Peace and Tranquillity [Mentor] [Closed]

[Deleted]

"That seems like a decent spot," Dorian muttered under his breath, looking over at a small, shaded tree nearby. He had come to the Savill Flower Grove to take a break off of guild work and other such busy things in his day-to-day routines; here he could take a load off, maybe try his hand at a bit of meditating. The area was peaceful, the scent of flowers permeating the air in a pleasant aroma that seemed to waft into the Shaman's nostrils, filling him with a giddy joy that escaped him through a soft, relaxed sigh of relief. "No disturbances from you, Skrowe... Promise me that?" The Shikigami stirred slightly when it's name was called, waving his hand dismissively from within the Shaman's mind, shrugging him off to return to some sort of slumber; if a spirit linked within one's mind could even sleep. Dorian rolled his eyes, thankful for the Shikigami's co-operation - however reluctantly it was given - and set about traversing the gardens towards the aforementioned tree.

The flowers were extravagant at this time of day, left to grow and expand due to lack of care and cutting back; and so, the grove was left to it's devices, creating vibrant masses of colour. Unfortunately, it also meant a lack of easily traversed paths, as well as a small chance of being jumped by unsuspecting creatures that roamed the grove. "Still, it looks gorgeous here, I suppose." Dorian weaved his way gently through the underbrush, avoiding damaging any of the largely grown flowers that sprung up to meet him wherever he stepped. "Poor things... Nobody to keep you safe and... not trampled on," the Shaman continued to mumble, idly speaking to the plant life as if it could hear him. Slowly but surely, he made his way up onto a slightly raised hill, the shaded tree cresting the top of it. With Fall slowly closing, the branches were mostly bare, the leaves having withered and fallen onto the grassy hill around it, pooling between it's roots.

Settling himself down slowly, Dorian manoeuvred himself to sit neatly between two large winding roots that bled from the base of the tree, weaving themselves down into the ground and keeping the tall oak secure in it's place. Nestled in comfortably, he crossed his legs over one another in front of him, his feet secured underneath his knees. "Now, let's see..." Closing his eyes, the Shaman began to relax his body, drawing away his focus from the physical world, his breathing becoming slow and methodical, in and out, in and out. The flow of energy within his body began to move smoothly, like water moving within his form, following the path of his breathing, linking him to the world beyond the physical. The gentle auras that blinked into existence became visible, various blurred colours and shapes that spelled out who or what was nearby. The vibrant colours that was the flower grove became a vast ocean of swirling lights and pathways, the life of each single growing bud coalescing into a larger whole, interconnected beneath the surface of the earth. "Tranquillity..."

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 518
Tags: Zelenin

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

This place… It was called the Saville Flower Grove. It was not her first time venturing into it, nor would it be her last. Before, she was careful not to stray too far from the main path. This world was a dangerous one, and monsters, Landers and even other players were lying in wait. Back in the real world where everything made sense, Esfir was more than capable of fending for herself. Thugs, drunks, street fighters… she could hold her own. She was big and strong enough to give would be assailants pause, which was all she needed to launch a counterattack.

But here, as Zelenin, she struggled against the lowliest of monsters.

Perhaps if left alone long enough, she would strike out on her own and grind, as the kids say. Weak creatures like rabbits and boars were fair game. She was tracking one right now, as a matter of fact. The Frenmic Rabbit was only level two, and nicely plump from months of feasting on wild grass and who knows what. As a Chef, she had the ability to garner more product by capturing the beast alive. How to go about doing so was another story altogether. She would work that out later.

Her long sword remained sheathed at her side, in favor of the shoddy hatchet she was wielding in one hand. A bow would have been better, preferred really. As long as you did not allow yourself to be seen, you could easily fell a foe with one twang. Silent Move activated as the blonde advanced upon her prey. The rabbit was careless, It hopped to and fro, disturbing leaves and twigs. It was amazing how it had managed to live for so long. As someone who could pad around on muted feet, Zelenin was all too aware of how loud others could be. That was how she avoided sucker punches and the like, and how she had gotten the jump on a few.

Her father was one of those people. Like the rabbit, he placed too much confidence in his mortality. Like the abusive father of Harriet Vranger, he had no one to blame but himself for his predicament. Both men were drunk and precariously perched in potentially dangerous areas. The fictional characters were standing near a body of water, where young Harriet seized a nearby oar. Even a young and fragile girl as herself could deal with a drunk. A solid wallop to the head was all she needed to force his head underwater.

The blunt side of her hatcher rose to lightly caress her cheek. With her father, it was as simple as a good push. He was sitting on the balcony railing, back turned to the sliding door. The man believed himself to be invincible, and could only utter a belligerent groan as he toppled head first --

The rabbit leaped into the air, narrowly dodging the hungry jaws of a fox. Zelenin hurled her hatchet into the air, intending to strike the rabbit down. Unfortunately, she was more accustomed to throwing darts, not tossing something much heavier. The strength with which she threw the hatchet carried it higher into the air, and into something that resembled a huge wad of paper. Too late, she realized that a boy was sitting beneath the tree, lost in thought.

Her jaw tightened as an angry Hornet Soldier wove out and around the damaged hive. It was flying straight towards her, and all she had to defend herself with was this shitty anime sword. Zelenin pierced through the rhythmic buzzing with a sharp whistle. "Look alive," she called out, voice low and thickly accented. She drew her sword, the solemn expression upon her countenance refusing to falter. Level fifteen or not, she was not going to roll over and let it have its way with her.

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∝: 641
♫: You Could Have It All
✏: Dynamic entry
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

In his meditative state, the world became simple and strange, and yet... at the same time, it became more complex than ever thought possible. Dorian usually only felt something this vivid in dreams and deep slumbers, but to think that he had access to such an array of beauty just by closing his eyes, the images lingering in his mind as he concentrated further upon them. "Shhh... Peace now..." He continued to mutter incoherently to himself, trying to keep from slipping completely into the world of mesmer and beauty; one must stay grounded as much as possible when dealing with spirits and aura, lest they become one themselves. A gentle disturbance played across the nearby flowers of the grove, a new aura mixing into the vibrant ocean with silence to it's step; perhaps an Adventurer, seeking it's prey in the small creatures of the area. A smile almost danced over his features as he felt the presence linger.

And then, suddenly, a whirl of motion and sound flew over his head, the vast tides of colour dissipating as his concentration was broken with a dull thud above his head. Fluttering his eyes open, he was brought back to reality, seeing far off a stranger with their arm outstretched as if they had just thrown something. In his groggy state of being after having just awoken from his meditation, he couldn't quite pick out the details of the stranger's person, seeing only a vague silhouette of a fading yet vibrant spirit, it's aura floating back into the distant memories of his mind. "What's... happening?" He muttered in reply to a sharp whistle in his ear, his attention being brought to the loud buzzing that had erupted nearby; turning quickly, his vision focused upon the large figure of an angry and highly ranked monster, a Hornet Soldier, according to his interface, though the details on it were slim. But, unfortunately, it was going for the more urgent target in it's near vicinity, the one who had thrown the axe lodged in the tree above the Shaman's head and disturbed the hornet's rest.

