[PP][F04] A Mentor?

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald had just moved in with Val, the man who he had fallen in love with, and he was out doing his own quests so Ozwald decided to go for a nice walk through the fourth floor's settlement and forests with his familiar Ryoto wrapped around his shoulders hiding under a scarf. Ozwald had already been out for quite a while when he came along a darker area of the forests. One where very little sunlight happened to penetrate through the trees. Ozwald wasn't a man to frighten easily so he kept walking into the darker part of the forest. 

Ozwald walked until he saw something up ahead, it looked almost like two shady cloaked figures. Ozwald dropped into a crouch slowly trying to follow the pair of individuals who were making there way deeper into the dark woods. Ozwald couldn't say that he was very good at being stealthy, he still made a lot more sound than he had hoped.

Spoiler

Name: Grimm Reaper
Level: 22
HP: 440/440
EN: 44/44

Stats:
Damage: 11
Mitigation: 5
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Soul Devourer(tier 1/Perfect/Hand Wraps)[DAM 3]
Armor: Death's Shroud(Tier 1/Perfect/Light Armor)[EVA 1][REC 2]
Misc: Damned Souls(Tier 1/perfect/trinket)[ACC 3]

Skills:
Martial Arts [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]
Hiding [Rank 1]

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(+50 hp)*3
[T1]Health potions(rare)(+40 HP)*5
[T1]Damage potion(uncommon)(+1 DAM)*1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Hiding): +1 Rank to the Hiding skill.
Basic Training: +1 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.
 

 

Edited November 4, 2020 by Grimm Reaper

[Itzal 0]

Spoiler

General
Level: 84
HP: 1,680.  1,710 with Acrobatics.
Energy: 168
DMG: 17 (base 1 damage + 9 dmg (Velnia) +5 sword skill +1 Athletics +1 Ferocity)
Stealth Rating:  +5
SP Available:  6
Total SP:  491

Combat Setup
----------------------------------------------
Slot 1:  +3 EVA / +1 EVA +2 MIT
Slot 2:  +2 BLD/PLZ +1 Keen 
Slot 3:  +3 ACC
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Looting Setup
----------------------------------------------
Slot 1:  +3 ACC
Slot 2:  +3 LD
Slot 3:  +3 EVA
----------------------------------------------

Skills: 
Rank 5 one handed straight sword (+5 DMG) <50 sp>
Rank 5 light armor (+25 MIT) <50 sp>
Rank 5 Search and Detect  (+5 LD) <50 sp>
Gatherer (turns each material found into the ammount of 4) <10 sp>
Picking (+3 LD when opening chests) <15 sp>
Rank 5 Charge (+5 dmg first attack) <50 sp>
Rank 5 Battle Healing (+5% total health per combat post) <50 sp>
Rank 5 Hiding (+5 Stealth Rating) <50 sp>
Rank 3 Exceed Mod Limit (+3 Mods allowed)  <10 sp>
Expert Martial Arts (+3 unarmed damage) <23 sp>

Mods:
Reveal +2 LD when searching for dungeons and labyrinths. You may search for a sub-dungeon once every 15 posts (instead of 20). Reduces the personal post cooldown when searching for a labyrinth to 3 posts (instead of 5). <9 sp>
Detect  Grants +2 Stealth Detection. Grants +1 LD when searching for sub-dungeons and labyrinths <9>
Night Vision Ignores any penalties from low light or darkness. Negates the bonus Stealth Rating from low light or darkness. <5>
Dismantling +2 LD when opening a treasure chest.   <8 sp>
Tracking:  Allows the user to track a previously-encountered monster, NPC, or other player. Negates all bonuses to the target’s Stealth Rating. After tracking, your first attack against the tracked creature cannot miss. Cannot be used in combat.
Monster Tracking: Must have already defeated the monster or an identical monster in order to track.
NPC Tracking: Must know the NPC’s full name and the floor they are located on in order to track.
Player Tracking: Must have previously partied with, traded with, or be currently registered friends with the player in order to track.  <12>
Athletics: Gain +1 base damage and +(10 * Tier) HP while wearing light armor.   <9>
Sprint & Acrobatics +1 Evasion while wearing light armor. <15>
Ferocity:  +1 base damage when using Sword Arts of the specified weapon type (one handed straight sword) <15>
Untraceable:  Negates the effect of the Tracking skill against the user. <9>
Surprise Attack (Assassin): Attacks made from stealth cannot miss. Attacking from stealth grants +1 * player's tier DMG. Stuns and other status effects (Bleed, Paralysis, Burn, etc) cannot trigger. Cannot posses both Surprise Attack (Assassin) and Surprise Attack (Trickster). <15>

