chirping? Why did the grass stop shaking? Why was he staring at her hips? Oh, right, the sword. Yes, focus on the sword. Ryker’s nose wiggled and he stared at the female’s weapon, eyeing it closely as he expected it to lunge out at him and skewer his chest on its own. That moment never came, to Ryker’s relief, but he still jumped a little. As he stared at the sword, Carebear had placed her hands on him and began to coax his body to move. With her hands placed on his, as that was obviously where she had put them, Ryker was casually forced to lower his sheathed weapon down to his chest. Her hands were toasty. Please don’t le-Damn.

Ryker stared at his own hands as Carebear’s left his and eyed where she had put them. Then he looked up at her as she grabbed his shoulders. The next motion was almost like a popping one, and his back cracked as she pushed him to stand up straight. The feeling was fierce and pain lingered for a moment, but it quickly faded. Seconds after he was propped up to his full and mighty four foot-four inch height, his back began to feel much better. He probably shouldn’t slouch anymore. However if he did, he would enjoy the lovely cracking which would follow him standing upright. Ohhh that was nice...

“Huh?” A light tapping against his feet made Ryker’s face snap back from glory-land and he looked down to see that he was being told to move his ass, or more specifically his feet. He did so without any complaints and widened his legs a little until Carebear stopped kicking at him. Once he was set to her liking, Ryker’s female teacher backed up a little ways. Then, she started to speak.

Non… dominant… side? Hand? Oh, right. Ryker understood that. It was kind of like a fishing pole and how he held that, but the sword was more deadly to land creatures. So, much like he held a fishing pole, Ryker flipped the sword around and held the sheath in his right hand instead of his left. Maybe that was why it felt weird to hold it. Following the woman’s instructions, Ryker slid his left foot forward and placed his left hand on the… hilt? What was the hilt? Oh, the handle. The foxtail’s ears wiggled at the revelation that the sword had specific names for its different pieces, but he remained focused. As to not fall behind, Ryker quickly placed his left hand on the sword’s hand—hilt. Next, he bent his knees and pressed his weight into his heels to keep himself from falling over.

“This is new…” Strangely, Ryker was actually very comfortable in the way he now stood. He didn’t feel off balance like he did in the very few other times he had drawn his sword, but he felt in control. That single feeling was something which made him feel a bit more confident in himself. Yes, yes he could fight if he needed to. He wouldn’t be completely useless! Well, maybe he would be. Anyone could stand a certain way… But now he had to draw.

Wait, draw?!

“Wa--!” Ryker froze midword, staring as the other adventurer began to slowly slide the sword out of its carrying compartment. His emerald eyes grew slowly, staring at the visions of himself being killed as more and more of the weapon was revealed to him. The Cleric remained frozen like that the whole time, his eyes fixed on the weapon until it was leveled on his face.

“---it…” The rest of the word escaped his lungs as the man’s mouth slowly closed up. Right, she was teaching him. She wouldn’t… cut him… or anything… right? Right… She wasn’t that… mean… All Ryker had to do was… follow her… Very slowly… In a non-aggressive manner…

“I’m gonna di—“
“Wait, I can’t pull a sword on a woman.” The emotion of fear was instantly wiped clean and Ryker leaned back from the sword which was only inches from his face. He stared at the female warrior, lowering his own sword to his waist for a moment. Then it hit him, like a train.

Turning away from the helpful Carebear, Ryker returned to the stance he had just been shown and raised his katana up in front of him. Narrowing his eyes on it, he squeezed the hilt and the sheath. Then, he began to pull. Slowly, steadily, and much more intently than it had done before, the weapon was removed from where it was being held in. At the same time, as if he was focusing on something extremely important, Ryker’s tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth, sticking up into the air a little against his cheek. After what seemed like forever for Ryker, his sword popped out of its sheath. He placed the now empty container onto its little rope on his waist and then held his now drawn sword with both hands. He did it, hooray! Oh crap.

Looking to his right at the female warrior. He realized that he had essentially just made himself a potential target, and anyone who looked at them now would probably think they were dueling. No, no that wasn’t right.

“…I did it.” Ryker said, feeling accomplished while also fearing for his life. Oh god he was going to die.

@dindeen - Level 79 - Samurai

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusTeaching a cleric how to sword. OOC Notes--- Tags@dindeen Ryker The cleric was a quick study and his stance wasn’t too bad, especially for someone using a caster class. Caerbannog was a bit worried about what he said about pulling a sword on a woman though. It might get the adventurer killed someday because female PKers did exist, or at least, female-looking PKers did exist; but she wasn’t about to question his principles since she had her own. Time and experience would teach him new things, but at that moment she had to teach him how to handle his own sword. With his weapon drawn, he seemed ready to fight but there was more to swordfighting that just swinging it around. It wasn’t a club after all. “Okay, now to fight,” the samurai lowered her weapon and repositioned herself so that she would face the same direction that the fox tail was facing. Since they had different dominant hands though, the girl put about a meter of distance between them to avoid any accidents. “Thrust,” Caerbannog said as she stepped her left foot forward and at the same time, both her hands pushed the sword forward towards an imaginary opponent until her arms were almost outstretched in front of her. The move made an identifiable sound as it cut through the air, what with their surrounding having gone mostly quiet. It sounded as if the sword actually pierced something, but there was nothing there but empty space. If Ryker was unable to move similarly to Caerbannog’s first strike, especially if the thrust made a whooshing noise instead of a clean striking sound, the samurai would demonstrate it repeatedly. She then explained what the move was for. “Katana better for cutting,” she nodded at Ryker’s weapon as she went back to her starting stance, “So thrust can catch opponent off-guard. Now, next strike.” With her nagamaki in front of her body and gripped calmly with both hands, the edge facing down, Caerbannog adjusted her hold a bit by moving her right wrist mostly. The blade ended up tilted a little, diagonal if seen from up front. “Slash down,” the samurai then moved her arms up to her upper left side a bit so that the sword would follow, and with a movement from that upper left to her lower right, she slashed the air once again creating a distinct sound. Notably, her left foot also advanced forward. “Slash up,” the wolf-hair then did the exact opposite with her nagamaki’s edge now turned upwards, and the slash going from lower right to upper left. Her right foot then advanced forward so that she ended up two steps ahead of her original position. Again, if Ryker did not understand any of it, Caerbannog would simply go back to her original position and repeat everything. But if the young man understood the movements required, she would return to her starting position and get ready for the next lesson At that moment she wondered if she could teach the cleric Iaido too; not the samurai skill but the art itself. WC: 505 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