Rolling forward with a lightness unheard of in most, he rose to kneel forward against the leaf covered ground, emitting a gentle crunch that was drowned out by the raging buzz that permeated the air. Think fast, Dorian... That stranger won't last long against a level 15 Hornet Soldier. The Shikigami was right, of course; though her bravery was admirable, it would take a lot of strength to take down something that ferocious. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he spotted the axe once more, quickly spinning and hopping a foot onto the trunk of the tree, using it as leverage to push himself up higher and grasp onto the handle of the axe, yanking it from where it had been lodged and falling with a thud to the ground once more. "You might need this!" Calling out to the stranger, Dorian quickly turned back, launching his arm out to chuck the axe deftly in a spun arc over the top of the hornet, hoping the newcomer would be able to catch it as it came flying towards them.

His hand immediately flashed down to his side, grabbing a hold of the hilt protruding from his left hip and sliding it out in one swift motion, unsheathing the blade of his longsword and twirling into his gripped palm, securing it upon his arm and moving forward to flank the Hornet Soldier. Rushing forward, he flicked his wrist gently, conjuring his Leaping Apricot Technique... Within a couple split seconds, his body zapped into non-existence, leaving behind a puff of flower petals that gave off a pleasant apricot aroma which mixed together with the natural smell of the grove itself. In an instant of his body disappearing, he reappeared 6 meters forward, putting him directly between the two combatants. With his higher level, the monster easily turned his attention onto the Shaman, buzzing towards him as Dorian quickly leapt back to join the stranger's side. "I'll keep it's attention off you; do what you need to do," he muttered in reassurance, giving the woman a confident smile and a silent nod.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 701
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 85%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

Zelenin grasped her long sword in both hands. The blade was pointing upwards, towards the advancing hornet. Her formation with the sword was like to be seen as horrible. At best, she could make use of a knife in a desperate situation, but this crude line of metal was much too big to be used like a as such. Could Assassins use hand to hand combat without impediment? Would she even want to get within stinging range of that beast? No, definitely not.

A flurry of movement from behind the hornet temporarily drew her attention. The boy, roused from his slumber, was preparing to throw her axe back to her. Zel instinctively reached up to catch it, like one might a pair of keys. The corners of her eyes lightly twitched upon the rough contact. "Thanks." She felt better about her odds now, though she might not be able to retrieve the axe next time. If she could just harm the hornet at a safe range, she might be able to defeat it. Slowly. So painfully slow, unless the boy elected to help her.

"Bozhe moi..." To see a player perform a skill was not much to think of, when you were playing behind a computer screen. The flashy ones caught the eye more, and the technique used by the boy was very flamboyant. When he teleported between the Assassin and the hornet, a trail of flower petals were left in his wake. And… Zelenin curiously sniffed at the air. Was that apricot? Were there really fluffy skills like this in the game? Or was he wearing a local brand of cologne?

She snapped out of the momentary distraction. The boy, named Dorian, was purposefully allowing himself to be targeted by the hornet. Zelenin had a rudimentary understanding of what her skills were capable of, having practiced on test dummies. As she moved in to flank the hornet, her hatchet was enchanted with Atrophy Break. She threw the debuffing axe towards her buzzing opponent, this time not missing. A spectral chain appeared, slowing down the hovering hornet. It would have stopped the rabbit in its tracks; that much she knew for certain.

Accel Dance was subsequently activated, giving her much needed attack speed. Zelenin kicked off of the ground and awkwardly spun around in the air, now trapped in the animation movements of Deadly Dance. With her descent, she brought her long sword down onto the hornet, slashing into it. She stumbled as her feet hit the ground, sword held out to her right. The damage was minimal, at best. Deadly Dance had a ten second cooldown, too, so she had nothing else to rely on but her basic attacks.

The hornet was yanked to the side as Zelenin retrieved her hatchet from its shell, and then shoved back into the other direction by a blow from her sword. "Do most of your skills double as air fresheners, or is it just the one?" She was genuinely curious about that.

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∝: 500
♫: Katyusha
✏: Hornet: 95%
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

"Ready," Dorian muttered against the air, wielding his longsword up in front of him as a form of guard, his right hand clasped around the hilt, with his opposite resting on his wrist to keep his stance steady as he held the aggro of the large Hornet. Turning slightly to see the other Adventurer - his interface named her Zelenin - who had managed to retrieve her axe after the Shaman had thrown it to her. Once he had given the gentle nod, the battle began anew, Zelenin moving to flank the buzzing creature and secure it with a spectral chain, a familiar skill Dorian remembered being utilised by more melee-oriented Assassins. "This should be interesting..." Drawing himself back to reality, he focused his attention back on the Hornet, it's buzzing considerably slower now that it had been anchored down. Moving to stay in front and hold the Hornet's ire, he managed to glimpse the first strike, the Assassin depending on another skill of hers, which unfortunately didn't seem to make much of a dent.

That was when he heard her speak, an amused smile curling along his palette as he tilted his head to look around the monster and reply. "Just the one, I'm afraid... After all, there is such a thing as too much scent." Giving her another nod, Dorian turned back to the Hornet Soldier, it's beady eyes full of rage at having been disturbed and awoken from it's slumber. Though it had been slowed, the creature managed to make a strike out at the Shaman, but with a deft swish of his blade, he managed to knock away most of the damage in a tight parry. If this combat scenario was going to last long, he needed to act a bit, try and take down most of it's health for the Assassin to finish it off. Concentrating, Dorian stepped back slightly from the buzzing terror, lowering his blade down and out towards the ground on a diagonal slope from his side, his hand reaching out towards the Hornet.

Concentrating, he closed his eyes and pooled his mana into Divine Subjugation, infusing within his body the power of the spirits and aura that permeated the grove, opening his eyes again as his body began to glow with a bright yellow hue. He had only 8 seconds to fully utilise the spell, but with it his attacks would cut deeper, meaning more damage as well as an added aggro. He was going to keep this Hornet away from Zelenin as much as possible, if she was to utilise her flanking abilities more effectively. "Be ready to strike," he spoke out, before brandishing his longsword out in a flurry of attacks. First, he swung forward, slashing the blade up in an upper cut across the Hornet's face, sending it reeling back into the spectral chain with an insect-like screech. Secondly, he ducked down underneath, using the momentum of the first attack to spin himself in a dancing manoeuvre that brought his blade up in a horizontal cut along the bug's abdomen. Finally, he rolled backwards to return to his original position, swinging his blade up to return to his original guard position, but not before making a quick, second incision on the giant insect's face. "Alright, it's angry now, best make your move sooner rather than later." He turned his attention to the Assassin, nodding confidently for her to strike.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 569
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 95%
MP: 75%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

"Indeed…" The Assassin held a preference for subtle, clean smells. Nothing too flowery. Something like sandalwood do. Or pine tar. It was her go to for bar soap.

