A Little Too Much Water [CA1/Closed]

[Celsius]

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After a long, water-logged journey across a body of water, involving a small ferry and a rather strange ferryman, the two fox-tails had eventually arrived at the island where this fountain was supposed to be. Cel wasn't exactly happy with the journey over, but she didn't complain about it. If it was the only way to get to the fountain, until someone had made a better method of transportation, then this is just what they had to deal with. Granted, Cel's tail was now drenched, thanks to the boat itself being quite small, but she would get over it in due time. Hopefully, Artemisia hadn't had as rough a time as she did, since two people with wet tails would result in a rather upsetting tale later on in life. Cel looked around the place, and took in the environment, before much of anything else.

Surrounding what Cel had imagined was the fountain was a rather old, decrepit temple. The building itself seemed to be rather destroyed, as though time and erosion had taken its toll on the place. There were a few steps to take in order to get up and into the ruined establishment, but that would come in due time. Taking an opportunity, Cel turned around and looked behind them, to the waters that they had crossed. The ferryman was rowing away, with his excuse of a boat, but she looked beyond that. There were some storms off on the horizon, though none of them were close at all. It appeared that the sages were correct in saying that the recent weather patterns would make this place a bit easier to access. Hopefully, it stayed that way for the time being, since Cel couldn't really deal with more wet tail syndrome.

Her eyes shifted back to the destroyed temple before them, and eventually the fountain that she could see in the middle of it. Turning to the other fox-tail, she spoke. "I'd wager a guess in saying that that fountain holds the answers the sages seek." As obvious as that was, it still helped to address it. Probably. "Perhaps we should go take a look?" Cel decided that she would wait for the higher leveled, more experienced member of their party go ahead first, since she didn't know what exactly would be up there. Hopefully, it would be nothing worth worrying over, and they could just find whatever it was that the sages wanted, and then leave. At least, that was the idea. That being made up in her mind, Cel would wait for Artemisia's move, before doing much of anything else, at the current time. She would look out to the sea once again, as a breeze came in.

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∝: 453
♫: Autumn 81
✏: Cel doesn't like being wet.
@: @sugarygiggles

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The boat, if one could call it that, which the two ladies had managed to arrange for did not exactly provide the smoothest or driest means of transportation. Artemisia would have been willing to put some of her gold towards a slightly more... secure and larger vessel but it had been very difficult to find anyone willing to venture where they needed to go. Despite several attempts, the Sorceress and Assassin had only managed to find a lone ferryman with a tiny boat who was willing to take them to the Isle of Thule. Apparently it was bad luck or something, she wasn't quite sure, with the storms chasing most people off anyways. In exchange for a small amount of gold and a piece of food she had been carrying, the were brought to the shore and left there.

Once on dry land, Artemisia grimaced as she ran her fingers through her ridiculously long hair. It was damp and sticky from the salty sea water which had been spraying up. She noticed that Cel seemed to have gotten her tail into the water and it was pretty soaked, sloshing behind her as she walked. She held back the snicker that bubbled up and kept her composure... surely the situation was uncomfortable for the girl and she didn't want to embarrass her by pointing out her wet behind. Not that she probably looked much better, anyways. She flicked one of her pigtails behind her, disgusted and unable to do anything about it and turned her attention to her surroundings. It seemed her blue haired friend was also taking in the scenery – it was hard not to.

Before them was what could only be described as something close to ruins. She would have described it as a temple of some sort and it looked as if, at one time, it had been a rather beautiful display on the island. Now, it was weather worn and eroded, clearly abandoned on this stormy island. In the distance, gray, ominous clouds were swirling, as if threatening to drench the pair in a downpour of rain and, most likely, thunder and lightning. They seemed to be too far off to be an immediate threat but it was worth noting their existence, just in case the winds changed. Turning her green eyes back onto the run down building, Artemisia heard Cel speak beside her. She spoke of the fountain which you could just barely see inside the center of the temple. The fox tail wondered if, a long time ago, this had been some sort of religious place. Perhaps a temple to honor a spirit of the water or some such. She wasn't sure what exactly the entire lore regarding the religion of the Landers and the ancient races were, so it was just random speculation. Cel suggested perhaps they should take a closer look, which Artemisia agreed with.

“Let me go first,” She said as she brought out her weapon – a staff called Midnight Sky which had recently been crafted for her by her guild leader. Even in the overcast light, the staff still sparkled, shining a bright blue in color. She was quite proud of it and the way it turned out. Even though her class was one of the squishy classes, she still had higher base defense than Cel, who was lower level than her and also of one of the more easily damaged classes. “Who knows what we're going to run into...” She started off in the direction of the fountain, keeping her ears perked up and her eyes wide. Her blue staff was gripped tightly between her hands and was held across her chest, ready if she needed it. It wasn't far to the temple but she was more worried about what was in there than out here.

The blonde took the first hesitant step into the run down temple and immediately swept her vision across the inside. “I don't see anything, you can come in,” She motioned to Cel that it seemed safe enough. However, she kept her staff out. The inside smelled of mildew and the air felt damp and heavy somehow. Walking towards the fountain, Artemisia looked down into it. Her green eyes immediately went wide with awe. Despite the ruined outside, the fountain itself was still beautiful inside. The water was a pristine, shining blue. “What is that...?” The Sorceress pointed at the water. It seemed very deep, so much so she couldn't see the bottom clearly. However, from the depths there appeared to be something glowing at the bottom, perhaps giving the water its perfectly blue color from the light. “I bet it's important,” She laughed, looking at Cel and then back down at the water. “Any suggestions to get it out? Looks really far down there...” She reached down and touched the surface of the water, her pointer finger just barely slipping past the surface of the cool liquid. “Just seems like water to me?” She said, a bit of a questioning tone to her voice as she considered it. She had expected something more challenging than just a glowing-something-or-other at the bottom of a deep well, basically.

--
Notes: :) I hope we both have the same image in mind, haha
Words: 862
Tags: Celsius

[Celsius]

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Artemisia had agreed to going in first, due to the obviously dangerous nature of what could have been before them. Cel, on the other hand, would use this time to pat off her tail, to see if she could remove any of the excess moisture that had made its way onto her backside. While she was doing this, she had accidentally felt a bit of the clothing nearby her bottom and how drenched that had been. An immediate flash of embarrassment flew across her face, as she started to fluffy up her tail again. Luckily enough, she had had a spare cloth with which she used to help dry her tail off. When she was sure nobody else was looking, she started to dry off the bottom of her skirt, but to no avail. She had made a mental note to make sure that she didn't sit down anytime soon, or else she would be reminded of how the boat ride had gone.

