Finding resolve [Solo]

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Icyferno breathed a sigh of relief as he entered a small clearing in the forest. Today was the start of another day in this strange world. At first, he had left the city so as to avoid hearing the wails and cries of fearful players. Closing his eyes, he stopped for a moment and said aloud, "Battle Perception!". Opening his eyes, he realized he had once again successfully activated «Battle Perception». He had been practicing using his 『Pathfinder』 skill without actually accessing it through the in-game menu for the most part of his trip in the forest.

After he had used it several times through the in-game menu, he realized that it would be too impractical for use if he had to dual wield in order to prepare for any threat. Thus, he began practicing how to activate it without using the menu. He found out that the easiest way to do this was he close his eyes, focus and speak aloud the name of the skill he wanted to use. Briefly, he wondered if this were applicable to his other available skills, but he put that aside for the moment.

With his increased vision range, he could see a little further in the undergrowth of the forest. At the corner of his vision, he could see the status bars of a boar and a few rabbits. He then sat down against a tree next to the small clearing, taking in the fresh air of the forest. It all seemed so real, yet so surreal at the same time... How many places like this were left on Earth? Yet in this strange land which was similar to the game Elder Tale, it seemed that there were plenty of places for wildlife to live.

Stretching himself, he noticed that the forest was a lot more peaceful than the town. In fact, since it was nobody's property, he should be allowed to rest here, right? Of course, there was a risk of being killed by other players in his sleep, but there were fewer players out here at the moment, so he should be fine if he only took a short rest.

The first day of the apocalypse had been hectic, with people either suffering from mental breakdowns or eagerly rushing to make parties to hunt. He would join them, but he wasn't really a sociable person, and besides, on the first day they didn't know if they could even revive at all. After the first few deaths caused by players fighting in the town, he saw the same players walking out of a nearby abbey, revived. This allowed those creating parties to convince people to leave the safety of town and start leveling up. He knew he had to work hard in order to keep up, but in reality, he wasn't a hardworking person, so naturally, he would slack off at some point. In fact, he had been avoiding fights all this time, unsure of his ability to dual wield. In the real world, dual wielding was impractical as it was difficult to manipulate two swords. It would be even more difficult for him, a complete sword novice, to be able to utilize them, although he had heard people say that their bodies seem to be strangely accustomed to fighting.

Shaking his head to clear it of thought, he toggled his increased vision off, then closed his eyes and drifted off into a short rest.

~

Word count: 574
Total word count (Pathfinder): 574
Notes: Grinding pathfinder in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Icyferno was woken by a heavy breathing down his chest. Opening his blurry eyes, his vision was filled by a small boar sitting on his chest examining him curiously. "Waaah!" he exclaimed as he twisted to the side in an attempt to shake it off. The boar lightly hopped off of him, landing in front of him and regarded him once again. Standing up, he drew both of his long swords and crossed them.

The boar's expression quickly changed from curious to hatred. It snorted angrily and pawed the ground with it's foreleg, narrowing its eyes at him. It lunged at him quickly, causing him to step back to dodge instinctively, only to slam his back against the tree he had resting on moments before. The boar easily slipped past his guard and slammed into Icyferno, his leather armor dulling the pain the boar's head ramming into him ever so slightly. He grunted in pain as the boar leapt back from him to prepare for another assault.

Stealing a quick glance at his status, he realized he had lost about 17% of his HP. The boar that attacked him was a level 3 «Young Pittered Boar», which meant that it was slightly stronger than him. He tightened his grip on his swords, crossing them in front of him. He mentally recalled the swashbuckler still he had picked, Fold Step. It allows him to move in one direction quickly although he couldn't change trajectory. Despite having a lower offensive capability, he chose that skill because it had evasive and tactical capabilities. Evasively, he could avoid this boar's charge. Tactically, he could jump further and reach one of the sturdy branches on a tree. Offensively, it could be used to increase the thrusting power of his swords.

An angry snort brought him back to reality, and he realized the boar had already began charging at him. Bending his knees slightly, he waited till the last moment before twisting to the side, using the sword in his left hand to alter the boar's course slightly to minimize the damage dealt to him while striking at its exposed side with the sword in his right. The boar let out a sharp squeal of pain as Icyferno's blade dug into its hide, but it could not stop its charge so it trotted forward for a meter or so before stopping and turned around.

In the meantime, Icyferno couldn't believe he had just done that. Sure, he had expected his blade to be covered with the blood of the boar, but the fact that he had injured the young boar, which was only passing by and had meant him no harm, somehow made him feel guilty. He didn't know for sure whether or not the boar would have attacked him had he not drew his weapons. He wasn't really defending himself, he has deliberately started the fight with the boar. To many, it may seem like just a game. In fact, he was inclined to agree with them. However, the reality of the situation set in. The boar was limping slightly from the wound he had dealt it, having lost about 10% of its HP. He would like to stop and ponder whether what he was doing was right or wrong, but there was no time for that as the boar charged at him once again, its angry eyes almost glowing red in the evening light.

