Teaching a fellow Swashbuckler [Closed Mentor/Mechsoul]

[Steel]

"I spent enough time working on my subclass stuff, it's time to go hunting!" Steel said as he walked around town. The day had already turned into afternoon but Steel thought he still had some time to hunt. He took out the map he had made a week or two ago and began searching for the gate leading into the woods. I'm glad I made this map. I still have trouble finding my way around town. It also helps me chart out new areas I haven't explored yet. Steel thought to himself. He was feeling glad for having chosen the scribe subclass. The Courtesan subclass however was another story. He hasn't found too much of a use yet and hasn't really used it much, on purpose anyway. Once in a while, it activated the skill 'Allure' on its own as if it were a running gag from some manga or anime, attracting other's, mainly of the opposite gender, attention despite his simple attire. Attracting so much attention was unnerving to Steel from time to time which is why he immediately turned it off when he noticed that it was activated. Even though he couldn't see any use for it, Steel was stubborn and refused to change subclasses until he found a practical use for it. The reason being that an acquaintance of his from the Japanese server had told him that there was potential for every subclass. He finally found the gate and he was off into the woods. As he continued to walk around the area, he saw many other players fight their own monsters. Now he had to find some of his own before all of the spawns were taken up. It was then he saw a person fighting a level 5 boar. Unlike the other people he passed by, this one seemed to bein trouble. After focusing for a bit, Steel found out the person was a level 1 with a style of a sword and a gun, similar to what he himself was trying out. He rushed in, deciding to help this person and with a shout, he activated Viper Raise on the boar, making him slash at the main body, giving it a bleeding debuff. He then activated Dart Tack Target to attack it more and shifted the boar's attention to himself. "Oy, you okay over there?" He asked the person now behind him.

[mechsoul]

In the windsor greatwoods, Renshi wondered around, looking at people fighting all these monsters, and it made him want to fight something as well. He noticed a boar nearby, and without seeing what level it had, he charged in. After a few slashes, Renshi started to notice the boar was a bit too high for his strength. The boar tried to attack, but Renshi reacted quickly, and activated his High Roller, jumping over the boar in his charge and cutting him right in the back. Again, he didn't really do much damage, so he was in a real pinch. Preparing for the boars attack, someone swooped in just in time to hit the boar, and pull aggro to himself. The man asked if Renshi was ok, and because he didn't get hit yet, he answered: "Yea, thanks. I shouldn't have attacked a higher level mob right off the start... That was pretty stupid...". As Renshi said that, the boar was preparing to attack again, so he reacted by shooting the boar, although it again, didn't do much. "Look out!" Ren said, pointing at the boar.


Skills used:

-High Roller, The swashbuckler attempts to bridge defense with offense by dodging an incoming attack and curling the body together to make multiple mid-air rolls as they land over to a new position. At the same time, their weapons are pointed outward, cutting at any opponent that tries to reach at them. This skill has an animation time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 15 seconds.

[Steel]

"I know" Steel said before sliding under the boar and activated the skill Mirage Dealer, causing him to slash the underbelly of the boar in an X-shape before teleporting a meter from his spot which resulted in him being above the boar. "Deadly Dance!" He exclaimed as he spun his body with his swords at his sides, slashing at the boar with both of them. The attack he used was normally for the Assassin Class but Steel had learned how to replicate the movements of the skill in the real world. After jumping off the boar, he then got into a counter stance for dual wielding in kendo. Back in the real world, he was renown for his counterattacks which usually frustrated and/or struck fear in his opponents. Even if this was a virtual body, the feeling one would get looking at him could not be described as anything but killer intent. Steel's face wasn't angry at all but he instead looked extremely calm so it wasn't his facial expression that created this intensity. Instead, it was his several years of experience fighting several opponents in the real world being represented in one unwavering stance, one that looked as if it were designed to cut down one's life in an instant that created the aura of killer intent around him.. "Kofuna Shizen Ryu: Samidare!" Steel exclaimed before slashing at the boar with a sword technique that wasn't in the system at all. "Thanks for the help distracting it for a bit. I got just the time I needed to attack." He said to the person behind him maintaining his current stance and presence.

OOC: By the way, just to let you know the skills and their descriptions won't count into the word count.

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Renshi's mouth stood open as he watched the man take down the boar with such flashy moves. "Thanks, you really saved me there" Ren said, being really thankful for what he had done. Ren would've surely died there, and he wasn't really ready for that yet... "Those were some really cool moves though, think you could teach me some?" Ren said. He really loved his swordsmanship, and would've really enjoyed learning some of it. Although he really wanted to keep his one handed sword and pistol setup, he loved to learn some new stuff. Ren decided to stretch a little, becoming a bit tired from the fighting, even though he didn't do much. "Anyways, we should probably head out of here for now, I wouldn't want to get attacked by one of those boars again. By the way, the name's Renshi, but you can just call me Ren".

