Forest of Foxes [4/4] (Full)

[Shuwen]

Words: 525

Shuwen was moving out of his comfort zone. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but necessity more or less demanded it. He’d leveled up too much for him to continue grinding in the area around London, and he’d been forced to branch out somewhat. Well, he was getting to comfortable in Windsor anyways, it was probably a good thing for him to move on. That didn’t mean he’d like it though. That was how he found himself in Moondance Forest. He’d been in the area a few times before, but he hadn’t spent much time there, certainly not to grind. The monsters in the area seemed to consist primarily of creatures from Japanese mythology, which seemed to be the main theme of the zone. Well, it was certainly something. The trees and atmosphere had a very different feel to them then Windsor, and the moon spirits floating high above made it neigh impossible to mistake the scenery for anywhere else. As it was no longer a game, there was no background music, which Shuwen thought was a bit of a shame; he would have liked to hear whatever the game developers had come up with for an area like this.

The first two monsters he ran into were a pair of kitsune; Myobu and Nogitsune, both their levels were in the low twenties, but as he hadn’t fought them before, Shuwen was quite on edge. The Nogitsune came after him a soon as he came too close, while the Myobu hung back wearily. The Monk used Zoom Attack to punch it before it came into attack range, but it failed to interrupt it’s charge, merely dealing damage slowing it down a little bit. The Nogitsune’s teeth seemed to catch fire as it bit down on Shuwen’s arm. “Yow!” Shuwen cried as he felt the teeth pierce his flesh, they were sharp and hot. It’s a good thing we don’t feel as much pain as we would in the real world. He thought thankfully for the umpteenth time. Shuwen countered with a knee strike to the fox’s gut, and a hammer fist with his free hand to its snout. The fox let go of his arm, only to circle around and try to bit him again from behind, but Shuwen countered with a back kick, knocking it away briefly.

However, in doing so, he seemed to have aggro’d the Myobu, who began to produce some angry looking flames around its body. I guess it didn’t like me damaging its ally. He thought a little ruefully. I wish I’d planned this a bit better. He promptly broke off the attack and took cover behind some nearby trees. The flames it produces shot towards him, slamming into the trees then dispersing. So the Nogitsune charges forward and acts as the front line, while the Myobu supports from the rear. Geez, monsters that use teamwork? What a challenging combination. So how should I go about this? Should I just do as they want me to and go for the Nogitsune first? I don’t know if I’m strong enough to handle both of them conventionally.

[Rook]

Rook was not very happy right now. With the aid of a map she’d gotten herself completely lost in unfamiliar terrain filled with unpronouncable names.

Then that all changed when the recipient chose to hide behind the same group of trees where she was. Granted, he was under fire and more than a little distracted but she just couldn’t help herself. He hadn’t spotted her yet.

“Delivery for you.” Rook said holding out a wax sealed letter. Her voice full of the glee one reserves for a good natured boo.

She promptly withdrew said letter as fire started bursting all over the place threatening it’s durability.
“Not a good time for it?” The glee had not yet fully evaporated despite how woefully inaproapriate it was. Or perhaps that’s why the glee remained. After all, agro management was a fickle thing and either of the enemies Shuwen was fighting would be more than a match for her.

“If this goes any further pear shaped, to which cathedral should I proceed to give you this letter?” She cleared her throat. No, she shouldn’t insult this stranger, no matter how much the stress made her crack.

“Really though, if you can hold the agro on both, I could sleep one of them for you.” Rook didn’t relish peeking around the tree. “Maybe snare one too, though that wont help against the pyromaniac.” Considering changing quests and using the beacon to guide her home. Oh, 'Call of home' that's it, how could she forget.

---

Skill used: Courier: Checkpoint
Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 414

Shuwen’s thoughts were interrupted by a nearby player announcing they had a delivery for him. “Eh?” He asked stupidly, not sure if he’d heard correctly. He quickly looked around to spot the source of the noise, and realized he’d missed noticing there was another (vaguely familiar) player right beside him. Oh, whoops. She was holding out a letter that was apparently intended for him, though she quickly withdrew it once the Myobu started shooting flames toward him again. “No, it’s not.” He confirmed, his voice deadpan.

“Ah, I visited Stratford last, so that’s where I’ll probably end up if I die.” Shuwen replied, not realizing he was being insulted. “Wait, do they even have a cathedra- never mind.” He quickly clamped down on his urge to go off on a tangent; they didn’t have time for that. The player, who according to the interface, was an Enchanter named Rook, offered to keep one of them busy for him. “Please do, could you cast a sleep spell on the one that’s hanging back? I can deal with the one in front as long as it’s one on one, no need to root him or anything.” Actually, now that he thought about it, he’d probably be better off if the Myobu wasn’t rooted, once he considered what he had planned for it. The main issue was that it was being covered by the Nogitsune.

Assuming that Rook managed to keep the Nogitsune busy, Shuwen would take action. Right after another burst of fire hit the trees they were hiding behind, Shuwen stepped out in front to take the fox on directly. “Come and get it!” Shuwen growled, using Rafting Taunt on the two foxes. Growling, the Myobu charged forward, it’s teeth once again catching on fire. As it lunched for him, the Monk rolled backwards, catching the fox’s belly with one leg, he used a sacrifice throw to literally throw it into the tree behind him, briefly dazing it. As it attempted to recover, Shuwen quickly stood up and used Bullet Punch to whale on it until the monster’s HP was reduced to zero. As it had still been in the midst of recovering from being thrown, the kitsune was unable to avoid the blows, and was soon dispersed into multicolored bubbles of anima. Once the first kitsune was done for, Shuwen quickly scanned the immediate area, checking on the current condition of the Nogitsune, Rook, and anyone else that happened to be in the vicinity.

[Rook]

Rook had followed up the Rafting Taunt with an Astral Hypno on the Flamethrower to give Shuwen a 10 second breather.

She followed up with a Keen Edge to increase Shuwen’s damage and a Heal to top off his hitpoints before returning to cover. If she’d stolen agro, the Flamethrower would have to approach to attack her and hopefully Shuwen would be all over it.