Between them, the hornet continued to buzz in frustration. They were ignoring it! And all to converse about the skill generated scent. The hornet glowered at Dorian, who had his hand stretched out towards it. Those beady little eyes lit up with malice. It shook its body, trying to throw off the chain weighing it down. It was going to show these fools what was what…

A tinny, insect like buzz of pain pierced the air. If it could talk, the hornet would have cried about the unfairness of the Shaman's attack. The second slash rekindled its anger, and the third… the third was so cold. Or was that its body that was so cold? So cold and heavy. The hornet hovered drunkenly, stinger twitching around idly. It was just defending its home. Why were they so cruel? Well, if it was going to die, it was going to give as good as it got! Erratic buzzing lent itself to the air as the hornet dove for Dorian, stinger at the ready.

It was at this moment that Zelenin struck out from behind. Accel Dance was activated, as was Deadly Dance. The hornet, already severely weakened by the Shaman, would not be able to shake off her attacks this time. The blunt edge of her sword cut deep into the shell of the hornet, deep enough that it got stuck. Zelenin nearly fell to the side when she landed. The hornet squealed as the blade was tugged one, two, three times, the last being the final pull. It wiggled its stinger at her, but for all its trouble only got an axe to the face.

Zelenin whipped the dying hornet to the ground, where its body was slowly being consumed by bubbles. In real life, bugs just went squish when you killed them. Small amounts of gold and pieces of the hornet were left behind -- namely its stinger and hard outer shell. Zelenin sheathed her sword before squatting down to examine their loot. "I doubt I will be able to cook with any of this." She knew that there were people who ate crickets and the like, but hornets? "I should probably elaborate."

She pocketed half of the gold, leaving the rest for Dorian. "I was hunting a rabbit earlier, and grossly overshot when I threw my axe. You have my apologies, as well as my thanks." There were plenty of people who would have left her to her fate, and gone on with their lives.

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[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 445
♫: Knight Rider Theme
✏: ---
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

"Settle... It will be over soon," the Shaman spoke, directing his voice towards the buzzing Hornet Soldier, it's angered stinger baring down on him as he held his blade aloft, ready to parry should any attacks make it through. Strange, for someone to be attempting to sooth such a creature, but Dorian attempted all the same; they had disturbed the monster's peaceful existence, and while he knew they couldn't simply leave it alone now, there was no point to senselessly killing it. He kept a calm demeanour, showing almost no emotion across his face as he kept the attention centred upon himself, brandishing the longsword in his grip every few seconds to keep the large insect from coming closer. Luckily, it was over rather quickly, with the Assassin acting upon his distraction, cutting deep into the Hornet's body with her blades, her movements flamboyant and emphasised for empower her strikes. Despite her low level, she was quite the artist with her weapons. With a final blow from her axe, the buzzing came to a stop, the limp body flailing off.

Releasing a soft sigh, Dorian tilted the blade of his sword down towards his hip, pushing it in to sheath it inside of his belt, waiting for the gentle clunk as the cross-guard knocked into the leather. As with all monsters in this world, the Hornet Solider slowly evaporated into data bubbles, leaving behind nothing but the various pieces of gold and loot that creatures were often want to drop. Zelenin was quick to examine what she could, finding the hardened shell that once encompassed the monster itself, as well as it's preserved stinger, still somewhat emanating an aura of rage and aggression. Moving forward, Dorian lowered to one knee beside what had been left behind, hovering his hand over it as he closed his eyes, remaining silent for the moment. He wasn't sure what it would do for the creature, but he still felt worried about what they had done. "I apologise..." He murmured under his breath, speaking to the wind that danced past them both.

Standing back up, he collected the remnants into his hands, turning toward Zelenin as she spoke of her mistake. He merely nodded his head in understanding, handing her the rest of the loot, namely the half of the gold she had left behind and the pieces of the Hornet. "Here... Perhaps you will find some use for these." Curling his lips, he gave a soft smile, bowing his head lowly towards the Assassin. "No need to apologise, or give thanks; you were in dire straits... Any true Adventurer would have done as I did." He looked down to her belt, where she had sheathed the blade of her longsword. "You fought well, albeit a little sloppily; but, such is to be expected, when fighting something that aggressive." Blinking slowly, he mentally slapped himself, quickly darting his hand out towards her. "My manners, I seem to have lost them. I am Dorian, a Shaman... You are an Assassin, yes? What would your name be?" Keeping his other hand rested behind him, tucked into the lower of his back, he stood idle, waiting for her to take his introductory gesture.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 535
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 95%
MP: 75%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

Zelenin could not understand the purpose of soothing the hornet, which had only had murder on its mind. And, while hornets and the like had their uses aside from relentlessly harming other life forms, she would never have showed concern for one, no matter its sob story. Hornets were one of those bugs designated for squishing, be it beneath a heavy boot or a curled fist. She regarded the insect with a look of contempt, and kept an eyebrow raised for the odd customer that was Dorian. Perhaps he was religious, or merely a big old softie. It was no business of hers what he did, as long as she was not held under his standards.

The excess gold, the stinger and the shell, she took without question. Currency was always good, and while she might not need it now, she would later. Having friends and acquaintances who played MMOS taught her one thing, at least: end game gear was expensive as hell. As for the stinger and shell… NPCs, er, Landers, would buy anything, as far as she knew. She was certain the value would be piss poor, but money was money. "Spasiba. Thank you." There she goes again, thanking him. Some habits were just too hard to break.

There was a flicker in her eyes at the mention of her sloppy swordplay. She had no formal or even informal training with a blade, so she would not have fared much better with a dagger. "I am used to fighting more with my fists, not..." She cast a scrutinizing eye at her hatchet and sword. "Such tools." They were garbage, and should be replaced as soon as possible. "But yes, I am an Assassin. Ess-- Zelenin. Zelenin…" Most Russians introduced themselves with all three names, and Zelenin was no exclusion to the rule. It was something that was ingrained in her as a small child, and now she felt it difficult to circumvent. But how many people gave out their real names in MMOs? They all used what they named themselves, even if it was as silly as Von Fluffybottom.

She took the proffered hand in her own, and while looking Dorian straight in the eye, proceeded to squeeze as tightly as she could. Handshakes were all about dominance, and you could tell the type of man by how firmly he gripped you. "Dorian, as in Dorian Gray?" She applied just a bit more pressure. "Please, allow me to treat you to a warm meal. It is the least I can do for disturbing your nap." The Assassin relinquished the hold she had on his hand. She would need to catch and kill a rabbit first, of course. Such tricky little beasts…

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[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 453
♫: Morale
✏: ---
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

The Assassin seemed to take the items he had handed to her eagerly, no doubt noticing the value in such pieces; the money was always good, and the hornet pieces would fetch a decent price - after all, they were from a level 15 monster, so they were bound to be sellable for a lot more than a lower level Adventurer would be used to. Dorian had no need of the loot himself, so he was happy to give them to her. Zelenin herself seemed perplexed by his actions earlier, a reaction the Shaman no doubt expected; being able to see and feel the aura and spirit of those around him made Dorian slightly more empathetic to the creatures and people that he met. But, he was nothing of not accommodating, and wasn't about to try and shove his own beliefs down the Assassin's throat. It was simply something he had to do, and he hoped in the back of his mind that she wouldn't try to bring it up out of an odd curiosity.