Imagining how the skill Fold Step was used, he bent his body forward slightly, as if he were about to take a step. Surprisingly, without even saying the skill name out loud, he felt his body moving naturally, speeding past the charging boar and stopping just a short distance away. The boar squealed in surprise, obviously caught unaware. Quickly estimating the distance he had travelled horizontally, he twisted out of the way again as the boar made another attempt to mow him down.

He waited until his skill cooldown was completed, then backed away from the boar. Just as the boar was about to charge again, he activated his skill, disappearing from the boar's vision as he appeared right behind it. It squealed in confusion for a brief moment before it let out another squeal, this time one of pain, as both of Icyferno's blades crashed one after another into the hide of the boar. The boar's HP went down by a respectable amount, possibly around 20%, leaving the boar with about 70% more HP to go. He followed up with a quick jab, but his blade was narrowly avoided by the boar, who slammed into him again, knocking him off-balance. As he fell to the ground, the boar stepped on his chest and glared at him face to face.

For a brief moment, he saw the boar's eyes clearly. He felt the boar's pain, its anger and its confusion at what was going on. Reactively, he swung the blade in his left hand, the blade digging deep into the flesh of the boar. It squealed in pain once more and leapt off of him, the moment lost to the wind.

Icyferno leapt back to his feet, crossing his swords once more in front of him. His stance appeared more natural than the first time he did it, but internally his mind was a wreck. Why was he doing this? For the sake of gaining strength? If so, what strength was there is taking the life of another being who feels and experiences just like him?

Both of them charged at each other, human and boar. Icyferno activated his Fold Step and quickly closed the distance between him and boar, thrusting his left blade into the boar's surprised face. He twisted to the right and pulled out the blade before hitting the boar's side with both blades. The boar's squeals of pain resounded loudly through the air as each strike landed home. Icyferno made some distance between them before checking the status of the boar.

The boar had about 25% of its HP remaining, while he had about 70% of his. The boar was tethering on its legs, the pain from the wounds inflicted across its body causing it to be unable to stand firm. His blade had cut deep into the boar's face. The boar could barely eye him menacingly anymore as it's blood flowed freely down its face. It appeared to be whimpering now rather than raring to fight, as it had stopped charging. Stepping forward, Icyferno said unsteadily, "Everything is going to be all right, I'll… I'll end your misery right now."

The boar didn't even glance at him as he stood over it, the strength in its legs long gone as it curled up on the ground, blood flowing freely onto the ground from all the wounds in its body. With one last look at the boar's pain-filled face. He ended its suffering by stabbing both of his blades into the boar's hide where he thought the heart was. After a brief moment, the boar's HP was completely depleted. It gave him one final, scared look as it burst into loot, a far cry from the curious look it gave him when they first met and the ferocious look it had in combat.

He stepped away the place where the boar took its last breath, staring up into the evening sky. For what reason did he fight in this world? Sheathing his blades, he turned his back on the boar's final resting place as he left the clearing. He may not have the answer today, but one day, he swore he would do so. In the meantime, he will get stronger until he finds that answer.

~

Word count: 1279
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 1279
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Panting slightly from his exertion, Icyferno stopped for a break. After his first fight with a boar, he had left the clearing and headed for the direction of the town, his 『Pathfinder』 proving useful now as he was able to recognize the landscape around him, allowing him to take the same route he took when he first entered the forest. His encounter with the boar had allowed him to level up some, although he knew it was far from enough. He knew that the level cap in the game was a hundred so he still had a long way to go.

Glancing around him, he saw that it was already dark. The boars and rabbits which were going about their daily business at the edge of his increased vision had all probably went back to their respective homes. That's a sign that I should get moving too, he thought as he continued walking again. He had returned to the main road now, so all he had to do was travel back in the direction of the town and he would be there before he knew it. The last major landmark would be that river flowing out of the forest to follow the beaten the path for a while before twisting away into unknown regions.

As he was about to reach the end of the forest, however, he stopped as two new status bars filled his vision. He realized that both status bars belong to two level 3 «Dull Green Slimes», which were blocking his path and preventing him from reaching the safety of the town walls. Grimacing at the thought of another battle so soon after his first, he was at least thankful of the fact that the slimes did not possess faces, nor would they be likely to shed blood as the boars do. They were still out of range for now, so Icyferno quickly looked around to make sure there were no other slimes nearby. Two he could handle, but he doubted he could handle any more than that as he only had around 85% of his HP currently and he did not know how slimes fight up close. Apart from one last boar in the forest probably retiring for the night, there were no other mobs near him, so he edged slowly over to the slimes which were happily oblivious to their fate.

