[PP-F3] The Return of the Purranther (DHA 3: Opal Hatchling) <Vale>

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru continued to train on the 21st floor and has jut finished off a creature, when he had a random thought about a player he had quested with long ago. It was a young aspiring Martial Artist who wanted to be his pupil, in which he said no. But it had been months and times had changed, and he had changed in many ways. He knew that if she asked to be his pupil he'd probably say yes, and he would try to be more open. But still, he had to keep somewhat secretive. It had been a long time, so quickly taking a shortcut to the 21'st floor's main settlement, he took the teleporter to floor 3. He had gotten the third installment of the quest a long time ago, but he didn't ever feel like continuing without the purple cat. He appeared by the Quest board and accepted the quest, then shot her a message

Quote

 

To: Vale

From: Hikoru

Topic: ...

Hey, I know you probably don't remember me, but it's been awhile and I thought it'd be about time I see how strong you've gotten. Meet me on the third floor, and we will continue our Dragon Quest

 

After sending the message, he stood and waited out of the way. People would notice him, but he stood still like a statue, and people avoided him, due to the famous Blue cloak and black hair was how he was known. He gave a small sigh and awaited for the girl to appear or to stand him up

@Vale

[Vale 1]

Vale was recently returning from her training regimen that took her into the depths of the third floor. Wiping some sweat off her brow from the constant fighting she noticed a small yellow circle appear on her HUD, "Hum, someone actually messaged me? I haven't talked to another soul in quite some time." She muttered to herself before giving into the temptation of selecting the unread message. Immediately she read the note and noticed who it was from, quickly a smirk grew on her face. Turning to face the direction toward the settlement of Delilah, "It looks like that shadowy bastard missed me. I think it's a good time to see him eye to eye again." She told herself as she darted off towards town, utilizing her recently mastered charge skill to allow her to fly farther and farther distances in a single bound. she typed up a reply while nearly flying through the air.

Quote

To: Hikoru
From: Vale

Topic: RE: ...

See you shortly. ;)

 

With the short message concluded she hit the send button and continued to practically fly with her charge skill. Reusing the skill each time she landed on a branch to hasten her speed to the absolute limit.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru awaited patiently when he heard a ping appear, and he received a reply back saying that she would be there soon, and sent with a winky face. He felt a small blush and awaited for it to pass before continuing on. Things were still... awkward for him. Ever since he left Ariel after the incident he's had feeling spring for other women, which was weird for him as he usually was stone cold. But now... now he was starting to open up more, and he was starting to notice emotions that he never had before. It was definitely new for him, and he wasn't prepared for it. He would do his best to remain stone towards this girl, as that's how he had been previously, but he knew that it would be difficult, as he knew that he wasn't as stone as he once was. He gave a small sigh and waited for the girl. He didn't know what to expect to see, but he knew that he would more than likely need to keep his face hidden to hide a blush, as he usually did when he was around women. He gave one last look and hoped to see her soon, as he wanted to get to work on this quest

[Vale 1]

Vale rushing at her limit saw the town was but a few more jumps away, "Won't be long now Hikoru, I'll show you how much I have improved my martial arts." She chanted to herself in her head over and over. As she approached the last jump, she launched higher into the air so she got a chance to preview the area of the center of town to see where the shadow stalker might be. Being so high in the air garnered enough attention from the small number of people in the center plaza. Quickly during her descent, she found the exact person she was looking for. Gracefully she tumbled onto the ground and did a short hop to land right beside the man. Taking a slightly seductive pose with her head resting in her hand while leaning back on the steps, "So, missed me didn't you." The Purranther winked with confidence.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru heard movement and looked to his side and saw the woman appear. She appeared to him in a seductive way, and he felt his cheeks already flush and he hid his face in his cowl some more. She asked if you missed him, and he crossed his arms beneath his cloak, shaking his head. "No, the only reason I called you is to see if you kept to your promise of getting stronger. If you've failed I won't be impressed and i'll call this meeting off and go to solo this quest." He said, his cheeks now back to their tan-ish hue, looked at her with blue-grey eyes, challenging her own. He knew that he had gotten so much stronger than last they had met, so he had hoped that she hadn't wasted this time and gotten much, much stronger. He now had Charge Grandmastered and had a few ranks into Battle healing, so he knew that he stood a very, very good chance of surviving if this came down to a half-loss duel, and he would easily bring her health down enough in one or two blows to win the duel, and he would easily prevail as far as he knew. Unless this woman had received a Unique Skill in his absence, but that he didn't believe

