[PP-F2] Dragon Stones <<Dragon Hunter Anthology 2>> (Hikki)

[Vale 1]

Her eyes flicked around a little bit as the man did not appear much like she thought he would. It seemed clear to Vale that the man was seeing just how much he could trust her. Her eyes refocused on the dragon infront of her, "That wasn't even my strongest technique." She stated with pride and integrity. Her legs began to glow a lightish purple, sliding herself forward into her Muay Thai stance. One slow deep breath, exhaling just as slow as she inhaled. Her focus was pin point, she felt like she could see the path the dragon was going to take dashing at her. It was as though she could tell by the wind patterns that had begun to build up.

The Dragon snarled, the creatures eyes glowing bright and red. Finally uncovering from it's stunned state, the Dragon charged two steps forward before launhing toward Vale with it's back feet. Zylara the Quartz Whelp attempted to use the wind pattern to barrel right into the chest of the girl. It's target location was pin point, the dragon had Vale dead in his jaw. But the placement the dragon was in, was the exact spot Vale targeted. With one swift power smash knee into the jaw of the dragon, then with the same foot slammed into the side of the face. A small whirlwind rocketed out of her foot sending the dragon spinning and into a tree.

Vale grinned with pride... Until she looked at how much health the dragon lost. She barely broke it's minimum damage threshhold. Vale couldn't have been more perfect with her technique, she realized quickly that she was absolutely outclassed. Her eyes narrowed into the dragon, "Ergh... That's not good." Vale muttered under her breath.

ID: 78711 | BD: 10 + 3 = 13 (Critical Strike) | MD: 6 + 1 - 3 = 4 (Miss)

Vale 240/240 | 5/24 [H:3]

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 161/175 (48-35= 13) | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

Edited March 4, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru watched the fight with mild curiosity. She was doing well to dodge and hit, but he knew that her damage wasn't enough to keep up with the dragon. He crossed his arms. He knew he could jump in and finish off the creature easily, but he wanted to see how much she needed him on this quest. If she actually needed him, then he would have to come and save her, which would more than likely cause her to give a snarky remark. He didn't like this girl much, but he knew that if anything happened he would probably have to come and finish it off.

He sat on the tree and kept himself prepared. Things could turn around at any moment, and he would have to jump in and finish off the dragon. He breathed deeply, keeping his mind calm and his heart to stop racing. He didn't know why he was nervous, but he just had a feeling in his gut that things could turn out wrong. This girl didn't deal nearly enough damage to really be a threat to this dragon. But he was sure that the dragon knew how to attack. It looked ready to defend itself, and while it wasn't much of a threat to him, he knew it could be a threat to the lower-levelled woman that was fighting it.

[Vale 1]

The Dragon darted at Vale ready to chomp her head off, but it was as if the Dragon was so easy to predict. It was like fighting someone with a massive wind up attack in boxing, Vale easily duck under it and decided to fight the battle of longevity rather than the battle of speed. Using the weakest technique she had, she gave the dragon a quick shot to the jaw. Hastily sending the dragon off course and crashing into the ground. Vale quickly got back up and assumed her Western Style Boxing stance. She had to forgo power against this creature cause the energy cost was just far too much for her to deal with in an attempt to slay this monster.

Vale took a deep breath, she didn't honestly know if the man was still around or if he truly abandoned her. She kept the feeling in her gut that her initial thought about the man still remained true. Vale believed Hikoru was a good man deep down at heart. The dragon quickly got back off the ground using it's wings to levitate above the ground some. The Marital Arts Kitten didn't have the time to think about Hikoru this, and Hikoru that. She had one thing she was required to do. And that was survive and defeat the monster she was up agaisnt, no matter how long it took.