Cel had heard the fox-tail up ahead say that the coast was clear, no pun intended. She followed up the girl, looking around. It definitely was ruined on the inside, as much as it was outside. Must have been one hell of a storm, or a really long time since anybody touched up in here, Cel thought. However, that wasn't the point of this expedition. What was, however, was the fountain in the middle of the temple, which had drawn the Sorceress's attention. Following her over, Cel stopped and looked around a bit more. It was a nice enough looking temple, and perhaps a little bit of touching up would fix all the problems that it currently had. All it needed was a woman's touch, to make it look at least 300% better than it did currently. Then again, 300% of 0 is still 0. Maybe a thought for another time, then.

Eventually, though, her attention would be brought over to the fountain in question. As Artemisia was looking into it, she noticed that the girl had spotted something down at the bottom of the well. It looked to be some kind of a rock at the bottom, or something like that. Cel had put her hand into the water, and swished it around a little bit. It sure looked like water, but it didn't really feel like water. "I'd be inclined to agree, it looks important enough..." Cel fell silent for a few seconds, and the swished her hand around in the water once again. She stood up onto the fountain, and looked down into the water. A moment later, she found herself jumping, feet first, into the water's edge. As though she had already known, she took a breath, and was able to breathe just fine. She looked up to the Sorceress above her, and motioned for her to follow. She also motioned to show that she could breathe under the water, and then started to swim down to the base of the fountain.

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∝: 499
♫: New Bodhum
✏: Out of the ocean, into the fountain.
@: @sugarygiggles

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The blue haired girl also stuck her hand into the water, after Artemisia had done so. She swirled her fingers around in it, also noticing that it was water... but it wasn't exactly water, either. She agreed that whatever was at the bottom of the fountain well was, indeed, important and they needed to retrieve it. Artemisia mentally flipped through her repertoire of skills, wondering if she had anything that would work. Just as she was about to mention her skill Psychic Conductor, which allowed her to move inanimate objects, the female Assassin jumped up on the edge of the fountain, looking down. Artemisia's green eyes went wide as the scene played out in front of her, much too fast for her to say anything. Without any words or warning, Cel jumped feet first into the liquid. The water splashed up, flowing over the rim and onto the ground, dampening her shoes. A few droplets landed on her cheeks and she recoiled a little – it was pretty cold! However, she quickly brushed aside being splashed and looked down into the water, her hands resting on the edge in case she needed to suddenly vault herself in.

Her near panic attack was apparently unnecessary as when she looked down into the crystal clear water, she could see Cel was just fine. She was actually more than fine, she was motioning her to join her and clearly breathing without choking. Magic water you could breathe in...? The Assassin started swimming down towards the depths of the fountain. Not wanting to be left behind, or to leave Cel alone, Artemisia lifted herself up over the edge and hesitantly slipped her feet into the water. She returned her staff to its place in her inventory, as she wasn't sure she could swim with it and she didn't want to damage it. She wasn't sure how the other girl had just thrown herself in without any idea of what she was getting herself into. The Sorceress would have much preferred to examine the situation first, perhaps study the surroundings for a clue as to what was down there before they went and put their hands on it. Shaking her head, she lowered herself the rest of the way down into the cool water, holding her breath out of habit. She felt light, as if she belonged in the water. A bit skeptical, she slowly exhaled the air she was holding, letting the little bubbles float to the surface and pop. Just as cautiously, she inhaled again but Cel had been right (obviously, since she was doing it) you could breathe in this special water.

Artemisia pointed her body down and kicked off the inside of the well, diving straight down quickly to catch up with her partner, who was a little bit ahead of her. It was a good thing they were able to breathe down here, it was even deeper than it had looked from up there, and it had already seemed pretty far down. Blonde hair flowing behind her, the petite fox tail continued to swim deeper, Cel right by her side. Neither one of the girls was particularly large so they fit in the small space. The closer they got, the brighter the glowing became, slowly changing from just a light to a shape. It was some sort of stone, rounded and smooth. After a few minutes of swimming, the duo reached the bottom and the orb they thought they wanted. Treading water to keep from floating back up, Artemisia stopped and looked at the other girl. She had this feeling – there had to be more to this. There was absolutely no way this was this easy or else the Sages themselves could have just come here. No, they chose to send Adventures... the powerful and immortal beings of this world. If Cel attempted to reach for it, she would try to stop her. Somehow, this felt like a trap to the blonde. She knew they couldn't stay at a stalemate like this forever, though...

There had to be some sort of hint down here as to just what would happen if they laid their hands onto this shining rock, she just had to find it and quickly.

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Notes: I read the next part and it said as soon as you touch it, the monster comes out and we need to get 3 each in here so I kinda stalled at the end. It probably doesn't give you much to go by but I can have Artemisia touch it next post, or whatever you want.
Words: 706
Tags: Celsius

[Celsius]

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The crystal-haired fox-tail had begun to swim down to the bottom of the fountain, as she felt a bit of the water move and shift around her. She could tell that Artemisia was likely following her up at this point, so she didn't look back quite yet. The fountain seemed to be much bigger on the inside than it was outside, as there was actually a good deal of room between herself and the wall, and the center of the fountain. It left her plenty of room to swim around in, which she was more than grateful for. However, Cel wasn't big in any regard, so she could have easily moved around without too much trouble. Her lance had been put back into her inventory, as she and the blonde fox-tail would make their way slowly down to the bottom of the fountain, which seemed to be a long-lasting endeavor.

A little while later, Cel had reached the bottom of the well, and waited for Artemisia to show up as well. She looked up at the much stronger Sorceress, waiting for some kind of motion that would indicate that she was ready to move ahead. Without seeing one right away, Cel would reach her hand out to grab the item, only to be stopped by her friend. Looking up and at the girl, she gave a puzzling complexion, though she just let it be for the time being. She floated a little bit away from the object on the ground, leaving plenty of room for the Sorceress to grab the item instead. Cel had a very strange feeling about all of this, though, and she didn't know how exactly to think of it. What was the purpose of this rock at the bottom of the fountain? Was this even what they needed to find? Who could say, after all?

In the meantime, Cel would look around a little bit more, wondering how and why they were able to live and breathe under this water. It didn't make a lot of sense, since water itself would have found its way into their lungs by now, and both of them likely would have suffocated. She wondered if this was some kind of a special water, or one that would have been effective only on Adventurers, given that they were able to revive. Perhaps the ability to breathe in this water had stemmed from how the world could have possibly worked on Adventurers. Maybe, anyways, since this was all just speculation, given the current circumstances by which Celsius had been forced into, for this exact moment in time. Her eyes eventually shifted back to Artemisia, waiting for whatever her reaction and next moves would be. Hopefully something that she could follow, of course.