Extra/locked Skills: 
Meditation:  Recover an additional (5 * Tier) energy. Getting hit by an attack before the beginning of your next turn reduces the energy recovered to (3 * Tier). Cooldown: 3 Turns <0 sp>
Survival Increases out of combat health regeneration to (15 * Tier) per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing environmental attacks/effects.  <3 sp>
Disguise:  Gain +1 EVA until the start of your next turn.  3 Turn Cooldown.
Familiar Mastery: Gain +(1 * Tier) base damage per Rank when fighting with your familiar. This does not stack with the Damage enhancement. <18>

The fourth floor was one of Aincrad's biggest tourist attractions. It was most people's favorite vacation and living spot due to it's beautiful snowy fields and forests. Many loved the snow and the way it glowed when the sun rose up in the morning and set in the evening. And yet, despite this it was not a safe haven. In fact, it was because of it's popularity that pkers, thieves and bandits flocked to this floor. This made Aindrad's coldest floor one of Itzal's hot spots for work. Work which involved hunting down, beating up and arresting said player killers. He didn't really worry about the thieves too much since he could only do 'so much'. Even still, if he came across any of them he wasn't just going to ignore them. Today however, his focus was entirely on a group of player killers who'd been evading his attention for quite some time now. Clever as they come, these two had managed to keep their identity from being revealed for a long time thanks to teleport crystals, randomizing ambush spots, and overall being discrete and not at all suspicious... Unless they wanted to lure in unsuspecting players they knew they could kill.

They rarely randomized a target either. They would watch their target for a little bit, or get info off of them from an info broker to ensure their target wasn't too high a level for them to handle. Well that was fine. Itzal had been watching them for some time now himself. He didn't have it entirely down, thus he needed to watch them for a little bit longer before he could make his move. Tonight they were traveling through the forest, meeting up with the rest of their buddies. There were four of them in total. The one advantage Itzal had on these guys was that they didn't exactly have the search skill, which made things relatively simple for him. The dense forest made it really easy for him to leap from one tree to another, and with the night sky and the shadows cast from the trees blocking the moon and stars, Itzal was able to gain the advantage of darkness, which reduced everyone's vision by 1.

But all of his plans for this night was going to take a bit of a modification. He stopped moving as he spotted another figure. Aldion noticed it too, giving a soft caw. A player? Green one at that... This... May not turn out well..

Stealth Roll: 176722  LD: 18+5=23  (-1 LD when searching due to darkness)

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald believed that the two cloaked figures that he was trying to stealthily follow were up to no good. While Ozwald and his familiar couldn't do a whole lot against two players, especially if they were stronger than him, he couldn't just stand there without doing anything, Ozwald wanted to find out what they were doing. Ozwald continued his fairly fast paced crouch following the pair of figures before he loses sight of both of them. 

Ozwald could no longer see the two people who he was following, it was as if they had disappeared before his very eyes. Although he could no longer see the targets that he had set out for himself Ozwald continued making his way forward. "What do we have here?" Ozwald heard someone call out from behind him. Ozwald snapped up turning around seeing two cloaked figures, presumably the ones he was following. "I think it's just a nosy kid." Ozwald heard another man call out once again from behind him. Ozwald turned again once again seeing two cloaked figures. He knew he was in trouble, judging by the way they were holding their weapons, and by the red symbol above their heads. Ozwald was scared, but he still prepared himself bringing his fists up ready to attack back if they attacked.