(OOC: I know, it's just become a habit xD)

[Steel]

"Nice to meet you, I'm Steel." Steel said in response to the person introducing himself as he sheathed his swords into the sheathes on his back. "First off, let's go into a safe zone. I bet you don't want to be attacked again by another monster while we're talking." He suggested as he took out his map. He then began to lead them towards a nearby safe zone where monsters wouldn't be able to enter. "So you use a pistol-sword style huh? At the moment, I guess such a style won't work so well. I got a gun too." He said as he tapped the pistol at his left hip. "But I primarily use two swords. Hmm, sure I can teach you a little although a lot of the moves I know take a while to learn. What I was doing earlier is stuff I learned in the real world. Well, you'll probably learn more if you experience what it's like rather than just going with the motions so how about we start out by sparring with each other? Since you're a gun-sword type, I'll do the same thing and use a gun and a sword." He then grabbed his gun with his left hand and a sword with his right. "If you're ready, go ahead and start whenever. I guess we'll just go until we're at 50% health. Oh and by the way, no bleeding causing attacks if you have any. I don't have any status healing potions or anything."

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Ren walked back with the man calling himself Steel. He had a map, which was surprisingly useful. When we arrived, Steel mentioned a sparring match. "no bleeds, got it" Ren said, while he got in position. Keeping his pistol holstered, he drew his rapier (activating his passive), and pointed it at Steel. Not knowing how he'd react, and keeping his real-life experience in mind, he cautiously watched. All the while, he smiled. Although Ren enjoyed a sparring match, he got serious as soon as he wanted to attack. His eyes alone could kill someone, but he was sure Steel would make it out without a scratch. He had his first move all planned out. He would charge at Steel after slowly getting about 2 meters close to him. He'd try to stab Steel in the arm, while preparing for him to block or dodge it. If he were to dodge and counterattack, he planned to use his High Roller to evade and inflict some damage to him. However, if he decided to block the attack, he'd quickly reach for his gun, firing at him in the chest and attempting to stagger him. So he executed his plan, charging and attempting to stab his left arm.

[Steel]

So he's a charging type huh? How interesting. Steel thought to himself as he charged in himself, his gun aimed at Ren. Steel's face continued to look calm and retained that presence from earlier as he fired his gun, a bullet coming out of it and grazing Ren's cheek. Steel then fired his gun multiple times. He wasn't firing a metal bullet though, he was firing bullets of air which didn't require a reload and the amount of times he could fire was greater than that of a normal gun. Because Ren eyesight was focused on the incoming bullet, it would be difficult at best to see bullets of wind. Steel's first wind shot hit Ren's off hand which was going to be used to grab and fire the gun in his holster. The second wind shot hit Ren in the right foot which was on the ground while his left foot was up in his mad dash. Getting hit in the foot then would cause Ren to lose balance. His third shot hit Ren in the left shoulder, further discombobulating his balance and leaving his body open. "Kofuna Shizen Ryu: Mayutsuki." He said in a low tone before slashing at Ren's midbody in a pattern that was similar to a crescent moon."

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Ren saw the first shot coming, being able to dodge the shot so it only grazed his cheek, however, he did not expect Steel to fire more. Although he didn't see any bullets, he felt that he got hit. Losing his balance, Steel took advantage of it, attempting to slash horizontally, but Ren quickly reacted, bending his body backwards, getting only slightly hit, losing about 5% hp. After the slash, Ren raised his left leg, kicked Steel in the face, and twisted around to get back up. Knowing Steel couldn't immediately react, Ren had a chance to deal some damage, and fired his gun aimed straight for Steels chest. There was almost no time left to react to the shot, so Ren was sure he had hit. He stepped back a little, and put his gun away. He kept his sword in front of him, and prepared for Steel's attack, as he was sure he wouldn't simply give up now.

[Steel]

Steel's balance was destabilized from the shot but he wouldn't let that stop him and charged forward despite the sword being pointed at him. He instead had a grin on. "You're so far away." Steel said with a smile as he took a quick jab step away while leaving his center of gravity behind and still maintaining a proper posture. To Ren, it would appear to him that Steel was at least a foot away from where he originally was as Steel brought his sword to his side as if he were to swing at Ren horizontally. The next thing Ren knew, Steel disappeared from sight only to be right behind him swinging his sword downward at him. "Kofuna Shizen Ryu: Nishikaze!" He shouted before slashing into his shoulder. "You know, your fighting style needs to have some flexibility." He said with the blade still stuck there. "From how you've been fighting, it was as if my fighting movements were already decided. The moment you think 'He's obviously going to do this' or 'there's no way he's going to do that' is the moment you lose any advantage you had before. People aren't so simple where you can think like that!" After saying that, he fired a bullet at the wrist of Ren's sword hand, forcing him to either tighten his grip on his blade or loosen it before swinging his sword at his sparring partner's blade. If Ren had tightened his grip, it would be more likely for him to lose his balance as his body would move with the sword. If the grip was too loose, the sword would be hit out of his hand.