“Raaar…” Ryker whispered quietly as he wiggled the katana in his hand, grinning to himself as he imagined himself bravely fighting in the fields. Yes, he was learning how to become a fighter. As much as he wanted to just… not… do that… or anything similar to that, Ryker never thought it would actually be fun to learn how to use a weapon. He just wished he would never have to use it. Sure, learning how to draw a sword the right way was good and all, it still didn’t sit well with Ryker knowing that he may have to get violent at some point. He hoped to avoid any kind of confrontation, or at least be the support should any such thing occur. However combat was inevitable and he would not be unprepared again, not like the first time he had to draw his weapon.

Just before his mind began to turn down the path of remembrance, he heard the lovely voice of his female “instructor” and snapped to attention. He turned his head and eyed her closely, watching her body move in a fluid motion as she performed the seemingly simply forward stab, or thrust as she would call it, but whenever he thought of that his eyes dropped a little lower than her sword. Focusing on the mission was much more important that focusing on the internal thirst. He was turning more into a fox than he had thought. Dammit man, keep your tail between your legs. However, the constant reminder to focus made him much more keen to Carebear’s motion in general. Due to her choice of clothing, it was also quite easy to see her move. It was quite intimidating to see a lovely lady moving so ferociously, but it was beautiful.

I SAID FOCUS.

“Right.” Turning his head forward, Ryker looked down at his body and adjusted his feet to get back into the stance the more experienced Adventurer had kicked him into. It was a little difficult to get back to it but Ryker made a few adjustments to make himself more comfortable; he moved his legs in a little closer, replicated the staggered foot motion of putting his left foot forward that he had been told to do, ensured his left hand was on the top of his right just like on a fishing rod, and bent his knees ever so slightly to keep them from locking. It was strange how simple it was however Ryker knew full well how serious a stance had to be. Just like in fishing, the rod must be held a certain wait to get the best stability and pulling power, you have to sit a certain way as to not be caught off guard by some of the stronger fish, and your mind must be prepared. Rather than a sitting position, Ryker must stand. Rather than holding a rod, he’s holding a sword (which could be considered an upgrade… but he would still rather the rod). Instead of watching the water, he’s watching his enemy. In exchange for bait, he has his own body… It was a simple comparison for Ryker, but actually putting words to action would be another challenge in itself.

“Thr--..” Just before he moved, Ryker hesitated. His arms wiggled a little and he lost his stance for a moment, but quickly gathered himself again. Then, he shifted his hips. A slight twist in his lower body caused him to move forward and he tilted the end of the katana downwards. As if a fish had tugged on the end of the line hard, Ryker jerked his body and stabbed into the open space, albeit a little too hard as he found himself leaning forward a little. The fox rumbled, reset, and stabbed again, this time with a little more control. It was a simple motion once Ryker had the basics down, but he didn’t have all day to perform one move and ze Carebear was right on time.

A handful of fancy little fox stabs were all Ryker was able to perform when he heard the little miss Teacher speak up beside him again. It took him a moment to realize she was talking though, because of how soft her voice once, but once his ears caught wind; his eyes locked onto her like tracker beams. The next move was… striking? Wait, that wasn’t striking? What? No wait, slowdown. No. Please, no stop. Oh… oh wait. Oh striking, okay. At first it was confusing, but then after eyeballing the more experienced player, Ryker understood the meaning, well, we both did. Yea, because that’s a thing.

It was slashing, like with a knife when Ryker was cutting the scales off a crusty fish. Yet this was more violent. The blade Carebear swung twisted in her hands as she prepared to strike, and then it lifted, cutting downwards in a diagonal motion in front of her. At the same moment, Ryker realized she had slipped forward; more specifically she had taken a step of sorts. Next, she reversed the motion and took another step. Ryker grimaced and let out a slightly disgruntled groan of sorts. Confused, slow, and stupid were understatements, but Ryker didn’t have time for those. He was becoming a battle ready Fisherman with a sword, or just a battle ready Fisherman in general seeing as he wasn’t battle ready in the first place. The sword as just a bonus.

I thought the motto was focus? Shut up you. Go back to cutting the air.

A light rumbled came out of Ryker’s lips as he turned his eyes forward. It was time to play the mimic, and this round he would need to move multiple parts of his body at once. Unlike the stabby motion from before, this attack had no relation to Fishing. The closest he could really get would be when he had a fish tugging at the end of the line. At that moment, he would have to stand up and pul—That was it! Just like when he had to pull on his rod because of a fish, Ryker would pull up. If it got too hot, he would tilt the rod down to give a little before pulling back up again, hopefully coaxing the fish out of the water by the sudden redirect. That was it!