Just as he was about to reach within range of the slimes to perform a fold step, he noticed the status bar of another slime. Crouching low behind a bush, as though that would help him, he held his breath as he willed the slime to move away. Fortunately for him, one of the slimes he was eying slid back into the murky depths of the river while he was focused on the new arrival, so he was still down to two slimes. He breathed a sigh of relief, and prepared to engage them.

~

Word count: 490
Total word count (Pathfinder): 574 + 490 = 1064
Notes: Grinding pathfinder in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Drawing his swords, he approached one of the slimes as stealthily as he could. The other slime was still a distance off, so he should beat this one first in case the slime that slid away decided to come back. Rising from his hiding spot, he activated Fold Step, using his momentum to stab his blade into the unsuspecting slime.

It landed with a soft squish, and Icyferno felt the blade slow considerably as his sword penetrated the slime's membrane. The slime's HP dropped by about 20%, a fair bit more than the amount of damage he dealt to the boar, although he suppose it was because he was slightly stronger from that encounter. He twisted and swung his second blade into the slime and attempted to pull his first blade free. However, his blade appeared to be stuck as he struggled to pull it out of the goo of the slime. Meanwhile, the slime wasted no time in retaliating. Something resembling a fist formed in front of the slime, which promptly slammed into him, pushing him backwards and fortunately allowing him to free both of his blades.

Before he could recover, the slime reared back and launched another gooey fist at him. He managed to avoid it by rolling, then he quickly countered by severing the goo from the slime. The goo fell to the floor, dissolving into the ground.

Turning back to the slime, he twisted and swung both blades from the side, letting them sink into the slime. It thrashed wildly, smashing a few fists into Icyferno, but his blades remained trapped in the slime and before long, the slime ran out of HP and burst into loot. Checking his HP, he realized he had about 60% left, which meant that for his battle with the second slime, he had to be more careful.

Fortunately, as he turned to look around at his surroundings, he could see no sign of the slime which had left returning, and the slime he was targeting was still a ways off. Looking down the road, he realized he could make a run for it, but he decided against it. He felt that if he ran now, he would be proving that he was unable to beat even a slime. Raising both swords in front of him, he waited for the slime to enter the range of Fold Step.

~

Word count: 397
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 1279 + 397 = 1676
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post. Writing a lot less because I'm going to maximize my post count from now on. :D

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

It wasn't long before the slime slid into range, probably attracted to the presence of an enemy. Icyferno propelled himself towards the slime, both swords thrust out in front of him. This slime, however, reacted to his charge. Fortunately, the slime was unable to completely dodge in time, his left sword stabbing deeply into the slime while his right sword missed it completely. The slime instantly retaliated with a gooey punch to his side.

He grunted in pain but shrugged off the blow, twisting to his right to slash at the slime while freeing the sword he held in his left hand by using the momentum of the turn. Continuing the flow of the motion, he pushed the freed blade into the slime. He had expected he would win with just that, but the slime punched him off with another goo fist and was left with about 10% of its HP. The slime lunged for him, and in an instant, Icyferno rushed through the slime with Fold Step and ended the battle.

Panting for a moment to catch his breath, Icyferno stood there for a moment. Just as he was about to turn around and head back to town, he was slammed from behind and knocked to the ground. Glancing behind him, he cursed as he saw another «Dull Green Slime» behind him, almost invisible until it rose out of the murky depths of the river. It was probably the one that had slid away, coming back to attack him since he may not have left its aggro range.

Casting a quick glance at his HP, he saw that it was already under half, but he knew he would have difficulty running at this range and he didn't bring any potions with him. Bracing himself for combat, he charged at the slime, hacking in a frenzy while taking blows until it was defeated.

Taking in a quick glance of his surroundings, he saw no further threat and with a sigh of relief, he headed back to the town for the day.

~

Word count: 341
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 1279 + 397 + 341 = 2017
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

It has barely been less than a day since Icyferno last stepped into the forest; in fact, he had returned the morning after. One might ask why he hadn't partied up with anybody else. It was not that they were weak; everyone could be considered equal since they had all roughly started at the same time. It was actually because he didn't know who he could trust. Since death was no longer the end, players would be more likely to kill each other for their own selfish purposes.

That being said, Icyferno didn't really know why he wanted to be strong, although it could be said that he wanted to grow stronger because he knew that nothing would happen if he didn't explore and he couldn't explore without being strong. Thus, he had returned to this forest to continue training by himself. While he hadn't been able to replace his equipment with stronger ones, his level had increased slightly and he had unlocked a new skill slot, which he filled with the skill «Dart-Tack Target». The reason he had chosen it over other skills was largely because of the ability to hit multiple times. If he can get a few enchantments on his weapons or add poison onto his weapons, the effect would be devastating.