She did not watch the violence. Monk was so visceral with it’s fast repeated attacks and melee combat. She just knew it wasn’t good for her. She clutched the hem of her sweater in one hand, her grimoire in the other. She entered Mana Trance to restore the little mana she’d used. She didn’t need to, it hadn’t been much at all, but the skill had an added effect of muffling sound.

How had she done this before, how had she gone out and solo grinded mobs until her mind numbed. What had changed in her, aside from her decision, to make it so unpalatable. Was it the monster in question? Maybe that was a factor. She doubted she would have reservations swatting goblins or other super aggressive monsters.

She got a little experience when the first one went down. The cooldown for Astral Hypno would be up soon, which meant the debuff had worn off.

Waiting was a difficult thing to do with danger all around, and the only safety being in a space of violence. She waited for silence or death to arrive.

---

Skill Used: Enchanter:Astral Hypno, Keen Edge, Heal and Mana Trance
Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 452

As she’d said she would, Rook used a sleep inducing spell to temporarily stop the Nogitsune, allowing Shuwen to take down Myobu more or less without incident. Even as he attacked it; he realized his attacks were doing noticeably more damage then usual. His eyes turned toward the interface; an offensive buff that came from an Enchanter’s spell. “Great timing!” He called out. Unfortunately, he forgot about Bullet Punch’s downside. The skill couldn’t really be canceled midway; one had to carry out all eight punches once you started to use the skill, and he finished off the Myobu a couple seconds before the skill’s duration ran out. It wasn’t something that could make turn the fight against them, but it was a waste of time that he could have avoided.

By the time the skill ended, the Nogitsune’s sleep debuff had worn off. Awake and angry, it once more generated flames around it’s body and started to launch them. Shuwen, who’d run out of patience, and made more confident by the knowledge he was being backed up by an enchanter, decided to go for the jugular and end the fight as quickly as possible. Jumping up, he used Wyvern Kick to close the distance between them as quickly as he could. He took two hits on the way in, reducing his HP by a noticeable amount and canceling the skill before it could be completed, but not without bringing Shuwen just about into striking range. Activating Iron Body to further increase his attack, he used Zoom Attack first in the form of a backhand blow, striking it even as he closed in to proper melee range. As it barred it’s fangs and bit him, he captured it with an arm clench so it couldn’t slip away, and pounded it with several knee strikes.

With the battle complete, he toggled off the Iron Body skill, and dusted off his hands reflexively. “Thanks for the help. That might have gotten messy if I’d had to do that by myself.” He rubbed the back of his head ruefully. “I may have out leveled them, but they were a pretty dangerous combination.” He circled around the patch of trees so he could take another look at Rook. She looked a bit… off. He wasn’t sure how, but she seemed either disconcerted or oblivious. Maybe she disapproved of something he’d done? He hoped not. “So… uh, can I help yo- oh, wait” He suddenly remembered what she had said earlier when she’d first appeared, and by extention why she had come. Remembering it just a little too late caused him to start stumbling over his own words. “You said you had a letter for me or something?”

[Rook]

Without the violence the forest was quite charming. She felt revived by the sound of wind over the forest. It made her feel like a small creature taking shelter against a vast and disinterested sky. Her fingers unclenched, releasing the hem of her sweater. She hadn’t even realized she was doing it.

Rook let her trance drop as Shuwen started speaking again.
“It’s no problem, anybody would have done the same.”

“Ah, yes, the letter. I do.” Rook said searching her bag for the letter again. It was a little crumpled from her earlier haste, but she smoothed it out in the same motion she offered it to the glowing man.

She punctuated the offer with another Heal spell, it was wasn’t healer level, and the cooldown was long but it was faster than waiting for natural regeneration.

“Oh, you’re the same chap who received a previous anonymous delivery, aren't you? I hope you had a nice valentines day.” She was being sincere. For all she knew she’d delivered an anonymous heart shaped box to him, it was easy to assume it was a token of affection from somebody too shy to deliver it themselves or perhaps an unexpected gift from a distant love.

“It may be unprofessional of me to say, but it must be nice having a secret admirer.” Rook lost herself a little in the dream. “Though it would be nicer to have a forthright admirer.”

Rook sighed and let the dream slip out of her system.

---

Skill Used: *Courier:Checkpoint, Heal
Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 475

With the monsters destroyed, they were now free to converse and relax. Rook, her assignment complete, started to focus on taking in her surroundings. Shuwen, who’d been there some time, opted to lean against the nearest tree to rest a bit. He wasn’t terribly tired yet, but he wanted to pace himself until he got back into town.

He took the letter from her hand when she offered it, trying to relax as she recast a healing spell on him. Before opening it, he briefly checked the item’s description and flavor text before opening it, to make sure it was what it seemed. After the near-disaster that had occurred last time, he didn’t really want to take chances. Rook suddenly identified him, apparently having met him before. It took a moment for him to figure out what she was talking about, but soon managed to remember her. She was the courier who’d brought him that box of bugs, disguised as a valentine’s gift from a secret admirer, during the Coconia festival. Fortunately, he’d had the sense to check the item’s name and description before opening it, and had simply trashed it without opening it at the first opportunity. The down side of that being that since he didn’t open it and didn’t advertise it, none of the other people present had realized someone had tried to prank him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Er, yeah, that was me.” He replied, rubbing the back of his head ruefully. It wasn’t a particularly happy memory, though the courier probably wouldn’t realize that.

“Secret admirer? Sorry, you must be mistaken, the last delivery was a prank. If I’m getting another anonymous delivery, it’s most likely just another prank.” Not seeing anything suspicious in the letter’s description, he cautiously opened it. To his surprise, there was nothing in the envelope but a letter. Surprise surprise. His eyes narrowing, he quickly read the letter.

Hello, I am Nigerian Prince Fukdepolyce. I lost my suitcase containing a total sum of 1,304,976,551 gold at my bank today today. Unfortunately, I cannot reclaim it without answering a test based on Fate/Hollow Ataraxia. I can only understand English and Amadawa languagse. If anyone who can translate FHA to either of those two before Miura finish the Berserk series, I would gladly share with him/her/them half of my suitcase's content. Please help, I am desperate.

Shuwen sighed as he folded the letter back up. “It’s spam mail. Slightly better intentioned then most spam mail, but it’s still spam mail. Please do us all a favor and stop delivering letters and packages for whichever person sent this, please? It’s getting old fast” While adventurers had brought all kinds of things from their respective civilizations, not everything they had brought with them had been good for society. Spam mail was one of those things.