The Cleric squeezed the hilt of his sword and grinned a little. His ears twitched on his head and his feet pressed into the ground. Narrowing his eyes as he imagined himself on the edge of the water, Ryker prepared for the fish… He waited, patiently watched the water where his line disappeared into the waves… And then it moved… Just as it did, Ryker’s hands wrenched down on the hilt of his sword and twisted it. Stepping forward, he sliced down and tilted the blade forward as he did so, cutting through the air as hard as he could. Not a second later, the Fisherman rolled his wrists, squeezed on the handle tighter, and sliced hard up into the air. Except unlike in his vision there was no weight to slow him down or put up any resistance. Before he realized that face, it was too late and Ryker lost grip of his weapon. The Cleric’s eyes shot open as the sword slipped out of his hands and soared up into the air. Bam. It was over. He paused, staring straight again as he heard wood split.

“Welp…” Ryker let out a slightly flat toned answer to his mistake and then looked up to see his sword dangling from the ceiling. It wasn’t extremely high off the ground, but the problem was that he was too damn short to even reach it.
“That’s nice.”

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
Ceiling Stab

: Words:
1293

: Tags :
@dindeen

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusWary of falling swords. OOC NotesHyzenthlay is a silver-furred Enemic Buster. Tags@dindeen Ryker Ryker is clumsy. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go back to Caer Bear. The samurai thought it slightly funny that the cleric was having difficulty with his sword, though at the same time she knew it to be dangerous. Perhaps they should use a wooden sword or a stick to avoid death, but she did not think he was that bad at first. By the time that the katana flew to the ceiling though, it was apparent that he -was- that bad. When the cleric stared up at his weapon which was stuck to the ceiling, Caerbannog immediately sheathed her nagamaki and pulled the fox tail towards her. “Careful,” the wolf-hair said as she put some strength into her tug at the cleric’s right arm. The samurai then quick-swapped her bow, Notthrafn. Once she was sure that neither the cleric nor anything else was directly under the sword, Caerbannog used [Rapid Shot] to shoot the katana out of the ceiling and away from her and the fox tail. The initial shot was aimed near where the sword was buried while the second one was fired towards the sword itself to knock it away. It resulted in the katana landing on the floor on its side instead of the butt of its hilt which would have been rather dangerous for the adventurers and for the item itself too. “Beware of falling swords,” the girl said to Ryker, a bad attempt at a joke, perhaps. In any case, once the fox tail hurried to take his sword, Caerbannog summoned Hyzenthlay, her trusty sidekick who would actually kick sides. The rabbit waved her club around and towards the cleric who was the only other adventurer in the immediate vicinity. She took a look at the samurai, and then at the fox tail, and back again at Caerbannog. “Stay sharp,” the samurai said to Ryker once he had the katana in his hands, and then she nodded at Hyzen. The fox tail did not seem hostile but whatever, Hyzenthlay wanted to wreck someone’s face. She wouldn’t kill the adventurer but she would surely do some damage with that club of hers if he was not careful. The rabbit cracked her wrists and then she hopped towards Ryker, specifically to his face, with her club aimed right on his forehead. WC: 385 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 85%

MP: 100%

Ryker reached up and whined a little too himself as he tried to grab at his sword, but it was just too far away. Even when he hopped and jumped as high as he could, the short man couldn’t grab it. Oh how embarrassing that was. He had a good grip on the sword too but he didn’t expect himself to actually swing that hard! Now he was sword-less, more or less, and probably looked like a total fool to the female player. It was a little discouraging, but Ryker considered it another challenge! He would get his sword, even if he had to get a chair! He hated getting a chair tho—

Ryker squeaked at the sudden hands on his arm and almost fell over when he was tugged towards where the Carebear was standing. He didn’t bump into her like he expected to but was instead stopped right in front of her. Upon being halted, the grip on his arm tightened and he was given a warning… which was almost completely ignored. Ryker rumbled to himself, eyes still on his weapon, and flailed his other arm at his sword. He wanted it back. The world was so evil, taking things from him and stuff! Why couldn’t he get something for a change? Why did he always have to end up drawing the short straw? It wasn’t fair. So unfair. However, maybe this was a sign that he shouldn’t use a sword. Maybe, just maybe, the world was telling him to not be such a fool and not try to be something he wasn’t; a fighter. Upon being released, Ryker didn’t jump at his sword but instead turned to just look at it. Yup, this was definitely a signal for him to not touch that, ever, aga—Hey look an arrow!

After his little tort with himself, it seemed that Carebear was more intent on getting Ryker’s sword back than he was. It could also have been because she actually had the tools to get the thing down. Surprisingly, the tools came in the form of ranged warfare. Upon the reveal, Ryker’s sword was hit twice and fell from the ceiling. The drop was short and it clanged loudly on the concrete floor, rattling a few times as it clattered around. Ryker wiggled his nose and his ears perked up as if he had seen something truly interesting. It was interesting to see such a thing unfold, and he was actually quite amused. He wanted to see it again, however he had a feeling that the sword wouldn’t be coming down next time. Testing the Carebear’s patience was not something Ryker felt comfortable doing, not here. From her accuracy with the bow, Ryker didn’t want to be aimed at by the weapon and end up in the Cathedral. Death was not on the to-do list.

As he stared at the sword, Carebear slung a curveball at him; a joke. It made Ryker pause for a moment. He turned his head around his shoulders and eyed the woman strangely for a moment, then he looked over at the ceiling, and then to his sword. A smug look crossed his face and the Cleric began to chuckle a little as he walked over to grab the now safe to touch sword. He checked it for any damage and held the weapon in front of him, wiggling it a little to make sure nothing felt off; safe. Indeed, Ryker should feel falling, flying, swinging, and angry swords, but it was helpful knowing his wasn’t in an extremely terrible shape. Even though it was rusty, and not sharp like Carebear had suggested.