ID: 78737 | BD: 8 + 3 = 11(Hit) | MD: 7 + 1 - 3 = 5 (Miss) | LD: 6 (No Dragon Effect)

Vale 240/240 | 4/24 -2+1 [H:4]

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 160/175 (6-35= 1) | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

Edited March 4, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru sat and watched. She was barely taking any damage to this dragon, but was effectively dodging its attacks. He gave her respect for that aspect, but he knew that she would eventually need help from how it was going so far. It's health bar had barely dropped. He knew that feeling well, when he had worked without grand-mastering dagger, and knew that it was something that low-levels had to struggle with when they first started, working without a grandmastered weapon. It was a struggle, but thats what made grandmastering it so sweet, making it so much easier to fight against bosses, and eventually move to boss-raids if they chose

He breathed and moved to a higher vantage point quietly, climbing without a sound to indicate where he was, and soon saw a better angle of the battle. He wanted to jump in, to finish this off and move back to grinding, but he needed to see what this girl was made of, if she actually was worth his time. He breathed through his nose deeply and strummed his fingers against his leg, getting some movement out of his system so he could finally be able to sit still and rest. He wished this girl would stop wasting his time and actually deal some damage to this creature. But for now, he needed to wait and see, no matter how much it killed him.

[Vale 1]

The dragon was starting to become sloppy from it's movement patterns. But even though the dragon was completely predictable in all aspects, there was one thing Vale learned that she couldn't deal with. She was completely energy expunged and her strongest technique the Tornado Kick, wasn't even enough to really scratch the dragon. With another lunge at Vale, She easily side stepped in striking the Dragon in the face not once, but three quick and powerful strikes. One even managed to nail the dragon square in the eye, but the same perdicament reared it's ugly head in again. She wasn't even harming this dragon, and Vale was in actual trouble.

The girl let her pride and confidence get the best of her. Vale's cockiness got her in a very troubling situation, even though she could constantly dodge the creature and see it's attack patterns. There wasn't a thing she could do to actually kill this creature. She figured she had atleast three more attacks left in her before her energy tank was completely eroded away. Taking a deep breath, she brought her hands back up and readied herself as the Dragon readied itself to attack her again. Gritting her teeth, "Lets go you dumb stupid dragon. I've got all day to smack you around." She taunted, but her words bared little threat as the Dragon exuded it's own confidence.

ID: 78746 | BD:10 + 3 = 13(Critical Strike) | MD: 3 + 1 - 3 = 1 (Miss) | LD: 4 (No Dragon Effect)

Vale 240/240 | 3/24 -2+1 [H:4]

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 159/175 (8-35= 1) | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

Edited March 4, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru noticed Vale's energy bar in the top-left corner of his eyesight. She was getting low, and she had a solid few more hits before she would be helpless. He wanted to jump in to save her the hastle, but then he would never know how strong she really was. If she was going to be worth her time, he needed to see what she was capable of. He gave a small sigh and scooted closer on the branch, being careful to not make it bend to make it too noticeable to the young woman, and breathed deeply as he knew that the branch could easily hold him up, and sat still, his eyes piercing through the leaves to watch the battle clearly.

Things had gone well for her so far. Not a point of health taken from her health. But he knew how easily these fights could turn around. He had fought a boar just a few moments before, and had lost quite a few points of health because he didn't pay attention, and that was his fault. But he knew that he could have easily lived from the boar, but he was unsure of the damage of this dragon. He had taken no time to study the first dragon, as he had just killed it quickly. But now he had a chance to truly study the dragon, and focused his attention onto the dragon.

[Vale 1]

Vale was beginning to wear out, she could feel her physical stamina was heavily tied together with the energy bar the game gave her. She looked at the slivers of energy she had left and the health that the dragon still possessed. Vale gritted her teeth, the realization that she was vastly unprepared was seeping into her mind deeply. Even though the beast she was facing was so easy to telegraph she could do it in her sleep, didn't change the fact that eventually Vale would get to a point where she couldn't dodge. And she had no clue just how much damage the beast could do to her. All she could do was keep her eyes fixated on the beast, and slowly widdle it's health down.