[Itzal 0]

"Sh*t." Itzal muttered to himself. This was bad. He didn't know the target's level but there was no way he was going to be able to survive an attack from the front and from his flanks. How did he know this? His searching skill marked out the two players hiding in the trees just waiting to strike. The two players had what seemed like misc. weapons: one had an ax, the other had a dagger. But these weren't their real weapons. After the fight began they'd use quick change to switch their weapons to a rapier and a straight sword. One would stun him, the other damage him. Then from the trees the ones wielding two handed weapons would attack. Itzal had to disrupt this rhythm of theirs and fast. Charging forward as quietly as he could, he ran in a half circle and grabbed the first player hiding on the victim's right side. He leaped across overhead of the others with his victim in hand, drew his sword, and thrust it into the second ambusher's face, obscuring his vision for a second while also knocking him down. He then pulled the blade out, threw the player killer he grabbed, and slashed him as he fell with a stun art. He pointed at the player killers attacking the bystander and Aldion flew out of the forest, clawing at one of their eyes before flying high to avoid incoming attacks.

Itzal pulled an item from his inventory, a dark crimson crystal, and sent it flying into the air before it shattered. When it did, a song began to play from where it detonated, and all four of the player killers lost two of their accuracy. (song that plays found in spoiler below)

Spoiler

 

Itzal had done all of this in the span of a minute. As a result the two player killers preparing to attack their victim on the road paused for a second in confusion as to what just happened, though they were still prepared for combat.

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald had no idea what just happened, two assailants had just fallen from the trees, along with the sound of a man fighting them. Ozwald decided to use this confusion to his advantage, obviously the cloaked figures had no clue who this man was, and while an enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend, Ozwald figured in this case it might be. Ozwald was prepared he launched himself at the two figures in front of him planting his foot into the chest of the figure closest him kicking him to the ground stunned. The sudden attack from Ozwald seemed to snap the figures out of there stupor, the second one next to him changing his axe out for a shortsword and swing it at him. Ozwald ducked at the last second, this fight was almost too fast paced for Ozwald, and his blows weren't doing much, but he couldn't sit by and let someone else save him. Ozwald landed multiple hits rapidly with his fists into the second mans sternum, neither assailant was taken out of the fight, but both were stunned.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal turned his attention to the player killer who hadn't been stunned and quickly parried an attack made by the man's great sword. In return he swung his blade at the player again hoping to land a paralysis effect, but he wasn't lucky that time. He continued to strike, block and parry the player until the other pker lost his stun effect and quickly scrambled to his feet. Itzal whistled and just before he was hit by his attacker from behind Aldion cawed and flew down, grabbing the pker's hair and yanking him down with his flight. It wasn't enough to pull him to the ground, but he did stumble. Itzal took the chance to crouch to the ground and spin sideways, kicking at the player's legs forcing him to fall. Itzal then rolled onto the pker to avoid the greatsword's strike, grabbed the player he was on top of and handcuffed him, restraining his hand movement. He got back to his feet and took the player's greatsword attack, ignoring the hit and letting the blade pass through him as per the game's design. The player killer, totally taken aback by the fact that he allowed the hit to land, was unable to avoid Itzal's next move where he stabbed him in the chest and pushed him to the ground, putting his foot on the player killer's chest.

With the two player killers incapacitated for the moment, he opened his menu and pulled a corridor crystal from his inventory. It would have been in his battle ready inventory, but he honestly didn't expect to have to arrest them yet. Once it was in his hands he felt the player resisting and trying to kick him off. But Itzal didn't budge. They may be strong players, but not nearly as strong as him. He tossed the corridor crystal into the pathway, opening the corridor. When it became visible, both players fighting Grimm paled at it's sight. "Oh God, it's him!" "Oh shi-" The second player killer didn't have time to finish his sentence as a black sword pierced his chest sending him to the ground. Out from the forest walked Itzal, dragging the player killer he'd pinned down behind him with another black sword in his main hand. A black shadowy mist covered his face as he spoke: "Save us both the trouble and walk in yourself."