A cursory glance towards the forest revealed two level four «Young Pittered Boar» in the bushes, probably reacting to him as he had his swords drawn as he entered the forest. Looking about him, he realized that he was caught in the middle of the forest, meaning that he would have to fight at close quarters in the bushes. It would also be more difficult for him to use «Fold Step» effectively as there were too many obstructions.

Slowly backing away, he heard a boar grunt behind him and he instinctively swung around, lashing out with one of his swords. It struck another boar that had been behind him and was probably about to attack. Acting quickly, he used «Dart-Tack Target» on the boar, quickly bringing its HP down to about a quarter, his blade making multiple cuts across the boar's body in a flash. Before he could finish it off, however, he was slammed from behind. Cursing his negligence, he activated «Fold Step» and leaped up to catch one of the lower branches of a tree. He tried to swing himself up, but found that it was too hard to do so while holding a sword.

Fortunately, after some effort on his part, he was able to painstakingly climb up the branch. Looking below him, he could see all three boars looking up at him from the ground and attempting to leap up after him, but they lacked the strength to do so. They growled and bared their teeth, but otherwise couldn't do much.

On the other hand, Icyferno realized that the branch he was on was not very thick and was probably barely holding his weight. He realized that he couldn't stay there, but it was too risky to use «Fold Step» again to reach another branch. Besides, if he went any higher he might suffer fall damage and possibly break his leg, in which case he would be a sitting duck for these boars.

~

Word count: 542
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post. Word count has been reset as Swashbuckler AP was claimed.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Just as he was about to make up his mind and jump down to face the boars, the branch he was standing on was unable to hold his weight any longer and broke under him. In any game, such an event would simply cause the player to drop down, possibly receiving fall damage if the character was too far up. However, in reality, Icyferno watched as the ground rushed up to meet him, the boars almost grinning evilly. In mid-air, he managed to lash out with his blades, performing another «Dart-Tack Target» on one of the boars. Fortunately, it was the one he had attacked earlier, thus its HP ran out and it collapsed, dead.

Landing lightly on his feet, his feeling of victory was short-lived as he was rammed from behind again. Instead of relying on his skills to attack this time, Icyferno suddenly decided to go on the offensive with only attacks. This was one of those times he was glad that his body was able to dual wield naturally, allowing him to swing his swords in unison at a decent speed without breaking his combo. In a flurry of strikes, he was able to cut down the other boar's HP while ignoring the attacks of the other boar and ended its life with a «Fold Step» to boost his thrust.

Jumping back from the last remaining boar, he chanced a quick glance at his HP to find that he still had a decent amount, probably under three quarters left. His skills were all on cooldown, and in this enclosed space he was almost at a disadvantage, save for the fact that the enemy probably runs on a predictable AI and had a lot less HP than him, so he would win the war of attrition if it comes down to it. If there were more of them, however, things might have turned out different. I should keep some potions on me, since I can supposedly make them with my pharmacist skill.

~

Word count: 334
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 = 876
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

The boar lunged at him, attempting to ram him down just as it usually does. The attack itself was not strong, after all it had yet to grow tusks, but what was truly terrifying was the boar's appearance as it charged at him. Despite fighting a few of them and gaining resolve to grow stronger, Icyferno had yet to get used to fighting monsters up close. If I knew this was going to happen I would've chosen a mage class. At least I won't have to fight at the front lines, he thought as he crossed both swords in a defensive posture.

The boar smashed itself against the swords, allowing Icyferno to take reduced damage from it. He then slashed in a cross, cutting the boar twice. Without giving it a moment to rest, he lunged with the sword in his right raised, ready for a lunge. Unfortunately, as he was still unused to fighting, he missed the opponent's hide by a small margin. The boar was able to recover as it landed on the ground and was in a perfect position to exploit his open defenses.

It headbutted him again, this time smashing into his chest painfully. The wind was knocked out of him as he was knocked off balance. If he were to compare this to something in the real world, he would guess that it was how people felt when they were tackled by a guard dog. After landing its hit, the boar had gracefully landed back on its feet. A quick glance told him that the boar had only lost about a third of its HP, while he had pretty much only half of his left. Attempting to surprise the boar, he charged forward with «Fold Step», but he missed yet again. Frustrated, he launched «Dart-Tack Target» at it, finally scoring a few hits and bring its HP down into the red zone.

It might still be frightening to fight up close as compared to fighting behind a monitor, but I can do this! That was what he thought as a few swift cuts ended the last boar. Once it was over, he quickly began looting the boars, taking care to examine his surroundings for any further threats.