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Ren managed to deal some damage, and while waiting for Steel to attack, he didn't expect him to get so close so quick. Getting hit real bad, Ren saw the air bullet from Steel's gun coming, after figuring the trick out. Seeing Steel aim for his sword hand, Ren had to act quickly. He had his blade in his right hand, and threw it in front of him. His wrist, now without a blade, got hit, after which Ren grabbed the word with his other hand in a matter similar to an assassin's dagger with the blade facing downwards. He quickly dashed at Steel, holding the blade horizontally behind him, and at the right timing, he slashed straight through Steel's stomach. He walked past Steel, held his blade pointed backwards, and thrust it towards Steel's back. "How's that for flexibility?" Ren said, smiling while he permormed his move. 

[Steel]

Steel couldn't help but laugh at how excited this guy was getting over sticking a sword through his back. "You're really naïve, you know that?" He said to his sparring opponent as he nonchalantly loaded his gun and fired at the lower parts of Ren's body which was the physical proof that he was a man. Hopefully, the readers get what I mean by this as the writer here does not want to be so specific with this body part. Anyway, at such a close distance, this shot would have been impossible to dodge and dealt him great pain regardless of how little health he lost from getting hit by the cheap bullet. With that opening, Steel turned around and grabbed Ren by the neck before slamming him down to the ground. He took the sword out of his back and stabbed it into Ren's stomach. "Sorry, but a real sword fight is completely different from one seen from a screen. It's not so gentle." Steel said with a slightly serious tone. "You shouldn't be so excited over just stabbing a person you know. A fight's not over until it's over." He then stood back on his feet and put his sword back into its sheathe. Out of fun, he loaded another bullet and fired at Ren's area down there. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist." He said with a bit of a carefree grin as he offered a hand to help him up. He then stopped and grabbed Ren's gun and sword out of his holster and stomach respectively and put them away from him so that Ren couldn't do the same thing to him. "Can't be too careful." He said before extending his hand again to help him up.

mechsoul

OOC: I am so evil!! hahaha

[mechsoul]

Ren felt as if he did a pretty good move, and felt a little confident in his skills, but as he was nonchalantly shot in his "private parts", he was not happy to say the least. Dropping everything, Ren dropped to the ground, curled up from the pain and rolled around yelling: "ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! That's a low blow!" (OOC: Pun intended) Ren said, as he slowly got up. "Let's just keep it at that, shall we? I'm not very fond of the pain I just experienced...". Ren had definitely lost the sparring match, but he felt like he learned some valuable lessons, including not getting shot in your private parts... Wouldn't want to wish that on my greatest enemies... He took Steels hand and got up, saying: "Enough is enough , let's get back to town or something, I need a drink (and some ice...)". A little annoyed about where he was shot, he still appreciated the fact that someone wanted to help him train a bit. While walking towards town, Ren smiled a little, because he felt like he made a new friend.

[Steel]

"Oy, we haven't really done much yet, at the very least, let me teach you a certain technique." Steel said as he picked up Ren's weapons and threw them back at him as it seemed he forgot them on the ground. He then put his own gun back into its holster while keeping out the sword in his right hand. "Just so you know, it took me at least 12 years in total of training from both here and the real world to get my swordsmanship to where it is now. So it's unrealistic for you to try to learn many of the sword techniques of Kofuna Shizen Ryu. I guess I can teach you some of the basic ones later but the technique I'm wanting to show you now is something different. The name of this simple yet effective technique is called Phantom Blade. Earlier, I used a gun version of the technique but now I'll use the original sword version. I guess it'll be better if I show you the technique before I explain a bit more about it." He then got into a sword stance where his left foot was half a body in front, his waist was lowered, and the sword in his right hand was held downwards and slightly to the side with its tip nearly touching the floor. "Charge at me however you want with a sword attack and watch how I disappear right in front of you." He said this with a bit of a grin as he got ready.

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Renshi sighed as he looked at Steel and caught his sword, and said: "Fine, but don't you dare shoot me 'there' again!" while he got ready. Keeping the sword in front of him, he charged, about to thrust his Rapier straight through his heart. Not knowing what Steel would do other than apparentely "dissappearing" he looked carefully at his movements. 

(OOC: There isn't much to write until after you do your move, so this post'll be a little shorter than others.)