[Vale 1]

Vale sat forward, based on the way he abruptly moved his body. There was something he was trying to hide. She knew the man liked to hold his own privacy, so she wouldn't ponder too deeply into it. He began to speak as he crossed his arms, everything that he was expressing in his statement was picked up by Vale, "I don't know if I've matched your pace in strengthening oneself. But have been pushing myself to the limit without quests, I'm going back and clearing every single quest I had yet to do. I've Grandmastered my martial arts and my charge techniques." She stood up and clenched her claw-like hands, "And I vow that I will earn your respect, and propose a duel when I feel like I am truly one hundred percent ready." She held her serious face and exuded absolute determination. She knew she hadn't grown strong enough without utilizing the quests, but she needed to spend time in solidarity to reassess who she was and what she truly wanted, "You tell me. If you want me to be with you for this or not, Sempai." She finished, holding her resolute feelings.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru listened and gave a nod. She had seemed to become much stronger, and by assessing how much damage at her tier 2 level, he was guessing that she could deal well over 100 Damage in a single blow, which wasn't bad. And he knew with Marital arts counted as a two-handed weapon, so she would easily be sweeping with her AoE's and her single attacks. While his weapon was more based on it's critical hit ratio and how much he could deal with one hit, he was a burst while she was more of a long-winded DPS. He respected that, but he decided not to ponder too long. He raised an eyebrow as she said she would propose a duel, and he just chuckled.

"Well, I don't think you know what your getting yourself into... I've Grandmastered Charge, Dagger, Sneak and Hide, and.... Another weapon." He said, almost spilling the beans about his Unique Skill. "I am also working on a few other things on the side, but my damage output is at it's maximum." He said proudly. He was happy with how far he had come, and he knew that he would be a threat to others if they tried to mess with him and the young girl. She called him Sempai, and that threw him off. He knew the meaning, but how people took it nowadays gave it a whole new light. He ignored the thought and turned around. "Let's go then, no time to waste."

[Vale 1]

The martial artist knew it was audacious to try to challenge Hikoru to a duel, but at the same time Vale had the suspicion that he could understand the resolve she had developed in her time away. It was evident that she was going to be leagues behind the man who had shown her a lot already, but that didn't matter... None of it mattered if she couldn't express who she was deep down inside, absolute conviction dominated her mindset, "I have no problem admitting at the current state, that I would have no chance against you despite not knowing what level you are Hikoru. That is why I ask that you wait until I am ready to give you a proper duel." She stood steadfast, not once did she break eye contact with him until he turned away. When he said for them to waste no time, all she could do was smile, "Let's finish this quest series." She confirmed with him and followed with pride and integrity following in stride with the Cat-Like Fighter.

Edited September 20, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru just listened and gave a small nod, continuing towards the dense forests that coated this floor. He wasn't interested that much into what was going on in her 'current state' what he cared about was getting this quest done and getting a few more SP into his arsenal to become a bit stronger for an upcoming tournament he had heard about. He decided to keep the shield on his arm beneath the cloak a secret for now, at least until they got into combat. It was quite easy to war beneath the long cloak, and it fit comfortably on him, and made it much easier. Although he didn't have any ranks in block yet, the item was only vanity and didn't give him any features, so it was more for show than anything else. He felt more secure with it on his arm, and he knew the Crescent Moon and the dagger made him feel like he now had a title to him, next to Master of Shadows, that he had a symbol to his name that could be remembered. He gave a small sigh and soon saw some footprints in the grass beneath him. He looked to see dragon footprints, and he instantly stopped and looked at the young girl.