[Rook]

Rook gave Shuwen an incredulous look.

“Spam? are you kidding? We don’t even have common working printing presses and you’re telling me some anonymous fool paid me 200 gold to hand deliver you spam?” She just couldn’t believe it, surely he was pulling her leg and she didn’t appreciate it.

“Also, I don’t know the sender, it’s an anonymous delivery service which is why people pay so much for...” At this point she was being rather unprofessional, but… but… no, no buts, this was her job a steady supply of customers depended on her being professional. Breath it out.

Rook took a moment to compose herself. She wasn’t about to lose her meal ticket over a troll, if that troll was the sender or Shuwen, she couldn’t say at this point.

“Well, the nature of the delivery is none of my concern, really. The customer signed a contract that it wasn’t a dangerous material and paid for the delivery. The delivery is complete.”

Rook cast heal again, every thirty seconds, she was like an odd metronome.

“The other one was really a prank as well?” She looked thoughtful. Secretly, she wondered who Shuwen had pissed off enough to spend such gold on petty vengeance for valentines day… then it occurred to her, a woman. Hell hath no fury…

“I wonder if it was the same sender. But never mind that. If there is nothing else I’ll take my leave.” She waited on a response, trying to be professional and polite.

---

Skill Used: *Courier:Checkpoint, Heal
Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 521

Rook appeared more then a little surprise someone would pay a courier just to deliver spam mail. Shuwen just shrugged “Don’t underestimate immature peoples’ need to entertain themselves.” Considering the amount of money some people back on Earth spent purely for entertainment purposes, it was hardly surprising that some people might decide to spent money in a similar fashion in the world of Elder Tale. “See for yourself.” He handed her the letter so she could see what was written on it. “Asking to get a Visual Novel to get translated, rather then asking for money was probably the sender’s idea of a joke.”

Rook mentioned that the delivery service was anonymous, so they had no way of knowing who’d sent the letter. Naturally. They wouldn’t bother sending easily traceable spam. She seemed pretty aggravated about it too. The Monk grimaced. Part of him was indeed outraged by the act, but there was fairly little he could do about it. His best option was to simply forget about it and move on as quickly as possible. After a moment of appearing flustered, however, she soon began to calm down, or at least appeared to calm down. She also added on that there was technically nothing wrong with the delivery, as it wasn’t dangerous and had already been paid for. To Shuwen, it sounded more like she was using autosuggestion on herself, and it wasn’t terribly convincing. She also used heal on him again, bringing his HP up nearly to one hundred percent. “Oh uh, thanks, but you can stop healing me now. Out of combat regeneration should take care of the rest.” As part of the game’s mechanics, everyone healed a small amount over time, with the rate being significantly faster when an individual weren’t participating in combat. It wasn’t fast enough to make healing unnecessary, as relying on it would require a lot more time to heal then was really possible, but it did make character survivability increase, especially among NPCs.

Rook asked if the last one had been a prank as well. “Yes, the package contained an ‘Insect Collection box’ that had been modified to look like a Valentine’s Day box. You… can probably guess what it contained, if I hadn’t looked at it’s description before opening it… things could have gotten ugly.”

“I don’t know if it was the same sender or not, but it seems likely. Wearing down my tolerance and composure over time might have become someone’s pet project. I’ve no way of knowing for sure though.” It was probably best to make sure she knew what he was saying was purely speculation on his part, albeit educated speculation. This could possibly become a highly delicate matter for the postal service Rook worked for; if for no other reason then it would be bad for their reputation if it became known they were delivering spam mail, so it was probably best for them to have their facts straight and clear away any misconceptions regarding what he knew about the perpetrator. Perhaps that was somewhat paranoid on his part, but he was better off safe then sorry.

[Rook]

Rook accepted the letter and read it slowly as she heard Shuwen out.

There wasn’t much to read. At first she found it laughable, then depressing. Finally she just couldn’t understand Shuwen’s response. She wondered if this counted as a critical lack of imagination and empathy.

“Well, I suppose one could see it as a kind of bullying. I’ll see about adding some kind of harassment clause to the contract.” Rook gave him a skeptical look. “I assume you don’t care what happens to this then?” She held up the piece of paper as a gesture, but not as though she would offer it back.

“If that’s the case I’ll take it as an example for why I’m adjusting the contract.” That was a lie with just enough truth that she could believe it.
Really though, Rook hadn’t seen actual spam since she’d arrived, perhaps the posted fliers counted but that was hardly the same.

Perhaps she’d feel differently if she’d received it herself, but for her this letter was somewhat charming. That somebody had tried to replicate spam, hand written it, sent it off at personal expense to bother people at random. It spoke of an unusual level of devotion. A warped devotion, it was true, but any kind of devotion looks good when you’re living with none at all.

Granted she wasn’t a fan of either of the series mentioned, but it was a bittersweet reminder of the world they’d left behind. She just wanted to keep it.

---

Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 290

Several expressions flew across Rook’s face, changing too quickly for Shuwen to practically identify them. Apparently she really didn’t want to believe people would really spend money on what essentially amounted to annoying people. However, the Monk had already said what he had to say on the subject, and wasn’t really interested in repeating himself. As a way of pacifying him, she said she’d look into changing the contract they used to prevent a repeat incident. “That would be nice.” He didn’t really believe her, but thanked her all the same. She also asked to take the letter back to whoever dictated policy in the courier system. Shuwen nodded enthusiastically.

“Go ahead, I certainly have no use for it.” Even if she wasn’t telling the truth about what she planned to do with it, if nothing else, it would save him the trouble of getting rid of it.

With her business complete, Shuwen assumed she was going to head out to do whatever else she needed to do. He had no idea how tight a courier’s schedule was, so he didn’t know if she could hang around, or needed to go right to another job. Actually, now that I think about it. He took a look at Rook’s level and class. She was surprisingly low leveled for the area she was in, and the Enchanter class was badly suited for solo combat. He was slightly surprised she’d made it as far as she had in as good shape as she was. She must be used to avoiding combat or something.

“Say, you want any help getting out of the forest? Wouldn’t want to get double teamed again.” He decided to leave the identity of who exactly would get double teamed ambiguous.

