Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 3:50:17 GMT
It was an extremely easy thing to hop from tree-branch to tree-branch. Vandal knew this to be one hell of a game before, but now that it functioned as an alternate reality instead, Elder Tale was placed on a whole another level of immersiveness. It was mainly due to his nature as an acrobat and the high jump skill, but he could trust his new body to know how to react and where to leap at a moment's notice. The Windsor Great-wood was a phenomenal place to practice his gymnastics as well, but at the moment he was actually on a different mission. Vandal quietly hopped onto the next branch and steadied himself by placing a hand on the trunk. Hardly a leaf rustled at his arrival despite his huge frame and weight. Becoming essentially an anthropomorphic leopard also wasn't too shabby either. People asked all the time since the moment of the catastrophe if he hated what this world made of him, and every time he just shook his head at them with as if disgusted. They wouldn't understand even if he told them. Others avoided him altogether with cautious or frightened expressions. It was all right. He didn't come to this world to win any fashion shows, thats for sure. From his perch upon the branch of the pine tree, Vandal peered down into the small clearing before him. A ray of sunshine was cast upon the middle of it, revealing a small boar grazing on the abundance of grass. The leopard-man did not immediately charge it though. He had a bit more sense than that. If the adult were to come out look for its baby, then Vandal could be in a world of hurt. His whiskers flinched mildly at the thought. He had never played this game before, so he had no real feel for how the combat or how the monsters worked yet. He needed to gain some experience before really cutting loose. He would also be damned if he was going to die at level one at the most basic area! Upon a much wider scan of the area and using what he thought were his overly-sensitive feline ears, Vandal concluded that there were no other boars around, adult-sized or otherwise. He did, however, manage to spot the two dull slimes at the base of the tree he was currently in just on the edge of the clearing. His bright-yellow eyes flickered, then narrowed vehemently. His first two victims in the entire game. Sure, they were really nothing special, but everyone had to started somewhere. His large, powerful hands gripped the trunk of the tree in barely-contained anticipation. The paws on his feet flexed their great claws and then retracted them back in as he felt the certainty of his kills. Neither they or the boar even noticed him yet. Maybe he could have been an assassin as well, but there was nothing quite like facing your opponent face-to-face and then beating the hell out of it with your bare hands.
It was time to get to work. He tried to conjure up the advice of a few other players. People who had time to experiment with this new reality. They told him to disregard the interface. The menu would simply take too long to navigate in battle. They told him to use his abilities as if he were still in real life. Whatever that meant. Did they mean: "as if you were performing the move physically, not in a game"? He shrugged slightly. No time to really think about it now. According to the skill description, all he had to do was... well, you'll see. The leopard-man let go of the tree-trunk and balanced himself on the branch, then tensed. All of a sudden he unleashed an intimidating, wild-cat's roar, then leapt into the air! He didn't even use his acrobat's skill this time. It felt more like a hop, but it was still excessively high thanks to his high mobility. The slimes seemed to freeze below him, but rather because of fear or merely trying to locate what made the sound he didn't know. He began to descend, but cocked his fist back as he hurtled down to them like a thunderbolt. "Leopaaaaaaaaaard... Echo Fist!!!!" He yelled in his deep, rough voice as he struck one of the slimes dead-on with his charged punch. The effect was... surprising, to say the least. Something went off like a bomb or grenade, enveloping the three of them in a small, smoky blast. He also saw the two slimes go flying when the explosion went off, but instead of aggro-ing to him, they merely de-materialized and vanished into nothingness. The leopard-man was unaffected by the blast, but by the pounding he felt in his fist, He supposed he took a bit of fall damage from his leap. He had to be smarter than that.
