Jomei

Sharp words pierced his chest, dealing more damage than any weapon or sword art. An awful, real pain settled in as icy daggers tunneled to his heart. A chill ran up his spine and, for a moment, he was the one left paralyzed instead of Acanthus. While words were not spoken loud enough for any others to hear, the entire arena fell silent to Jomei. "I-" a lump caught in his throat. What could he even say to combat that? He was just trying to have a spot of fun, give the audience a show like the performer he was. Was that newfound confidence that he had been tapping into turn him into some so

She's taunting you. Don't fall for it. Their weapons fought for power over the other, their wielders pushing back and forth. Jomei would eye the sharp edge of Acanthus' botan as it pressed into the thin length of Vicious Mockery. But he would not allow her to gain the upper hand so easily. "You see, my dear Acanthus." he spoke through a grunt as he turned his sword, forcing Acanthus to stumble as she followed her momentum. But she was fast, and that shield was back in his face before he could even act upon the moment. "If it were that easy, this would be over already. That, and you

A silent sigh to himself, Jomei gently shook his head with closed eyes. He could understand Acanthus' need to prove herself to him - to Aincrad - that she was meant to be here. In his mind, she had already proved it. But he could see that she was stubborn, and stuck in her ways of needing to treat this as if it were a serious battle. "If that's how it has to be." Jomei would nod, "I'll step it up. Take things more seriously. If you'd prefer that, that is." It wasn't going to stop him from enjoying himself. With the fear of death no longer present in this moment, there was the abili

"Pity?" Jomei questioned her with a small scoff. He could see that she was really taking this seriously. A first time going up against other players, perhaps. Players who's names have been carved into the history of each floor that they cleared. He could understand the pressure she felt.. but she was also forgetting that she too fought on the frontlines. One fight, or a dozen fights - it mattered not. They were on equal levels, comrades in arms. Did she feel that he thought he was better than her? "No, no pity. Just think we both could use a minute. I can tell you're low on reserves." he

With a sword hand raised to strike down at the stunned Acanthus, he was taken by surprise when a small shockwave rushed out from her person. The energy that traveled throughout her body to hold her in place was suddenly forced out. A little gift from defeating a certain boss, he was familiar with it and should have expected as much. Damn, no chance, he would think to himself as he attempted to recover from the shock and jump back into the action before Acanthus fully brought her defense back up. Steel against steel, Jomei's rapier bounced off of the face of Acanthus' shield once more. Fo

The dust settled, and the Scintillating Blade (the third) returned to its natural, yet still glistening, state. Acanthus had been blown off of her feet, knocked to the opposite end of the arena with just a single landed strike. And as he stood in wait, blade at the ready, and confidence returning.. she made that damage he had dealt seem like nothing. Double fisting a healing potion and crystal, Acanthus' health leapt back into safer waters. While not all of the damage had been reversed, a little more than half of it healed as she downed the potion. On the bright side, if she had to use b

He waited patiently for the right moment to strike, keeping the guise of defense up for as long as he needed. The goal was to land at least one hit, one chance to knock her off of her guard and gain the upper hand. Maybe not enough to seal his victory, but just something to make this look like an even bout. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. A change in her breathing, a tiny but sharp inhale through her nostrils as she took a retreating step. Something sparked a reaction out of her - just the one he needed. Jomei followed suit, as if a rope attached his leg to Acanthus'. The momen

"Shit!" the man hissed as Acanthus' blade plunged into his hip. The numbness, in place of searing hot pain, began to set in as sidestepped from his opponent. Teeth bore in a grimace, he would swing wildly at Acanthus in desperate retaliation. The length of his blade passing over her head, barely scathing the top of the shield. Now frustrated at his repeated failure to break Acanthus' defenses, he would reach out with his free hand to grip the side of the woman's shield. Yanking and pushing, he attempted to catch her off guard and pry the barrier out of her hands. Even that proved less than fru

CRACK Tiny shards of broken glass skipped across Jomei's face, leaving bright red trails in their wake. Fumbling steps backwards, a hand rose to his cheek that pulsed from the impact. No pain, more shock than anything. Even more surprised when he felt a lukewarm wetness beneath his fingertips. His human instinct told him it was blood, but the Aincrad adventurer knew better. Instead of the harsh smell of iron, his nose caught the scent of sweet citrus. Suddenly, each step back felt slower and heavier - some sort of potion used against him, it seemed. "Heh." he would chuckle, bringing

"You do you" the ginger scoffed. Shoulders rose and fell with a shrug, "I don't kink shame." Arabelle did well to fill Jomei in on the details of what was going on, though he was already aware of the gist of it. Multiple elite monsters, and a masked individual with a black crystal? Something about this whole attack was seeming a bit more premeditated then he would like. "Right, ran through a mad dash of players trying to find somewhere safe. Should hopefully be warping out by now. Saw the fist come down from the sky and crush some buildings.. but I didn't realize the situation wa

Jomei the emerald duelist "Ah right, sorry Adere.. forgot you can't be out there with me." A soft smile shining up to his owl companion, as she sidestepped from his shoulder to an outstretched elbow. With a high pitched coo, her eyes like the abyss looked at Jomei, head tilting to the side curiously. "Off you go, find yourself a snack, maybe watch from up top if you'd like." A louder shriek of approval, and Adere's wings unfolded, carrying herself up into the open sky above the old arena. The ginger would watch her off with sigh, unti