[Avalon]

tagged: Shuwen Rook words: 940 skill: hearing aptitude quick draw armor: ouroboros [32] weapon: archangel [40] notes: myobu- 100/100% nogitsune- 100/100%

As night approached, a vibrant spectrum of reds and orange illuminated the sky above in a fiery display of color. There was a chill in the air that prickled her skin causing her to have goosebumps. Rustling of leaves was continuously heard in the silent breeze of the forest. It could have usually been a sense of foreboding but instead, she had felt a pang of disappointment in her endeavors of finding out about the skill an assassin could learn that may have originated in the Moon Dance Forest. She had exhaustedly asked the common villagers with some politeness left in her but it seemed that utterly no one was willing to share any information about skills of any sort. Still, she felt they were more tight-lipped than they had let on in the first place as if someone had glued their mouths' shut permanently. Her eyes gleamed in interest when there was a moment's hesitation from a stiff old lanky elder, which caused her to open her mouth about to question the man and inquire about the rumors lingering around and thoughts that excited her inwardly. She was shut down immediately with a vigor. The elder boomed and eyes narrowed as he sharply interrupted her plainly saying she was unworthy of being privy to any information of his village. She swore that she could feel the heated tension that lingered relentlessly in the room so she swiftly escorted herself out. It was not before giving the elder a facade of a chesire grin in silent retaliation as it masked her deep irritation at her failed attempt to gather information. "He could have been nicer about it though," she muttered to the silent wind. Avalon had a gut feeling that she wouldn't do so well in her search but sometimes, information like what she had heard was hard to pass by. She had considered continuing and questioning the more shady characters in the villagers but it was enough for the long day. Taking a deep breath, she decided on venting out her frustrations on what she was most familiar and comfortable with--fighting. That was the first part of this world in the apocalypse that greeted her once innocent eyes. This wasn't the usual territory where she would partake in combat on a regular so it would take some time to become familiar with and it would only become difficult with the darkness looming soon. There would be luminous stars that would litter the sky but the towering trees would easily mask the glowing lights. At least she had somewhat of a handicap that could aid her tonight though not by sight. Walking in the middle of all the forestry was a daily routine when she was a hunter making her used to the wind whistling around the trunks and the branches creaking every now and then. It once used to give her a sense of foreboding and anxiousness but she realized it was all part of nature. Avalon toggled on her hearing aptitude skill and was greeted with the sounds of the best of paws shuffling at an increasing pace. It was charging faster and faster. Her heart was racing. Her fingers twitched at the urge to clutch onto her reliable bow and arrow to defend herself. But then suddenly, the air was silent--nothing could be heard of the shuffling or charging noises. What happened? The only noises that could be heard was the distant chattering of either landers or adventurers but that was of no consequence to her. The thoughts that disturbed her was the silence and it could mean anything, something could lurk behind her and attack at any moment's notice. It was slightly unnerving. She cautiously readied her bow and arrow as she took a steady breath outwardly to calm her nerves and relieve tension. It wouldn't do her any good if a sniper like her had her heart beating too fast, which could affect her accuracy. Hostile screeches almost as loud as howls of the moonlit night awoke her sense with a vigor. The charging and crunching of leaving came back at full force that disturbed her hearing causing her to wince at the overwhelming cacophony. Oh shit. Three vulpine creature gazed at her and violently teeth bared out and drooling heavily. There was three intimidating creatures about to pounce and possibly overwhelm her. Sure, they were at a lower level with the two Myobu at level twenty and one Nogitsune at level twenty-five but there was only one of her in front of them. How they eluded her hearing, she had no idea. They stalked her in a circle as if trying to prevent her from moving around and escaping. She had considered using missile strike but they had some sort of intelligence to spread out immediately so it rendered that attack useless. The Nogitsune growled loudly and opened it's jaws wide and unleashed fiery spirits zooming toward her. Immediately, she skidded to the side and rolled over swiftly avoiding a few of the spirits though some of them hit her directly. She took some minor damage that made her body twitch at the sudden impact but not enough to bother her too much. She recomposed herself and used her quick draw skill to quickly pick off the weaker Myobu rendering it into anima. Her eyes focused in closely when the higher leveled Nogitsune interestingly sprinted desperately to save it's comrade but to no avail, it was all in vain. Unfortunately for her, the monsters left were very eager to avenge it's comrade and unleash their fury as they growled menacingly at her dainty figure.

[Rook]

“If you’re heading out now, I wouldn’t mind.” Rook replied slipping the envelope away in her bag. It would save her ‘Call of Home’ cool down and probably allow her to risk another delivery today or perhaps tonight given how late it was getting.

It seemed that the sun was setting, turning the forest beautiful colors in the fading light. It was something she’d only very rarely get to experience on her own, which was an additional incentive to take Shuwen up on his offer. It was rare that she could just walk along taking in the terrain and feel… safe? No that wasn’t quite the right word. She trusted Shuwen at least to tank. Perhaps she was underestimating how annoyed he was at her delivery.

“After you.” She gestured with a slight bow to Shuwen acknowledging his superior knowledge of the area, higher hitpoints and better ability to tackle anything they should walk into.

“I’m not exactly cut out to face the things here head on. If it became dark enough though I could always summon a, uh, magic light.” She was hesitant to say adorable, even though it was.

It was the path she’d chosen for herself, so she could remain true to her ideals. Sometimes it made life difficult and it was hard to see it’s value. She’d seen the end of the other path though and did not want to dwell there.
“Do you solo much?” She asked trying to stir up conversation on the way.

---

Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen Avalon

[Shuwen]

Words: 525

Rook seemed content with taking him up on his offer, accepting it without any apparent reservation. Sounds like she dosen’t party up much. Must be a pain for someone with a class that requires a party to work properly. He’d been in a similer position back in the North American server, though he’d played as a Guardian, rather then a spellcaster.

Taking the lead, Shuwen started moving in what he believed to be the direction of the nearest zone exit, one that would lead them toward London. Rook mentioned not being able to taking the local monsters head on. “Well, yeah.” Shuwen responded off handedly. Considering her class and level, he thought it was obvious.