~

Word count: 372
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 + 372 = 1248
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Hurt / Tired

~

No sooner had Icyferno finished up with the boars did he notice a new presence nearby. Trying to be as stealthy as possible, he quietly slipped into the bushes, trying not to make the leaves rustle too much. When he closely examined the status of the new presence, he discovered it was not another «Young Pittered Boar», rather it was a level 7 «Pittered Boar». He noticed that unlike its younger and weaker counterpart, this boar, which appears to be a fully grown adult, had sharp, grey tusks.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to fight this opponent or not. Sure, it might be around the same level as him, but he wasn't in great shape after the encounter with the three young boars and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face this new, stronger threat. While he had the fortune to realize that it was impractical to use skills in the middle of a fight through the menu so he trained to use them only through voice commands, which seemed to be working.

Deciding to leave that boar alone, Icyferno let himself enjoy the forest breeze. The smell of the forest, the crisp freshness of the air, it was impossible to obtain in the real world. For a brief moment, Icyferno wondered whether life in the real world would have been better. Sure, he was more comfortable there, but in this world, they had more freedom. Besides, it wasn't like he knew what he was going to become in the future, unlike some of the other students who had an ambition to fulfill.

Arriving at another clearing, Icyferno leaned against a tree, lost in thought. He wondered what was happening in the real world now. Was it frozen in time? Were copies of them created so they would not be missed? Were there thousands of missing reports filed as every person playing Elder Tales vanished? Were they all in a coma right now? Despite the multitude of questions one could ask on the subject, Icyferno knew that there would be no answer. He wasn't even sure if they could leave this world and return to their own, assuming they had actually left their own world somehow.

~

Word count: 369
Total word count (Pathfinder): 369
Notes: Grinding pathfinder in this post. Word count has been reset as Pathfinder AP has been claimed.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Tired

~

Suddenly, he noticed another presence in his vision. It was the same «Pittered Boar» he had spotted earlier on. It almost seemed to be following him. Checking his status, he saw that he had regained some of his HP, so now he had about 65% of it. Well, it doesn't seem like it's going to stop following me, so I might as well attempt to fight it, he thought.

Once again, he used «Fold Step» to leap onto a nearby tree's branches, although he had the luxury of time this time round so he was able to find a more sturdy branch. Perched on his branch, he scanned his surroundings. Apart from the boar that was apparently chasing him, there were a few rabbits some distance away from the clearing, not that he was too concerned. If they were anything like real rabbits, then it wouldn't be surprising if they ran from an attack unless they were cornered. Thus, he felt that they posed no danger to him as of now. Jumping down from his perch, he landed hard on the ground. I should get some jumping practice in sometime, he thought. While he hadn't received fall damage because the branch he chose was quite low, jumping off a branch over two meters high was still quite scary to him nonetheless. He made a mental note to get more practice in at another time in order to prevent him from flinching when it counts.

Positioning himself at one end of the clearing, Icyferno drew his swords and held them in front of him, both swords tilted towards each other. The boar emerged from the bushes at the other end of the clearing, snorting as it stamped the ground with its fore paw a few times. For a brief moment, he wondered if the young boars he killed belonged to this boar, although he probably wouldn't be able to confirm that.

He did a quick final check, ensuring that the rabbits were the only other mobs around this area. Fortunately, that remained the same, so he hoped it would stay that way as he fought off this boar. Sliding his right foot back, he bent his frame ever so slightly and shifted his left sword forward as he waited for the angry boar to attack him first.

~

Word count: 386
Total word count (Pathfinder): 369 + 386 = 755
Notes: Grinding pathfinder in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Tired

~

The «Pittered Boar», like its younger counterpart, started off combat with a snort and a charge. Unlike its young, it had tusks, so getting hit by this boar was obviously more dangerous. Icyferno waited until the last moment before he jumped aside, raking the boar's side once as it passed. It squealed in pain, but recovered quickly and slammed its forelegs in front of it, suddenly going in reverse. He shouted in surprise as he blocked its hind legs with his swords. Raising his left sword as a guard, he quickly performed «Dart-Tack Target» on the boar, scoring a few bloody lines across it. Fortunately, it was larger than the young boars so it was a little easier to hit them although they were all very agile nonetheless.

Leaping back to avoid having his defenses broken through, Icyferno stole a quick glance at the boar's remaining HP and was disappointed to find out that he hadn't done a lot of damage to the boar. On the contrary, the boar's tusks looked sharp and he felt that he couldn't possibly take more than a few hits from it. Once again, he was reminded of the stark reality that it was harder to face monsters in real life than it was behind a monitor. However, he was slowly getting accustomed to fighting monsters face to face, even if he didn't want to admit it. Apart from getting experience points to level up his character, he was also gaining real life combat experience which could always be helpful. Especially if I ever have to fight other players, he thought grimly.