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∝: 460
♫: Wandering Flame
✏: Scientific Thoughts at the end.
@: @sugarygiggles

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Artemisia continued to stare at the glowing object only a few feet from her. This was getting them no where fast. Cel had obliged to her silent request for her not to touch it yet but something had to be done. They could return to the surface and discuss it but who knew what magic had allowed them down here in the first and if it would allow repeated trips below the surface. Not only that but there wasn't much to be discussed. The question was simple – touch it or not? The decision, however, was slightly more difficult to decide. Surely, the reason they were here was probably this very thing and certainly they needed to obtain it in some way but what was the best way to do so? No matter how long she stared at it, it didn't telepathically communicate with her and tell her what she should do. Even looking around her wasn't helpful. The walls of the well were barren and smooth and held no clues or hints. Other than the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, there were no signs that this was actually anything more than a glowing stone.

But just being a glowing stone in a world such as this one was typically enough to make a person stop and question the situation. She closed her green eyes for a moment, gathering her confidence and thoughts. Cel seemed to have the better personality for this, she had shown more bravery and spontaneity than the higher leveled girl but their levels were the key factor. If something did happen, it needed to be with Artemisia taking the brunt of it. She opened her eyes and, still feeling unsure, reached forward. She wanted more than anything for absolutely nothing to happen, for it to just be a boring stone that had fallen in here but the chance of that was bordering on impossible. Hopefully, at least, it would be something she could handle.

As if time were moving in slow motion, it seemed to take ages for her fingers to reach the glowing orb. Muscles tightened, heart racing, and mind churning with different scenarios and plans, Artemisia finally reached it. Her fingers brushed against the smooth surface and it felt warm to the touch. Both of her hands encircled it, her fingers wrapping around it. She pulled it forward, towards her. It only took a moment for Artemisia's worst fears to be confirmed. It truly was not an ordinary stone at the bottom of the well. Of course it wasn't. The light flashed in response and surrounded them...

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Notes: Whee~
Words: 435
Tags: Celsius

[Celsius]

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A light had flashed, just as Artemisia had touched the stone in the water. Something was wrong here. Cel didn't know what, but something. All she knew was that they needed to get out of the water. Something bad was definitely going to happen, if they didn't leave the fountain right now. She kicked off the floor of the fountain, launching herself upwards. She knew that she didn't have enough power from that one kick to get up to the top, but she would struggle as hard as she could, in order to make it out of the water's edge. As she did this, she hoped that the other fox-tail was on her way up, as well. She felt something strange in the waters, after the light had flashed. She couldn't explain it, but it was just a powerful sensation that she felt. Call it her will to survive, or something like that.

On her way up, she noticed something strange about her health bar and her level. There must have been some kind of a bug, in that it had read much higher than she had originally thought it would have read. The interface might be a bit bugged, thanks to the strange water all around them, which had allowed them to breathe for a long time now. Whatever it was, she just chocked it up to that, since there was no viable way that her level and health would have been boosted up to as though she were level 90. That was just a rather silly notion. As she thought about this, though, she felt something swimming around behind her. She turned quickly to look, but saw nothing there. When she confirmed that there wasn't anything else to see, she continued her straight upward motion.

Eventually, she had reached the top of the water's edge, and thrust her hands up and into the air. It was brisk, and the sky above had begun to cloud up much more than it had been before. Perhaps this was the source of her foreboding feeling? She couldn't tell for sure, at the time, though she jumped up and away from the fountain. She kept moving a little ways away, until she had felt she was far enough from it. Turning around, she looked to make sure that the other fox-tail had also gotten out of the water. A moment later, a huge body exploded from the water's edge. Water flew up and around it, as it landed just a little ways away from the girls. Squinting at the massive monster, Cel had called upon her weapon, equipping it quickly. Perhaps another bug having happened, because it also read level 90. She ignored it for now, and stared down the beast.

* * *

From within the depths of the water, he swam. The targets he saw, holding his precious stone. He would not let them get away. He would not let them escape. However, the one had been moving up, and he followed her. He knew that she wanted to escape the water's edge, and he would let her for now. It mattered not, as their fates were sealed long before they had touched the stone. The moment they had entered the fountain, was the moment that their lives were forfeit. He leaped out of the water, splashing it all around himself as he did so. His eyes glared at the two, as his anger flourished. Brachyura looked down upon the two, his voice ragged and hateful. "Give it back..." He muttered. "Give me back... My precioussss sssssstone!!!" He reeled his many arms up into the air, and howled.

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∝: 605
♫: A Contest of Aeons
✏: Boss time.
@: @sugarygiggles

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The bright flash of light nearly blinded the young blonde and her entire body recoiled. Her first reaction was to drop the stone but something in the back of her mind told her to hold onto it, to not let it go. She listened to her own subconscious and, despite the shock of the sudden events, kept her grip firmly. Beside her, she felt the water swirl and she was able to see Cel kick off the bottom of the well, racing towards the surface. Artemisia quickly followed after her, launching her own petite frame through the water as quickly as she could. It had been a long way down and it seemed to be an even longer way back up. Something was happening and it was sending chills down the Sorcerer's spine. She didn't dare look back into the depths of the well, only continued to kick and swim. With one arm holding the stone, it was slightly more difficult and the Assassin was able to stay ahead of her.

As the pair swam towards the mouth of the well, Artemisia felt a strange sensation come over her. In the corner of her vision, where she could always passively view some information about herself, she saw her health and mana bars growing significantly. The bars stretched and stretched, expanding to nearly double their original size. She was able to more easily push through the water, the resistance meaning less and less to her. Beside the bars, her level flicked and rose, jumping up levels as her health grew in response. The closer they were to the surface, the stronger the feeling was that another being was present in the water with them. She saw Cel look down and around, as if she was also experiencing the same feeling. By the time they reached the surface, her display indicated she was now a level 90 Adventurer. Something was off about it somehow, though, as if it had been artificially altered. She knew she did not suddenly jump to almost three times her current level but the odd sensation she was experiencing made her feel as if she had.

Her hands shot out of the water as soon as she reached the surface, gripping at the stone ledge. She was confused, scared and also a bit excited all at the same time. Adrenaline coursed through her body, speeding up her heart and pumping extra blood and oxygen to her muscles, making her entire body ready for whatever was coming – be it a fight or a flight. She raised her body out of the water, pulling herself up and throwing herself over the edge. Her feet hit the ground with a dull thud, splashing water everywhere. The cool air assaulted her soaking body and goosebumps popped up all over her exposed skin. She didn't have time to concern herself with whether or not it was possible to catch a cold in this world, she needed to get herself and Cel away from whatever was brewing in the water. The blue haired girl also seemed to agree with this thought as she continued moving away from the well some distance. Through the crumbling walls of the temple, Artemisia could see that the sky had darkened and it appeared as if storm clouds were moving in. It only served to add to her concerns over what was happening. The two fox tails had only a second to make eye contact to confirm each others (possibly temporary) safety before something exploded out of the water they had just escaped.

