[Invite] Residence Medieval: First Hour

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

Tyonis followed closely behind two of Franny's Skeletal Minions, using them as makeshift shields as they entered the next room. The design was much the same. Spooky with a hint of affluence that made even the richest Adventurer swoon with envy. The newest additions set the Samurai on edge, however. Namely, a sudden increase in the manor's occupants. Goblins. More floating pumpkins. And a humanoid Goat. Over a dozen pairs of eyes scrutinized the party. Some were fearful and recoiled from their unexpected presence. Others were not so easily frightened.

Tyonis paid the Cowardly monsters no heed, instead, he focused his attention on the Aggressive ones. The Lvl 20 Goat Servant was attending a suit of armor that seemed to vibrate occasionally. The Samurai had seen enough scripted events to assume the armor would come to life and attack them as soon as they approached that side of the hall.

The Goat Servant barked orders at the other demihumans. Tyonis shook his head, unable to understand their language. The Goblins scurried around, returning to their tasks. The Goat Servant folded its arms as it continued to observe from afar. What concerned Tyonis the most was that all these monsters were practically double Franny's level.

"Franny. Stay close to me," He turned to confirm her position and his eyes widened as one of the suits of armor that flanked the entrance raised its axe to behead her from behind.

The Samurai shoved his companion aside and immediately deflected the blow, his whole body lightly glowing as he activated Ace Move: Go no Sen. Even with his increased stats, he felt his arms nearly give from the axe's weight. With a grunt, he managed to push the axe aside and counterattack with a two-handed slice to the Castle Armor's chest. On instinct, he followed through with Ace Move: Shunsen.

"What?!" Tyonis leapt back as the monster hefted its axe over its head and swung down. Against regular, evenly leveled monsters, that combo should have been enough to eliminate 70%HP. So why was the Lvl 20 Castle Armor's HP still above 65%?! The Samurai cursed as the second Castle Armor finally began to move. Tyonis could handle one, even with his defective damage, but two with a flanking bonus? He wasn't so sure of his odds.

Tyonis channeled mana into his empty hand and shot a blast of white light at the first Castle Armor. Holy Banishment erased a decent chunk of HP and sent it hurtling into the wall, knocking it down and briefly stunning it just as the second Castle Armor lunged forward to engage the Samurai. Thankfully, because of the disparity in Tyonis' and Franny's levels, the monsters auto-agroed him instead. If he had to use an AoE taunt, he'd risk drawing ALL the monsters in the hallway.

"I really hope Summoners have some kind of CC Franny!" Tyonis called out as the first Castle Armor began to pick itself off the ground. Once more, his attacks were repelled by the monster's armor, at best dealing half of his normal damage.

Level: 21 HP: 98% MP: 85%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: Ace Move: Go no Sen (15.5s), Ace Move: Shunsen (17.7s), Holy Banishment (8s)

Word Count: 502

Notes: Franny Stein

Two Lvl 20 Castle Armors agro the party!

Castle Armor #1: 45%HP

Castle Armor #2: 72%HP

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

Franny clicked her tongue at the turn of events, she would’ve thanked Tyonis for the save but frankly every second in this situation mattered if they wanted to establish the momentum of battle in their favor. Like a large stone, her friend had made a fantastically large splash and she wanted to make sure the effort wasn’t wasted. She quickly understood that she would be playing defense in this situation to protect her stronger ally’s gains on the battlefield… like a dam.

“We’re overextended Tyonis!”

Using her ability ‘Fireball Pitch’ to make a projectile, Franny batted it as hard as she could with her staff at the second armor’s shoulder to throw its swing off balance. The blast bought her friend a slight gap of breathing room.

This is where I put practice to purpose…

Taking a deep breath, Franny moved back 9 large paces at a jog before turning around to begin summoning further reinforcements. Allowing herself to look up, she surveyed the battlefield just in time to see her first skeleton get utterly shattered by a swipe from the recovering first suit of armor. Taking note, she ordered her second at a right angle to protect Tyonis’ flank.

I can’t allow us to bunch up, we’ll have to stay spread out but within an arm and a half’s reach, staggered, like a minefield.

“Tyonis, the armors are strong but their swings are slow, think of the skeletons like extra lives! Catch the enemy on the delay!”

She didn’t bother mentioning how rough this would be on her mana, but her race made sacrifices in vitality for just such a reason. If she was careful, Franny figured, she could last so long as she didn’t get hit. Franny was consumed in a red glow as her skin’s runes grew to a shimmer. She sent the three new arrivals forward in the assumed formation. By this point, Franny had managed to field four skeletons total. Frankly, it wasn’t an issue for Franny that her summons were being struck down so quickly, it was the maintenance of the things that was taxing.

“We can do this. If they think they can flank us, we’ll just repay the favor double. Let’s hit and run as they try to converge.”