The Dragon launched at her again, easily avoiding it once again by dropping backwards into a crabwalk position. Just as the Dragon was over her, she brought herself from under and behind it. Slamming her foot on the back of the dragon, careening it into the ground while it slid with the momentum it had built. She readied herself again, taking a deep breath, "I can do this. I just need to be patient." She told herself, systematically breathing much like a Martial Artist would.

ID: 78925 | BD:4 + 3 = 7(Hit) | MD: 2 + 1 - 3 = 0 (Miss) | LD: 14 (No Dragon Effect)

Vale 240/240 | 2/24 -2+1 [H:5]

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 158/175 (6-35= 1) | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

Edited March 7, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru watched as her Energy slowly dwindled, and he prepared to move. He was growing tired of sitting still, and if nothing happened he would swoop in and finish off the dragon and be on his way home. This girl wasn't even making a dent in this creature, and he knew that this fight would be going nowhere anytime soon. He moved down from the tree quietly, making sure to not make a sound and soon appearing on the ground, his cloak helping him to camouflage into the background, making it easier to hide in the darkness that surrounded the small clearing where the young woman was fighting.

The dragon seemed to be quick in attacking, but the only problem he was having was that the young girl had a high evasion stat, making it harder for him to land an attack. He rubbed his chin, where he felt a bit of stubble forming, something that he hadn't expected. He ignored it for now and focused back onto the fight. If he had fought the dragon, he probably would move just as fast, if not faster around the dragon's attacks, and it did make it harder for the enemy mob to land an attack. He felt bad for the tiny dragon, but he knew it would re-spawn for another player and it would be back to normal, probably having more luck at attacking that player than it was having now.

[Vale 1]

The fighting continued, the Dragon was getting nowhere closer to hitting Vale, and the Catgirl was slowly just ruining the remaining amounts of her Energy doing literally no damage to the creature. She was breathing heavily at this point, her dodging was getting to the point of sloppiness. The Dragon would readjust itself after missing and slamming into the ground the previous time to continue charging at her. Huffing and Puffing, Vale barely managed to avoid the hit. Dragon taking to the skies to dive strike on the girl.

Launching at the ground, Vale hopped back at the last second to see the dragon crash face first into the ground. Taking this opportunity, Vale kicked the dragon away dropping to the ground breathing heavily, "Damn. This game really punishes you for over use of the energy you have. So level really does matter." She said to herself between breaths. The Dragon getting back onto it's feet began walking toward the girl, hostility glowing in it's eyes against it's helpless prey. The Dragon was ready to maim the Cat Girl it had found itself in combat with.

ID: 79043 | BD:5 + 3 - 1 = 7(Hit) | MD: 3 + 1 - 3 = 1 (Miss) | LD: 19 (Dragon Effect)

Vale 240/240 | 1/24 -2+1 [H:6]

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 157/175 (6-35= 1) | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

Edited March 9, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru grabbed his dagger as he knew that enough was enough. He had been doing his best to sit still, but her energy bar was but a sliver, and he knew that she could no longer fight on her own. He leapt from the tree and slashed at the dragon, bringing it's slightly-lowered health to nothing but a sliver. He looked at her, his face covered by his cloak as he blocked the path of the dragon from her. She had done well so far, but he knew that he would get the finishing blow.

"Alright, stand back, and be wary. You still have all of the hate on you, so it's going to try and attack you. I'll finish it off, so I can stop having to watch you fight something you were not prepared for." He said as he turned back to the dragon and studied it. It was still a baby, but it was still large in size, and he was quite intimidated by it now that he had gotten a good look at it. He knew he had this fight easily, but it was still quite large for being just a baby. He shuddered a bit under his cloak, excited for a possible fight. Although he wouldn't get one from this dragon, the next floors dragon should be exciting, and he hoped he would get a good challenge from it.