Before she was even fully turned around, the blonde was calling forth her staff, Midnight Sky. As the weapon materialized, she saw its stats cross across her vision – it too had been raised to the high level of ninety. As a Scholar, she wanted to take the time examine this phenomenon but it would have to wait. Artemisia carefully dropped the stone into a bag on her hip, as she needed both her hands to properly wield her weapon, and turned fully to face the monster. Her vision landed on a large crab-like monster, it was quite large and apparently very angry. It demanded they return the object they had just found at the bottom of the fountain. She was sure now that this had indeed been what they had come here for and it was finally starting to make sense why the Sage's had not come themselves. There was probably some sort of indication of this creature on the tablet(s) they had recovered previously. A little warning of the potential dangers would have been appreciated.

Artemisia immediately toggled on her Evaluate skill, calling up a small display which gave her an insight into what they were fighting. She was usually very cautious and entered situations after she was sure the odds were in her favor. She hadn't calculated this excursion properly and she had doomed both herself and her new friend. No... Artemisia shook the thought aside as she examined the information. We can do this, we'll be fine. She reassured herself. She would protect Cel, no matter what. They were getting off this island with this rock. The blonde would absolutely not allow the duo to face defeat. She had, mostly through avoiding dangerous situations, yet to die in this world and as far as she was concerned, it was not on her list of things to do anytime soon. “It's called Brachyura and it's weak to lightning,” She quickly began reading off everything she could in the moment they had before the creature would surely attack. It was quite angry and was taking a moment to rage, throwing a tantrum beside the well. “Resists poisons, slows and can't be put to sleep,” She was about to begin examining the skills but her moment was coming to an end as Brachyura was positioning himself (itself?) for an attack.

Feeling full of energy and power, Artemisia decided to start this fight off with a bang. She had more mana than she was used to and, perhaps recklessly, decided to use one of her high damage spells right from the start. Before she could do that, though, she needed to speed up her casting time. If she just stood here, she'd never finish channeling before this monster barreled her over. First, she toggled on her ability Robust Battery, which amplified her spells so long as she didn't move. An intricately designed magic circle spiraled out from her feet, glowing on the ground beneath her. It was small but while standing inside of it, all of her spells would be increased. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay in this spot for long but with the combo she was planning, it would benefit her for now. As soon as that was on, which was instant, she activated another instant cast spell she had learned – Celerity. This spell allowed her next one to be instantly cast, ignoring any channeling time that may be necessary. Immediately she felt her being well up with power, with her mana ready to be burst forth. She knew exactly which spell she was going to use, too.

Sucking in a deep breath, Artemisia called out the name of the attack she had chosen. “Lightning Chamber!” It had felt like ages since the two had burst out from the well but really, only a few brief moments had passed. Her body was still drenched and her cloth armor was sticking to her. Her blonde locks were dripping, slowly losing bits of water as she stood there. The monster, too, would be wet. Perfect for a lightning based spell. A blue-purple light burst forth from the end of her staff and hurled itself at the monster. As it moved it took shape, forming itself into a glowing pentagon of lightning. Much like static electricity would, it latched onto the crab monsters body and dealt repeated bursts of magical damage, most likely sending shocks of pain through its limbs. The spells all immediately went onto cool down, timers beginning in her upper view and a chunk of her mana slipped away, very slowly beginning to refill. Hopefully with the reoccurring shocks going through its body, its reaction time would be slower and would allow Cel to get in some attacks as well. They were both rather squishy classes so they needed to avoid taking direct hits as often as possible.

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Notes: Hope this works, lemme know if not.
Words: 1405
Tags: Celsius
Skills Used: 

Evaluate: - Scholar Roleplaying Subclass, Tier I Skill - This skill allows the scholar to gain additional details about the enemy. While most players can access an interface that shows the monster's name, level, current HP, and current MP, the scholar obtains an additional interface when this skill is used. It has a one second cast time and one second cooldown time. The target's elemental weaknesses and a brief summary of their skills will be made available to the Scholar any time they access the target's interface.

Robust Battery: - Sorcerer Class, Tier II Skill - A toggle skill, this ability makes the Sorcerer take an alert stance and conjures a magic circle at their feet. This magic circle's radius is extremely small with a base of 1 meter radius, so that even taking a few steps in any direction can cancel it. In exchange for the user's virtual immobility, Robust Battery greatly improves the user's magic attacks and is viable enough that some focus a character build around it. Sorcerers who wish to incorporate this skill into their routine should be sure that their party can provide adequate support.

Celerity: - Adventurer, Tier II Skill - A skill coveted by mages and healers, allowing them to quickly condense the casting rituals for any particular spell during an emergency. After Celerity is used, the next skill used by the character within the next 10 seconds will have an instant casting time. If used to cast a damage-dealing skill during PVP, the damage of the spell is halved. This skill has an instant cast time and a cooldown of 60 seconds.

Lightning Chamber: - Sorcerer Class, Tier II Skill - A spell that generates a pentagram of blue-purple lightning that attaches onto the target and deals a high dose of continuous lightning damage. It boasts one of the highest amounts of single target burst damage among the Sorcerer's skills, but generates a lot of aggro in return. After the Sorcerer has reached Level 60, an alternate casting of Lightning Chamber can be performed. This spell, called Chained Lightning, has a shorter casting and cooldown time but deals slightly lesser damage, uses up a little bit more MP, and generates a little bit more aggro. Lightning Chamber has a casting time of 4 seconds and a cooldown time of 30 seconds. If Chained Lightning is used, this skill instead has a casting time of 2 second and a cooldown time of 20 seconds.

[Celsius]

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Something was... Strange, about this encounter. The monster that had appeared, having been called Brachyura, was a giant crab-like monster, that seemingly enjoyed to fight and kill, while also havign a massive frame, far too big for its own good. That being said, the other thing that crossed the fox-tail's mind was also the fact that everything about her had become stronger. Everything and anything that she had access to was now bigger, better, more powerful. She just felt... Strong. With Artemisia at her side, she knew that they would be able to fight and kill this monster without too much trouble, but also having a hell of a struggle in doing so. This was an MMO boss battle. This was the kind of stuff that Anya enjoyed in video games. This would be Cel's biggest challenge for the time being.

And like hell was she going to just standby and let it pass her. She immediately twirled her lance around in her hands, and slammed the butt of it onto the ground, as a massive puff of smoke had appeared around her. [Hazecloud Vault] had taken effect, surrounding the Assassin in smoke, barring most vision inside the puff to her enemy. At this point, Artemisia had already begun her attacks, casting a bolt of lightning over towards the monster. In the meantime, Cel searched through all her available skills for now, as well as what Hazecloud Vault did exactly. It tripled her jumping ability, allowing her to become more Dragoon-like in her skills and attacks for the next few seconds, which she decided she would take full use of right now. However, one more thing had to be done beforehand.

