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.

Thread Summary Hanzoku +1,858 EXP [Total] | (9,295 / 10 ) * (1) * (1) = 929 [Thread Progression] * 2 (New Player Bonus) + 1,200col [Total] | 400 * 3 = 1200col [Thread Progression] Loot Summary + 1,858 EXP + 25,430col + 56 materials + (4) Unidentified T1 Uncommon Consumable (227305, 227306a, 228521, 228721a) + (4) Unidentified T1 Rare Consumables (227292a, 227292b, 228723b, 228723c) + (6) Unidentified T1 Rare Trinket (225954, 227263, 227301, 228523, 228524. 228621a) + (1) Unidentified T1 Rare Armor (227262) + (2) Unidentified T1 Rare Weapon (227306b, 228721b)

"Huh, guess you aren't as stupid as you look." she said, using the human's scabbarded sword to pry away more of the veneer hiding the low door leading to Astarion's secret treasure room. "I'll have you know I resemble that remark." James called out. "Be careful in there. There's always a chance that it's actually a Mimic." "It'll be fine, James." Lysandra said with an amused huff. So, Astarion had been squirreling away a lot of gold and gems - the group had always been on a tight budget, and this proved it hadn't been necessary. She wondered what the plan had been as she flipped open

Once she had done what she could for the human, Lysandra looked around the ruins of the room, her eyes looking in surprise where a shattered portion of the wall was shown to be wood with a thin veneer of stone over it to form a secret compartment. "What? I never knew that was there." she said. She started to stand and stopped when the human grabbed her hand. "Wait. Wear this." he said, pressing a pair of ear cuffs into her hands. She blinked at him slowly. "I'm not interested in dating a mon'keigh, particularly one who rightly or wrongly killed a dozen people I knew and is wearing more of

The elf worked in silence for a while as the human rested with his head leaning back against the stone wall. His armor was rent through in a dozen places, his shield jagged scrap metal. Even his sword was battered, its edge chipped and worn along its whole length. "I think you need new gear." Lysandra said after a while. Hanzoku cracked an eye open, the other glued shut by blood flowing sluggishly down his forehead. Gently, she wiped blood from his face until his other eye could open, and he gently took the rag from her hand and pressed it to his forehead wound. "Yeah... what you said abo

"No greater love have one man than this; to lay down his life for another." James said. The angel flexed its clawed hands. "Those are your last words? Then lie down and die, fool." The two lunged at each other, coming together in a terrible thunder of metal tearing flesh. Face to face, Hanzoku spat blood in the angel's eyes. "One day, I'll lay down my life for another, but that isn't today you fucking bastard." The angel slowly slid off his sword, claws hands coming free of his shoulder and side, red blood dripping from clawed hands too weak to rip and tear. "You think thi

The use of his name struck a chord. The human drew back, eyes wide. "How the hell do you know my name?" he whispered. "We know EVERYTHING. How you let your friend DIE. How you wallowed in self-pity for YEARS." the angel taunted. "Pitiful fool. You think you can redeem yourself? You are damned." Lysandra's ears twitched as music began to play, from nowhere and everywhere. The wail of a siren blared through the room, and a wild music unlike any she had heard before blasted forth. The sudden music caused the angel to pause and draw back in uncertainty. "Another mission The powers

Two monsters were raging at each other, and Lysandra found herself hoping that it was the Outworlder that would prevail. the Angel he fought was... wrong. Beyond its bloodthirsty rage. Beyond its fury and giggling insanity. There was something indefiniably wrong about the creature. Its very presence warped reality. The two combatants had abandoned all attempts at subtlety. Their feet were set and they swung massive blows at one another, taking brutal hits to deal their own blows back. Lysandra could tell, even beyond health bars, that both were on their final legs. Despite that, the human

Hanzoku was panting for breath. His wounds stung and ached in ways that he'd never experienced in this world, and only pale echoes outside it. Blood dripped from his wounds, ran from his jaw. More then anything, he fought fear and revulsion with fury and righteousness. "And you call yourself an angel." he said with hot fury in his voice, sword raining sparks as he missed his cut. He brought his shield close and caught much of the counter, but the claws scratched through the heavy metal and into his side, another wound to his collection. "You're nothing more then a broken toy. Chosen? Ha,

Hanzoku swung his shield upward and slammed the angel's jaws closed with a discordant squeal of metal on metal as its fangs grated together. "Seriously though - what are you? This is breaking a half-dozen rules that I know of." "Rules. Rules are meaningless to us. When God brought you into His world, he bade us to watch you - watch but not interfere. We knew not what our purpose was, then." the angel hissed. black blood dripping from its wounds as the two battered at each other with thunderous blows. "Some thought we were meant to help you pitiful wretches. Some watch still in apathy

The creature that had been posing as Asterion was driven back by the human's furious charge. Lysandra was hiding around the corner of the door as the creature that called itself an 'angel' lashed out with a furious storm of bone shards. The human was hit by several of them, but she saw his shield glow and some of the wounds were starting to close slowly. The Angel's body served as armor, blunting the force of the human's sword arts. She suspected that if he attacked without their magic, his sword would be as ineffective as hers had proven. "Tremble and fall into despair!" The angel howled