The Grand Duelist [Closed]

[Ruemia]

Ruemia coughed as she found herself surrounded by the murky air of the swamps. This was something she found herself to be doing quite often now. Strolling aimlessly, that is. Her sense of direction felt so muddled in Log Horizon, which made sense, seeing as this was far from the London she knew. There were no adorably vicious bunnies, or odd-looking jello blobs in the botanical gardens. And for certain, there were no grimy swamps on the outskirts of the city. Who decided that this bizarre idea of random marshlands was a go- The sound of a snapping twig broke her thoughts. Using her tracker skill, Ruemia crept towards a nearby tree for cover, muting her paced footsteps. Something was headed in her direction. Snap. Snap, snap, snap- Sploosh. “Aw, man!” An exasperated voice exclaimed, waving a rugged straight-sword in the air. It was clearly a starter weapon. “I just got these cleaned, too!” Letting out a short sigh of relief, thankful it wasn’t one of those grotesque creatures lurking about, she began to turn around in the other direction to begin to head back to the main city. She could already feel herself suffocating in this environment. Being raised in a large home which reeked of cleanliness made her insecure in not-so-tidy places. Without warning, another voice began to laugh whole-heartedly at his companion, startling her to a halt. “Mate, it doesn’t even matter at this point. Your shoes are going to be ruined in the duels anyway.” Peeking out from behind the tree trunk, the silver-haired woman found herself spying on two other players. Hearing word of a duel caught her interest. Having always strived against her half-brother, it was only natural for Ruemia to develop a competitive spirit. The player who had stepped into a puddle of swamp water, shook his foot out in disgust, sheathing his weapon in an irritated manner. “How am I supposed to fight with a soggy shoe covered in gunk?!” His friend chuckled before encouragingly clapping him on the back. “Don’t worry, I’ll still bet on you.” He paused. “Ha. Who am I kidding? I’m betting on the goblin!” The pair continued to trek deeper into the swamplands as they bickered on, Ruemia stealthily following from behind.

words: 375 tags: Solo notes: aroif - dgt

MADE BY HABBUE OF GS

[Ruemia]

In the middle of the swamp sat a petite arena, shoddily crafted from wood. The sound of heavy cheers and booing could be heard from the outside, which were reminiscent to a Roman gladiator match. Ruthless warriors slashing and hacking at wild animals. Sometimes even other men. Now, if this were the real world, Ruemia would have to be appalled by such a display of violence. Although, this wasn’t reality. People could die by acts of recklessness and have no dire consequences for it. We could kill one another without feeling any true remorse because we knew that once their health dropped to zero, they’d end up respawning at Westminster fit as a fiddle. As a game concept, it was alright to never actually die. However, when it turned into their lives, it corrupted the basic values we once had. It was so wrong. But not even Ruemia could keep herself from the temptation. A mischievous grin quirked up against the corner of her lips as she made her way into the stadium. Shoving her way through crowds of people, she made it near the front by the gate of the ring. There was a buff man engaging in a sword fight with a higher-leveled goblin, jumping forth with his axe to swing down on the creature. If Log Horizon was designed to be closer to the material world, the rather large player would have cleaved the goblin’s arm off. The monster still wailed in pain at the action, but thankfully, there was no gore. “I’m bidding ten higher on Hercules!” A disembodied voice hollered at the man standing by the gate. “Five more on the goblin for me!” A different bidder shouted. “If you were rational enough, you’d see that thing is going to rip him apart with its teeth!” The guard only grunted and nodded in response. Blinking at the exchange, the petite woman smoothed out her skirt and bowed her head at the gruff-looking guard. “Excuse me, I would like to enter myself in this arrangement,” she spoke, adjusting the position of the bow in her hair with a gentle smile.

words: 354 tags: Solo notes: aroif - dgt

MADE BY HABBUE OF GS

[Ruemia]

The audience seated around her immediately turned their attention away from the match to stare at the newcomer skeptically. Hm…wasn’t it rude to stare? At least, that’s what she’d been told for years. Although, she wasn’t sure what would entice them to want to stare. Granted, Ruemia was a woman seeking to participate in such a gruesome activity, but exercising her blade skill would be quite beneficial. Watching fencing matches taught her enough about basic tactics and strategies for dueling. Now it was time to put her knowledge to the test. “So, would it be alright?” Ruemia questioned before adding with an earnest expression, “I will promise to be worth the while.” “Well,” a booming voice erupted from the guard. “Lady you gotta have a weapo-“ The audience in the arena suddenly began to cheer uncontrollably as “Hercules,” the deemed winner of the match, urged the crowd to continue their applause. “No problem, I have two right here,” she responded, speaking as loudly as she could over the rumble of the arena. Ruemia unsheathed both of her rapiers, nearly impaling the back of someone’s head in the process. “See?” “I can see that, but –“ “Then I shall go next, please.” “Wha- No, lookie here, lady-“ The sound of an announcer began to greet the crowd. “WELL! HOW WAS THAT MATCH? QUITE EXHILIRATING, WASN’T IT?” The audience burst out into another cheer in agreement. “NOW, WHO IS OUR NEXT CHALLENGER?” Without hesitation, Ruemia hopped over the barrier dividing the spectators and the open battle ring. Gracefully landing on her feet like a feline, she smiled at the announcer in the polite manner she knows so well. “I volunteer.”

words: 278 tags: solo notes: aroif - dgt

MADE BY HABBUE OF GS