She also added that she could use the Magic Light spell to help illuminate their surroundings. “That would be great. I’ve been trying to find an alchemist that’s willing to make me a mana flashlight or something, but I haven’t had any luck there.” Actually, now that he thought about it, there was a frustrating shortage of decently leveled crafters in nearly every field lately. It was making fieldwork somewhat harder then it was probably intended. “I have the hearing aptitude skill, so I’m not worried about anything sneaking up on us, but I’d rather not have to slow down to avoid tripping over tree roots.” Actually, he was a little surprised by how quickly night had come along, and hadn’t bothered to toggle on the skill he’d mentioned, so he briefly brought up the interface to do so.

“Yeah, most of the time. I don’t usually play well with others.” That had actually been the main reasoning behind his choice of class. He’d decided to play as a monk when he decided to give the English server a try because it was reputed to be noticeably better at solo combat. Thus far it didn’t seem to have been a bad choice on his part Probably because it’s a hybrid class with high evasion, the only aspect it requires a party to shine in is while tanking. He’d certainly had less trouble then when he’d played as a guardian. “It’s been easier since the catastrophe, since you’re not solely reliant on texting and voice chat to communicate anymore, but it’s still a pain.” He looked like he was about to say more, but suddenly stopped talking and frowned.

It wouldn’t take long before they were interrupted. However, instead of simply running across more monsters, Shuwen overheard sounds of fighting coming from somewhere ahead of them. The trees were too thick for them to see what was going on, but it wasn’t hard for the Monk to infer what he was hearing. Stopping, he quickly reported what he was hearing to Rook, who probably couldn’t hear it yet. “You want to go straight in to see what’s going on, or would you rather go around?” Rook was the one running on a schedule, so he decided to let her take the call.

Avalon, meanwhile, might catch a glimpse of Rook’s magic light, but she might not, considering the distance and the trees likely blocking her view of it to some extent.

[LuLu]

The Darker of Two Evils

"Where in the hell am I?!" It seemed as though she had been walking for days. The road she had decided to trail was a long one and she had seen the sun rise and fall three times now and she still had no clue where she was going, or why. The whole situation she had put herself in had been a strange one and she swore she was being stalked as well. She didn't know by what, but she had felt eyes on her since the morning and night fall was approaching quickly. That would teach her to go into the darker parts of Lindonium looking for an underground, illegal poker game or something to bring up the thrill of the boring life she had begun to lead. She learned on her first day that fighting wasn't allowed in the town, but she had never expected to find no poker!? Nothing had been going on. The underground had been filled with vagrants and dirty looking criminals who eye'd her up with dark eyes, but that was it. She let out a long sigh. She felt tired and her stomach growled. She needed food and she needed a bed. She wasn't one for sleeping outside. Never really liked camping, but she found herself on the ground, or one night in a tree after a strange animal had tried to eat her in her sleep. She swallowed hard and looked around, looking for any sign of life. So far, there was none.

Forest. Forest. Road. Forest?! "WHERE AM I?! Seriously.." Her stomach grumbled again, but she put her hand on it. No, it wasn't her stomach, not this time. Very slowly, she turned her head to the right of her, a pair of red glowing eyes meeting her gaze. She remained still, watching the hidden beast in the bushes. Oh god, I'm going to die.. It was all she could think when two more pairs of eyes came, glowing with the same intensity as the first. She felt a shiver in her spine, and as two more pairs appeared, she turned on her heels and headed for the other side of the forest, the one that the eyes weren't protruding from. She knew that if she stayed on the road, she didn't have a chance, though the beasts were clearly forest creatures and she might not have a chance there either, but at least her chances were higher, though still slim to none. She jumped over rocks, branches, stumps, ducking from short branches and side stepping around large trees and small alike as she picked up her feet and ran as fast as she could, the pitter patter of running beasts behind her. She wasn't a high enough level for this! Especially to be in this area.. She couldn't even remember what she had come out here for, if there even was a reason.. but all reason had slipped away the moment she had turned and ran from the wild beasts.

Just up ahead, her eyes adjusted to a small bright light. Just up ahead.. She felt her feet get faster, probably adrenaline of life filling her body. She would make it. The beasts steps calmed as she came closer to the light but she didn't stop running. Perhaps the beasts didn't like light, or something, but she wasn't about to slow down and get eaten when she was nearly there, nearly.. there! She reached out her hand as she burst through the bristles of the forest, her clothing ripped slightly from the branches she couldn't avoid, her face and arms slightly cut, blood running from the small slashes and her hair a wicked pink mess. Her breathing was heavy as she grabbed onto something soft and squishy, the first thing she could grab. She looked up, tears in her bright blue eyes at her near death experience. The thing she had grabbed onto was a man's arm. She looked up to his face, her eyes pleading, "Please.. please help me.." Her voice was weary, her chest rose and fell heavily, still out of breath and then, her stomach let out a growl so loud it could have alerted everything, monster or man, in the entire forest. She hoped, prayed that he had food, or his companion or anyone for that matter! She would make a mental note once she had calmed down to never go anywhere without food. It made her feel more weak than her current level. She just prayed these people knew where they were going, prayed they knew the way out and where the nearest city was. She needed a bed, foo, a good night's sleep and desperately needed a bath.

HP 100%

MP 100%

- Equipment -
Starter Leather Armor

- Weapons -
Starter Trident
Starter Tambourine

- Words -
784

- Tags -
Shuwen, Rook, Avalon

- Skills Used -
---

- Notes -
Thanks for letting me join!! I look forward to RPing with you all :)

Decorated By KittyGrey<3

[Avalon]

word count;1162

Th dusk of the day had finally waned and dissipated. The surrounding area was more foreboding than the last few seconds of light. The towering canopy of trees were now seemingly tall shadowed figures stretching like arrows into the abyss of the night. It was unfortunate that the luminescent orb high above in the sky was barely shining through a lattice of leaves. The bloodlust red eyes of the two vulpine spirits combined with the snarling of their razor sharp teeth were like monsters of nightmares. Her morale and focus wavered for a few seconds with the intimidating pressure they exerted outwards. Darting her eyes back and forth, it was disconcerting that she didn’t have any low light vision to aid her and escape from their wrath.