"A pleasure to meet you, Zelenin," he replied to her introduction, raising the side of his brow in a manner of confusion when she had explained her lack of ability with blades. "I see... In hindsight, the Monk class may have been a better fit for you, if fists are more your lingo, but you picked Assassin for a reason, and I trust it's a good one." He gave a gentle chuckle under his breath, bobbing his head in a nod of understanding; many people go into MMOs wishing to try something different than what they're used to, and Dorian was no different. He had originally considered the tank classes, such as Samurai or Guardian; but he opted for a change in Elder Tale, choosing Shaman, and he's been utilising it ever since. He silently assumed Zelenin had wanted to try the more stealth-like approach that Assassins offered, though it cost her when she was transported into the game, in the fact that she is untrained in the use of blades.

Finally, Zelenin happily took his hand in greeting, the Shaman instantly noting the firm grip that she was giving upon his palm. A show of strength, perhaps, or an attempt to see how fast he would break? He was unsure; nevertheless, he took her hand in his own, squeezing back enough to share the tight squeeze upon her own hand, but not enough to overpower her own. He was a friend, and he wanted her to see that, but he wasn't about to just lay down and roll over. He nodded slowly, smiling at her association with him towards the famous novel character. "That's right, though I doubt I am as beautiful as Mr Gray is described to be." Another chuckle emitted from his throat, before his hand pulled away to rest by his side once more. "Well, normally I wouldn't want to impose, but seeing as you're so adamant, I suppose I could do with a warm meal; I'm trained in the culinary arts myself, so perhaps we'll both learn something." He didn't bother to correct her on his previous activities, given his state of meditation and not... napping... She seemed too focused on the task at hand anyway.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 545
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 80%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

She shrugged at Dorian. "It is far too late for regret." It was true that the Monk class would have suited her so much more. If only she had had that level of foresight. But even so, would she have continued along this path? Her home life was not exactly ideal, and she had been saving money for years in the hope that she would move someday, but... An image of Shiva, confused and wandering around Londinium came to mind. No. She would not have strayed, for the sake of that fragile creature. Zelenin wanted to be strong enough to protect her, and she would not be able to do so without needing assistance herself. It was the hornet all over again.

"Good grip." Dorian had proven himself to be more than just a weirdo: he was also not a pushover. She would not know about the fabled beauty of Dorian Gray; unless he bore the soft resemblance of a woman, he would not line up in her definition of "beautiful". Shiva could technically be called a beautiful boy, though few people were aware of her background.

What was this? Was he a Chef, too? "I doubt I will be able to teach you anything new, unless it entails the burning of water." There was one thing Zelenin was utterly hopeless at, and that was cooking. Her mother had tried her best to teach her, but she could never hope to be as good as her darling little sister, Darya. So while Darya had moved on to cook more satisfying and borderline gourmet dishes, Esfir was forced to order take out or eat pre-made meals. Her crafting class was mostly taken as a joke, but also so that she could marvel at making pixelated food.

"I do not imagine that it takes a lot of skill to say, roast a rabbit over a spit of fire." Was that the correct term? It was a thin, metal rod you could mount something like a pig on, and hang it over a campfire to cook. And then you sort of… glazed it with a special sauce, or dumped a bunch of herbs onto it. The imagery her mind was giving her was not very enticing. Was it possible for food here to be so bad that it could kill? Poisoning Dorian, unintentionally or not, was inexcusable. "Nevertheless, those creatures are in excess here, and I am certain that I can kill one on my own." Killing that hornet had given her some much needed experience points, raising her level a little higher on the ladder.

There was a slight disturbance further down the flower patch, and then the twitching nose of a rabbit appeared. Zelenin pulled her axe over her head, poised to throw. The rabbit stood up on its hind legs to peek over the tall grass and flowers. It was the perfect mark, and she might have actually hit it if she tried. But the memory of Dorian talking softly to the hornet stopped her. What if he was one of those people? "…Dorian, are you a vegetarian?" She did not wish to be that person.

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[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 526
♫: The Hanging Tree
✏: Totes considerate.
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

"That's good; no sense dwelling on things that cannot be changed, yes?" Zelenin seemed to have made peace with her initial blunder in making an Assassin, and to be honest, she seemed to be fitting into the role rather well. It wasn't easy treading out of one's own comfort zone, so the fact that she had accepted such and that she was trying to learn was a sure sign that she was talented in her abilities. With the competitive handshake now over and done with, Dorian bowed his head in thanks towards the Assassin's compliment on his grip. "Not too bad yourself, quite the mean handshake you give there." The Shaman seemed to feel a mutual respect between the two, and was happy that they had come to an understanding so quickly. It wasn't often one found a friend out here in the wilderness, but Dorian was never one to turn down someone who needed help. "Oh, that reminds me..." Quickly pulling up his interface, the Shaman began fiddling with the various screens, all while listening to Zelenin speak.

When she had finished her explanation of her lack of ability in the field of culinary art, he only smiled and pressed a few buttons, gesturing towards her to send a quick party invite onto her interface. "There we are, that should make it easier to communicate and keep together while we're out here," he remarked, giving her a nod as he deactivated his interface, crossing his arms over his chest. "As for teaching me anything, you'd be surprised; every experience is a learning one, and anyone who tells you otherwise is too up themselves to see straight." He released a happy laugh, his attempt to lighten the mood notwithstanding. "Though I must say, I've never heard of burning water; that could be a talent in and of itself!" He moved to gently pat the woman's shoulder in reassurance, before lowering his arms to his sides and stepping out, gesturing for them to head out. If they were going to be eating anything decent, they needed to acquire good meat.

The Assassin seemed to have the same idea, explaining the ease of spit roasting a rabbit over a fire. The Shaman merely nodded his head in agreement, before picking up the movement of a rabbit nearby; stepping out of the way, he allowed the Assassin to take her chance, watching as she poised herself to throw her axe once again. The creature seemed to stop and stand, curious as to what was going on, but alas, it's curiosity would be it's demise. However, Zelenin seemed to stop for a moment, missing the chance as the rabbit quickly scurried off, realising the danger of it's situation; to his surprise, the Assassin seemed to pose an interesting question. "A vegetarian? Oh... Because of..." Dorian looked back at where the Hornet had dissipated, before shaking his head. "Not at all; I may be tuned into the way of the world a lot more as a Shaman, but believe me, I'm not so far gone as to give up meat. Besides, all life has it's place in the world, and the food chain has always had us sentient beings at it's top. So... shall we find another rabbit for you to have at?"

