[PP-F9] Ending the Reaper <Itzal and Jomei>

[Itzal 0]

Fearx.  Death Adder.  These were the players who have been causing Itzal the most grief, anxiety and hatred Itzal had ever felt in his entire life, save for when his parents were murdered.  Itzal was currently on the ninth floor with Yakimba in his hands, using a technique he hadn't used in a very long time against a humanoid monster wielding a sword of it's own.  However these monsters weren't programmed with the type of ingenious ability to be creative and find a way past attacks.  So the monster died quickly.  Dang it.  He needed to train with someone who could adapt to his patterns so that he was ready when he fought Death Adder.  He wasn't ready yet.  He still had to get the mods for light armor, max out martial arts and get those mods, then get up to rank three in extra weight and get those mods.  Wait, that skill changed didn't it?  He was going to have to double check that.  Dang it, so much to work on and Beatbox' killer was still out there.  He roared with frustration as he hacked his sword into a tree, the electricity activating and nearly causing the tree to explode.  Velnia was keeping an eye out for players in the meantime.

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

The Irishman found himself wandering on Floor Nine. There was a quest had had taken a long long time ago with Ssendom and Meokka where they had fought off a Cerberus. Checking over the list of quests he had acquired from his info broker, Jomei looked up the information for the hidden boss, wondering if he would be able to take down the beast on his own after all these months. Grabbing at the collar of his cloak, Jomei lifted it up off over his head and tossed it to the side, the cape disappearing into white pixels back into his inventory. The heat on this floor was just too unbearable, even with the Survival skill. The man continued to walk out of the town and followed the dark dirt path towards one of the tallest mountains off in the distance, which served as Cerberus' lair. Off to his left, he heard the sound of a sword colliding with a tree in quite a powerful way, one that almost destroyed the tree, despite the small <<Immortal Object>> message popping up above the dead plant. The man who had swung the sword looked as though he may have been training, but the strike on the tree was sloppy.. and had a bit of distress behind it. Putting off the quest for now, Jomei decided to approach the man, who he recognized as Itzal from the party. "I'm not sure what that tree did to you.. but you sure showed him." Jomei said with a chuckle. 

@Itzal

[Itzal 0]

Itzal panted through his teeth, gripping his blade tightly.  Before he pulled the sword out however, Velnia shot over to him and landed on his shoulder.  Before he could question her, he heard a voice out behind him and he turned his head.  What was clearly a mix of raw frustration and rage quickly turned into shock.  While Itzal would have loved to be able to switch and pretend everything was fine, there was just too much on his mind and heart right this moment.  Itzal sighed as he broke the sword free with one tug, the damage on the tree still remained as a red gash but soon enough when the red light vanished it would be normal again.  Itzal closed his eyes and breathed out some of the excess anger.  "...Hey Jomei...  You caught me at an...  Off time."  His grip still tight around Yakimba, he slowly brought it to his back, sheathing the electrical blade.  Believe it or not, it took a lot of effort for him to let go of the weapon.  Velnia was sad that Itzal was in this state, but she knew that she could only help prepare him for what he wanted to do.  He turned to Jomei.  "Please don't tell anyone what you've seen.  Some of the guild members...  Well they may figure it out..."   The last part was quiet and only the sharpest of ears would have heard it.  "What are you doing here Jomei?  Come for the quest on this floor?"