"Okay, so rumour is that this thing has followers, unlike the other two it has lackeys. So I need you to take care of them, while I finish off the dragon in one fail swoop..." He said, then disappeared into the woods, entering stealth and disappearing from sight. WIth all the water around, his cloak shimmered, veiling the slight glimpse of the gleaming metal shield as he ran

Hikoru entered stealth: 26+ to be found

[Vale 1]

ID: 88578 | BD: 8+3=11 / 8+3-1=10 (Hit) | MD: 5-3=2 (Miss)

Vale was certain that Hikoru was going to take his own path utilizing the shadows which was his forte. He quickly informed her that there were two lackeys that would spawn when she approached the Opal Dragon Hatchling. With this knowledge, the dark-skinned martial artist knew to shove the hatchling away from her to isolate it while she eliminated the other two enemies. After Hikoru finished informing her, he displaced himself with his skill giving her the ability to initiate. She aimed her sights forward spotting the dragon that left the footprints leading up to it. from her knee and lower did her legs shine in a purple energy as she activated her sword art Tornado Kick.

Within reaching a certain distance away from the enemy, the lackeys immediately spawned in and readied themselves to attack Vale alongside the Dragon. Vale at this point triggered her charge skill, launching herself forward at blinding speed toward the small group. She began a twisting motion as she flipped herself upside down, hitting all three enemies pushing them in their respective directions backwards. Leaving no opening to get an attack in edgewise, the thorns upon their skin and armor stabbed into Vales' foot, though it was not enough to harm her seriously. With that the Dragon was completely isolated, "Switch!" She shouted out into the air while landing gracefully in  a boxers stance

Ghidorah 182/215 | 45 MIT | 1 ACC | 1 EVA | 14 Thorns | 70 DMG                      (33 DMG)
Elven Dragon Cultist 0/50 | 25 MIT | 14 Thorns | 35                         (52 DMG)
Elven Dragon Cultist 0/50 | 25 MIT | 14 Thorns | 35                          (52 DMG)

Vale: 618/660 HP | 54/66 EN | 8(13 DMG) | 3 ACC | 3 EVA                    (-12 EN: Tornado Kick)
Hikoru: ????/???? HP | ???/??? EN | ?(? DMG) | ? ACC | ? EVA
 

Edited September 21, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru got into position as Vale charged to the dragon, the two Cultist's spawning and not even having a chance to get to attack the intruders. The woman yelled to switch, and he made haste to attack, appearing at the Hatchling's back and stabbing once, then continued his sword art, hopping from tree branch to tree branch and stabbing the hatchling a total of fourteen times before he landed on one knee, his dagger shimmering in the light as the hatchling gave one last screech before pixelating. He stood and sheathed his dagger, it now hidden from view and turned to retrieve two Opal's found on the ground. He threw one to Vale and put his in his pockets, looking in his inventory and seeing the three stones lined up, all with the same tag of the Quest line name "Dragon Hunter Anthology." He looked at Vale and gave a nod

"Good work. Looks like it wasn't a mistake to bring you out here. Now, do you feel like grinding out levels or returning to town and going for a drink? My treat of course." He said. It was the least he could do for the small work they made of these creatures, and she had grown much stronger than last they had met, and he felt that it would be a small, kind thing he could do to make up how badly he had been in the past

ID: 88614

BD: 6 Hit! Disregarded due to Sneak Attack

Hikoru used Swarm: 22x14= 308 x 1.15= 354 Damage - 45 = 309 Damage to Ghidorah

Ghidorah 0/215 | 45 MIT | 1 ACC | 1 EVA | 14 Thorns | 70 DMG                  
Elven Dragon Cultist 0/50 | 25 MIT | 14 Thorns | 35                         
Elven Dragon Cultist 0/50 | 25 MIT | 14 Thorns | 35                         

Vale: 618/660 HP | 54/66 EN | 8(13 DMG) | 3 ACC | 3 EVA                    
Hikoru: 1361/1375 HP | 120/136 EN | 16(22 DMG) | 3 ACC | 2 EVA (-14 Swarm)

[Vale 1]