“I personally think that that being a little blunt helps so—“ What was that? Was that a… rabbit?

Beside Carebear was this… little thing… It looked like a rabbit, but he couldn’t tell. Maybe it was? Maybe. It had a club though, and it was waving it at Ryker. The Cleric paused and stared at the Rabbit thing for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then it hopped towards him. It took a few hops and then jumped up towards his face; club ready. Then it hit him!

“Wait, am I supposed to fi---!” SMACK

The Rabbit smashed his face in with the club, knocking Ryker off balance to the point that he stumbled away and lost his footing, ultimately falling down flat on his backside. The Cleric snarled and shook his head before quickly jumping back to his feet. Rubbing his forehead as he did so, the player eyed the little rabbit. He squeezed his sword and took the stance he had been shown, holding the sword firmly in front of himself.

“Now that wasn’t nice…” Ryker rumbled and wiggled his weapon at the rabbit. It was a cute little thing, but seemed extremely violent. Its club hurt too and had knocked a decent amount of Ryker’s health down. However, even after the attack, he was still unsure if he was supposed to fight the thing or not. It was Carebear’s pet it seemed, as she wasn’t exactly punting the creature across the train station. If that was true, than attacking and potentially killing the creature was not something he wanted to do.

“Am I supposed to fight that?” He wiggled his nose and shook his head again, a throbbing pain pulsing through his skull as the impact from before began to set in. Man, that hurt.

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
N/A

: Words:
907

: Tags :
@dindeen

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusHyzen Attacks! OOC NotesHyzenthlay is a silver-furred Enemic Buster. Tags@dindeen Ryker The samurai did not expect for the cleric to get hit that easily. Not only was his form bad, but his reaction time was pretty bad too. He could have ducked or sidestepped as was common in recent MMORPGs, but he did not do that. And so Caerbannog winced when Hyzen’s club connected with Ryker’s head while the rabbit backed off by a few hops, well out of the katana’s range. She’d seen how her tamer used such a weapon, and it would do her well to care for her next moves. “Put up sword to block,” the wolf-hair instructed the cleric as she motioned in front of her body with her right hand close to her torso while gripping an imaginary hilt, and her left hand was opened up with the palm facing forward, the back of which was turned to her chest as if she was stopping something, “Blunt part can be held against palm.” Hyzenthlay glanced at her tamer and noticed the girl’s gestures. To her, it seemed as if the samurai was instructing the cleric on how to use his weapon much like how Hyzen herself was taught by some of her senior rabbits. Okay, so she really should not kill the fox-tail, right? As if. The enemic buster could not make any promises but eh, she might as well try. Or she beat him up to within 1 HP of his life. Caerbannog would not mind as long as he did not die, right? With that consideration in her mind, the rabbit pounded the floor twice with her heavy club. That was her signal for the cleric to get ready, but if he didn’t understand what it meant, then that was not her problem. Hyzenthlay huffed and then she ran off towards Ryker, her club waved overhead and then, much like before, she raised the weapon overhead and jumped towards his face. But the rabbit did not hit him as directly as before. Instead, Hyzen held out her club and spun in the air like a spinning ballerina with a club on her outstretched tail. It was a spinning rabbit of ouch. WC: 350 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 35%

MP: 100%

Another lesson was what Ryker got as a response, but it was enough for Ryker. He didn’t want to exactly hit the Rabbit as the potential for killing it and infuriating the other player was there. However, Ryker wasn’t going to let himself become a beating pole. The Rabbit was vicious and wasn’t exactly going to hold back simply because of Ryker being so weak. It held its club as if it was ready to smash Ryker’s face into the concrete platform, which would be bad, so Ryker held his sword as he was instructed. He took in a breath, slid his feet and bent his knees, held the sword in front of his chest and placed his palm on the back of his weapon. However, that felt a little strange to him. It was almost as if the sword would cut him if he left his hand there but it wasn’t his job to question. He simply listened to what he had been told and eyed the Rabbit warily. It pounded the floor with its club in an aggressive manner and Ryker felt himself nearly take a step back. Bad news Rabbit was bad news. How the hell had the other played tamed it?

Ryker was prepared to ask, but the Rabbit seemed to have grown tired of the show and tell. Promptly after bashing the ground, the Rabbit ran at Ryker again in another act of aggression. The Cleric hesitated and clutched the hilt of his sword tight. He shook a little at the sight and clenched his teeth. The Rabbit looked as if it was going to jump at him again, so he was ready to block the hammer-club from hitting his face in. To make sure of that, Ryker lifted his sword a little and pushed his heels into the ground, ready to absorb the impact of the club. That obviously didn’t work out too well because the Rabbit was not a simple Rabbit. That would be too easy.