Given the information she had been given by Artemisia, she wasn't sure if she could use a lot of it to her own advantage. Instead, Cel brought her hand back next to her head, and charged up a [Void Shuriken] to appear in her hand. She immediately launched it from the smoke, impacting directly with the monster before her. Afterwards, she leaped up high into the air, combining both the effect from Hazecloud Vault with another skill of hers. She had made sure to apply the skill [Death Stinger] to her weapon, before having jumped up and into the air. Now that she was high above the monster, she twirled her lance around a few times, activating the second part of [Piercing Pillar]. She brought her weapon down and into the monster, stabbing down into it with great force. After the weapon collided with the monster, the Assassin sprung off and back a little ways, having completely shifted to the monster's other side. Brachyura was now in an ironic pincer attack.

---

The battle had begun. The monster had been attacked by very, very powerful blast of lightning from the Sorcerer that had been there. After he recovered from the attack, he moved to attack the puff of smoke that was now closer to him, from where a small object had been thrown and attacked him from. As his mighty pincer reached down to slam the target area, he managed only to clear away the smoke that had been there, revealing nothing. From high above, he had taken a powerful hit to the head from a lance, and reeled back in a good deal of pain. He turned around to look at the one who had attacked him most recently. His anger boiled up to a point, causing him to start casting a spell. [Empathiom Sea] had been used, as a massive wave crashed all throughout the temple arena. This would hopefully hit both of the attackers, and deal a decent amount of damage to them both. He roared, as the sea set forth.

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∝: 624
♫: Summoned Beast Battle
✏: Still more fighting.
@: @sugarygiggles

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Taking advantage of the high powered attack the Sorceress had launched at the monster, the blue-haired Assassin was quick to unleash her own series of painful hits. Brachyura was unable to keep up with the girls flips and lithe movements. True to her subclass of Acrobat, her in frame easily launched into the air and twisted about, landing her on the opposite side of the crab monster. The two now had him trapped between them, distracting him and making it more difficult for the monster to determine where to attack. The only disadvantage was the two females could no longer communicate with each other to coordinate their attacks. Artemisia would simply have to focus on herself for now and trust in her budding friendship with Celsius to allow them to have some sort of subconscious coordination. Perhaps that was stretching the logical abilities of the two Adventurers but stranger things had happened in her life... like ending up inside a computer game, for one.

After Celsius had finished her first round of attacks, Brachyura, angered and surely in pain, let loose his own response in the form of a large tidal wave type attack. Immediately her mind snapped to her Frigid Wind spell, which might have been able to freeze the wave coming at her, but there was no way she could cast it in time. Celerity was still on cool down, and would be for quite a bit longer, so there was no way for that idea to work. Doing the only other thing she could think of, Artemisia cast her Blink ability. As soon as she moved, her previous spell Robust Battery was broken, however, returning her damage level to normal. Blink had a much shorter cast time, although it was quite unpredictable in nature. The blonde dived to her left, away from the water, and hoped the spells random factor would be in her favor.

Her small frame flickered out and then reappeared, a few feet from her previous position. The fox tail girl turned around just in time to see she had not quite cleared the range of the incoming wave. Bracing herself, she took the water attack face first, although she had managed to move to the outside of it, which made it slightly less powerful than if she had stood in the middle. All the same, it was strong enough to sweep her back, carrying her a few feet until her back hit a tree to stop her. It was not a rough impact but it was enough to send a jolt through her body. Spitting out the salty taste with a grimace and standing slowly, now that the water had passed, she saw about fifteen percent of her health had also washed away.

It wasn't much and she was lucky she was able to reduce the damage as much as she had been. The wave, which seemed to go in all directions, had left her unable to dodge but she had a feeling the Assassin may have fared better, with her ability to leap high into the air and otherwise be much more agile and than the Sorceress. Taking advantage of the moment and hoping the enemy monster had not seen her, with her body having suddenly been moved to a new location, Artemisia slipped behind the tree she had collided with. She knew it may worry Celsius if she couldn't see her but she needed to be uninterrupted in her casting. With this in mind, from a much safer distance between her and the crab, the blonde began prepping her next attack. She was planning to stick with the lightning theme and she had just the one in mind. With the stormy backdrop of the island, it was perfect. But, it took a while to prepare. Careful to do so behind the trunk of the tree, Artemisia raised her staff into the air and began to channel her mana. From the tip of her weapon, her mana dispersed into the sky, mixing with the clouds above. The sky began to swirl and twist, filling with static. Several seconds passed as the attack prepared itself and she could only rely on Celsius to keep the monster distracted, to allow her this time she needed.

“Magi Lightning, Grand Fall!” A bolt of lightning flashed down from the clouds with Brachyura being its sole target. The air crackled and felt heated for a moment as the bolt touched down and, hopefully, connected with the water monster.

---
Notes: Better late than never? Post 2/5 for fight
Words: 753
Tags: Celsius
Skills Used:

Magi Lightning, Grand Fall: - Sorcerer Class, Tier I Skill - The Sorcerer raises their hand or weapon to the sky and performs a casting animation, causing a portion of the sky to saturate itself with mana. Afterward, a thunderbolt will fall from the sky and strike the foe for lightning damage. This skill cannot be used on a target indoors. If it is cloudy or stormy when this skill is used, its damage is doubled. If used in stormy weather, it also splash damages everything within 1 meter of the target. The sign of a bolt from the blue is a significant phenomenon talked among the People of the Land, so this skill has had a number of names such as "Fury of God". This skill is notable for being a technique with a massive range, except that its casting time and cooldown prevents the skill from being anything other than a combat initiator. This skill has a casting time of 5 seconds, a range of 25 meters, and a cooldown of 30 seconds.

[Celsius]

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A massive wave had begun to form between the Assassin and Brachyura. An attack, she could fairly easily tell, was coming her way. It rose up, higher and higher into the sky, giving her the inflection that she wouldn't necessarily be able to dodge it. For now, she could only try her best to move away, gain as much distance as she could between herself and the attacking monster, to see if that would lessen the damage that would be coming her way. Without any other thought in her mind right now, Cel started to move in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for her, the only things that way were walls and pillars from the old foundation of the building itself, which meant that she would likely be forced into something akin to a corner. For now, that didn't matter. She needed distance. She needed speed.

Twirling the lance she held in her hands around a few times, placing it upon her back, the fox-tail began to bolt off in the direction of the far-side wall. It wasn't too far, but it should provide some kind of damage reduction, she hoped. Given that the strength coursing through her was still there, it had given her some kind of a confidence. Upon reaching the wall, she turned around, and picked the lance off her back once more, holding it in a defensive manner. The wave eventually began crashing down, and undoubtedly hit her. All she could do was grin and bear it, as the waters splashed up against her. They held within them some powerful force, which caused her to slam up against the wall behind her. Since she was already up against it, it didn't hurt too much, but the indentation on her health bar stated otherwise. As the wave subsided, the clouds above the monster seemed to swell and swirl, eventually causing a bright clash of lightning down upon the beast. The blast was powerful enough to cause a sharp pain in her ears to spike, forcing her hands up over her ears. Sometimes having sensitive ears wasn't as beneficial as one might think.