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 548
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 85%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

Zelenin narrowed her eyes as a notification appeared in the air before her. To someone who never bothered with virtual reality, it was strange to have random menus pop up in her peripheral vision. Sometimes, she could forget that she was in a video game. Other times, moments like this completely shattered the illusion. She pressed the ACCEPT button. This was one of those few times she had utilized the party system.

When she said that she could burn water, she was not being literal. Although, her cooking skills were abhorrent enough to make it happen. Zelenin knew for a fact that you could burn salt water, but water itself was not inherently flammable. She mentioned none of this to Dorian, however. The woman issued a soft grunt at the good natured pat. "We shall see about that." At least one thing was for certain: Dorian would not turn his nose up at meat. "Mm. Follow me." She had had enough talking for now.

The two of them were fortunate that Frenmic Rabbits were in abundance, and not just your mundane rabbit. Zelenin was not trained in the art of hunting or tracking before entering this world. Her Tracker subclass could provide the false knowledge, but the actual skill for tracking was not available until a few levels later. To her that made little sense. Should it not be the other way around? Allow her to track at the base level, and then give her the muffled footstep skill? It could be considered counterintuitive as well, when you thought about it.

The woman activated Silent Move, quietly musing to herself as she led the small party. Her eyes were drawn to the ground, where small disturbances caught her attention. It was subtle to her untrained eyes, but clearly something had come this way. Before, she would have overlooked such a thing, unless they belonged to a human. Having worked as a security guard for a few years, she knew what clues to look for in terms of break ins or vandalism. This was different, however. She could not explain it, but it was almost as if your classes and subclasses lent you some entry level skills of the trade. No, not quite skills, but information. The information would supposedly increase with her level, to the point where she could easily tell the type of monster and its weight, just from observing a single print.

Right now, all she could see was that a small creature had flounced through the flowers, which was more than enough. She could see it right now, in fact. There were two Frenmic Rabbits, one a youngling at level one, the other an adult and at level five. The rabbits had their backs turned, and their heads down. The adult busied itself by digging, unearthing tubers and depositing them to the side. The young rabbit nibbled eagerly away at one of the fatter plants.

She started to hold up a hand to signal for Dorian to stop, and then remembered the telepathy command. "Stand back." Regardless of the telepathic link, Zelenin could not resist "whispering". It just seemed like the right thing to do for the moment. She was in the middle of a so called stealth mission, and inching closer and closer to the rabbits with each passing second. She could not risk disturbing her prey when she was this close to achieving her goal.

With careful, steady aim, she threw her hatchet towards the small rabbit. A sharp cry of pain and confusion greeted her ears. The small rabbit feebly flopped onto its side, but before it could dislodge the axe, Zelenin dropped a foot onto the back of the axe head. A louder cry followed as she applied her weight to the axe, effectively trapping the rabbit in place. With even the smallest shift in her foot or pressure, its health ticked down. The adult rabbit growled and lunged at her, only to be met with the broad side of her sword. It went tumbling backwards, towards Dorian. "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Dorian on over~." She was not yet ready to take on two monsters at once.

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[attr="class","babar"]

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 695
♫: Enjoy the Silence
✏: ---
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

The Shaman watched and waited as the party invite popped up on Zelenin's interface, her reaction completely understandable for someone who had just started Adventuring; the interface was a strange mechanic in this new world, one of the few things that kept reminding them that the world they now inhabited was one based on the real world's version, an MMO game. If there were no levels or classes or interfaces like this, then the world would be all too real for them; of course, there was also the whole reviving after death thing, which still seemed to irk Dorian whenever he thought about it. He had only died once so far, but it had been a gruelling experience nonetheless. "There we are, all partied up." Dorian chuckled to try and break the light bit of tension between them, nodding his head with approval as the party list blipped up onto his own screen, the two of their names listed one above the other. "Experience should be easier to come by as well; given our level differences, the party will automatically assume this as a Mentor group."

Despite the Assassin's sceptical response to his reassurance, the two Adventurers carried forward, Dorian following close behind her as she made her way further into the grove. The Shaman sensed the impression that she wasn't too fond of talking to fill silence, something that Dorian was often times want to do. Idle conversation was always a nice way to fill up time, especially on longer journeys such as between cities or during a particularly long trek through a dungeon. But, he gave the Assassin the benefit of the doubt this time around, reasoning that she needed to concentrate in order to properly learn. Leaving the tracking of the Frenmic Rabbits to Zelenin, the Shaman focused on honing his own senses, turning his head to and fro as he scanned the area for life signs; perhaps he may pick up a particularly rabbit-like aura, but for now it seemed that the air was too permeated with the scent of flowers to track the spiritual nature of the area effectively.

Resisting the urge to ask of Zelenin, the Shaman decided to leave small talk for later, instead simply watching her work. This wasn't the first time he had seen Trackers and their abilities up close, but it was always fascinating to watch; the swift and silent movements, which greatly outmatched the slight lightness that Dorian's Dancer subclass gave to his feet; the eagle eyes scanning every inch of ground that they came across. It was no surprise that after a few short moments of walking, Zelenin was able to pick up the location of a pair of creatures. Before Dorian could react, however, the Assassin had put her hand out, ordering him to stand back using the telepathy system in-built into the party list. Not one to argue with an Assassin on a mission, he bowed his head, stepping to one side and letting her do her work. He could always issue out suggestions and tips from the sidelines, using the telepathy to his advantage to effectively mentor the woman; not that she needed mentoring in killing rabbits, but the opportunity was there should he need it.

Two decisive strikes later, and the rabbits were easily surprised, one of them being pinned and slowly drawn to it's death by the Assassin's axe being ground into it's body. A gruesome sight, but one that Dorian was all too familiar with; right now, his attention was better spent on the more aggressive of the two creatures, the mature, level five Frenmic Rabbit that had lunged at Zelenin, only to be punted aside by her longsword and sent sprawling towards the Shaman. With a harmonious ditty, the Assassin called him forth for aid, of which he was all too happy to provide, brandishing his own sword and quickly swiping it down into the creature's midsection. With a sickening cry, it's body was skewered to the floor, not quite killed but very close to it. "There we are; it's up to you, but we should probably capture these instead of killing them. As a Chef, I'm sure you're familiar with the fact that using the monster itself and not it's items provides much more in the way of nourishment." Holding the rabbit in place, he did his best to ignore his gentle squeals of pain, waiting on Zelenin's verdict.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 739
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 90%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

The rabbit proved to be no match for the Shaman, as it was easily subdued, skewered to the ground and feebly pleading for release. Her own rabbit was thumping its hind legs around, doing no more than hurting itself in the process. With little worry of the creature bolting (for its spine was likely severed at this point), Zelenin yanked her hatcher free. The rabbit gave a cry that was somewhere between a mix of relief and anguish. Its health was low enough for her to kill it with a simple thrust, but something Dorian said caught her off guard.