With the concept of death gone, PKs have become more popular. In the past, one could report to the game masters if someone consistently kills them, after which the offender will have his account banned. However, now these player killers were free to roam the streets as they please, bullying those who aren't with them. That being said, most of the players are around the same level, so the situation hasn't escalated yet, but in a few months' time, if the players in the square don't get their act together and train, he didn't know what would happen to them.

Shaking his head clear of thoughts, he was just in time to block a straight charge from the boar. Damn, I shouldn't be thinking of other things while I'm in battle. Bursting forward, he went on the offensive and began hacking away at the boar. However, due to his inferior equipment, he was barely dealing any damage despite being on almost the same level.

The boar leaped back after taking a few hits, snarling at him as it stood in the swaying grass. Without giving it any time to recover, Icyferno tried to press his assault, but he realized a moment too late that the boar was waiting for him to attack. It quickly darted to his exposed side, and he was barely able to get one sword up before it slammed into it, its tusks frighteningly close to his body. Stepping back to gain some distance between them, Icyferno was thankful that he had barely managed to avoid taking massive damage from that.

~

Word count: 531
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 + 372 + 531 = 1779
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Weakened

~

Here goes, he thought. In real life, he had never actually attempted feinting with a sword before. Fortunately for him, his opponent was a foolhardy boar so he hoped it would work. He lashed out with his left sword, swinging wide and coercing the boar towards him. It worked as the boar skillfully dodged the blade by a hair's breadth and got in close, hoping to bypass his defenses. However, it only saw the tip of his other sword as he performed another «Dart-Tack Target» on it, this time scoring every hit on the boar due to the close range.

The boar, however, was unfazed by the attacks, continuing its charge despite the rain of stabs. It was able to slam into him, his weak leather armor doing little to stop the sharp tusks of the boar. Grunting in pain, Icyferno swatted the boar aside with his swords and quickly checked his HP, realizing that he had probably lost a considerable amount of HP.

So much for trying to feint, he thought, disappointed with his attempt. He was down to about half of his health, while the boar had around 60% remaining. He wouldn't give the boar any time to recover. If he did, the boar could possibly go on the offensive immediately and take him out. Despite knowing that he would revive at the cathedral if he died, Icyferno was still afraid of death. Being revived didn't make dying any easier, any less painful.

He closed the distance he had made with «Fold Step», swinging both of his swords inward in a cross pattern. The boar was unable to dodge both attacks as his momentum kept him moving forward, thus it couldn't retreat, nor could it dodge to the side. After the attack had landed, Icyferno broke into a flurry of strikes, his blades fluidly working together to attack the boar. The boar managed to get another hit in, causing Icyferno to stumble. With that, the boar began its counterattack.

Twisting its body so that its rear faced him, the boar launched attack after attack with its hind legs. Without a shield, Icyferno could only rely on his dodge to save him. In a short lapse of attacks, he found an opening and struck again, attempting to cut down the boar once and for all. However, the boar still had too much HP remaining, thus when it back flipped and faced him again, it still had a sliver of health left.

Fortunately, the cool down for «Dart-Tack Target» was completed, so he made some distance between himself and the boar and patiently waited for it to charge at him. The boar, on the other hand, sensed that it was a trap but felt that it could do nothing about it, it's thoughts focused solely on destroying the human before it. Thus, the boar charged headlong into Icyferno, only to be met with a cold, hard blade as its life ended, its corpse tumbling past Icyferno. Breathing a sigh of relief now that it was finally over, Icyferno sheathed his blades and looked up at the sky. It was still late morning, so although he was tempted to stop for lunch, he decided he should rest up and continue fighting later in the day. With a plan in mind, he lay back on the grass and closed his eyes, letting a gentle breeze put him to sleep.

~

Word count: 567
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 + 372 + 531 + 567 = 2346
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Icyferno awoke, thankfully not to the sounds of something breathing down his neck, but to the birds chirping in the sky. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked around him. Surprisingly, he realized that it was almost evening, the sun already giving the forest a reddish hue. Cursing himself for sleeping for too long, yet thankful that he was not disturbed by any mob, he stood up and stretched quickly. He checked his status and was pleased to find that his HP and MP were fully restored along with his energy. He had noticed that when he got tired in this world, he would recover quickly in a short period of time. He wasn't sure if it would take longer to get tired as he leveled up, although he suspected that to be the case.

He trekked through the forest carefully, using his «Battle Perception» to avoid monsters. While he was in a good condition to fight them, visibility was getting poor and he didn't have the necessary equipment to set up a tent and camp in the forest throughout the night. If he was trapped in the forest during the night without even a torch to light his way, it would take a lot of luck and skill in order to find his way home.

Just then, two new statuses appeared in his vision. These belonged to two players, a Guardian and a Cleric. Both of them were level two and were probably grinding in the same area.