Rather than come down at the Cleric and swing the club at his face like a hammer again, the Rabbit jumped and spun. The sight motion completely threw Ryker off. He nearly dropped his sword and ran at the sight as he had no idea how to deal with it. He didn’t want to be beaten by that club again either because it hurt, a lot. Yet he kept himself still and adjusted. In battle, there was no time for running. He would have to adapt to it, right? It was the same with fishing. Ryker’s father could tell him how to throw a line, what lure to use for certain fish, and how to pull on the rod, but he couldn’t tell Ryker how to deal with every situation. Ryker had to learn how to deal with it first hand, and if he wanted to catch every fish; he would have to learn fast. Just like now…

The Fox-tail grinned and stepped forward towards the Rabbit. His eyes tracked the spinning motion as best as they could and once the spinning-ball of fur Doom was close enough, Ryker moved again. Rather than take the club to the sword and absorb the impact as best as possible, Ryker swung his sword to the left, the opposite direction of the Rabbit’s rotation, and bashed his own sword against the club to stop the spinning. He held his sword there for a moment and eyed the silver Rabbit, chuckling a little before pushing it away from himself and at the floor. Yes! He had done i—

SMACK

Not even a few seconds after he had stopped the club the first time, the Rabbit was already on him again and smashed the club into his stomach. Ryker’s vision blurred and he staggered back several paces as oxygen exploded from his lungs. He felt dizzy, light headed, and found it quite hard to breathe. The Rabbit didn’t stop there though and was on him again only a few seconds later, smacking him upside the head with the club again. It hit him harder, and harder, and harder, causing the Cleric to become even more disoriented with each hit. The katana he held dropped form his hand and Ryker couldn’t even grunt in pain before he was hit again. The attacks were relentless, and he was going to die wasn’t he?

“Beat… by a Rabbit…” Ryker thought as he watched his health decline. It flashed from green to yellow and was steadily closing in on red. He felt defeated, but he also felt angry. The other player had come here to help him and it probably looked like he hadn’t learned a thing. He had wasted her time, and time was limited. No, he wouldn’t waste her time. He wouldn’t let the Rabbit kill him!

“NOPE!” The sudden blurt was like a trigger, and Ryker pushed off the ground and tackled the club-wielding Rabbit. It was little and hard to hold onto, but Ryker latched onto the thing and rolled across the train station with it. He locked it against his chest and growled as he rolled about, letting his body regain whatever stability it could. When he could see straight, or at least see without blurred plastering his view, Ryker released the Rabbit, hopped up to his feet, and then kicked it as hard as he could away from himself, effectively punting the Rabbit a few feet away so he could create some distance.

With that distance, Ryker ran over and grabbed his katana that was on the floor. Upon grabbing it, he lost the ability to stand and suddenly slammed onto his face, but quickly recovered. His knees shook and his body felt weak, but he recovered. And he recovered in time to see a very, very pissed off Rabbit swing at him. Ryker took a step back and sliced at the club, whacking it away from himself before kicking at the Rabbit again to get it away from him. The Rabbit didn’t comply and simply dodged his foot before swinging at him again. The Cleric deflected the club again and stepped back while the Rabbit didn’t stop moving forward. Ryker grinned and met each club swing with his own, blocking the Rabbit from getting any closer than what it was. Then, when the club came at him hard from the side, Ryker swung as if he would block, but instead completely whiffed. The heavy club swing whisked at the air and made the Rabbit spin a little. Ryker took advantage of the small opening and dove at the creature. In a flurry of motion while also restraining himself, Ryker wrapped one arm tight around the Rabbit’s body and pinned the creature’s tail against his body as to keep it from wiggling too much. At the same time, he slid his katana around the Rabbit’s neck and placed the blade against its neck.

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
N/A

: Words:
1153

: Tags :
@dindeen

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusHyzen Attacks! Again! OOC NotesYou can gut, slice, murder the summons. Tags@dindeen Ryker Though the fox tail was not a target that she should kill, Hyzenthlay did not hold back from attacking him with all her might. She knew that adventurers naturally had an advantage over her and her kind, in that there were many kinds of adventurers with different sets of skills. Hyzen looked at the icon that was attached to Ryker and noted that those of his ‘kind’ would probably be able to do the same things that he did. She kept attacking the fox tail and waited for him to use a skill, but there seemed to be none. Was he hiding his true abilities from her, the same way that she hid her skills from him? At the sidelines, Caerbannog moved little by little so as to stay away from the ones who were training. The samurai had her eyes on Hyzen, ready to unsummon the silver rabbit should she try to inflict too much damage or be hurt badly herself. It turned out that the latter transpired much to the surprise of the enemic buster’s tamer. Rather than smooth and sure movements, the cleric attacked instinctively and with sheer determination. Neither of those was bad, and in fact that was how the samurai herself fought in her lower levels. However, her class was aligned to the usage of swords at least and so she did not have as difficult a time as Ryker was having. “Hyzen! Return!” Caerbannog immediately unsummoned the silver-furred rabbit as soon as it was incapacitated by the cleric, knowing that Hyzenthlay would not give up even from such a compromising position with the enemy’s blade to her neck. The samurai walked over to Ryker and once the fox tail had calmed down, she extended a hand to help him up. She looked the man over to make sure that he was in one piece and was not far too broken to continue training. The girl then grabbed his free hand, pulled up her interface and pulled out pancakes with maple syrup right onto Ryker’s palm. “Eat and rest,” she instructed him, “Round Two in five minutes. Use skills this time.” After five minutes, Hyzenthlay had calmed down and was well-rested due to having been unsummoned. Naturally, when she was summoned into the field, Hyzen wanted to smash Ryker’s face in immediately but Caerbannog held the rabbit down with a strong pat on the back. She then said one word to the enemic buster: SKILLS. Though not spoken using the Tongue of Nature, Hyzen understood that much from having been around adventurers for a while and from having pummeled adventurers to death in the forests of Windsor. The rabbit giggled and as soon as the cleric vaguely seemed ready, the silver rabbit literally summon two frenmic rabbits, both Level 5, into the makeshift training area. Luckily for the cleric, the two summoned ones did not have their own skills and knowing that they were creations of Hyzen’s mana, Caerbannog would not hold Ryker back if he wanted to kill them. He ought to be prepared for blood splatters though, for death in Elder Tale was fairly realistic. As for Hyzenthlay, she sat her pretty bottom down as her minions charged at the fox tail. WC: 535 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 53%

MP: 96%

“Safe.” Ryker blurted out as the rabbit was returned to her pokeball owner’s inventory. The Cleric immediately dropped is katana and flopped over, landing flat on his chest on the concrete as he attempted to rest or at least recover some of his health. His body hurt and it was a little difficult to breathe but he had just been nearly beaten to a pulp so that was understandable. He wanted to cast a healing spell on himself, yet that meant work. He just wanted to sleep. Why couldn’t he just sleep? Please. Sleep. Sleep was important. Dammit.