At his words, her complexion paled. It was beyond her control and done without thought. "…No. No, I did not know about such a thing." In hindsight, it was foolish of her not to consider it before. If this world behaved like the real one in many ways, and system generated food was flavorless… then meat obtained from drops would be just as worthless. So Chefs had to acquire their meat the old fashioned way: capturing and killing it, but also treating out the entrails and skinning off the fur. Right?

The corners of her lips twitched in disgust as she hoisted the nearly dead rabbit into the air. "Are we… expected to remove the fur and clean out the inedible organs, as well?" Aside from now, Zelenin had never hunted. She knew not the protocol for preparing an animal carcass to suit human consumption. A vague memory of fishing with her father, during one of his better moments, came to mind. She was maybe five or six at the time, and he had taken her, along with his nephew, to a small pond. Zelenin recalled collecting nothing but tin cans and a boot. Had her cousin caught anything? She could not remember; only the heavy feeling of disappointment prevailed.

Her eyelids hung lazily, her expression contorting into what could best be described as sheepish. "Do you mind showing me how? I would rather not kill it outright, if there is a better way." She mentally steeled herself for the amount of blood that would be shed, and the stench of innards and other unmentionables.

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[attr="class","babar"]

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[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 365
♫: Bela Lugosi's Dead
✏: ---
@: @serenityspace

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[Deleted]

With the two Frenmic Rabbits now easily pinned and captured, Dorian lowered down to the creature skewered upon the last few inches of his longsword blade, kneeling beside the small, jittery form that squealed quietly whenever it tried to struggle against the pain within it's body. Lifting his head, his eyes scanned over Zelenin's features, quickly noticing her change in colour at the idea he had presented. No doubt she was unfamiliar with the practices of skinning and disembowelling, gruesome procedures that were needed in order to clear a creature for cooking. Dorian had done his fair share of it during his currently early career as a culinary crafter, and even he felt somewhat disgusted whenever he did it. "Hmm, well, yes... In order to keep the food as clean as possible, as well as get it to cook evenly, skinning and gutting is required." No doubt the Assassin was lithe to proceed with such activities, but they weren't completely necessary; while it would result in a poorer meal, the ingredients dropped when monsters are killed more than suffice for a decent dinner, especially when working with such low-levelled creatures like these.

But, his assumptions were unfounded, it seemed; just as he was about to offer the easy path, Zelenin quickly asked of him to assist her in showing the necessary methods. Curling his lips into a reassuring smile, the Shaman nodded his head, looking back down at the whimpering rabbit at his feet. "If you're willing to go through with it, I'd be happy to show you the necessary procedures; but be warned, these creatures won't be dying as they normally do. Once we start, there will be a lot of blood involved, so I hope you're ready for it." He waited for her to reply and brace herself, before grasping a tight hold of the hilt of his longsword, yanking quickly to remove it from the rabbit without damaging it's small form. Using the tip of his blade, he quickly made a nick deep under the furred skin, watching as the rabbit fell limp, and yet it's HP was still kept level, albeit rather close to the brink of dropping to zero. "See if you can replicate that with your rabbit; it's as simple as a single cut, and it'll be unconscious. We'll need them in this state to prevent them from dying before we start." Grabbing at the creature's stomach, Dorian ignored the small gushes of blood that leaked onto his hand as he lifted the rabbit off the ground, standing up straight once more.

---

Notes: I wasn't sure of how it was canonically done, so if I'm mistaken in my assumptions, please let me know.
Words: 428
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 95%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

The Assassin swallowed back her disgust. It was as she had feared. They would be going about this manually. It would not be the first time she got blood on her hands, but that came more from beating in the heads of violent thugs, or engaging in underground boxing matches. It would be a lot, too. Those fights she got in? The blood was never a steady steam, just what you would expect to see from scratches, split knuckles and broken noses. So nothing major, unless things got serious. Or someone pulled out a knife. People like that were generally easy to disarm, or fell on their knives, rather. She glanced down at the rabbit clutched in her hand. It seemed to have given up and accepted its fate. Its limbs hung loosely, head lolled to the side and staring.

"I can handle a little blood. I am not squeamish." This was true, though she still found the procedure distasteful. She wondered how Shiva would react to such a chore… probably not too well. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened as Dorian nearly slit the rabbit's throat open. Doing so would have killed it almost instantly, but this was only a small cut. It reminded her of an animal rights video she had seen a few years ago. In the video, animals like cows and chickens were strung up by their feet, and pulled through a conveyor belt system. They each had their throats cut, either by machine or man. It was not a pretty sight. In some videos, animals used for fur coats were skinned alive. Looks like they would be doing the same here.

Holding her sword by the blade, Zelenin carefully poked a hole into her rabbit's throat. She was prepared for the spurts of blood, but not the strong kicks from the rabbit. It squealed pitifully for a few seconds, hind paws drumming against her arm for a few seconds. It went still afterward, in a comatose state that could be mistaken for death. She turned the rabbit around until its head was pointing towards the ground, body now suspended by its feet. "I never gave it much thought until now, but I was given a strange knife by someone not too long ago. I assumed it was for peeling potatoes and what not, but now… It was a skinning knife, wasn’t it?" She produced the awkward knife from her inventory, and held it out for Dorian to examine.

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∝: 414
♫: The Fear of God [Extended]
✏: I have no idea!
@: @serenityspace

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The Shaman nodded slowly at her words, thankful that she was not too squeamish; he was pushing himself enough to perform this procedure on one rabbit, let alone having to do both of them due to a fainted comrade. But, luckily, such was not the case, as the Assassin slowly lowered to her own capture, performing the same small incision into the rabbit's throat and silencing it. She had a very impressive finesse for such a low level, having made the same cut on a smaller body, but he merely nodded his approval, preferring not to speak in this moment. His eyes fell towards the blade she displayed in her hand, a small knife, the blade strangely forged; she explained that she assumed it to be a peeling knife, but Dorian nodded at her last words. "Yes, that would be a skinning knife; that'll come in handy." Lifting his head, he glanced around for a suitable place to set up their rabbits for the next part, eyeing a nearby tree. Gesturing towards it with his sword hand, swiftly sheathing the blade back into his belt before moving towards the tree, making sure Zelenin had begun to follow. Moving up to the tree, he looked up at the nearby branch, pulling out a small piece of rope and hoisting the rabbit up by it's feet, tying it off to hang upside down in it's comatose state from the branch. Turning back to Zelenin, he held out his hand, gesturing towards her axe.