Although she was a weapon specialist, she held her pride high on her sniping abilities from a long distance. She wasn’t known for her bravery facing enemies head on in combat. But being pushed to be a more versatile adventurer in combat, she had two short blade weapons crafted by an unknown blacksmith. To her surprised, they were both exceptionally well made and stunningly beautiful. With some effort and a benevolent dictator of a teacher, it had startled her that she had taken her well to the usage of the melee weaponry. A flash of her inventory and Nightbane flickered around her fingers in graceful dance. With a inwardly sigh, she knew it was time to put her lessons to good use as much as she disliked the close proximity of fighting the beastly monster spirits.

Avalon had underestimated how overly protective the Nogitsune would be over it’s own kin. She had recently read books on the different monsters she would encounter and it was written that the Myobu were guarded by the stronger and more aggressive Nogitsune spirits. This proved to be true in the worse way. She assumed a strategy of picking off the weaker Myobu one by one, which would hopefully cause the Nogitsune to eventually become irrational and easier to eliminate altogether. But this uneasiness she felt and the keen bloodthirsty focus radiating from the monster was something she didn't account for. Her body slightly tensed at the overwhelmingly sense that the creature could lunge at her in any given moment.

It was like her and the monsters were stuck at a standstill of a battle. Avalon's eyes darted at the weaker Myobu that seemed to begun cowering in the shadows of the clearing most likely to avoid injury and provide healing support to it's more offensive build comrade. If she were to attack the. Myobu lurking in the darkness, then it's comrade would automatically come to it's defense and protect the Myobu. Was it chance she was willing to take? If she were to be able to defeat the weaker enemy in one clean swoop, then it would be a major blow and the stronger enemy wouldn't have any hope of healing itself. The two vulpine creature appeared to hold some semblance of intelligence with the way they had spaced themselves out. Her missile strike would have easily send them into bits of anima and she the clear victor they had bunched together. That was not the case.

The fearsome monster lunged at her at a breakneck speed with bloodlust eyes focused completely at her being. She could feel the heated pressure exerting from her opponent. It was almost stifling. To met her current foe, her eyes flashed a golden amber and increased her attack speed using the reliable accel dance skill. The combination of the movement speed increase and attack speed increase provided enough strength to send it downward hard and whining in it's pain. Still, her enemy's sharp teeth had grazed her shoulder in a stinging pang causing her grit her teeth to numb her injury. It was not over. Accel dance was still in effect. She flicked her knife around her fingers and twirled around the monster in downward spiral. Then, she launched an assault from above stabbing the creature's head in a clean swoop as it quickly sent her opponent into anima.

She took a exhale to catch her breath after her dirty handiwork killing off the Nogitsune. All that left was the weaker Myobu but where was that darn creature? The shadows cast in the darkness of the night wasn't the ideal scenario to look for the Myobu but she still had the hearing aptitude to be used once again. A roaring sound of yipping caught her immediate attention. It seemed that the Myobu was still close by and had not scurried away from the clearing. Was it calling for reinforcements? She dearly hoped not. Clashing with the two vulpine creatures was troublesome and she still needed some time to recover some health points. Her health point were in the eightys but battling with more of those foxes and risking losing more health points by herself was not something she would have liked to face.

The silence was foreboding. This only made her heart raced faster and faster. The Myobu couldn't have just ran away from the scene. Two of it's comrade died right in front of it unless self-preservation overruled avenging them. Rustling of leaves in the and heavy breathing could be heard from a distance. She could feel the ground rumbling as if something was heavily charging in a close proximity. Was that an adventurer or lander running? It definitely didn't sound like a beastly creature. The yipping suddenly continued unexpectedly. It was time for her make her getaway. Avalon began sprinting away from the clearing with a vigor but then before she could make her exit, two narrowed eyes of Nogitsune gazed at her as they inched closer and closer toward her. Her eyes darted toward a rustling and the familiar Myobu calling for the reinforcements stared directly seemingly with a chesire grin of smugness.

Damn. The three fox spirits stalked her in a circular motion seemingly looking like they were ready to pounce on her at any moment. It was the opposite now. They were the predator and she was the prey. All three of the fox spirit lunged at her and at the same time, she used Accel dance once more to increase her speed in spinning motion to avoid more injuries at that moment. That instant allowed her to twirl around the Nogitsune to cleanly pierce it's lower body and continue another stabbing motion on the upper stomach. The Nogitsune's final moments had it's sharp claws slashing her shoulders causing her clutch her knife until it was white. It hurt even more than before but clutching her fists allowed her to not become distracted by the painful sting. At least it was enough to send it into oblivion. Her knife grazed the Myobu and the other Nogitsune in a circular motion though hastily as it left them at her mercy and down to their last bits of health points.



Shuwen Rook LuLu,
sorry for the wait.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

[Rook]

“Well, given that I’m counting on your compassion and honor to see me out of the forest alive, I would prefer it if those attributes were bounteous to the point of overflowing…” Rook’s comment on the virtues of compassion and charity was cut short when Shuwen copped a Damsel, pow! Right in the feels. It was an area of effect attack, Rook was not immune.

Rook noticed that the girl’s already provocative clothing had been torn from repeated durability decrease. She shifted her focus away, feeling equal parts ashamed and concerned.

Immediately more alert, but more or less blind thanks to her very surprised light spell Rook felt very insecure in her position. Out pure habit, she cast Heal on the girl.

“Ah, that was perhaps unwise.” Rook said, realizing that now anything using an agro table targeting the girl would now target her instead. “Ummm…. Hello, my name is Rook.”

She silenced herself again remembering Shuwen’s hearing aptitude and their generally precarious situation.

The gossamer silence of the forest closed in, the birds were not singing. Her heartbeat thundered.

Rook planned out her next few actions very carefully.
She would refresh Shuwen’s Keen Edge as the first step, then her own so she knew when his would expire.

The first enemy could be snared with Astral Bind, but the second should be slept with Astral Hypno. Or would that be a waste, would Shuwen try to grab all the agro… she didn’t know him well enough to assess that.