That strike must have come from Artemisia, she figured, which meant that she was still in the fight. Having lost sight of the other fox-tail when the wave started to materialize, she assumed that the other girl was able to at least lessen the damage for herself. As her hearing came back, she looked up in enough time to see the crab's giant claw swinging at her. Without enough time to evade, Cel simply tried to brace herself using the lance in her hands. Even still, she was knocked far away, and tumbled against the ground a few times. Coming to a stop soon afterwards, another chunk of her health having been removed, she looked up at the seafood, a simple look of anger flashed in her eyes. Too much damage this time around, she figured, and she hadn't dealt enough on her own accord. It was time to break out and deal some damage.

She started by activating a few skills, allowed by this instance. Starting off by buffing herself with [Death Stinger] and [Shadow Arts Invigoration], her overall damage would increase. Almost instinctively, her tail raised up a little, as she stood back up, gritting her teeth. A slight growl could be heard from her, as her composure had gone entirely out the window by this point. She swapped her lance over to one hand for a moment, and began to cast a few [Void Shuriken], all of which appeared in her hand, before launching over at the beast. Almost as soon as they left her hand, the Assassin disappeared from sight, with only rose petals appearing behind her. She was now on the other side of the monster, having used [Swift Sakura Slash] to deal sudden damage. At that moment, the shuriken hit, and Cel turned around, holding the weapon in both her hands. She began to rapidly stab and pierce at the monster consistently, and followed up by jumping back a small distance. Twirling the weapon in her hands, she jumped up into the air, and started to activate both her [High Jump] and [Piercing Pillar]. Her body flung up high, and came crashing down onto the monster. Upon impact, she also activated [Quick Draw], to apply extra damage. She sprung away a few times, but kept up her guard. She was livid with this crab, and she wanted him to know that fact.

* * *

The two girls that had decided to fight the mighty beast Brachyura were no match for his wave. However, somehow, both managed to avoid taking a majority of the damage. Perhaps they were intelligent enough to know that proximity determined the amount of damage that the attack would do? Clever creatures, these Adventurers. They also provided quite a bit of a powerful attack, with that lightning bolt. The blue one was deafened for just a moment, and was unable to dodge the massive swipe of Brachyura's claw. However, upon having connected, the one seemed to have gotten angry, and managed to apply some decent damage herself. Unexpected, but not impossible to deal with. Clearly, the most damaging one would be the mage, so locking her down would be Brachyura's plan. Turning to face the blonde-haired one, Brachyura launched a [Purgatory Bubble] to attempt to lock the creature in place. Whether it hit or not wasn't part of the question, as Brachyura followed it up by charging directly at the mage. [Bulldoze] would provide him with an incredible amount of damage, possibly enough to flatten the mage. She had only mere seconds to adjust appropriately to the small onslaught, being launched her way.

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∝: 954
♫: Tokyo Midnight Sun
✏: 3/5, reapplied some buffs.
@: @sugarygiggles

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Artemisia peeked out from her hiding spot behind the tree a moment after she heard the snapping crackle of the lightning hitting her target. It seemed as if the monster was only enraged further and, not immediately being able to turn his frustration onto her, had turned his rage onto Celsius. The Assassin, who had been standing much closer, unbeknownst to the Sorceress, had been momentarily stunned by the sound of the bolt she had launched. Brachyura took this opportunity to give the blue haired girl a good wallop, sending her tumbling. For the blonde, it was difficult to see exactly what was going on but she did know she needed to get to a better vantage point to see both her companion and the creature they were fighting.

As she shifted her location, all she could see was that Celsius was unleashing a flurry of attacks onto the crab. The acrobatic girl was all flips and fancy spins in her attack, Artemisia couldn't help but think she looked a little cool. After she had exhausted her combo she came to rest a few feet from the crab, her weapon still poised. It seemed as if she was a bit riled up. Taking the moment to glance at her health, Artemisia frowned to see it was lower than hers and felt bad that the Assassin had been forced to take an attack. It was too bad they hadn't thought to bring someone a bit bulkier along with them, like a Guardian. What was Oxford up to these days, anyways? She had but only a moment to ponder the thought before she realized she had been spotted by Brachyura and it was already too late to do anything about it. There was no where for her to go!

Artemisia's form was surrounded by some sort of bubble, which immediately suspended her in the air. “... Shit,” The curse slipped from her lips as the reality of her situation sank in. Not only was she trapped inside this bubble but the crab monster was barreling towards her. This was going to hurt. The only thing that came to mind was one the first spells she had learned, which also happened to be one of the few defensive spells in her figurative book. She wasn't sure if it would work, given she was several feet in the air (although she also wondered if she was high enough above the ground that Brachyura would simply pass under her but she didn't think she would be so lucky). Channeling the mana she needed as quickly as she could, Artemisia called forth the spiky dirt wall with the spell, “Barrier Spike,” She called out the name quietly. By some miracle, the wall shot up just a half second before the giant crustacean rammed into it. Unfortunately, while it did slow the monster, and probably reduce some of the damage, it wasn't enough to completely stop him.

Brachyura rammed into the bubble, which immediately popped and dropped Artemisia onto him. The petite blonde's body connected with the hard shell of the creature with a cracking sound, sending her flying. Doing her best impression of a rag doll, her body limply skidded across the sandy beach, rolling to a stop in the shallows of the crashing waves. Cool salt water rolled over her, jostling her as she laid there, dazed and unmoving. After a moment, Artemisia pulled herself up suddenly so that she was resting on her knees and hands to hold herself just above the water. She coughed harshly, her mid section aching with each breathe she drew in. “You...” A familiar magic circle spun out underneath her, glowing as it spread out below the shallow water, indicating she toggled her Robust Battery skill on. Artemisia brushed the corner of her mouth with her right fist, wiping away a bit of blood before extending the same hand, allowing her weight to balance on her left hand and knees. She had managed to maintain her grip on her weapon, Midnight Sky, which was now pointed at Brachyura.

Face twisted in pain and anger, she spoke the name of her next attack, her voice hoarse and full of venom, “Classical Liner – Blazing Liner,” A thin line of bright red shot out at the crab. “Freezing Liner,” She spoke again a moment later and another bright laser, this time bluish white, left the tip of her staff. “Sparking Liner,” One final line of glowing yellow, each aimed to pierce Brachyura. She coughed again and spit out a bit more blood, grimacing as it quickly diluted to nothing in the waves. After the attack had completed, her arm fell back to wrap around her mid section. Standing shakily, Artemisia slowly shuffled out of the waves and back up onto the sand, ready to continue the fight along side Celsius, who she could only imagine was continuing her own onslaught on the creature. Hopefully this wouldn't drag on for too much longer.