Franny allowed herself a jovial laugh for morale’s sake.

“I think you forget Tyonis, when someone says ‘crowd control’ to me I’m going to assume something a little different!”

As her minions staggered in position, the whole situation began shaping up to look like a pinball table with Tyonis as the bumper. If they didn’t aggro on her forces she would use her skeletons to body block the enemy's progress until they changed their minds. Needless to say, Franny kept summoning because their lives depended on it.

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

Tyonis allowed himself a moment of respite as Franny's Fireball Pitch blasted aside the second Castle Armor's next attack and reset its auto-attacking patterns. He suppressed a curse when her spell did comparable damage to his own attacks. So they were Resistant to Physical Damage?

With that in mind, Tyonis leapt back to gain more distance. As he did, the Samurai lashed out, hacking a bit of the monster's HP as he retreated. Franny was right - the Castle Armor's attacks were slow. The first wielded a greataxe and the second a greatsword - both dealt high damage but were easily dodged. Once he tempered his emotions and controlled the rush of adrenaline, the Samurai began a game of dodgeball with the second Castle Armor. He ducked and rolled, doing his best not to give ground and push Franny further into the hall, lest she auto-agro another monster. In between his evasive maneuvers, Tyonis' struck, slowly cleaving away at the Castle Armor #2's HP bar.

Meanwhile, the Samurai kept the first Castle Armor in his peripheral vision. Franny's Skeletons did their job at delaying it and keeping it from flanking him, but one by one, they were crushed under the it's axe. Even so, she kept summoning more and more to buy him more time.

'Remember, Steven fighting to protect another is both a blessing and a curse.
It will motivate you and drive you to do the impossible.
But, should you fall, you not only forfeit your life, but the lives of all those depending on you.'

Tyonis' expression turned feral as his focus climaxed. Rather than subconsciously suppress his Fox Tail features like he always did, he devoted every inch of his psyche to defeating the enemies before him.

Castle Armor #2 swung down, intending to vertically bisect the Samurai. In response, Tyonis gripped his longsword with both hands and spun, striking the flat of the greatsword as hard as he could. The room quaked from the brutal impact as he Parried the blow, deflecting it a few inches to his right.

With the greatsword lodged in the Hall's floorboards, Tyonis ran up its length, "Sword," leapt, "Rain," and "FLURRY," thrust his sword seven times into the second Castle Armor's helm. On the fourth, the armor protecting its skull shattered. Three more thrusts erased what remained of its HP bar with a mix of critical hits boosted by a Weakness debuff.

Even as his feet touched the ground, his off-hand was glowing white.

"Holy Banishment!" He roared just as the first Castle Armor finished off the last of Franny's Skeletons. The Light elemental spell blasted the monster back once more, sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Arr...AHHHHH!" Tyonis charged and jumped as high as he could. As he came down, he switched the grip on his longsword and plunged it into the same spot his two Skills first hit, smashing through the monster's defenses and killing it simultaneously.

Level: 21 HP: 80% MP: 60%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: Ace Move: Go no Sen (5.5s), Ace Move: Shunsen (7.7s), Sword Rain Flurry (7.9s), Parry (2.2s), Holy Banishment (9.5s)

Word Count: 489

Notes: The Castle Armors are vanquished!

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

Franny whistled an impressed tone as a means of congratulating her party member, they’d made good work of some bad odds. Her smile was genuine, but gradually evaporated as she pulled herself back into a reserved demeanor with a slight cough to cover her embarrassment.

Taking note of her mana, she sighed. She had 1/4th of her bar left and was honestly glad it was over.

“Hey. Let’s take a breather, I’m near shot, and well frankly you look like you could use it more than me.”

Franny waved him over gently as she plopped lightly on onto the carpeted floor.

“See? Safe.” She grinned an honest but tired smile.

Settling in, she patted the fluffy carpet. “Here boy.”

Taking a deep breath so her chest puffed up, she let it out slowly through her slightly open mouth like one might do at a Doctor’s Office. Her eyes were closed as if in contemplation. It was at this moment Franny realized that she really didn’t know anything about Tyonis now or anywhere before this entire fiasco with the game. Franny really didn’t mind. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t care but rather that it seemed to her that it almost didn’t matter. Still, there were so many little things that she could’ve wondered about, his age, for instance. Franny considered the fact it was likely that she was older than him, maybe even a lot older, not that she looked it.  She had almost forgotten her situation. That idea sat deep in the pit of her stomach and made her question the priorities of her new reality. Until this moment, she realized, she had only been trying to survive.

When do we get to go home? The real home. Franny thought wearily, people adapt so quickly and without any leads it almost seems taboo to mention the fact that we’re trapped here in this world. People just won’t talk about it anymore. We just do our best. Like now. I was clever this time, but really, I’m the weak link in this equation. I’m going to have to have to get stronger if I’m ever going to lighten his load.