With Hikoru performing an amazing feat of strength, utilizing his technique of the shadows to constantly leave the hatchling no chance of even predicting the movements let alone a chance to block. The small dragonling was eviscerated with incredible skill and grace, it was something that left Vale amazed. She knew that the damage output she had couldn't even come close to comparing to the man she had spent many adventures with already. The loneliness that had enveloped her from all the times spent training alone struck her at her core when he offered to go to town for a drink. It had been a long while, but when her heart thumped at that, she slowly approached Hikoru, "C-could we go for that Drink." Her face seemed much different than the confident and prideful girl, to Hikoru, this was the first time she was showing him her weaker side. She shifted her eyes to look directly into his.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru looked at Vale and felt a blush as she asked for a drink shyly, then looked into his eyes. He had never seen this side of Vale and it was... cute? Was the word he was looking for? He didn't know. He coughed and hid his face, then turned around and started to head towards town "C-come on then." He said, then started to walk forwards. His words were shaky, as he didn't know what to make of this new side of Vale. Was she... trying to seduce him? Or is this some sort of sick prank she's plotted against him to find out his secrets? He couldn't tell, and he was honestly a bit scared. He knew he would have to be very, very cautious about this. In his thoughts he failed to realize that they had made their way to the town rather quickly. He went over to the small tavern, a place he hadn't been before. He gave a quick look around, then gave a sigh as he sat in a nearby booth. He motioned for her to sit across from him as he waited for the waitress or waiter to arrive, whichever it would be. The Bartender gave him a nod, and he nodded back towards the burly man.

[Vale 1]

While Vale looked into the eyes of the Master of Shadows, she noticed a slight blush brewing upon his face. Just before she could confirm it though, he shifted his entire body and coughed slightly as an attempt to hide his face which was successful. Vale bit her lip slightly, the man wouldn't even attempt to look in her direction even when she got close to him. Was she still not worthy enough to even be looked? This question circled in her head, even though he had gotten the respect of her... It felt as though she hadn't earned the respect of him. Before her thoughts delved deeper into her head, Hikoru stuttered ever so slightly instructing her to follow, "Okay." She responded quietly, but loud enough so he could hear. There was a train wreckage of thoughts clamoring around in her mind, so much so that even she failed to notice just how quickly they made it back to town. Due to the number of lower leveled players and npcs in the area, it felt as though all eyes were on them. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, as the arrived at the tavern. Once Hikoru sat down, so too did Vale right across from him. It was starting to become a challenge hiding the blush on her cheeks that was starting to emerge.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru watched as Vale sat down, and he could see a blush on her cheeks. he didn't know what to make of it, but he knew he would be shady and impolite if he kept his hood up like he had it. He pulled it down and his black hair emerged, his goggles in full view and his blue-grey eyes looking slightly dull in the horrible lighting the tavern gave. Soon a waiter came over and asked for their drinks. He opened up his HUD to look at the menu, and saw that it was completely different from the 4th floor. Guess he should look around more and see what the game has to offer.

"I'll take... a Forest-Coffee Brew." He said, and looked at Vale. "And for you?" He asked, and realized that this had turned from a quest to a... a date. He felt a blush form and lowered his head. He needed to get in control of his emotions, or else he would embarrass himself in front of Vale. He took a few moments to wait for his face to finally get back to the pale color it was before, and looked in Vale's direction. He avoided staring at... certain objects, and decided to look at her features, but it wasn't anything that he hadn't seen before... Except she looked.. Much, much cuter than before.

[Vale 1]

Vale wasn't sure how to act around Hikoru at the moment, the mood in the air was completely different to all the times they had been in each others presence in the past. Normally their back and forth bickering was standard and typical, but since the many months of training in Isolation. She honestly forgot how to act naturally in front of the man, recently her thoughts had been dominated by those she was creating bonds with, but if anyone rolled through her head the most it was this man. Not only did she want to know why he had special abilities synergized with his stealth skill, but she wanted to know him on a more personal level. When she realized that thought her blush took over a slightly amount more just as he made his order for his drink.