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

Jomei noticed a tenseness is Itzal as he tore his blade from the bark of the tree, and hesitantly put his sword back into its holster. Jomei raised a curious brow, feeling all off the tension emanating from the man. From the exhaustion in his voice, it seemed like Itzal had been out here training for awhile.. but had he been fighting mobs, or just attacking this tree? Before Jomei had a chance to ask about the man's condition, he quickly commented that he didn't want any of his other guild members to know about where he was, or what he was doing. Jomei looked at the man concerned, what exactly was he doing out here. "Alright.. I'll keep quiet. Its not like I even know who your guild members are anyway." Jomei crossed his arms at his chest and looked at Itzal, something on his mind was definitely bothering him. Though, he seemed to change the topic to Jomei's whereabouts, "Originally, yeah. I was looking to track a field boss.. but I realized that since I already completed it, the experience I'd get from taking it down wouldn't be worth the travel."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal knew Jomei was concerned, as Itzal was acting completely out of character today.  When he mentioned how he wouldn't do so he nodded his appreciation.  When Jomei mentioned how he didn't know any of the guild members, he let out somewhat of a half forced, half natural chuckle.  "It's a rather open guild, so you could easily find out if you wanted to."  Velnia flew over to Jomei and landed on his shoulder, licked it once, then nuzzled against him.  Itzal leaned against a cliffside, folding his arms across.  Even though he had more energy than he needed, he was feeling a bit fatigued and Jomei would be able to see it.  He listened to Jomei's answer and nodded.  "Makes sense.  It's hard sometimes to keep track of quests and bosses you take down.  Actually I've found one or two mini bosses on this floor while exploring it.  I know one or two locations if you're interested.  They aren't that strong though...  Definitely not strong enough to practice against..."

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

Itzal told Jomei that it was a pretty open guild, so finding out more about them would be pretty easy for him. Jomei chuckled, "Well.. I'm more concerned with getting my own guild off the ground at the moment. Especially being there's only five of us right now.. But two of us will be representing the guild in the upcoming boss raid. Hopefully that'll draw some attention to us." A small purple dragon flew from Itzal's shoulder over to Jomei, the Irishman watching its every move. The small winged-reptile landed on Jomei's shoulder and got his scent, before licking his exposed shoulder with a warm tongue, and nuzzling its scaly head into his neck. Jomei looked at the small beast and smiled before turning back to Itzal, who seemed exhausted. He informed Jomei about another field boss that he had found that they could hunt down if anything, but told him that it would not give them too much experience. Jomei shrugged his shoulder, "Nah. No point then." he took a step towards the man, a bit of concern in his eyes. "You look like you've really stressed yourself out training... is everything okay?"

[Itzal 0]

Itzal nodded when he mentioned how he would rather focus on getting his guild up there first.  Itzal was trying to contact the other paladins so they could work on their own guild and make serious improvements.  However nobody seemed very willing which wasn't a very good sign.  Hopefully they would change their minds soon.  "I'm glad to hear that you have a guild, and that you're going to join us in the boss raid."  When Itzal told Jomei that there were field bosses he took down but weren't really strong, he was half hoping Jomei would give him some privacy...  So that he could find a different floor to train on.  However Jomei stated that he wouldn't go after them since there wouldn't have been any point.  Itzal had to agree with him there.  Itzal saw him walk towards him instead of walking away, concern in his eyes asking if he was alright.  Itzal rolled his eyes towards the smokey red sky.  "Not exactly, and this isn't really an issue I can get others involved with either.  He's just too dangerous.  Maybe I can get Fearx to fight him..."

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

Jomei nodded his head, "Yeah.. I've been away from the front lines for maybe a year now.. So to say I'm a bit nervous is an understatement. But.. I have reasons I need to go." Jomei knew that the front lines were lacking. With Opal, Lowenthal, Ssendom, and Opal dead.. and other front liners missing in action, manpower was low. Hitting Floor OneHundred and escaping this game would take them years. Jomei felt, in the memory of his friends no longer with them, he should continue to push on, until it was time for someone else to step up into his place. He also vowed to himself to make sure Tel sees the real world again.

After showing concern for the man, Itzal confirmed his suspicions. He revealed that something was wrong, and that he really did not want to get other players involved in it. Crossing his arms at his chest, Jomei looked at the man, a bit more of a stern look in his eyes. Many players who ended up wanting to do something themselves and not letting others get involved would only end up dead. However.. what really peaked Jomei's interest, was when he referred to this problem as a 'he'. "Well.. you've already gone this far. Might as well tell me whats up."