The sound of approaching footsteps made the Cleric look over to see the female player approaching him. As to not make any confusion of upskirting her, Ryker quickly pushed himself up to his knees and then took the woman’s helping hand so he could get back to his feet safely. His balance was off a little and the man wobbled slightly upon standing, but he didn’t fall over. He was able to keep himself upright simply because he didn’t want to be embarrassed again. Then again, getting beat up by a rabbit was probably already a huge stain on his manliness, if he even had any of that anymore. He probably didn’t as getting nearly clubbed to death by a tiny creature was pretty pathetic. Man, he really needed to sword better.

“Huh?” The Cleric jumped a little upon being touched and stared at the Carebear as she held his hand out. Then, he nearly died inside. The woman summoned pancakes and maple syrup and gave them to him. Was she mad? And he only had five minutes?! Cramps. Cramps everywhere. He didn’t even have a drink! Death was imminent, wasn’t it? Maybe this was some sort of trapping to subtle kill him. Oh god, what had he done?

“Yes ma’am.” Rather than show his regret visually, Ryker accepted his fate and sat down on the edge of the station. Quickly and quietly, the player stuffed his face with the breakfast food. His empty stomach was filled very easily by the delicious food and it was rejuvenating, but Ryker just wished he had more time to actually enjoy it. It was pretty good compared to the other crap he had been eating and it actually helped his health recover a little faster. Though, that could also have been his imagination. He had one of those, and it was deadly at times.

Once the five minutes were up, Ryker set down his plate and silverware, bounced to his feet, and made his way over to his sword that was still sitting on the ground. He probably should have grabbed it early but those pancakes were way to enticing. It didn’t matter though. As long as he hadn’t walked off and left it behind, it was okay. Thankfully he had not done that as the silver rabbit with a club was brought back out. Ryker grimaced at the sight and casually took a defensive stance, immediately wishing to avoid a frontal confrontation with it again. Carebear was trying to kill him, wasn’t she? Definitely. Maybe. Probably. Oh god he needed to not suck at times like this. Wait a minute, was that Rabbit…

“Oh no…” Ryker muttered as the Silver-Rabbit summoned two more violent murderers. The fact that they were more rabbits didn’t help Ryker’s conscience and he wished they would all burn. At least these ones didn’t have giant clubs though. That was a bonus, for now.

“Annnnnnnnd here we go.” As the two Rabbits began to charge him, Ryker quickly glanced down at the skills available to him. Sadly, unlike the female player who probably had a full assortment of available attacks and weapons, Ryker didn’t have a damned thing. He was a level one Cleric so the only thing he had listed was Healing Light which had zero offensive capabilities. Aw man, he was so boned, but that was also a good thing. If he needed to get into situation where he actually needed to draw a weapon, knowing how to use it without skills would be good. Then at least he wouldn’t have to worry about missing a step or anything like that. He could just focus on the task at hand. However if he actually ever had to get into that kind of situation, he was probably dead anyways. Great job, Cleric. So useful.

Shut up asshat, you made me this way. Hey, remember those rabbits?

Ryker grunted a little as the two rabbits were on top of him much quicker than he had expected. Unlike the club-user, these rabbits were much more aggressive with their own bodies. They slammed into Ryker’s torso and his legs, pounding him with kinetic impacts that caused the Cleric to stumble backwards. It was a good awakening moment for Ryker and he focused himself on the rabbits. They were quick little things, much quicker than the club-user because they didn’t have the giant weapon, and they hit a little harder in terms of knocking his health off. The Cleric hissed to himself and used what he had been told to; a skill, more specifically his only skill. In the brief moment of separation he used Healing Light on himself, allowing his health to steadily recover. Now he had almost ten seconds of nothing but relying on himself, so he took advantage of it.

A firm grip on his katana ensured that he wouldn’t lose it into the ceiling again, or anywhere else for that matter, and it made him a little more alert to his situation. The two rabbits rushed at him, swiftly darting into his reach. Ryker didn’t want to injure the cute little things but if he didn’t, they were going to murder him. With that in mind, Ryker stepped backwards as one of the rabbits attempted to slay him, and then blocked the second rabbit. Before it could get away though, Ryker stepped forward and slashed at it, performing the cutting motion the friendly Carebear had shown hi—

Blood…

The sight of red liquid caused Ryker to freeze. It splattered across the floor, into the air, and wet his sword. It was like water, but thicker, and it flowed out of the rabbit’s body like a river. The rabbit’s health dropped, its body glistened with the wound, and the Cleric’s mind drew blank. His breathing nearly stalled completely and the grip on his sword became loose. Blood… There was blood… Actually… red blood… He had actually hurt that rabbit… didn’t he? He cut it… Right? Right?! This wasn’t like the snakes he had fought… this was a rabbit… a cute, furry, cuddly rabbit… RIGHT?!