@Vale

ID: 79116

BD: 1 (Disregarded due to Sneak Attack)

Hikoru used Eternal Cyclone: 13x1=13x14=182-35= 147 Damage to Dragon

Vale 240/240 | 1/24 [H:6]
Hikoru: 1175/1175 105/116

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 10/175 | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

[Vale 1]

Vale watched as Hikoru shot down and practically eviscerated the dragon with nearly one single strike. The desparity between their strengths were leagues she couldn't currently fathom. He made a snarky comment after explaining that she had the brunt of the creatures attention. The Purranther had accepted his statement as fact, Vale had an untold amount of respect for Hikoru at this moment. She had let her ego get the best of her and she got herself into something she simply could not handle. This was a lesson she had the extreme need to be taught.

The dragon struggled to get back on it's feet with a massive gash across it's entire body, red data particles litering the floor in globs as though it were representing blood itself. The dragon affixed it's attention onto the Neko Girl. The dragon darted around Hikoru swiftly, clearing the man in but a moment's notice. For such a young and bulky whelpling it had deceptive speed. Vale conjured up the last of her energy to roll back onto her feet and jump backwards enough to barely dodge the creature. She stumbled back onto her rump one more time as the system was forcibly keeping her from getting her balance and breath back.

ID: 79117 | BD: 5 + 3 (Disregarded due to RP Exhaustion) | MD: 7 - 3 = 4 (Miss)  | LD: 2 (No Dragon Effect)

Vale 240/240 | 2/24 +1 [H:6]
Hikoru: 1175/1175 105/116

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 10/175 | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

Edited March 10, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru was impressed by the dragons speed. The young woman barely dodged the attack, and he moved quickly, not giving the creature time to react to him as he spun his dagger in his hand, it soon turning into a circular device as he charged, pushing it forward as it rapidly slashed and sliced into the dragon. It gave a roar as it soon pixelated, and two crystals fell onto the ground at his feet. He picked them up, and pocketed one, throwing the other to the girl. The fight had been much too easy for him, and he was a bit sad that it didn't prove much of a challenge. He was getting far too strong, and hoped that not all of the dragons would be that weak, and they would get stronger. But for now he would be satisfied. He turned to the girl after a few moments and shook his head.

"I hope this taught you something." He said simply, then started to walk towards town, having nothing else to talk about at this point and time.

ID: 79118

BD: 10 (+2 Damage #Overkill)

Hikoru used Shuriken: 5x1=5x15= 75-35=40 Damage to Zylara

Vale 240/240 | 2/24 +1 [H:6]
Hikoru: 1175/1175 101/116

Zylara, the Quartz Whelp 0/175 | 35 MIT | 65 DMG

[Vale 1]

Hikoru deftly and swiftly defeated the Dragon that she couldn't even dent. With all her effort and commiment to the fight, she was simply out classed in all aspects against not only the dragon, but Vale paled in comparasion to Hikoru. She didn't even know if he truly saw her as a friend, or just as someone that bothers him and he shows pity on her. There was so much about his personality that she couldn't yet grasp in the slightest. She brought her claws up slightly, palms up toward her face while she stared deeply into her hands of this world. Vale felt disgusted over her actions and decisions up to this point.

She looked back at him while he began to saunter away, "I-I'm sorry Hikoru-sama" She had a twinge of defeat in her voice. But, there was no single doubt in her mind at this point. Hikoru had thoroughly gained the respect of Vale, the Neko girl didn't exactly admire his attitude but she had completely admiration for his technique with the dagger. Special attack moves or not. Hikoru could have honestly abandoned Vale and allowed her to die to the creature without having to sweat any of the blame falling upon his shoulders, but he stayed and saved her.

