A Change of Pace

[Zero 0]

It was nearing mid-day, noon, when Zero quietly strolled into the dueling arena not expecting to see anyone around, the duel was not something he had made public. He swiped open his menu and began to un-equip all his gear except for his Three Great Beasts swords. His hands gripped the handles of the blade on his back and on his left side, impaling them on the ground to his sides. He gripped the final blade on his right side, unsheathing it, and tossed over his shoulder. He was a bit early in order to make sure he could set everything up for what was about to occur. “He should be arriving any time now. He glanced at the stands, empty as could be without not a soul to be seen.

[Takao 0]

Never one to put on a good show, Takao had kept his mouth more or less shut regarding the specifics of their arrangement. Only his familiar knew, whose linguistic capabilities didn't branch out further than chirps and growls, which made it rather difficult for the red scaly monster to spread information. Midday had crept over the Castle Aincrad, which meant it was just about to get his challenge done and over with. The brunette was adorned in his typical hunting gear and equipped with his typical weaponry, a single handed blade that rested in a scabbard over his shoulder. "Alright then," he said, stepping from the shadows casted onto the arena by the empty stands. Takao gestured for his familiar to move aside, and the shoulder mounted monster obliged the wordless order. "I'm ready. You?"

[Zero 0]

“Of course, I’m always ready.” He nodded and wiped the air, opening his menu and sending him a Half-Loss duel request. “Whatever happens, happens. No hard feelings, nor grudges over this. I feel we can both agree to that.” He spun his sword a few times before impaling it in front of him and opening his inventory, equipping his Twinfire Blade. “Mind if we only use weapons? No armors or trinkets, just our blades.” The platinum haired young man pulled out the flaming sword and smiled slightly, slowly spinning the blade in his hand.

[Takao 0]

Takao's gaze fell onto the window as it appeared before him, and lingered on the text. A half-loss duel was proposed, and although he would've much preferred the much safer first-hit alternative, he accepted anyway. A minute began counting down on the floating menu between them, displaying their names and portraits to the empty stands. Then came Zero's request to duel without the aid of armour or accessories. The brunette stayed silent for a few seconds, listening to the timer tick down. "No armour or accessories... Evasion and accuracy buffs would be gone..." He thought to himself, briefly glancing to his familiar before looking back to Zero. "Yeah... Okay." Takao said, gesturing with his hand to open the menu. "Gotta be careful now." He unequipped his armour and accessory, replacing them with more casual alternatives that lacked buffs and bonuses, and then drew his sword as he waited for the clock to reach zero

[[ Link our next posts to an LD roll, maybe? Highest number moves first. ]]

Spoiler

Level 41
169 HP
41 Energy

Rank 5 | One Handed Straight Sword
Rank 4 | Charge
Rank 3 | Light Armour Proficiency
Rank 2 | Martial Arts
Concentration
Survival

Rank 5 | Ferocity
Athletics

Inundator: 3(*2) Damage
No Armour
No Accessory

 

 

[Zero 0]

“Thank you for accepting my request. I want to make sure this isn’t decided by sheer luck. Hope you can understand what I mean and that it isn’t too inconveniencing for you.” The platinum haired boy glanced at the counter as the seconds began to tick away then back to his opponent. “Time really does become slower when in a situation of great stress, huh?” He spun his blade a few times as he took a step back and readied for when the counter hit zero. His breath began to slow as he focused on the person in front of him, ignoring all outside distractions

(Yeah, sure that seems fine with me.)

ID# 50320 LD: 13

Spoiler

Level: 29

HP: 116

Energy: 29

 

Rank 5 Darkness Blade

Rank 4 Battle Healing

 

Twinfire Phoenix Blade: +4 DMG and 16 Burn Damage for two turns on 8-10 roll

No Armour

No Accessories

 

[Takao 0]

"It's fine," Takao said, mustering a small smile. "I think things like this should be settled by skill too." He inhaled a slow breath through his nostrils and worked at steeling his nerves. Duels weren't something he took lightly, even if he did enjoy a unique challenge every once in a while. Monsters and bosses were interesting and difficult, but eventually their moves became predictable and patterns were discovered. People were in stark contrast, they could be unpredictable and dangerous. Although he wasn't shaking with anticipation, he'd be lying to himself if he thought he wasn't excited. "Hah, yeah... It feels unreal sometimes."

ID: 50322
LD: 5

[Zero 0]

A sense of excitement was clear in the air, both of the fighters were eager to begin the match. “Unreal? Yeah that seems like the proper word for it.” The atmosphere seemed to become heavier, Zero’s excitement carving a smile on his face and causing his grip to tighten. Time felt like it slowed more and more with the last few seconds passing by until it seemed the clock had frozen when it hit the last second. His legs bent down in this last second and pushed him forward as soon as the clock struck zero. “Only one chance.” He quickly sprinted at Takao, his sword becoming consumed by a black flame, and leapt into the air at the last second. The black flame from his weapon consumed his entire being before swooping down at the brunette boy, dashing passed him in the blink of an eye.

The flames disintegrated in that split second and the announcement of a winner was displayed. He sheathed his blade and turned to his opponent giving him a thumbs up. “Good match. I haven’t fed my weapons in a while, thought I may have gotten dull. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable.”

ID# 50329 BD: 6 Hit

DMG: 5 (rank) + 4 (weapon) + 1 (base) = 10

Ra’s Beam: 5x2x10 = 100 – 6 (mitigation from armour rank) = 96 DMG

Takao:

HP: 73/169

EN: 41/41

Zero:

HP: 116/116

EN: 9/29