The Cleric staggered away from the two rabbits as they steadied themselves, his eyes fixed on the wounded creature. The sword in his hand trembled fiercely and he could barely keep it there. His vision blurred again, his hearing became faded, and his heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to hurt the rabbit! He just wanted to learn how to fight! He… He didn’t mean to! No, no he didn’t. He wasn’t… he wasn’t that kind of person! …was he? No, no there was no way. He… He was just a Fisherman!

“…just… ..sherman…” Ryker mumbled as he trembled. He took another step back as the rabbits stepped toward him. Then, he took another, bumping into a pole behind him. Cornered, wasn’t he? There was no way out of this, was there? He had to fight, right? If he didn’t he was going to die… right? RIGHT?! He had to kill the rabbits! Yes, he needed to survive! He needed to learn more! He… He… He had to make it bleed…. Didn’t he? Wasn’t there any other way?! NO! There wasn’t. There couldn’t be. He didn’t have the skills or the strength. He just had a sword.

Suddenly, the two rabbits moved towards him. Ryker quivered against the pole and held his sword loosely. He didn’t want to fight anymore. No, he just wanted to go home. He wanted to go back to the water where he could fish. He… He didn’t want this anymore! No! He didn’t want to hurt any rabbits! He didn’t want to fight Carebear! He didn’t want to get hurt anymore! WHY COULDN’T HE JUST LIVE IN PEACE?! Every time he got comfortable, something messed it up! Every time he was happy, something got in his way! Why couldn’t he just be left alone?! Why?! WHY DID THERE HAVE TO BE BLOOD?!

“AH!!” The grip on his katana suddenly increased and Ryker shoved off the pole. He took two steps forward and found himself right in front of the two rabbits, both of them ready to attack him. Yet, Ryker was far to focused on his own movements to care. He wanted this to be over and the only was to do that was ti kill them! Wasn’t it?! Yes! That’s what they wanted! The makers of whatever damned world he lived in! They wanted to make him suffer! They wanted… they wanted him to die, didn’t they?! WELL NOT THIS TIME!

Blood…

It was everywhere after Ryker swung his sword in front of him, slashing and cutting at the rabbits until they both disappeared. It was like a nightmare come to life, and Ryker found himself lost a little. Why did he even think of wanting to learn how to fight…? Oh, that’s right… he didn’t want to be useless… Yea, useless. He pretty much was, wasn’t he? Ryker dropped his katana and then fell to his knees. He couldn’t even hurt a rabbit…

“No more… I… I can’t…” Ryker’s face grew pale as he looked at the bloodied pavement in front of him. It was even on his clothes, wasn’t it…? The blood of those rabbits… It was on his hands now… Oh god… what had he done…?

“I can’t do that again…”

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
Healing Light

: Words:
1660

: Tags :
@dindeen

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusTime to rest. OOC NotesGoogle 'Mogu-mogu grape juice'. Tags@dindeen Ryker The training went well for the most part, or at least as well as it could go for a cleric who wanted to fight with a sword. Caerbannog herself was a bit taken aback by how vicious Hyzen’s summons were, but then again they were probably less intellectual than the enemic buster. Since they were creatures which were given flesh and form due to mana, their sole reason for existing was to carry out Hyzenthlay’s objective which was to wreck the fox tail’s face. Thankfully, the enemic buster herself was forgiving and only menacingly waved her club at the cleric. The samurai winced at the sight of blood, as she herself preferred to keep fights short and quick to avoid such a display of violence. But at least Ryker was able to use his skill, and at least he was still able to keep up with the rabbits. If the frenmic creatures had gone too far, she would have shot arrows at them herself yet fortunately, the fox tail seemed to be able to handle the situation well. That is, until the scene proved too murderous for him and so the fox tail finally broke down. It was understandable since the higher-leveled adventurer herself had never been able to kill a rabbit, and had been quite apprehensive of the sight of blood thus she opted to hunt in Sarum where things were not as... fleshy. Caerbannog put a hand on Hyzen’s club prompting her to stand down, and the enemic buster did as her tamer commanded. More than fear, she had respect for the adventurer who obviously was much stronger than anyone that the rabbit knew. The samurai walked forward and was careful to put away all of her weapons into her inventory. It might have seemed dangerous to approach a distressed, armed cleric without a single weapon on her person but Caer was not exactly unarmed. She had, well, her arms; even if the cleric somehow slashed at a vital point of her body, she would be able to at least guard against it and perhaps counter too given their nearly similar heights and possibly similar reach as well. She stopped a full meter to the side of the cleric, pulled out a bottle of grape-flavored Mogu-mogu and then she held it out for Ryker to take. But the girl did not stoop or bend or crouch towards the young man, no; he would have to stand up to accept her offer. “I understand,” she started, “This is Elder Tale. But we are not just pixels. Emotions remind us who we were and who we still are. In this world, blood and death are real, especially for landers and creatures like Hyzenthlay. They have only one life and only one death.” She waited for Ryker’s response, and would only move to hand the drink to him or to defend herself if he lashed out for whatever reason. WC: 485 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 62%

MP: 100%

At the sound of footsteps, Ryker shivered and felt like running but his body didn’t move. His eyes were stuck on his hands, on the redness which painted some spots on his skin, and it was like a paralyzer. It was terrifying to think that this world was so realistic but even more so that a game could be so brutal. It was disgusting, and frightening. Blood was not something he feared, however it was the thought behind it… Pain, anger, violence, and brutality were all the general warning signs of blood being spilt, and Ryker hated all of them. He was no soldier or fighter, he was a fisherman. He wanted to live with the land, not fight against it. Maybe his choice of trying to learn how to fight was misplaced… Or there was something else he needed to do first…

As the blood started to dissipate due to the game’s timer ticking away and eroding the scene of the murderous conflict, Ryker’s mind began to settle. He closed his eyes and let himself relax, calming his heart rate as he collected his scattered thoughts. Just before he was completely stable, he began to hear the Carebear talking to him. She had made her way close to him it seemed and was attempting to reassure or comfort him somehow. That alone made it easier and Ryker smiled a little. At least she understood what he was feeling. Knowing that there would be death in the game, Ryker found some comfort in the fact that he could at least respawn, but it still bugged him that non-Players couldn’t. Well, except for Monsters of course. That probably was a frightening thing for the People of the Land.

