Hanzoku

Needing to cool off both physically and mentally, Hanzoku stepped over the stunned woman and unceremoniously picked a waterfall and plunked himself down under its thundering deluge, the icy mountain water taking his breath away as it poured over his body. He ignored the chill beyond involuntary shivers as he closed his eyes and focused on the water pounding down. At first breath, it is simply icy - but as he spends longer, the movement of the water provides its own sort of warmth. This revelation comes quickly, but the last takes time and patience - something that he's developed for hims

Hanzoku gave Kageryu a friendly wave as his fellow player joined the sparring students before getting stuck into his next match. This time he wins by a wide margin, punishing the other student's sloppy form and wide-open defenses with studied brutality, though he pulls his blows from being truly punishing. There's a collective sound as many students breath in deeply when his unfortunate partner hits the ground, an unspoken sound of sympathy for someone who just screwed up royally. "Hey! No one's allowed to beat up my brother except for me! I challenge you!" he heard from behind him, and h

Hanzoku was bemused by the open invitation that he received. Coming off of a stint or recovering with his fight against the so-called Angel that had inflicted bleeding wounds that he persisted long past the fight, he was feeling remarkably fit with just a few weeks of loafing around the guest suite he had been gifted in a castle on Floor 8. He was even more bemused to discover that he had a default 'swim wear' set in his inventory. Switching into it, he glanced over himself in the mirror critically. Loud Hawaiian t-shirt hanging open - check. Flower patterned swimming trunks - check. Flipflops

Lost deep in his meditation, the distractions of the little lioness don't even register, and instead he is focused on the slow flow of sound as he breaths in and out, punctuated by the slow thump of a drum. Thump-thump. it beats slow and sure, marking the passing of moments, even as they are in themselves meaningless. Thump-thump. The rush of liquid flowing through closed channels, circulating endlessly in a closed circuit. Thump-thump. Bellows push air in, and after a long moment release the spent air, to draw in new oxygen. And endless process of fueling a fire. Thump-th

While Kageryu takes to the obstacle courses, Hanzoku finds one of the groups sparring under the eyes of a senior disciple. He had some prior experience with fighting sports, and his first bout pits him against a student utilizing some variant of karate. The two spar back and forth, feeling out the differences between their styles. Hanzoku focuses on his footwork and fights defensively, trying to get inside the other student's defenses and bring the fight to a grapple. The student lands a combination kick that sends him stumbling out of the circle, and he accepts his defeat with good grace

2/9/2024 Attempt ID Result CD LD 1 229380 Salvage (+5 EXP) 6 15 2 229381 Rare Masterpiece (+8 EXP) 10 17 3 229382 Uncommon (+6 EXP) 9 12 4 229383 Rare (+8 EXP) 11 1 5 229384 Fail (+4 EXP) 2 19

When he returns, Hanzoku is already looking a bit better than the day before - moving more easily and no longer relying on the staff as much as he was. He runs his fingers over the newly crafted gear with reverence for the smith's craftmanship. "I'll keep your words in mind. I said it before - but if you ever need anything a performer can craft, just let me know." He stops and looks at the smith and notices the dark circles under his eyes. "I'm a bit of a hypocrite to say it, but... don't ignore your own health. You do a lot to help others, but if you drive yourself into the ground doing

31/8/2024 Attempt ID Result CD LD 1 229105 Rare (+8 EXP) 10 9 2 229106 Uncommon (+6 EXP) 9 6 3 229107 Uncommon (+6 EXP) 9 3 4 229108 Rare (+8 EXP) 10 9 5 229109 Rare (+8 EXP) 11 13 6

30/8/2024 Attempt ID Result CD LD 1 228988 Fail (+4 EXP) 1 17 2 228989 Salvage (+5 EXP) 5 17 3 228990 Salvage (+5 EXP) 3 19 4 228991 Perfect Masterpiece (+11 EXP) 12 16 5 228992 Perfect (+11 EXP) 12 6

Hanzoku limps into the smithy, impressed as always by how busy it is in here. Not too surprising - the master smith in charge was both friendly and skilled, and it turned into a steady supply of customers. Once it is his turn at the counter, he summons his gear from the inventory, the mangled masses of metal landing with a dull thud on the counter top. His sword is cracked and chipped down its whole length, and his shield is worried and ragged, many of the spikes snapped off or shorn away. The heavy plate armor is the worst though, bearing gouges and claw marks that ripped through the hea

House Name: Location: Floor 8 / Ellesmera Description: Located on the edge of Ellesmera, just within the city's Safe Zone, the castle is the home of the newly anointed Duchess Lysandra, who recently came into great wealth and came to prominence after purchasing her title and this castle. While much of the castle is occupied by her and other elves belonging to an organization that she runs that is dedicated to researching the Outworlder phenomenon, rooms were set aside in one of the towers for one of those very Outworlders. Plot Size: Estate Room(s): - Bedroom (Hanzoku) - Basic Wo

29/8/2024 Attempt ID Result CD LD 1 228868 Perfect Masterpiece (+9 EXP) 12 18 2 228869 Failure (+2 EXP) 2 20 3 228870 Failure (+2 EXP) 2 5 4 228871 Perfect (+9 EXP) 12 12 5 228872 Rare (+6 EXP) 10 14

28/8/2024 ID Result CD LD 1 228796 Fail (+3 EXP) 5 5 2 228797 Perfect Masterpiece (+9 EXP) 12 18 3 228798 Uncommon Masterpiece (+4 EXP) 8 19 4 228799 Rare (+6 EXP) 11 14

The latest visitor to the shop's entrance is heralded by a labored thump-scrape-thump cadence as he laboriously makes his way up the stairs to the entrance. Pushing through the door is a large man starting to go gray. He's using a walking staff to get around and dressed in the simple starter set of clothes that everyone joined the game in. What is out of place is the bandages that are visible on his arms, neck and forehead - and the bright blooms of red that indicate that out in the real world, there'd be a doctor popping a blood vessel of his own at the man's stupidity to be moving in his con

Transcript Note: Unformatted.