~

Word count: 251
Total word count (Pathfinder): 369 + 386 + 251 = 1006
Notes: Grinding pathfinder in this post. Going to throw in his first PK incident before I claim everything. Obviously, the guardian chose Anchor Howl as his/her first skill and the Cleric chose Heal as his/her first skill. (Yes, I haven't decided on their gender yet)

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Sighing in relief, Icyferno quickly decided to skirt around them. He didn't want to interrupt their training and he was sure they didn't want to be interrupted either way. However, he decided to take a peek at them as he wanted to find out if there were players who had already managed to purchase equipment to camp outside. As he moved closer, he realized there were two more people nearby, a Samurai and a Bard. Well, this doesn't seem like a pretty unbalanced team, he thought. The tanks could be healed by the Cleric while the Bard increased their offensive capabilities.

A few things happened at once. Firstly, Icyferno realized that the Samurai and the Bard barely had a sliver of HP left. The Cleric, naturally, had full health, while the Guardian had about a third remaining. Secondly, there were no mobs around, yet they were in combat. Lastly, a strangled cry pierced the evening air as the Samurai was killed. Drawing both of his swords, he dashed towards them. He knew it was dangerous, as he was up against humans, not monsters, this time. He didn't even know who was the player killer, he just hoped he would find out when he get there.

As he burst through the thick undergrowth and surprisingly out of the forest, he saw three players locked in combat. As he looked on, a huge Guardian thrust his blade into the Bard and laughed maniacally as the Bard died and dropped some stuff. "Hah! Those losers only had so little gold." Those words were spoken by the Guardian, who turned to the Cleric to continue talking. Unfortunately, that action allowed him to see Icyferno with both swords drawn and held in both hands. "Well well well, looks like those weaklings had another friend. Leave all your valuables behind and we won't hurt you." The Guardian carried an air of arrogance, his face contorted with glee at the prospect of another prey.

Icyferno examined the situation quickly. Both of them had just reached level three, thus they were still at a lower level than him. The Cleric had probably expended quite a bit of MP in the fight against the two players just now and the Guardian didn't have a lot of HP left. On the other hand, he hadn't been in any fights ever since he woke up earlier so he was in a much better position that them.

Just then, the Guardian noticed his level. "So you think you can fight us just because your level is higher than ours? Think again!" The Guardian tapped his shield arm proudly against his chest. Icyferno noticed that it was different from the starter plate mail, this one having a more dusty appearance with black markings on his shoulder. It was different from the ones sold by the People of the Land so it should have been crafted by another player. Even if it was crafted, his level is still low so it probably can't help him too much. "Hey, why are you keeping quiet? Thinking of giving-" Whatever the Guardian was about to say, he was stopped short as Icyferno covered the distance between them with «Fold Step» and followed up with a «Dart-Tack Target» on the Cleric, who screamed in pain as he lost over a third of his HP. Fortunately for him, this Cleric wasn't one of using the Cleric build which equipped full plate mail, a shield and a one-handed weapon, thus it was significantly easier to cut down his HP. The staff couldn't do much because it wasn't intended to be a melee weapon from the start. However, just as he was about to start cutting down the panicked Cleric, the Guardian behind him shouted "Anchor Howl!"

He cursed his stupidity. Naturally, the Guardian would have «Anchor Howl» to prevent his healer from taking damage. While the healer frantically healed himself, Icyferno lunged at the Guardian, slamming his blades into the raised shield. One part of him didn't really want to fight other Adventurers as they were all trapped together so they should work together to find a way back to Earth, on the other hand, another part of him wanted to mete out justice to those who cast off their former selves and kill others simply because it was within their capabilities. He didn't really know how he wanted to feel, but at the moment he was just fighting for his life.

~

Word count: 737
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 + 372 + 531 + 567 + 742 = 3088
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

As much as Icyferno would have liked to keep up the pressure by continuously hitting the Guardian's shield to prevent the Guardian from retaliating, it was impossible for him as he was no expert in dual wielding and the natural instincts of his character's body could only help him so far. The teamwork of the two player killers was surprisingly good, as the Cleric healed the Guardian while ignoring the damage he had taken since he knew that Icyferno was unable to attack him now.

Swashbucklers may have the fastest attack speed, but they also lack firepower in their strikes. Fortunately, Icyferno's slightly higher level was proving using as every strike he dealt showed a visible result in his opponent's HP bar. He knew that the cool down for the Cleric's only healing spell was relatively long, so he could possibly deal more damage than the Cleric could heal if he continued with what he was doing. He knew that the Guardian had realized this fact, as the Guardian was getting more and more worried.