Approved

“Oh” Jomei would respond to Ryo, his voice cold. “We aren’t, uh, seeing each other anymore.” He would raise a gentle palm and shake his head, as if to stop Ryo before responding. “It was a mutual thing, kind of, and it was a while ago now. So I’m past it.” He should have expected the topic of his relationship with Telrenya to pop up at some point. When they met Ryo, the two were together and practically inseparable. There was no way he would have known they weren’t together anymore unless Tel mentioned it. With nothing else to say on the matter, he would brush it off and continue on with the g

"Huh, that's a neat little easter egg" Jomei would comment on the hoops they would need to jump through to unlock this additional skill. "I suppose not too many would know to do that, mostly everyone wants to just barge in, kill the damned thing and leave." Stretching his neck for a moment, he would recall the last time he was on this floor. "I take it we need to take on the beefed up version, yeah? Lessa and I were here not too long ago to fight the other Cerberus... but that fight would be too easy for the three of us for there to be a reward like that." Wouldn't make a difference, he

Jomei the emerald duelist "Are you alright?" Lowering himself down to a squat, the man clad in long green cloak spoke to tow players on the ground. One obviously wounded from trying to fight off the monster invasion, though the extent of how much health remained was unknown the him. The other, a friend, lover, or just a kind passerby, tended to them the best they could while also shielding them from the continued onslaught of rain. "The plaza is still a bit backed up with others warping in and out.. there's some healers held up in the o

Its time to kick gum, and chew ass.

"You mind if I see that?" The Shambler, as the text above their now depleted health bar once read, had been taken out with ease. Left behind were a couple of items, weapons mostly, but one in particular caught his attention. Usually, weapons that took on the look of something other than a sword - a broom or frying pan, for example - were crafted by players, for players. This cork screw was the first instance he had seen where it was in a fallen monster's pockets. Though it would need to see an appraiser to reveal any hidden talents or traits, he wondered if it had any other significance. Some

“Hell of a feeling, isn’t it” Jomei would respond with a laugh. He himself had his fair share of soloing quests that lower level players would need a full party to accomplish. A bit of pride in his hard work to get to the level he was today never hurt. “We still get humbled every now and again, but times like this. Feels good.” As frost began to form at the end of Kumatetsu’s fur, and their muscles seized up, Jomei would relax for just a moment. Its health trickled down into its final quarter, an easy enough clean up for either Wulfrin or himself “Guess I’ll have to test out the tank stuff nex

Jomei the emerald duelist Leaves like burning embers danced along the branches of the trees as a cold breeze crossed the twenty eighth floor. Even a floor locked in eternal autumn couldn’t escape at least an inkling of winter’s chill. The folks in Glyndebourne didn’t seem to mind much, adding a heavier coat or scarf to their everyday attire and going about their daily business. Jomei did not mind it much either, in fact he preferred it. Never did too well in the heat, and the sun was an ever imposing danger to his ginger skin - at least

Spoke too soon indeed. The droning of dozens of insects caught both of their attention, though where it was coming from was still unknown to them. Being the Guardian's favorite for the day, Jomei instinctually turned around, rapier at the ready to intercept the nasty, flying critters. Not behind him, but- Not as fast as he should have been, Jomei whipped around, prepared to cut down both vine and bug. Rude it would be of him to leave her hanging while she continuously saved his hide from the Guardian's grasp. "Lessa!" Jomei would shout, "I'm-." His call was cut short as something cau

Theo greeted Jomei with a fresh enthusiasm he had not seen in some time. He could only chuckle as the handshake caught him a tad off guard. "Ah so an old friend of her's from outside? That's always a nice comfort not many find here." Jomei would smile sincerely between the two. "How is Teion doing by the way? Don't believe I've heard from her in just as long." he nodded towards Ryo. With introductions out of the way, they allowed Theo to go over what he had discovered - and his theories. Brows would lower with genuine curiosity over the lid of his cider as he took another sip. Vampires?

Another trip to the eighth floor, it would seem. A free hand would swipe away the message, leaving Jomei looking briefly at the flyers pinned to the posting board. Taking the bottom of one sheet in particular with his thumb and forefinger, he would yank the listing from the tack and dismiss it to his inventories. Some light reading for another time. Taking a much deeper sip of his hot cider, he turned heel and retraced his steps. Past the chatting townsfolk, the cozy cottages, the forever-autumn trees. As much as he wanted to stay and continue exploring the floor he had decided to call his new

Light that pierced the canopy above and spilled into the jagged lair of split trunks was eclipsed in a moment's notice. How a beast of that size was able to stay out of sight and get the jump on the duo without making much more noise than a common squirrel or bird was astounding. Wulfrin was ready for its sneak attack, call it muscle memory from his last meeting with the bear or something else. As Jomei still turned to look over his shoulder at the looming mass of fur, claws, and teeth, Wulfrin had already shifted to the underside of Kumatetsu to strike. That moment where their quarry flinched

Jomei the emerald duelist A wispy plume of steam rose from the top of the clay tankard, carrying with it the inviting smell of apple and cinnamon. Dancing just above the surface of the amber liquid, its ghostly dance carried away with a gentle breath that cooled the cider just enough to sip. He was starting to understand the appeal of cider over coffee, though it probably wouldn’t do as well of a job to wake him up every morning. Definitely a winner in the taste department though. An autumnal medley of leaves crunched underneath Jo

The gentle brush of fingertips across a shoulder is what caused the tremble to cease. A recognizable, soft touch of cold, steel plated hands. He had survived. They had survived, that was all that mattered. He did his job, and he should be proud of that. Pushing himself up to his feet, he would unfurl the cloak that bunched behind him and stepped forth to join the others. – There was that undying, frontliner spirit. Not even an hour had passed since Callisto’s defeat, and they were already met with another round of danger. Most would retreat to safer grounds to tend their wounds and r