She gripped hands into fists tightly. Quickly Vale got onto her feet, and proceeded to bow Hikoru, "I am sorry, for all trouble for you." She had a great deal of respect written all over demeanor, and in the tone of her voice as well.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru continued to walk, until he heard an apology. He stopped and turned, to see the girl who was looking down, a bit... ashamed? Scared? He couldn't tell from his distance, even with his glasses on. He just shrugged and continued onwards, until he heard running and was cut off from the woman as she bowed to him. Her voice sounded sincere, not joking, and almost giving a... respectful tone? He was utterly confused by the change of demeanor, and didn't really know how to react. He thought for a moment, and just shook his head, He wasn't looking for anything from this girl, other than someone to talk to so he wouldn't be alone with his thoughts. But he wanted to teach her a lesson and thats what he did, and quite successfully apparently.

"No reason to apologize. Just watch your own strength before you size up another opponent. Make sure your strong enough to be confident with going alone. And test your abilities  whenever you can. If you ever get a guild hall, I'd recommend buying a training dummy. Practice on that, and see how much damage you can do." He said as he walked, then looked at the girls gloves and gave a nod "Your Martial Arts skill needs a lot of work. Keep training, and you'll get it down eventually." He said then knew he was being too nice "But at this rate, it will take you a year to do it. So stop slacking and get to work on it." He spoke with a slightly annoyed tone, then continued to walk back towards town, slightly hoping that the girl would be following him.

[Vale 1]

Hikoru actually stopped and listened to the words that Vale said, once again it took her getting in his face yet this time she didn't do so in a hostile manner. The perviously regarded as the cold and heartless one was actually genuine with her and understanding of the situation. It almost came across like he truly did care about Vale and her well being. In a single moment he had undid the hours of verbal damage with his recommendations to improve of her skills. It was evident that her natural knowledge of Martial Arts in this world was only going to take her so far, she needed to improve upon them even further with the way the system required. She needed to merge her capabilities with this systems capabilities.

He followed up doing exactly as her sensei in the real world did, he challenged her outright with his words, they were incredibly motivating to her. The man started walking on, standing back up tall Vale took a deep breath then exhaled as she began to follow Hikoru, "I promise you Hikoru-sama. It won't take a year... I will improve far faster than that. Right now you're treating me just asmy sensei did back in Osaka. You have my solemn word, and that is something I won't break." She stated with a sense of determination. She had made the ultimate mistake of letting her head get the best of her. The Purranther now had something to prove not only to Hikoru... but herself aswell.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru's ears perked up as he heard her promise to improve much faster than he said, and he just chuckled. The girl was confident in her abilities, which he respected. But he knew that she would have to work hard to get it to where she can match even his damage easily. He raised an eyebrow as she said that he reminded her of an old teacher he had, and he continued to chuckle to himself. She seemed to think that he was some sort of teacher to her, which he respected but he knew that he wasn't going to be anything more than an acquaintance to her. He didn't need her help, other than company and possibly something from her shop if she had it. He turned his head to her

"I do you say? Well there is a big difference between me and your teacher." He said, then gave a small glare "I will not be teaching you." He said, and turned back without a further word. It wasn't that he didn't want to teach her, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to help her in any of her abilites that she had, and he knew it would be a waste of time for her to learn how to stealth, as that isn't the use for Martial Arts. He just mentally shrugged his shoulders and soon saw the town not far ahead. He sighed as this adventure was almost over, and he could go and grind on a higher floor and try to get some loot to donate to his guild

[Vale 1]

Vale nodded even though the man couldn't see her face. She could see his body muscles move in a way that might have indicated laughter. If this action had happened before her eye opening battle with the dragon, she wouldn't have been alright with it. But now? She was ultimately alright with the fact he was laughing at her, the shady man had the absolute right to with her display of incompetence. Vale didn't see Hikoru as that asshat that she had unfortunately met anymore, she truly respected the man. His fighting style wasn't exactly an honorable type. Though thinking more into it, this world was not exactly about honor, so many attacked from the shadows and the effectiveness had eliminated one of the scariest men in the entirety of Aincrad as she had read.