“That could possibly be why we’re here…” Ryker sighed as he looked towards the Club Rabbit, apparently named Hyzenthlay (another name he couldn’t pronounce. Dis woman…). The Cleric placed his hands on the ground, touching where the blood used to be, and then pushed himself up to his feet. On the way up, Ryker snagged his katana and then sheathed it. When he finally noticed Carebear was holding something to him, a drink, he took it carefully from her hands and smiled.

“…We can’t die completely so maybe we’re some sort of Guardians to the Non-Player Characters. Blessed oh so gloriously with the duty to raise hell outside of the city gates.” The man spoke in a slightly sarcastic voice as he took a sip of the juice. At first, it was a strange and foriegn taste and the Cleric paused as his taste buds were drenched in the fluid. Then he chugged the entire bottle down at once.

“That was amazing. Thank you.” Ryker took the moment to thank his fellow player and then sent the empty bottle to his inventory so he could get rid of it later, or potentially reuse it for something. His inventory seemed endless so he didn’t exactly care about what kind of junk he stored away as long as he kept it organized.

“I don’t think that job is for me though. I’ve never been one for any sort of conflict beyond arguing over prices.” A soft chuckle escaped Ryker’s throat as he confessed.

“Sorry for wasting your time but I guess I’ll be sticking to fishing and sitting in the back for now. One day I’ll grow a pair and be a man. One day…”

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
N/A

: Words:
570

: Tags :
@dindeen

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Deleted]

StatusBye-bye! OOC Notes--- Tags@dindeen Ryker Although Ryker sounded thankful, he was obviously still shaken from the ordeal. Caerbannog felt slightly sorry but not for the way that she shocked him into training, but because he seemed to be one of those people who were not cut out for the game. Then again few people were, and the samurai herself started out with many days of confusion and depression before she accepted her new reality. She simply nodded at the cleric at first, and then she picked up Hyzenthlay and put the silver rabbit upon her head where the creature calmed down and just swished her long tail and her club from side to side. “I won’t convince you to do otherwise,” the samurai said to her fellow adventurer, “I do what I want, and I don’t expect any less of others.” In a rare moment of mischief, Hyzenthlay reached down towards the wolf-hair’s nose and thwacked it with her cute little paw. Caerbannog blinked at the paw on her nose which was soon retracted by the purring rabbit. The samurai put a hand over the creature and gave it two gentle pats, and then she put her hand down once again. “Maybe you will find a reason to fight… it could be a person or a thing or an idea,” the wolf-hair continued, “Or you could be a Level 100 fisherman. That works too.” A fisherman huh? She’d never seen one of those before since most of the landers were merchants or crafters. “I can cook and my favorite is squid, so maybe I’ll call you up for that one day,” Caerbannog smiled a bit, just enough to show the cleric that the time used to train him was well spent, and then she turned to leave, “Ja, mata ne!” WC: 295 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Ryker]

Ryker - Level 1 - Cleric

HP: 62%

MP: 100%

Ryker stood there quiet, listening patiently to the female player in front of him whom had most likely decided to stop the little session as well. Ryker was thankful for that. She had obviously been through much more than he had and from the looks of it she had bonded with the little rabbit she had summoned fairly well. The rabbit was a cute little thing when it wasn’t trying to smash his face in and that made Ryker smile. It reminded him of how gentle even the deadliest things in life could be, as well as how important a little trust was. It also reminded him of who he was. Ryker wasn’t a deadly creature and he obviously didn’t have it in him to actually fight, so he needed something else. Maybe he needed a little mischief himself, as the rabbit seemed full of it.

A light chuckle came out of Ryker’s lips as the rabbit pawed at her owner’s nose, and he almost kept laughing if it wasn’t for the woman continuing to talk. Her advising words lingered in the man’s mind as if his brain was etching them into its walls. She was right. Right in the sense that Ryker had no reason to fight, that was. He was a Fisherman and never once had he even thought otherwise of it. He had never tried to do anything else and there was no motivation for him to do so simply because he didn’t have to. Maybe the Carebear was right. Maybe he’d find a reason to fight while he was in the game. Until then, reaching level one-hundred on his fisherman skill sounded good.

“I’ll be sure to catch plenty of seafood, squid included.” Ryker smiled as the Carebear turned to leave. With her back turned, the man bowed and his smile broadened. He was happy to have spent some time with the woman, even happier that she had at least attempted to teach him. Ryker had learned much in their short time and he would continue learning. There was a lot he needed to learn, and a lot that the Carebear could not teach him simply by throwing rabbits at him. They could have done that all day and Ryker would not have learned a single thing simply because he didn’t have the drive. Before, he didn’t know that. Now he knew what he needed. He needed a reason.

“Mi stia bene…” Ryker whispered softly before standing up. The foxtail stretched a little and cast a healing spell on himself, boosting his health recovery a little before he looked up at the sky.

“Lunch time!” He grinned, chuckling a little before he began to make his way back to London. Yes, lunch sounded quite nice now.

: Equipment :
Starter Katana

: Skills :
Healing Light

: Words:
460

: Tags :
@dindeen

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M