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald had no idea who the man next that had come to his safety was, all that he knew was that the man was strong, and seemed to fight from the shadows. Looking around Ozwald noticed that three of the four men who had ambushed him were incapacitated by the hooded figure, leaving only one single combatant left to face. Ozwald turned towards that one man, and he seemed like he was ready to bolt at any moment, but he made it to him first. Ozwald had ran up to the man who was left, stopping before him and twirling bringing his foot out to slam into the assailant's temple. The man that Ozwald had kicked fell to the ground seemingly incapacitated as well. Ozwald took one last look around to make sure that that was everyone who was here before placing his foot on top of the man he knocked to the floor, effectively keeping him from moving. All of the men who tried to ambush Ozwald were now in one way or another taken care of, and the only question on his mind was "Who is this man."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal acted fast. He dropped his sword and grabbed the pker he was dragging with both hands, swinging him into the corridor. He then bolted for the green player, just as the pker attempted to shove him off. Itzal lunged forward and grappled the pker, rolling with him to the side away from the green player. From there he grabbed the player's fists as he swung them and pinned them to the ground before grabbing his sword and cutting his left arm off, causing the man to scream. He then picked him up by the throat and shoved him, and the player he stabbed with the thrown sword, through the corridor. He pointed into the woods. "Mind shoving him in too?" he said, pointing to the handcuffed player. Aldion, his black raven, landed on his shoulder and cawed as he went to pick up his swords that lay on the ground. Once all of the player killers were thrown through, he activated a button on his interface and the corridor vanished. The song was still playing, but it would dissipate soon enough. Sheathing one of his blades and sending the other into his inventory he sighed. "Well. I suppose that's one way to handle it." He turned to the other player and nodded. "Get yourself to a safe zone kid. And never travel alone when your at a lower level." With that he began to walk into the forests, letting the shadows embrace him.

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Everything there happened so fast that Ozwald barely had any time to react to the man who just saved his life, he had not even been able to thank him. Ozwald turned to face the man right before he seemed to vanish into the shadows. Ozwald wanted to be strong like how this man was strong "Wait, Come back." Ozwald called out making his way towards where the hooded figure had disappeared from.

Ozwald wanted to be able to protect the people around him, and today in this fight he proved that he was not yet ready to take on the responsibility that that entailed. He wanted to learn to become that strong, he wanted to be the man who could protect everyone around him. Ozwald swore that he would make this man teach him, he may not have been as flashy as Chas, but he was ruthless, and he was efficient, that was what Ozwald wanted for himself, to be able to take down anyone who puts the people he cares about in harm's way.

[Itzal 0]

Muttering about close calls, he was about to activate his stealth skill when he heard the player call out to him, asking to hold up. Itzal turned to look at the player, but didn't stop walking. Brown hair, amber eyes. Determination on his face. Well he didn't know who this guy was, but he really didn't have time for this. He was still in the shadows, so maybe the player wouldn't spot him just yet. Itzal dashed for a moment and ran up the side of a tree three steps before leaping away and grabbing a branch, hauling himself up so that he was standing on a solid branch. Even in the real world he used to practice parkour. He wasn't the most fit kid in the school, but he had to find some way to escape bullying. And parkour tended to work perfectly. And so, now within a game where physics were manipulated, he could perform the art far more easily than he could in the real world... Course that just meant he needed to practice again once he GOT to the real world. "I don't have time for this... I don't know what he wants with me, but he needs to get to a safe zone." On the off chance he did spot Itzal climb into the trees, he'd begin jumping from branch to branch, making his way to the safe zone. About three minutes along that journey he'd stop moving and remain silent, hoping to trick the player into heading to safety rather than chase him even further.

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald was stubborn, more stubborn than the man who was running away probably realized. Ozwald was not nearly as gifted as the man before him, and he couldn't stealth or swing from trees, but he kept doggedly pursuing the man as best as he could. Ozwald kept running through the forest in the direction the man went, turning any time that he saw the man, which was albeit rare. Despite Ozwald's inability to swing through the trees, his sheer willpower let him keep pace with the man that he would briefly catch glimpses of. "Stop running, I just want to talk." Ozwald called out again into the darkness that he knew the man was hiding in. Ozwald was glad that in this game it took a lot longer to become tired than it did in the real world, while Ozwald wasn't an athlete by any means, he had helped his best friend train her skills so he had plenty of endurance, but this pace for this long would have still been too much for him.