[Steel]

He's looking at my movements carefully, that just means this technique will be even more effective against him. Steel thought to himself before charging in himself. Right when the two of them were about 2-3 meters away from each other, the gap continuing to lessen, Steel began swinging his sword slightly upward diagonally to the left until the blade was at about chest height although it wasn't even close to hitting his sparring partner. Steel noticed how Ren's eyes unconsciously followed after the movement of his sword and began swinging his sword diagonally upward to the right causing the sword to now be in the corner of Ren's line of sight. Steel then began shifting his own line of sight diagonally upward to the right, Ren's eyes following and began looking at the same direction, redirecting his attention back to the sword. Right when Ren would look back to where Steel was, he had already vanished and Ren would soon feel Steel's sword at his neck coming from behind him. "Well, that's basically how it works." Steel said in a carefree tone as he sheathed his sword. "Now that you've seen it, do you have any questions?"

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Ren watched the sword move, and before he knew it, Steel was right behind him. Reappearing behind Ren, he felt a sword at the back of his neck, while Steel asked if he had any questions. "So basically, you lead my eyes away from yourself, and quickly dash around me to make me think you dissappeared. Hmm, it caught me off guard, but if you really know what it's about, I could dodge it..." Although he said that, he was quite sure that it's tougher in practice. "It's quite a nice move though, I'll keep it in mind. Now about that drink..." Ren said, gesturing he wanted to head back to town to rest up a little. "Maybe later, we could go for some more monster killing, and you can let me in on that air bullet trick of yours" Ren said, planning on getting his shooting skill up a bunch. "Now let's go".

[Steel]

Steel listened to Ren's answer as to how the technique works and he couldn't help but laugh at it a little. "If the attack was that simple, it wouldn't really be that effective would it?" He said with a laugh. "Well, you're correct in the fact that I divert your line of sight towards a different direction. However, it's a bit more complicated than that. I'm using your reflexes and your own sense of judgment against you. Our line of eyesight can track horizontal and vertical movements easily but not so much for diagonally movements. When I moved my sword, why did your eyes follow it? The reason is because my sword is a potential danger to you, more so than the rest of my body at that time, therefore having a larger presence. Add that it was going diagonally, it made you all the more wary of my sword. If we were to continue and you, as you have said, already know it, you would then be focused more on my main body so that it wouldn't happen again. Because of that, my sword has a lesser presence and I could instead strike you straight on from your blind spot with my blade rather than move behind you. After that, you would then wonder where I would strike next. However, predicting it is futile. The set up of this skill is that I can do either of those two as well as other variations based on how my opponent reacts with his or her eyes. There's another name for this skill, The Right of Postponement. Even though I take the initiative, I counter my opponent's reactions. This skill doesn't just take speed, but also observation skills." Ren then suggested to go kill more monsters. "Sure, I'm up for it if you are. Hopefully, your HP has been restored a bit from resting. We did just battle each other after all."

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

"Hmm, I'm back to about 60%, so I should be fine for now, lets go somewhere around my level though, wouldn't want to risk dying for this" Ren said, pointing towards a group of level 3 kobolds, signaling that they'd go and kill them. "Let me reload my gun first, and then kill some mobs. How about we pull a group of 5 or so, should be enough". Ren was reloading his pistol, as long as that might take, and slowly walking in their direction while still looking at Steel, saying: "You wanna pull them?" Ren was ready to cut through some kobolds and get some more experience, maybe even train that technique Steel showed him. 

[Steel]

"I think you're overestimating yourself a bit." Steel said as he also began loading his gun and got ready to fight. "I may be level 5 and I could probably take them on but there's a difference between fighting solo and fighting in a party. In this situation where you're a level 1, a level lower than the monsters, I also have to focus on what you're doing as well, forcing me to fight in a more cautious and protective style rather than slashing them up with my normal aggressive style. The level I am now, I won't last long in that sort of situation." As he put his gun back in its holster, Steel then looked at the five nearby kobolds. He began to think of how to take them out or make it easier on them. "Give me a moment." Steel said before taking out his gun again and ran to the left side of the group of monsters. He aimed at them and fired his gun at one and hit it in the chest. He then loaded a wind bullet and fired at the kobold next to the one he fired at last time. In response, the two that got hit began moving in Steel direction. Steel quickly moved away and without getting their attention, he went over to the other side of the group and did the same thing to two more kobolds, thus separating the group of 5. "Okay, first off, we defeat the one in the middle and then we defeat the groups of two, got it? We couldn't fight them all at once so I thought it'd be best if they were split up."

mechsoul

[mechsoul]

Ren looked at Steel splitting the group of kobolds up and heard him exlpain his plan. "Ok, I'll go after the middle one, but my burst damage isn't enough to kill him, so I'll open a path for you to finish him off". So ren ran towards the kobold, and immediately hit him with a viper raise to give him a small bleed. He then proceeded to do a small combo of strikes before the kobold had a chance to attack, and just as the kobold wanted to strike, Ren used his high roller to jump over him, dealing a few more strikes, and giving Steel an opportunity to finish him off from behind. "Now's your chance!" Ren said, as he was mid air.