---

Skill Used: Enchanter: Heal, Magic Light and Keen Edge
Word Count: 250
Tagged: Shuwen Avalon LuLu

[Shuwen]

Words: 718

Rook started giving him what sounded like a sermon, but before she could come to the point of her speech, they were suddenly (and surprisingly) interrupted by the entrance of another adventurer, another girl. As if that wasn’t surprising enough, she seemed to be in bad shape. Clothes torn, stomach growling, and apparently more then a little desperate. The fr- His thoughts were interrupted by a soft cry for help. The Monk sighed, trying not to look at where her clothing was torn as Rook started to heal her with magic. He used the interface to check some of her basic information. Let’s see, her name is LuLu, her name and class are… a level one bard? At level one, she definitely had no business in an area like Moon Dance Forest, especially by herself while playing a class that was geared more towards partying then soloing. Seriously, how did she even make it to this area? She shouldn’t have been able to make it through Windsor. Then again.… He briefly thought about some of the wrong turns he’d made back when he was still relatively unfamiliar with the game’s terrain and mentally dropped the question before he even asked it.

“I would advise using Call of Home to return to London immediately.” He told her, though he wasn’t sure if she could even understand him in her current condition. He turned upwards to look at some of the incoming monsters, which were presumably chasing Lulu. Rook started to cast basic Enchanter spell in an attempt to slow them down, which Shuwen appreciated. I dislike entering combat without knowing everything about the situation but…. He hadn’t even had a chance to see what was going on up ahead, though it sounded like a fight, but it seemed like another fight had come to them, so he didn’t really have much choice.

The first two monsters to show up through the trees were another Myobu and Nogitsune pair. It stood to reason, as they seemed to be the fasted monsters in the forest. Rook stopped them in their tracks with a root and sleep spell respectively, but they probably wouldn’t hold them for ling. The third was a Tanuki, who’s body was similar to that of a raccoon and utilized wind-based attacks. It released a burst of wind below itself, jumping over the incapacitated foxes and came down right towards Shuwen, but the Monk saw it coming. Taking a few steps forward to get a running start, he countered with Wyvern Kick, knocking it back towards the Kitsune. Three of them hmm? Stupid trains.

Running wasn’t always a good solution in an area you weren’t familiar with. During a headlong retreat, it was possible to accidentally agro more monsters, and have them chase you. In areas with few exits and clustered spawn points, it wasn’t unheard of to draw some extremely large groups in a line as they chased after you, the lines being known as “trains.” I guess I should be glad there’s only three of them. He’d seen trains of five or more monsters chasing a single adventurer, and he’d heard of people deliberately gathering trains of a dozen monsters simply for the fun of it. Needless to say, Shuwen did not find them very entertaining.

Okay, I’d better draw their agro before the foxes free themselves. He jumped up again and came down with an axe kick, using Aura Kick to get the monster’s attention. He then followed up with Tiger Echo Fist to knock them away and hopefully interrupt their initial attacks. The Tanuki had been about to hit him with a wind-based bite attack, but was blasted backwards. The Nogitsune was awakened due to being hit, releasing it from sleep. The Myobu was still rooted, so it wasn’t knocked back very much, but it didn’t seem capable of counterattacking right away. Not sure what the monsters or Rook would do next, he stood still for a moment so the Enchanter could take note of the current combat situation, and give him advice or instructions as needed. As she was farther back, it would probably be easier for her to get a better view of the “big picture” of the overall battle, and therefore was more likely to notice something of strategic importance then himself.

[LuLu]

The Darker of Two Evils

Lillian was stubborn. Sure, she had heard what the man, Shuwen, had said, but she had come all the way out here. She knew there must have been a town somewhere that she could go to, see, explore, but mainly sleep. London was so far and she didn't know when she would get the chance to come back to this place, where ever it was that 'this place,' was exactly. Despite the creepy red eyes and the creatures surrounding them, it had been a lovely road that she had been going down, so though she knew she could just activate Call to Home, she didn't want to. Yup, she was a stubborn one alright. She wasn't about just giving in and calling anything quits. She had been bred to be a fighter and that's exactly what she would do, though the monsters in the area were clearly too powerful for her to even touch and she didn't really have a lot of skills that could help others as she was, indeed, a solo player, but even still, she had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Soon after she had barged in on the pair, she felt the stinging cuts on her skin begin to lose their burn and she let go of the Shuwen's arm, finally realizing that she was still gripping onto it. She looked over at the girl, who announced her name as Rook and smiled weakly, beginning to feel better already. "Oh, um, Thanks Rook." She eyed her up as she did everyone she crossed paths with, knowing that she was the one who had caused her sliced skin to heal. "I'm LuLu.. Sorry for barging in, I was being chased." She heard the pitter patter sooner than she saw the familiar red eyes glaring from the forest line and she breathed in deeply. "Apparently still am.." Now that her wounds had been healed, she knew she should take action, especially as Rook began to cast skills on Shuwen. She equipped her trident and her tambourine. She was still much lower leveled than either player as well as the monsters, but she would do her best to help out when she could. She had buffs that would allow her to do at least some damage, or help them do increased damage to the creatures.

Once the creatures were in view, she watched as Shuwen took lead in the battle, probably attempting to take on the aggro of the creatures instead of the attention being focused on herself and Rook. She knew she couldn't do much but she began to twirl her tambourine, raising it into the air and smacking it off of her hand a few times, eventually making a soft, pretty beat. This automatically activated her skill [Resonance Beat] and a blue shock wave sent itself flying into one of the creatures. The monster glowed a bright blue color, but it looked at her. She probably shouldn't have chosen to put the skill on the highest leveled creature, but because of the skill, the hit after the beat had cast itself would cause extra damage. She bit her lip as she watched the creature watching her. She had drawn it's aggro so quickly as it hadn't yet been hit by Shuwen. She raised her Tambourine in the air and with her overly pop star sounding voice, said, "it's Showtime!~" For some reason she couldn't seem to get the skill to activate without the words. She had tried far too many times without an success. The sound of her voice and the way she said those words made her cringe internally, but she needed to take the creature's attention off of her.

A bright light began to shine down over Shuwen, her current target. "Shuwen! I'm sorry but I've directed all aggro on you!" She had to make sure she warned him, or else it could be worse. Then, she figured she should probably let them know about her other activated skill, in case they were familiar with what it did. She hadn't seen many Bards around, so she knew they weren't that popular of a class. "The monster glowing blue will take extra damage on it's next hit! I know I'm not very high leveled but if you can get one of them down to about a quarter health, I think I can manage to take it on!" She looked to her cooldown bar on Resonance Beat. She still had 18 seconds. But she was in a safe zone as long as she didn't attack. With that, and one of her other skills, she would be able to take down a lower leveled, lower health monster easily, or so she hoped. If she couldn't, perhaps she would use Call to Home, but she had to try. She couldn't justify leaving someone who had healed her behind, regardless of either of their levels. She realized then that she had become soft. Leave no man behind? Who was this new Lillian anyways?