[Itzal 0]

"I want to talk? Yeah I figured that out pal. But I don't need some thank you speech." Itzal got it once before, and he really wasn't in the mood for it again. It's not that he didn't understand how they feel, nor did he not appreciate it. It's just... They were cheesy, took a long time, and ultimately didn't lead to anything other than a thank you. Then again, this player might not be one who would want to spill his life story. Maybe it would be ok to hear him out... But at a later time. He wanted to get back home so he could spend some time with Zandra. Seeing as how he had some unexpected, extra time on his hands, he figured he may as well just relax tonight. But if this player didn't let up soon... After he'd stopped moving for a little while, and the player didn't move, he tried going in a random direction. No good, somehow he was able to figure out where he was going again. "Tsk. This guy doesn't let up does he?" Itzal muttered quietly as he ran. The black armored scout, er rogue, finally sighed as he watched his stamina bar slowly, but surely, diminish. So he decided to hear the guy out. Only problem was, Are had a reputation that couldn't risk being ruined. Itzal would hop down and just ask what's up in a friendly manner. But when pretending to be the rogue 'Are', he had to be a lot more... Blunt? Rough? He didn't know what word would work for it, but it wasn't the prettiest solution. He jumped, grabbed a branch, and swung over it in a full loop before launching himself to the ground behind the player, landing softly on the ground. Once there he threw an iron rod directly beside the player to get his attention. He was standing 'calmly', but with his hand on his sword's pommel and the position of his feet, it was clear he was ready for combat at any second. "You have one minute."

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

"Cliche much." Ozwald asked smiling at the man before him, he seemed rather cold, but that didn't matter much he couldn't be a bad guy. If Ozwald only had one minute to talk then he wouldn't waste any time. "You are strong." Ozwald stated getting more serious than he normally was, Ozwald despite his normal outfit, was an open and jovial person. "I want to learn to be strong like how you are." Ozwald wanted to be as blunt and straightforward as possible. "I want you to teach me to protect myself and those around me." Ozwald continued his speech that needed to be less than a minute, which was a lot less time than he had hoped for. "I am not strong enough now." Ozwald finished before the minute was over. He had said all that he had wanted to say, the man before him had the power now he could either refuse or accept, Ozwald Grimm's destiny was in this man's hands and relied on one word from the mouth of a stranger.

[Itzal 0]

"..............Well....... Admittedly that was a minute long and to the point. But... Teach him?" Ever since the Celestial Ascendants collapsed, he had utterly refused to take on any more students. Given that each ended up in total tragedy he didn't want to keep that wretched train going. His first student vanished without a trace. His second committed suicide. His third semi-betrayed him and became a murderer. And his fourth and fifth died in front of him during the guild's collapse. Suffice it to say he deemed himself the worst of bad luck charms when it came to teaching other players. He had no doubt this player could get strong, probably very quickly too. But He didn't want to be responsible for anything that might happen to him... Actually now that he thought about it more, this guy would be in even more danger than his previous students. Given the fact that as a vigilante who took down player killers, he was a pretty big target. They may try and attack this guy as well, which would NOT be good. Itzal shook his head and turned around, starting to walk away. "Sorry, but you'll need to find someone else. Check with the info brokers, they're reliable for finding people." He signaled for Aldion to come over and the raven landed on his shoulder. Please don't push this, please don't push this, please don't push this...

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

"No one I could find would be better than you." Ozwald started talking again his minute was up, but if the man hadn't left yet then that means he was willing to listen to more, whether or not the man realized it himself. "You fight with both efficiency and grace, I wouldn't be able to find a better teacher if i looked everywhere in Aincrad." Ozwald was being honest, the man before him fought exactly how Ozwald imagined he would fight best. With the man before him as a teacher he could make sure that no harm ever came to Val, no matter what assailed them. Ozwald refused to take no for an answer, he would make this man teach him, and he would become all the stronger for it. "I need to become stronger." Ozwald thought that begging the man was not what he needed to do, instead he opted for reaffirming his own beliefs and showing his determination.