Franny noticed that she had been staring at Tyonis’ sword and quickly looked past him.

“You take fighting personally. I can respect that…”

Franny paused. This was her business language, she had lapsed into speaking like a teacher might toward a student. It was a tone of voice that she hadn’t used in weeks. The 'concerned professor voice'... I guess this me is still me. Franny started to giggle, her form was too small for the kind chuckle she was going for. It was such a tacky sentiment, so obvious and yet somehow profound. Wiping a tear from her eye she sized Tyonis up, no matter who or what, at this point in time they were equals, partners. That was the scenario. She checked her voice as a means of showing respect. Again, she worked to sound casual:

“Sorry, old habits die hard."

The girl smiled from the heart, tense, and a bit awkward. Her red eyes seemed to sharpen however as she continued:

"Though I guess it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t concerned. Seriously, are you alright?”

[Tyonis]

Power perceived is power achieved!

-Tyonis [Samurai]

Even as the Castle Armor's body evaporated beneath his feet, Tyonis remained rooted in place for quite some time as he desperately tried to reign in the sudden influx of mental stress. He was panting heavily, not from any real physical exertion, since an Adventurer's body never truly tired. No, it was the immense psychological strain of barely surviving a battle. Like how a wounded soldier would be abruptly assaulted by a tidal wave of mental and physical pain shortly following combat. Although his body bore no wounds, the pain he felt as the Castle Armors hacked away at his HP was real. His free hand went to his jaw as he recalled a particularly vicious punch that should have torn it clean off.

When he finally regained his composure, Tyonis heard someone calling him over. He craned his head in the voice's direction as the adrenaline-filled haze clouding his senses began to clear. He came to her, instinctively sheathing his sword as he approached. Just before he sat, he unfastened it from his back and opted to hold it in his lap, placing his back against Franny's so that the small girl could rest rest easier. Naturally, he made sure to position himself between the Summoner and the remaining monsters in the room. He was thankful for the fact that it was just a hallway. All of the potential dangers were within his line of sight. With his weapon replaced on his lap, it could be easily drawn in case of a surprise attack.

He looked over his shoulder, a brow raised at Franny's mature tone of voice. For that one moment, she sounded much older than her avatar had led him to believe. But rather than intrude on her privacy, he decided to let his curiosity pass.

"Old habits..?" He caught onto her sudden change in topic. "It's the exact opposite for me," he replied, his voice distant. "I was told to never be afraid to sacrifice everything you are for something you can become. So I'm trying to throw away anything and everything from the old world. But this game - Elder Tale... this power. It's intoxicating sometimes."

He held out his hand up to the ceiling and stared at it, like it was some kind of magic item - some holy grail. Franny's question of his health drew him out of his reverie.

"Yeah. Still getting used to fighting for my life on a daily basis, I guess."

Level: 21 HP: 85% MP: 73%

Status Effects: None

Skills Used: None

Word Count: 336

Notes: Some heart-to-heart as their HP/MP regen.

Made by Zirnitra of Elder Tale

[Franny Stein]

Franny leaned to bump the back of her head against Tyonis’ as a means of showing a simple reassuring tenderness, but her height failed her and she instead landed squarely between his shoulder blades. Eying the ceiling, it all seemed to her so very far away.

“You can have anything in this world just so long as you are willing to sacrifice everything else…”

Franny exhaled.

“Yes, I’ve heard something similar. Though such a phrase always seemed to me as much cautionary as inspiring. Call me greedy, but these days, I’d much rather have my cake and eat it too.”

Slowly, she shook her head, rocking it against Tyonis as if to scratch some itch.

“Intoxicating is a good word, it’s like the isle of the lotus eaters, as if we’re caught in some very long dream. One of which I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever wake up.”

Leaning to her right, Franny slowly fell and sprawled out to the samurai’s side. She was laying on her back now sharing Tyonis’ view down the hall through her bangs. She folded her hands on her stomach. Her Dad liked to lay like this.

Likes, she corrected herself. She shouldn’t think of home as past tense.

“You’re right though, nothing much to do but grow stronger, eh?”

She sighed, there was indeed a long road ahead though right now, she felt she might not mind. She had started this whole thing to travel after all. I should try to stay positive.

“Just remember these arrogant empty words from a friend, I don’t know any healthy tree that’s ever outgrown its roots.”

Franny laughed.

“Look now, you’ve got me sounding tacky, as if we were off to destroy some ring.”

Sitting up Franny swung around so that she was sitting side by side with Tyonis, staring down the hallway. She scribbled in mystic code on the ground, their names and a date, reading it out loud for the samurai’s benefit. “See? We’ve left our mark. Let’s leave it at that, nobody’s gonna disappear.”