HP 100%

MP 100%

- Equipment -
Starter Leather Armor

- Weapons -
Starter Trident
Starter Tambourine

- Words -
834

- Tags -
Shuwen, Rook, Avalon

- Skills Used -
[Resonance Beat]
[Showtime!]

- Notes -
-----

Decorated By KittyGrey<3

[Avalon]

tagged: Shuwen Rook LuLu words: 1184 add-on: easter charm [10%] armor: ouroboros [32] weapon: archangel [40]

Avalon’s animalistic amber eyes flashed in a sharp lightning display. She gazed intensely at her two wailing targets with both squirming in painful motions back and forth. It was a sorry sight to gaze upon with the withering bodies rolling on the ground but it unintentionally gave her a sense of pride at what she had been able to accomplish by her own self. She could felt her lips curve upwards in a small smile unexpectedly. Shifting her stance in a forward position, she swiftly stabbed both vulpine creatures who had threatened her survival earlier. Unlike in the beginning, she was felt less sympathetic to the monsters’ immediate demise when both of them dissipated into mere bubbles of anima. Besides over time, she had learned through experience that it was survival of the fittest. At least she wasn’t cruel enough to drag out the fight and relish in their misery. She wasn’t that sadistic. Sometimes, there was no time for hesitation and weakness or else you would be sent to the cathedral contemplating what you had done wrong. Those mocking words calling her a weak adventurer that would never survive out in the wilderness of the Elder Tale world, she eventually was able to prove those conceited people wrong. It took sheer willpower and help from unexpected individuals who surprised her in various ways. Still, she still had a long way to go until she considered herself strong as much as she disliked admitting it to herself. She breathed outwards to calm herself after battle filled intensity and adrenaline. She had a sense a sense of satisfaction over killing the two beastly monsters. It was as if she had earned a gold medal and presenting it with a genuine grin in front of her whole family, together again. Unfortunately, that was a distant dream and so far away from reach. All she could do was settle with these dangerous accomplishments and constantly fighting. It was the first thing she was faced with mere minutes after stepping hesitantly out of the city. Her wolffish pointed ears twitched in alertness at battle cries originating from seemingly more than one or two adventurers in combat not too far away from her location in the clearing. As she mentally focused her hearing and ears stood stiffed up, she could vaguely discern monsters yipping and growling. She could felt a tug of battle filled high in her heart yearning for her to head toward the source of the battle. With furrowing eyes, the reason for this pull might just be because she was high on adrenaline especially that she had engage in melee combat instead of her usual sniping abilities she had relied on the most. It was a too tempting urge for her to evade this curiosity that caused her heart to skip a beat and stomach flutter in anticipation. A chilling wind caused a rush of coldness and foreboding that unexpectedly made her think twice before rushing onto the scene of the fight. After an immediate second, she realized that charging into the battle would not be the ideal situation especially since she was still in the middle of recovering her health points. Even though she didn’t lose many health points in the fight with the aggressive vulpine creatures, she did’t want to risk the potential chance that things might turn sour for her. Like a boxer, she skulked with light footed steps quickly around the towering trees to quietly reach her eventual destination toward the adventurers and monsters in combat. As she gained closer distance, she could hear the clashing and announcing of skills back and forth sporadically. It seemed that they weren’t of a well synchronized made party or created right on the spot. She leaped up a tree and caught sight of a cobalt haired monk with canine features engaged in a fight with three beastly looking monsters that definitely weren’t happy. Their retched growling and yipping filled the area with the ferocious displays of baring their fangs at the opponents. She was greeted and listened to the fuchsia haired bard shouting that she had directed all the aggro on the wolf haired monk and her skill allowed him to deal a hefty damage on the monsters than usual. That was a good sign. Still if that were the case, there was still the aggressive Nogitsune and the Myobu that might cause some trouble if they were not careful enough in the battle. Based on her earlier fight, she had experienced first hand how the two monsters display intelligence and teamwork that she had not expected though adjusting her tactics had allowed her to soundly and swiftly come up on top. Should she assist? She cocked her head in thought and wondered if those adventurer’s would be slightly offended if she were to make her presence in the fight even if she helped them defeat those monsters in the slightest way. There were some adventurers that were too hard-headed and stubborn to recognize help when it was needed and be grateful when the time came for the thanks. She didn’t ask for much but it would have been nice for some thanks instead of them blowing her off. That was a bit rude but she couldn't do anything about it anyway. She couldn't forced others to do what she wanted. With a heated breath, she came to a decision to give them some unexpected assistance in the form of her refined and elegant Archangel with the grace of womanly touch. From a tree branch, she crouched downwards and carefully drew her bow and arrow maintaining her stable position on the thick branch from up above. Her heart heart slowed down softly in steady metronome pattern as her focus on the multiple targets deepened and intensely. A moment later, she whispered inaudible words and cocked her recurve bow into it’s position as she enchanted her weaponry of choice. With no hesitation, she released a barraged of arrows toward the beastly creatures making clear indication avoiding the adventurers below her. Her myriads of projectiles zoomed faster and faster in a straight line toward her intended targets with vigor. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be knocking her arrows from their destination. The poor myobu utterly trapped seemingly noticing the danger squirmed around desperately to escape from it’s impending demise but it was all in vain, it’s body burst into mere anima and disappeared into nothingness from sight. The tanuki that had been blasted back against a large tree trunk was swiftly violently swept back until it gave it’s final screeching in agony and dissipated into anima. Avalon bit her lip in irritation darting her eyes intently at the seemingly intelligent Nogitsune that came crawling from the location of the Tanuki. It appeared that it had quickly hid it’s meager self under the tanuki’s body until the raccoon’s last moment. At least it was down to it’s last health points and looked like just another hit would destroy it. “Anyone wanna do the honor of finishing it off?” she asked with a cheshire grin playing on her features.