Taking this information to account she decided to adapt and learn the art of the shadows. When he questioned and retorted to her statement she grinned, "You're right. You're nothing akin to my sensei. You were treating me like him for a moment." She stopped as she saw the town, the lack of noise made by her feet from walking with him easily noticeable for Hikoru. She took another deep breath and exhaled as her energy finally finished recovering, "I know you won't teach me. There is a lot of things you won't even tell me. That is ultimately fair though." She started as she put her hands behind her rump her fingers intertwined together, "But, I have a lot of respect for you Hikoru. And I will learn from you one way or another. And you're the first man that I have had true and complete respect for." She finished saying with determination.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru nodded and listened as she agreed that she would not be learning from him. He was glad that they both had come to the same agreement on something. But his eyebrow raised as she said that she would learn from him one way or another. He didn't agree with the statement, and he would now have to keep his guard up when they did quests and stuff together, as he knew that she would more than likely message him time and time again to go on quests together, something that he wouldn't be able to help. He could ignore, but only for so long until he knew that he would snap and finally say yes. He stopped for a moment when she said that he was the first man to be fully respected by her, something that he hadn't been told before. He felt a small tinge of a blush on his cheeks, and he did his best to hide his face from within his cowl. He gave a small cough and continued onward, and avoided eye contact with the girl

"Yes well, who's to say I'll make sure you won't learn anything from me? I am the best stealth user in this game, and i'd like to see you find me." He said with a determined grin. He considered it a bit of a challenge, and he would do his best to win. He sighed and soon they came to the gate of the city, and he could hear the bustling NPC's walking and talking inside, with the faint sound of music coming from the Performer's on the street. As much as he would like to enjoy it, he knew that he needed to get stronger, and would soon return to the solitude of the 20th Floor's Forest.

[Vale 1]

Vale couldn't read much of Hikoru's muscle movements as the man turned away from her. It wasn't exactly obvious what reasoning he would turn his back to her, the man had kept an rather unstandable distance from her. The man rather liked his privacy, and it was something that the Neko was going to respect. Vale crossed her arms and slyly turned away from Hikoru closing the eye that held Hikoru in her peripheral, "Everyone has a flaw in their design Hikoru-sama, noone is perfect." She called out throwing out the challenge flag metaphorically. A grin slowly spread across her face, this was her showing her determination to the man. Something that he instilled into her.

Vale immediately began thinking upon her next step, there was so much she needed to do before she called upon Hikoru again. There was a small shred of want to show Hikoru how much she improves in the near future, yet she held her tongue on the time as to not get too over-confident. She looked with her one eye open at the cascading sunlight dimly lit over the horizon as the day was coming to an end, "When you hear from me next. It will be a whole different person ready to continue hunting dragons. I want to prove you wrong on the next one!" She exclaimed, expecting to see her friend and slowly building relationship of a Rival of a man, already haven disappeared.

(Will edit when I get home. Don't judge, did my best with a phone.)

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru just chuckled at her challenge, and did his best to hide in his cloak. She had mentioned earlier that she read muscle movements when he had fought the boar, so he would do his best to hide within his cloak so she couldn't read them. She told him she was going to get stronger for the next time they met, and he smiled. He knew he would be stronger as well, and he hoped to see her grow a bit in her time on her own. He looked as she looked for him as he stood on top of the wall where she was. He gave a chuckle and threw a rock next to her, smirking to himself, although he knew that she couldn't see it

"Then keep your eyes peeled for me, or else you won't know if i'm watching or not." He said, then jumped to her, and focused onto his shadow as he landed in front of her, then started to sink into his shadow, making sure to control the speed as he smirked "See you when you get stronger rookie, and maybe one day you'll learn about Shadowed Path." He said, hinting as his Unique Skill, but not entirely giving enough information to know what it was. "But by the time you do, it wont matter. Until then." He said as he disappeared into his own shadow, re-appearing next to the teleporter in town. He breathed and made sure his cloak was up, then disappeared into the crowd around him, making his way to the teleporter.