While attempting to parry the Guardian's counterattacks, Icyferno was also keeping track of the time. «Anchor Howl» would only be active for a period of time, so he was planning on taking out the Cleric before the Guardian could cast it again. In the meantime, he had to make it seem like he was trying to take the Guardian while not using any of his skills since he only had two at the moment and he would like to take out the Cleric as fast as possible.

As Icyferno barely blocked one of the Guardian's sword thrusts, the icon representing «Anchor Howl» vanished. Turning his back on the Guardian, he once again pushed himself forward with «Fold Step» to attack the Cleric. Surprised, the Cleric tried to shield himself with his staff, but Icyferno easily adjusted his sword trajectory and pushed his left sword into the Cleric's body. With his right, he activated «Dart-Tack Target» once more, piercing the Cleric multiple times. He saw the angry Guardian coming up from behind him, so he used the Cleric as a pivot and swung around to put the Cleric between the Guardian and himself. Unfortunately, the Guardian had good reflexes, so he was able to stop himself from cutting down his own teammate. He tried going around the side but Icyferno just moved to accommodate him while trying to block the Cleric's staff with his sword as the Cleric tried to beat him off. However, he had wasted too much time hesitating as the Cleric's HP reached zero. The Guardian looked on in surprise as his teammate burst into loot.

"What... How..." the Guardian began to speak, but Icyferno cut him off. "Your strategy was sound, but you don't have enough party members to keep up your formation. When I placed myself behind the Cleric, my blade was still in his body, so he was continuously receiving damage while you were hesitating on whether to cut him down or wait."

Cold sweat began to form on the Guardian's forehead, but he roared loudly and charged at Icyferno, shouting, "You'll pay for this, you runt!" The Guardian swung his sword in a wide arc at Icyferno, completely abandoning defense. As Guardians had a higher base Strength stat than Swashbucklers, Icyferno had to use both of his swords to block the sword strike. He ducked to avoid a horizontal swing, then thrust both of his blades upward into the Guardian's stomach area. The Guardian let out a grunt of pain, then swung his shield forward to smash Icyferno, knocking him backwards.

Icyferno made some distance between them and examined the situation once more. He had lost about a third of his HP while the Guardian still had about a quarter of his. With the Cleric gone, there should be no problems if it's just him, he thought grimly, putting his left foot forward while lowering the tip of the sword in his right hand.

~

Word count: 665
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 + 372 + 531 + 567 + 742 + 665 = 3753
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Tired

~

Icyferno and the Guardian circled each other, waiting for one another to stumble and leave an opening. Icyferno knew that the time wasted would be more valuable to the Guardian than it was to him since the Guardian was harder to wear down, so he struck a quick blow with his left sword. His blade was met with another blade, as expected, so he spun around, putting additional pressure on his sword as he twisted awkwardly to slam his right sword into the enemy's sword as well. The Guardian took a step back and Icyferno lunged for the opportunity, managing to dish out a quick jab to the Guardian's arm before getting smacked in the face with the Guardian's shield.

Icyferno began slamming his blades into the Guardian's shield while the Guardian kept blocking all his strikes and darted in a few quick thrusts at Icyferno. At the rate this is going, he thought, my win is in the bag. Up close, he could see the Guardian sweating profusely now, as he had probably realized that he was going to lose. As his HP neared zero, he turned tail and ran. Unfortunately for him, Icyferno used «Fold Step» and propelled himself in front of him, barring his escape. Panicked, he tried to utter a few words. At last, he came up with what to say. "You... YOU'LL REGRET THIS! WE'LL JUST REVIVE AT THE CATHEDRAL AND HUNT YOU-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Icyferno swung his left sword horizontally, cutting the Adventurer's head off cleanly. The head tumbled to the ground, the face contorted in rage and hate as the eyes dulled, the life fading from them. As abruptly as the fight had begun, it was suddenly over.

Icyferno didn't really want to admit it, but there were already several Adventurers turning to PK even during this time when there were many frightened people moping about in the town. For a brief moment, he wondered why anyone would do such a thing. Then it struck him.

Those player killers were doing this to pass the time. The people moping in the town square were, in their own way, passing the time while waiting for someone to save them. In fact, now that he thought about it, him going out into the forest to grind up his level was just him trying to pass the time. The people in the Town Square didn't dare to go exploring, yet at the same time, there was nothing to do in the Town as well. Faced with such a case, he wouldn't be able to do anything as well.

Looking down at the two Adventurers he had just killed, he felt no remorse, only emptiness. This was a world where the strong rule, he thought, stepping away from the corpses and towards the safety of the town. I have no doubt that in the near future, someone will try to proclaim dictatorship over all the Adventurers. When that time comes, what will I do?

~

Word count: 501
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 542 + 334 + 372 + 531 + 567 + 742 + 665 + 501 = 4254
Notes: Grinding swashbuckler in this post.