Vandal turned to his other opponent, the boar. It noticed him and the explosion he caused, but it seemed to be unsure of what to do. It glanced worriedly from side to side, and Vandal panted lightly as the cool-down from his Leopard Echo Fist dissipated. "What's the matter, pig...?" He took a single step toward his young opponent. "...Cat got your tongue?" That was all the boar could take. It squealed, turned about and began a retreat. "Oh no you don't!" Vandal gathered himself for a spring and took one mighty jump from his current position across the clearing, and thanks to his high jump ability, he gained enough arc to land well ahead of the boar. The big cat spun about on his heel and braced himself for the beast's wild charge by shifting into his iron-rhino stance. He immediately felt his muscles tighten. His skin seemed to grow harder. His blood heated to a boil. He felt like a wall, all of a sudden. "Show me what you've got, squealing game!" He felt the impact of the animal's skull, but held his ground and merely absorbed the damage. Yes, he could have dodged the boar's attack, but he wanted to assess the enemies he was facing right now. As expected, these were pittances. Nothing more than training devices. He kind of felt bad for the thing, actually. Now it was his turn, however. He dug his fingertips into the boar's head, steadying it even as it thrashed about. "You're mine!" He crouched down and gained leverage on the beast, then dragged it along with him as he jumped once more into the air. He spun the boar a few times, then hurled it rather vehemently over his shoulder as they came tumbling back down to the ground. There was a small crash! Boom! as the pig made contact with the earth. Vandal found himself landing rather harshly too. "Urgh!" He held onto his thigh. Fall damage was no joke. His whiskers flinched irritably. Even when he said he was going to act intelligently for now, he had gone and gotten himself injured in his first battle. He squinted and threw his glare at the boar... and caught the sight of it melting away into a digital breeze of colors. He killed it. All three. "Good..." He pushed himself to his feet. "...I hurt myself more than they did, though... better work on that..." With a slightly amused chuckle, Vandal began to half-walk, half-limp back the short distance to Londinium to rest. This was going to be a rather fun experience after all.
Word Count: 1255.
It was time to get to work. He tried to conjure up the advice of a few other players. People who had time to experiment with this new reality. They told him to disregard the interface. The menu would simply take too long to navigate in battle. They told him to use his abilities as if he were still in real life. Whatever that meant. Did they mean: "as if you were performing the move physically, not in a game"? He shrugged slightly. No time to really think about it now. According to the skill description, all he had to do was... well, you'll see. The leopard-man let go of the tree-trunk and balanced himself on the branch, then tensed. All of a sudden he unleashed an intimidating, wild-cat's roar, then leapt into the air! He didn't even use his acrobat's skill this time. It felt more like a hop, but it was still excessively high thanks to his high mobility. The slimes seemed to freeze below him, but rather because of fear or merely trying to locate what made the sound he didn't know. He began to descend, but cocked his fist back as he hurtled down to them like a thunderbolt. "Leopaaaaaaaaaard... Echo Fist!!!!" He yelled in his deep, rough voice as he struck one of the slimes dead-on with his charged punch. The effect was... surprising, to say the least. Something went off like a bomb or grenade, enveloping the three of them in a small, smoky blast. He also saw the two slimes go flying when the explosion went off, but instead of aggro-ing to him, they merely de-materialized and vanished into nothingness. The leopard-man was unaffected by the blast, but by the pounding he felt in his fist, He supposed he took a bit of fall damage from his leap. He had to be smarter than that.
Vandal turned to his other opponent, the boar. It noticed him and the explosion he caused, but it seemed to be unsure of what to do. It glanced worriedly from side to side, and Vandal panted lightly as the cool-down from his Leopard Echo Fist dissipated. "What's the matter, pig...?" He took a single step toward his young opponent. "...Cat got your tongue?" That was all the boar could take. It squealed, turned about and began a retreat. "Oh no you don't!" Vandal gathered himself for a spring and took one mighty jump from his current position across the clearing, and thanks to his high jump ability, he gained enough arc to land well ahead of the boar. The big cat spun about on his heel and braced himself for the beast's wild charge by shifting into his iron-rhino stance. He immediately felt his muscles tighten. His skin seemed to grow harder. His blood heated to a boil. He felt like a wall, all of a sudden. "Show me what you've got, squealing game!" He felt the impact of the animal's skull, but held his ground and merely absorbed the damage. Yes, he could have dodged the boar's attack, but he wanted to assess the enemies he was facing right now. As expected, these were pittances. Nothing more than training devices. He kind of felt bad for the thing, actually. Now it was his turn, however. He dug his fingertips into the boar's head, steadying it even as it thrashed about. "You're mine!" He crouched down and gained leverage on the beast, then dragged it along with him as he jumped once more into the air. He spun the boar a few times, then hurled it rather vehemently over his shoulder as they came tumbling back down to the ground. There was a small crash! Boom! as the pig made contact with the earth. Vandal found himself landing rather harshly too. "Urgh!" He held onto his thigh. Fall damage was no joke. His whiskers flinched irritably. Even when he said he was going to act intelligently for now, he had gone and gotten himself injured in his first battle. He squinted and threw his glare at the boar... and caught the sight of it melting away into a digital breeze of colors. He killed it. All three. "Good..." He pushed himself to his feet. "...I hurt myself more than they did, though... better work on that..." With a slightly amused chuckle, Vandal began to half-walk, half-limp back the short distance to Londinium to rest. This was going to be a rather fun experience after all.
Word Count: 1255.