"I just need to cut out some blocks of wood from the tree, so that we have sturdy places to skin them; it won't take long, and you'll have your weapon back soon enough," he explained to the Assassin, curling his lips to smile reassuringly as he waited for the hilt to be put into his palm. He blinked slowly, before shaking his head as he changed his mind. "Actually, nix that; you have more experience with your axe, no doubt, so why don't you give it a shot first." He stepped to one side, giving her room to move in closer towards the trunk. "It's simple, really, just cut into the wood and carve out - as well as you can - a flat board or two to set down on the ground for us to use. Think of this as a learning experience; heck, imagine the trunk as that Hornet we just had a tussle with earlier." Chuckling softly under his breath, he nodded confidently to Zelenin, crossing his arms over his chest and watching, waiting patiently for her to strike. He wasn't familiar with axe-wielding himself, but he could at least give her a pointer or two in the right direction here; besides the tree wasn't really a formidable foe, and it's tough exterior would make for excellent practice for the Assassin.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 474
Tags: Zelenin
Party Buff: Heavenly Defense

HP: 100%
MP: 100%

SPOILER: Click to show

{Available Skills}

Leaping Apricot Technique: This spell will instantly transport the user to a location a certain distance away, leaving behind apricot flower petals from where the user stood. What seems like a powerful technique actually has some drawbacks, including a maximum range of 6 meters and the ability to travel within eight directions, not to mention the in-game restrictions for using this skill. However, it seems that these restrictions have been lifted following the Catastrophe, allowing more striving Shamans to learn this skill with less constraints. Also, using this skill post-Catastrophe also gives off an apricot scent, giving it an aromatic purpose outside of battle. This skill consumes about 20% of the Shaman's MP, has a casting time of 1.5 seconds, and has a cooldown of 40 seconds. The MP cost decreases by 5% for every 30 levels.

Demon's Eye: This skill when activated will slightly increases accuracy rate of the user's weapons. It also causes the weapon to be immune to hit spirit-type mobs whom normally nullify incoming physical damage. Of course, a successful hit requires an active attack towards a desired foe regardless. There was one time when the developers received e-mails saying that "I've used the Demon's Eye and I still keep on missing on ghost mobs!" among others. For this reason, several balance changes were implemented. When used, this skill adds a blue radiance on one's eyes, a rather scary sight post-Catastrophe. This skill has a casting time of 4 seconds, a duration of 60 seconds, and a cooldown of 70 seconds.

Divine Subjugation: The Shaman's body is infused with the blessings of the spirits, increasing the damage of the user's physical attacks for the next 8 seconds. The Shaman's body glows a bright yellow at this time and all their attacks also contribute to an increased amount of aggro. It is oriented towards Battle Shaman builds that use swords or bows as primary weapons. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Damage Interception: A barrier skill known as the signature move of the Shaman. Forms either a stationary barrier or a barrier around a target that continues to exist until the "energy" of the barrier expires. Energy will decrease slowly over time and decrease from damage taken. This skill has a casting time of 1.5 seconds and a cooldown of 5 seconds.

Cardinal Rose: A skill that distinguishes a character's ability to be a good navigator. It is a toggle skill that uses a negligible amount of mana when it is activated, causing an icon of a compass to appear in the bottom right corner of the character's vision. As long as this skill is active, the character will always know which direction is north. This skill is particularly effective when exploring in uncharted territory.

Exorcism of a Cursed Lotus: A self-cast barrier that boosts the caster’s attack speed against a specific target without boosting movement speed. Upon taking any damage, the barrier shatters and the caster lose all benefits. Since this leaves the caster vulnerable to attack it is often better to combine this with attacks from other party members or with another barrier level underneath so as to keep the target preoccupied. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds, a maximum duration of 10 seconds, and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Soulcutter: A good contender in terms of Shaman DPS, this skill transforms the summoned Shikigami's body into a violent stream of magic energy. The energy is concentrated into a material form, creating a cutting-wave projectile as sharp as a sword. The attack is then shot up to 5 meters forward, after which the familiar spirit travels back to the Shaman. This skill has a casting time of 1 second, followed by an animation time in seconds equal to 0.2 x distance in meters traveled. Its cooldown time is 3 seconds. If Shikigami Astral Seal is active when this skill is used, it is temporarily disabled for this skill's duration.

Shikigami Astral Seal: This skill transforms the physical body of the summoned Shikigami into a ghost-like form, making it intangible to all attacks. Conversely, the Shikigami retains the ability to affect its environment, allowing it to move and control objects like a poltergeist. Many Shamans typically have their Shikigami control objects like weapons in order to make them appear as though they were possessed. Others tend to utilize the summon to grab an enemy's limbs and prevent their movement, but the generally low offensive specs of the Shikigami makes this strategy not quite as effective. The duration of this skill lasts for a full minute, but it will automatically cancel if the Shikigami's duration runs out. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds. There is a 30 second cooldown period after this skill's deactivation before it may be used again.

Barrier Channel: This skill allows the Shaman to infuse a barrier with additional mana, allowing it to last a little longer. When this skill is used, the Shaman must select a Barrier-type skill. That skill's duration is increased by 5 seconds. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown time of 10 seconds.

Hybrid Barrier: A Barrier skill that allows for the caster to combine two barrier styles together for a hybrid effect. This allows for a Shaman to stack more barriers onto a single target in a shorter timespan. When this skill is used, two other Barrier skills can be cast at the same time onto a single target. The duration of the two barriers become the average of their maximum durations. This skill has an instant casting time and triggers a global cooldown of 1 second.

Blood Oath: An offensive shaman skill focuses on close combat. When the skill is initiated, the caster must land a blow with a melee weapon within the next 10 seconds. If successful, the caster gains a damage buff against the specific target. This buff lasts for a single hit and is broken if the caster takes damage. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Anima-Gathering Talisman: A Shaman skill that collects life energy from the surrounding atmosphere into the Shaman's hand. Upon contact with a friendly target, a rune will temporarily appear over the contact area where energy will disperse into their body and restore a moderate amount of HP. If performed on a fallen teammate, it will possess the ability to revive the target with low HP. The flexibility provided by this skill makes it the Shaman's best option if they wish to perform on par with the healing abilities of the Cleric and Druid. This skill has a casting time of 3 seconds. It has a cooldown time of 5 seconds if used as a healing spell but 30 seconds if used as a revival spell.

Pacifying Dance: A skill that allows the dancer to perform beautiful dances to momentarily captivate those who see it. For the next 30 seconds, monsters within 25 meters have their nature changed. Aggressive and Predatory monsters become Wary. Wary, Aloof, and Cowardly monsters become Docile. Docile monsters become Friendly. This effect does not work against monsters that are already engaged in battle when this skill was used.

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

With Dorian confirming it, Zelenin twirled the knife around in her fingers and pocketed it. It was still a bit too early to use it. They had to suspend the rabbits… or at least, that was how it went in the footage she saw. Either way, they needed something to hold up the rabbit while they worked. Zel lacked an apron, so she was not too keen on getting blood all over her gear, not without a nearby stream to clean them in. A small puddle of blood was already forming at her feet. Just how much blood could such a small creature produce?