She didn't even recognize that the waiter had come to the table, "I-I'll have the Mizuwari please." The waiter looked at her for a second, then back at the man she sat at the booth with. A very slight smile came to the man as he nodded and walked off to get the drinks. She could feel Hikoru's gaze on her, Something she had gotten used to due to his use of utilizing stealth. He could always see her no matter where in the forest they traveled, but for what felt like the first time. He was actually letting himself be seen to her. Vales eyes traced up his armor into his eyes, the second hers matched with his, she'd look away shyly. 'Oh girl... You've gotten yourself into a tizzy this time' She thought to herself.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru watched as her eyes seemed to be going from down to up, looking into his eyes then looking away. Was she... checking him out? My gosh she was checking him out. He wasn't used to that. Neither in the real world or in this game had he ever caught someone... Just looking him over. It made him feel very self concious. The Waiter came with their drinks and he immediately grabbed the cup, taking a chug to take his mind off the thought, then he set down the half-empty cup and gave a sigh. He hoped just having the cup would help make him feel a bit calmer, but it wasn't helping.

"So.... What have you been up to all this time? You just kinda... disappeared off the earth." He said, asking out of pure curiosity. The girl had probably been training or took time away to relax and enjoy the world, which he wouldn't mind doing. But without him on the frontlines, he was afraid that they would be low one DPS, and he didn't want to put others at risk because he wanted some R&R. He gave a sigh and took another sip of his coffee, this time much calmer and more in control.

[Vale 1]

The waiter approached with their drinks, immediately garnering her attention. She watched as Hikoru grabbed his drink and began to chug a good amount of it, she reached quietly with her now bare human hands since she removed her gauntlets seeming as they weren't necessary. She brought the alcoholic beverage down and looked at the ice in the water. The waiter departed and nearly at the same time did Hikoru placed his drink down. Her eyes widened when he asked what was practically going on with her in general, bringing her hand up to fiddle with her long velvety purple hair while she thought about everything. After a brief few moments of silence she brought her drink up with both hands now to take a small adorable sip from the edge of the glass, savoring the flavor.

Slowly setting the beverage down, she opened her mouth to speak, "When I went to fight the topaz hatchling, and you let me stand there fighting a completely unwinnable battle. I realized then, that I was trying to claim myself to be greater than I actually was." It was slight, but noticeable if Hikoru were to examine her face as she spoke, but the Neko-Girl was biting her lip. As if this was the hardest thing for her to say at this point, "I wasn't strong enough, and finally so many things had bared down upon me. I couldn't look anyone in the eyes, so I took off on my own training regimen and isolated myself from everyone." Vale started gripping her drink slightly tighter.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru listened intently, and she explained how she seemed to be explaining why she secluded herself, and she bit her lip slightly, which made her look really cute, and he gave a nod as she said she went to train on her own. He understood that, and he had done that himself when he was a lower-levelled player. But the difference between hers and his, is that he gave all his armor and stuff to his younger brother, or at least, he had someone deliver them for him. He didn't know if they ever made it to him, but after that, it was just him and a Tier 1 Dagger, no armor, only him and his Dagger, but he was able to survive, and came back much stronger than he had been previously.

"I understand that, and that's a fair thing to do, to get stronger is good in this game, it's the only way to survive." He said, then looked up at the ceiling "But being alone is.... difficult, after awhile. You start to miss those you've lost, and the ones you wish were there by your side again..." He said, reminising about Azide, Lowenthal, Beatbox... All those he had lost to this death game. "It's.... difficult to think about some days, but you get used to it, if you isolate yourself long enough..." He said with a small sigh, then took a small sip of his coffee again.

[Vale 1]

Vale's head dipped slightly, causing her long bangs to drape over her eyes and block his view from looking at them. She stared at her drink trying to hold back the tears, what he was saying were the exact feelings that was plaguing her mind. She didn't think she would start to break down in front of Hikoru, she felt as though she were a very powerful person deep down within. But somewhere along the way, she couldn't hold up that inner strength anymore, everything that had happened in this world up to this point had finally worn her down. Their table was starting to get some attention from the people in the tavern. It almost gave the illusion that the girl was crying from the distance they sat at, something she was trying to hold back from doing.

She paused for a moment to say what it was that was disturbing her soul, "I almost... died out there..." She finally managed to say. The mood around her was slowly dropping and deteriorating, Bringing her head up to look at Hikoru as a tear streamed down her face, "It reminded me of everything I didn't want to remember. Everything that I thought I had moved on from." She pressed her lips together tighter with the loss of control over her tear ducts, "I don't want to be alone anymore Hikoru..." She managed to finally say with the feeling of defeat overcoming her once again.