---
Notes: Between this and my thread with Dorian, Artemisia has been having some rough days XD Post 3/5 for Brachyura fight.
Words: 831
Tags: Celsius
Skills Used:
Barrier Spike: - Sorcerer Class, Tier I Skill - A skill known to be one of the very few defensive options available to a sorcerer. The magician calls upon the powers of earth in order to erect a small wall of spiked stalagmites from the ground. This walls can withstand a moderate amount of physical damage before falling apart. However, the Sorcerer shouldn't count on this as their only defense. This skill has a casting time of 2 seconds and a cooldown of 30 seconds. Barrier Spikes are considered to be resistant to Earth and Physical attacks and weak to Wind attacks.

Robust Battery: - Sorcerer Class, Tier II Skill - A toggle skill, this ability makes the Sorcerer take an alert stance and conjures a magic circle at their feet. This magic circle's radius is extremely small with a base of 1 meter radius, so that even taking a few steps in any direction can cancel it. In exchange for the user's virtual immobility, Robust Battery greatly improves the user's magic attacks and is viable enough that some focus a character build around it. Sorcerers who wish to incorporate this skill into their routine should be sure that their party can provide adequate support.

Classical Liner: - Sorcerer Class, Tier II Skill - An attack spell that shoots elemental magic forward in a straight line, damaging all enemies in its path. This spell phases through targets and deals damage to enemies only, making it a good area of effect skill in narrow situations. While an individual beam only deals moderate damage, it also has the added effect of causing minor knockback to an opponent. By coupling this skill with plenty of movement-inhibiting skills, the Sorcerer's party can effectively snipe enemies for quite a while. Classical Liner comes in three forms - Blazing Liner, Freezing Liner, and Sparking Liner, each with their respective elemental effects. One interesting aspect about this skill is that all three variations have their own individual cooldowns, so one could effectively shuffle between the three at will. Classical Liner has a maximum range of 5 meters and a casting time of 2 seconds. Its Blazing Liner, Freezing Liner, and Sparking Liner variations all have individual cooldown times of 10 seconds each.

[Celsius]

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Being unable to stop the tremendous force that was heading towards the other fox-tail in the area caused Celsius to grow even more enraged. Artemisia, though powered up through the magic of the Pebble that they both held right now, was still a mage, and probably wasn't able to withstand a large number of attacks. Especially ones that theoretically dealt a ton of damage. While the unappeased ice-haired girl was getting more furious by the moment, to the point of wanting to slice and slash the living hell out of the monster before her, she also tried to get a handle on herself. She needed to be precise, and deal some decent blows without having to expend a lot of her energy. She would have loved to think for a few moments before acting, but the boss had its attention fixed on Artemisia. She needed to stop that. Now.

Cel's tail flicked back and forth rampantly, gritting her teeth all the while. She didn't want to just stand here anymore. She wanted to move. She wanted to move fast. She wanted to move fast and impale this monster twenty thousand times with the lance in her grasp. As her mind had begun to grow more feral, the rest of her body began to follow suit. She was subconsciously beginning to cast [Malicious Intent], with an invisible aura beginning to emanate from her. After a few seconds, the girl had begun to walk towards the crab beast, lifting her lance up in her hands. She slowly began to turn into a jog. Then a run. Then a full-out sprint towards the opponent. [Accel Dance] queue'd up in her roster, allowing her to attack slightly faster. Such was her intent: Stab the mother f****r twenty thousand times, without any break in between, if she could help it.

Her lance first pierced into the enemy suddenly, causing a sort of sonic boom to flash off of Cel. Thus had begun the first stacking of Accel Dance. She started to pierce again and again, all while zipping around the monster's massive form. Hopefully, it wouldn't be able to catch up with her easily, so she would be able to continue her onslaught. About halfway through, Cel jumped back, and then leaped up into the air. She combined both [Deadly Dance] and her Acrobatic [High Jump] skill in order to increase the damage output from the first. Flipping herself forward multiple times, high above Brachyura, she built up as much momentum as she could. Since she had a lance in her hands, she would have to do something different with the downward attack. Letting out a ferocious war cry, Cel stabbed the end of the lance into Brachyura's body. Afterwards, she cancelled, and then used the stack from [Shadow Arts Invigoration] to remove the cooldown from Deadly Dance.

Leaping back up and into the air once more, Cel performed the same attack, though this time, it wasn't with quite as much damage. Since her High Jump skill was on cooldown once more, she could only use the Deadly Dance a second time without any bonus. Her buff was still in place, of course, so the damage she performed was still higher than normal. Without the extra space to attack from, she could only perform the downward slash, as was customary for Deadly Dance. Though, as she landed this time, she immediately started to run around to the back of the monster, preparing her next most fatal strike. Charging up the attack combination of [Assassinate] and [Perfect Autopsy], Cel unleashed another feral war cry, as she impaled the weapon deep into the back of the so-called Genius. The blow was as powerful as she could make it, and the recoil was enough to cause her to feel winded. Her mana had been almost completely expunged at this point, with Cel feeling weak as a result. It was a chore to pull the weapon out of Brachyura, and Cel staggered back a few feet, unable to move from there.

---

Grr... These two... They did have the methodology to deal some very good damage. Between the blonde-haired one's magic and the blue-haired one's piercing, it made it difficult for Brachyura to properly put up a good fight from there. By the end of their combination of attacks, one of his legs was about to give out. It was far too damaged to walk any further, and blood was dripping out of a majority of his body. But, this was not to be the end for just Brachyura. No, now was the time for his ultimate attack: Crab Nebula. These fools would have no way to dodge this skill at all! They will perish with the rising of the sea! Raising up his arms up into the air, the waters around the island had begun to rise up slowly. Yes, this would be his magnum opus: His greatest work! Two heavy damage dealers would be sunk to the bottom of the waters, and Brachyura would flee to live another day! Dare he say... This would be his masterpiece. In the confines of his mind, he began to laugh maniacally, as the water rose higher and higher still. "Good luck, Adventurers!" He taunted. "The Pebble shall not leave this island, and NOR SHALL YOU!!"

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∝: 884
♫: Blinded by Light - Duodecim
✏: Big Bang Attack.
@: @sugarygiggles

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It was becoming more and more obvious that the constant barrage of spells and attacks against the crab monster were beginning to weaken him. He was clearly injured, bleeding and limping across the sandy shore. The same, however, was evident in his attackers as each of the girls were showing signs of wear from the battle. The Sorceress wanted this battle to be over, she wanted to be healed and warmed, after being dunked in water so many times. She also wanted some answers – was the Sage aware that they would be attacked like this? Is that why he did not want to come himself? She wasn't even entirely sure why she was fighting for this little orb in the first place, was it worth dying for? Artemisia moved herself back into position to continue the fight as these thoughts crossed her mind. Celsius had the creature entertained for the moment, allowing her a moment to catch her breath. In the corner of her vision, she could see the temple they had come out of originally, being chased by this aquatic nightmare.