A steady trail of blood droplets was left in their wake as she followed Dorian to a tree. Zelenin watched on in silence as the Shaman strung up his rabbit with a bit of rope. She followed suit, dangling her rabbit from an adjacent branch. Was this to allow the blood to tap out, or would they actually be skinning them in this position? Once again, Dorian came to the rescue, though Zelenin was uncertain of the point he was trying to make. Skinning the creatures on wood? Was that standard?

He was the expert here, however, so she would have to take his word for it. As he went on to explain, the realization and understanding set in. He wanted her to make a sort of impromptu work table for them. "Understood." Zelenin had actually chopped wood a few times, during the summers and winters she had occasionally spent on a relative's farm. Her uncle had insisted on treating her like a boy, since she acted like one. His reasoning stemmed more from the intent of breaking her spirit, and proving to her that girls had no hope of meeting the same standards of men. Her boy cousins were of similar mind, but eventually grew to respect her for not throwing in the towel.

Of course, this was back when she was a teenager. Chopping wood and other forms of manual labor were virtually a thing of the past now.

Her first hack into the tree was clumsy, but her second and third were more surefooted. Zelenin could feel the untoned muscles in this body strain to keep up with her pace. In her real body, this would pose little trouble for her once she was in the zone. Her chopping might have also been neater. Indeed, the first rough-hewn board of wood was uneven and a little thin. This shoddy piece of work would be hers; it was unfair to give Dorian the reject. Age differences aside, he was technically her teacher, and worthy of more respect.

The second block of wood she produced was sturdier and thicker, a nice makeshift work table. This she offered to the Shaman, sweat on her brow and glistening on her slender arms. "With this, we can begin, yes?"

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∝: 485
♫: Cherokee
✏: ---
@: @serenityspace

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Zelenin was quick to pick up the process of what the Shaman was getting at, a fact that Dorian was thankful for, at the very least. Watching closely, he kept an eye on her as she moved towards the tree, readying her axe and beginning the process of cutting into the exterior of the trunk. As she began, her swings were slightly sloppy, perhaps the effect of the sudden change in difficulty; despite the fact that she was struggling to make any solid cuts at first, her swings were fairly well performed, as if she had a prior experience with cutting into large oaken trunks with a heavy weapon. Alas, their new reality was less forgiving than the old. He refrained from making any sudden judgements on her abilities, letting her try to correct herself on her own - no sense in being that kind of mentor - and it seemed to pay off; with relative ease, she managed to get into a better swing, cutting into the designated block that would serve as a workbench for one of them.

Eventually she managed to carve out the first slab, albeit a rougher, bumpy one... But it wasn't too bad for her first attempt. Without a word said, Zelenin began cutting away at the trunk once more, this time picking up her game relatively quickly, making near-perfect swings into the tree's exterior. "You're doing well, I don't think you need me for the 'hit with axe' lesson." He smirked, his eyes idly following the swings of her arm, moving from side to side in an almost hypnotic fashion, if not for the loud cracks of metal digging into wood that broke the monotony. Soon the Assassin had managed a smooth, sturdy workbench, improved greatly from her first attempt. When she had offered the second to him, Dorian merely shook his head, reaching instead for the first, rougher slab of wood. "It's alright; it'll be easier for you to work on that one. No sense making this any harder on you than it should be. Besides, you did a good job with your cutting, you earned the smoother one." He nodded to her reassuringly once again, before reaching behind him to unhook his rabbit from the tree, lowering down onto his knees and laying the unconscious body over his slab of wood.

"Now then, here is how we begin." Taking out a small knife of his own, almost identical to the Assassin's own skinning knife, albeit a little bit sharper, the Shaman turned the body of the rabbit so that the belly was pointed up. Taking a deep breath in, he held it for a few seconds, readying himself for the next few moments, releasing the air from his lungs with a sigh before beginning. With the blade in hand, he made a quick, careful incision horizontally along the creature's exposed belly, moving from just under it's neck to just above it's legs, only cutting so far as the skin. "When you do this, be careful not to cut too deep; you only want the skin for now." Moving to the lower end of the incision, he deftly flipped the blade in his hand, slipping it under and cutting the skin away slowly from the rabbit's body, moving all the way up to the top of the incision by it's neck. Pulling the knife away, he turned to Zelenin, watching and waiting for her to repeat what he had done; this was the easier part of the procedure, so she shouldn't have too much trouble with it, but all the same he kept his eyes focused for any discrepancies.

---

Notes: N/A
Words: 605
Tags: Zelenin

[Zelenin]

[attr="class","mischa"]

Zelenin did not waste time arguing over the slabs. She honestly did not care either way, as the results would be the same: a skinned and dissected rabbit atop a piece of wood. It was hardly anything to get excited over, unless you were a sadist. Zelenin considered herself to be more on the practical side of things, and was this not how her meat was obtained? She at least owed it to the animals she consumed to do the undressing and cutting herself. Maybe that would make the food taste better, who knows?

The smoother board felt better in her hands. The rabbit, not so much. It was warm, and if you ignored the fact that there was blood caked around the wound in its neck, one might even mistake it for slumbering. Zelenin knew better than that, of course. The rabbit lolled around when she moved it, unconscious and oblivious to its current state. Were it awake, it would be scrabbling around in a vain attempt to free itself. Instead, it continued to dangle lifelessly, and offered no resistance when she spread it out on the wooden slab.

Now kneeling in front of her slab like Dorian, Zelenin watched as her instructor began to work on his rabbit. She rearranged her rabbit so that it was lying flat on its back, belly pointing skyward. If one looked closely, they would see how subtly its chest rose and fell. Zelenin tried not to think about that as she picked up her own knife. Like Dorian, she too steeled herself for the task at hand. On her third exhale, she slipped the point of her knife into its gut. She was careful to follow instructions; only cut deep enough for the skin. It was akin to peeling potatoes, which was surprisingly one of the things she did well with in the kitchen.

A knot formed in her stomach as fresh blood stained her fingers. She fully expected the rabbit to spring back to life and scream at her to cease this cutting at once. She was not only hurting it, but leaving it exposed to the elements, and spreading its scent to any nearby foxes and other enemies. Upon realizing she was being observed, her eyes narrowed into slits. Had she cut a little too deep into her rabbit? It seemed fine, though the odd slickness of bare flesh beneath her fingertips discomforted her. By this point, her hand was completely inside the rabbit.

A bundle of fur was wrapped around her hand as she struggled to pull it free from the rabbit. Her destination was the wound at its neck. Would they be skinning the head, as well? Much of the rabbit was already exposed now. Without its fur, the poor creature was skinny and naked. It hardly resembled a rabbit at all, but more of a naked mole rat. And the smell… "What do you do with the fur and other bits? Throw them away or at least sell them to a tailor?" Zelenin was of the mind that hunters should try to use every bit of their kill, and not just hunt the beasts for sport. If she could find a Tailor, she might request an item be made out of the rabbit's fur.

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∝: 547
♫: You Could Have It All
✏: ---
@: @serenityspace

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