The fox-tail stood several paces behind the monster, captivated for a moment while watching Celsius unleash her own set of attacks. While he was undoubtedly a monster, Artemisia couldn't help but notice there seemed to be a humanoid quality to him. Although it was faint, for but a moment she felt a tug at her heart. She didn't know why but now that she had a moment to actually look at this creature, she felt strangely hesitant to deal the final blow. It was typically not her style to 'shoot first, ask questions later', as they say. It was then, when she was gauging the situation for her next round of spell slinging, that Brachyura seemed to grow more confident, a smirk appearing on his distorted features. Any thoughts of pity or confusion she may have been feeling were quickly brushed aside, he was planning something and she needed to be on her guard. The monster taunted them, essentially damning them to their deaths and cast a spell unknown to her.

The sea churned, not far from her and the waves pulled back, foaming white at the crest. The sea was... rising?! Her green eyes went wide and she immediately turned on her heel, dashing towards the stone walls of the temple. She had no ability to block a massive tidal wave, which is what she feared was coming. If she had her choice, she would have preferred to go up a tree, to perhaps get above the wave, but there was no such thing near her. Instead, she would have to take her chances behind the wall, hoping it may break the wave and disperse it. Sand kicked up behind her, sticking to her heels as her small feet pounded across the ground. The petite blonde did not look behind her, she did not stop. Her goal was the temple. She could hear the roaring and sloshing of the water, building up behind her, ready to crash down. Artemisia threw herself behind the wall, skidding across the rough floor as she came to a stop just inside the temple. Heart pounding in her chest, she was about to curl herself in a protective ball out of instinct when something caught her eye – the fountain.

She scrambled to her feet, half crawling across the ground in her rush and dashed towards the pristine waters of the Ultima Thule. When she was in this water before, she had been able to breathe and move freely. She still did not understand why this particular water seemed to have these magical properties or if it even still still now that they had moved that glowing stone but hopefully being submerged in its depths would be even more protection than the temple walls. Leaping forward, she dove towards the surface of the water. Her fox ears swiveled back just before submerging and she heard an echoing crash, the sound of the wall of water falling onto the island. Kicking forcefully, Artemisia plunged herself down the narrow well. Beneath the ground, and fully submerged in the water, the blonde turned her eyes up to watch the opening above her. Although the water distorted her view, she saw the massive tidal wave crash over the well, presumably filling the temple with sea water. The water she was in churned, bobbing her back and forth to lightly smack against the sides of the well but, for the most part, she was left untouched.

What she didn't know, however, was how long she needed to wait below the surface here to allow the wave to clear. Treading water below the surface, she hesitated to swim up. She couldn't stay in here, she'd be at a distinct disadvantage if the crab suddenly appeared above her. Somehow, it seemed as if he would have the upper claw in the water. After a moment, she slowly ascended, her grip still tight on her weapon at her side. She would be prepared to defend herself if she had to, once she breached the surface of the water. It was time to end this.

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Notes: Post 4/5
Words: 863
Tags: Celsius

[Celsius]

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Something was definitely wrong: There was a bit too much water around them at the moment. Picking up on what Brachyura was putting down at this point, Cel had gathered that something big was probably about to happen here. So, this would be the monster's big finale attack, huh? Didn't make much of a difference to her, one way or another, since she had the means to escape to a safe spot. However, she couldn't tel what exactly was a safe spot to begin with. This caused the frozen fox-tail to begin to panic a bit, as she quickly started to look around, trying to find a place for her little tail to curl up and avoid taking most of the damage. Frantically, she looked around, making her way towards the inner part of the sanctuary. She didn't have a lot of time before the big splash, so she needed to think and act fast.

It wasn't any longer after her all-out burst toward the temple that she noticed Artemisia making for the same place as well. She slipped just a bit, but her eyes immediately fixed upon the water inside the fountain. Would that actually help? She had no idea if it would or wouldn't, but it would perhaps be the best move that she could make at the current time. Cel tried to speed up so she would keep at the same pace as Artemisia, but she was still just a few steps behind. She could hear the roaring waves as they had reached their peak, and would very quickly afterwards start to crash back down toward the earth. Artemisia had already dived into the water, and all that was left was for Cel to do the same. Leaping up and into the air, she angled herself so that she could dive into the waters, herself. She swam a few meters down, and looked up to the surface.

The water that had come careening down from up above stopped just a little above where Cel and Artemisia were, but the force of the impact was still there. Being pushed back a small distance, she noticed a small tick off of her health bar. Having avoided perhaps the largest of the attacks, it was very clear that Brachy-chan was reaching his limits here. While that thought swirled through Cel's mind for just a moment, she also realized one more thing: She would be covered in water once again. While foxes are part of the dog family, Cel was more like a cat. She did not like to be drenched, be it from the sea or a hose, while she had proper clothing on. It just felt wrong and weird to her, and she hated the concept. Brachy loved to get her to be like this, as though it were some sick fetish. This time, she wouldn't let the crab live any longer than he has already.

As the blonde fox-tail had already left the water, Cel remained for just a few moments, building up as much energy as she could. She could hear, through the water, that Brachyura had started to get closer to the fountain, since there wasn't much else for him to do without his two opponents in the fountain. Having gained as much focus as she can, Cel immediately activated [High Jump], and burst from the water's edge suddenly. Gaining some decent altitude, she used another of the Acrobat skills, [Air Step], causing her to jump once again in the air, with just as much force as she had from the first. Now that she was like an eagle in the sky, compared to the crab monster, she started to hold her lance down from her, the point facing downward. She angled herself so that now she had suddenly become like a missile, aimed directly for Brachyura's stupid back.

As she fell, Cel began to reach further and further up the length of the lance, forcing more of the pointed end down at the beast. Letting out a battle cry as she continued to fall faster. Eventually, as she was much closer to contact with the beast, she activated a couple more skills, [Fall Defense] and [Perfect Balance], to negate as much of the fall damage as she could. Just a moment later, the lance pierced through the carapace of the giant crab monster, causing it to howl in agony. This wouldn't do, though, and Cel knew it. As she tried to force the lance deeper into Brachyura's back, she recalled the massive lightning attack that Artemisia had used a while before. An idea sparked in her mind, as she let go of the lance, and leaped up and off of it's back, landing a little ways from the fountain. "Artemisia!" Cel shouted to the blonde. "Zap this bastard!!!" She pointed up to the lance sticking out of his back, hoping she would get that her intent was to use the lance as a lightning rod. Sure, it may destroy the lance, but if it meant ridding the world of this fishy filth, then it would be worth it. She inched herself a bit closer to Artemisia, and put her arms up in a defending fashion. Hopefully, this would end the conflict, and she could dry off for the first time in an hour.

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∝: 888
♫: Lone Prayer
✏: 5/5. The Finishing Blow!
@: @sugarygiggles

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