[Itzal 0]

"Do you even know what form of strength you desire? Or are you simply blindly rushing for whatever gives you boosts in power?" Itzal asked as he continued to walk. "Power in levels, skills, and stats are minor compared to the strength of your mind. Knowledge. Wisdom. Sharpen those and the rest will follow." He blinked after finishing. Did he just? Well, it did make sense he supposed. Ever since he started hanging out with people, he didn't hesitate to share his thoughts on a subject. That's why he made such a great teacher... Except... Yeah, he should probably make light on that fact. Sighing he turned around to face him. "Listen. I used to train a lot of people. Then I stopped. Because each of them ended in tragedy. Missing in action. Suicide. Turned murderer. And killed. You can make all the promises you want that you won't meet those ends, but you're not a prophet, nor are you a God. So for what reason should I take you in as my apprentice?" Why did he say apprentice? It was always student before... He supposed it had something to do with the fact that he was entirely alone now, with no one else. That could be it. Regardless, he really hoped this guy would just... Stop, at some point.

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald put a lot of stake into what the man had said thinking about what he had said for a long moment before finally responding "I seek both strength of the mind and strength of the body. A warrior requires both. I wish to not need to use my power, and the strength to know when it must be. I wish to have the strength to fight when it is necessary, but the mind to use it properly," Ozwald's response was fairly average, it didn't take much digging into ones soul to come to the answer that he had just given the man.

"You are right, I am no prophet, and as I am I would surely meet the same fate as those you have taught before. But you could give me the power to change that fate, make it one of my own." Ozwald was not a man who was particularly good with words, and this was the best reason he could come up with as to why the man should take him on as an apprentice.

[Itzal 0]

Well... He didn't try and convince him how fast a learner he was, or how strong he could become. So he was humble at least. That plus the determination he was showing was impressive. Not only was he stubborn enough to somehow track him throughout the forest and never give up, but he could tell that this player was willing to grind a thousand quests to level up, get combat experience, and learn everything he needed in order to achieve his goals. He took a long time to consider this. If this were an anime, there would likely be dots forming above his head right about now. Aldion looked at Itzal, then at the stranger before cawing and grooming some of his wing feathers. Finally, Itzal spoke. "Who is it you're fighting for?" Whether it was for someone inside of the game, outside of the game, or both, he was fighting for someone. He knew that look. It was his own after all. If he was fighting for total strangers, then he'd need a different mentor after all. Itzal couldn't teach someone who didn't have anything to lose. That's how Aereth ended up the way he did. He wasn't about to let history repeat itself. So he wanted to know what the core motivations behind his goals were.

@Grimm Reaper

[Grimm Reaper 0]

Ozwald didn't have to ponder the question long at all, in fact his response was almost immediate "I am fighting for Valentine, my beloved, as well as to return to the people I left behind." Ozwald was completely honest in his answer, the only reason that he had picked up Martial arts in the first place was to remind himself everyday that he had to strive to return to those that he had abandoned when he first started this game. The look of determination in Ozwald's eyes was uncharacteristic of the caring and sweet man who when he first started here felt bad for killing a digital boar. "And I will fight for those people who can't fight any longer." Ozwald was talking about the people who had lost their lives along the way to the floor that they were on. Ozwald wasn't close to anyone that had met that untimely fate, but he wanted to fight in their name, in the name of all of those who would still be fighting to escape this place if they were able. For all of the nameless souls who got trapped in this world, it was a lofty goal but it was Ozwald's aspiration, he wanted to be the link between those who wanted to fight, and those who still did.

[Itzal 0]

So it was for someone he loved. That was it. She must be an amazing woman to spark this fire in his soul then. He took a minute to think about it, but in truth he was persuaded even before he reached an answer. "...If this is truly what you wish, then fine. However there will be conditions." He took a second to analyze his outfit and equipment. From what he saw earlier, he was using martial arts. And his armor wasn't made of any metal, so he used light armor as well. Well that made things simple then. "Firstly. If you have any, you won't keep any secrets from Valentine, including your training with me. Second. You will need to hide your identity before we join up together. I've made enemies, and you don't want them to be yours as well. Keep your identity secret or they will use Valentine against you. Third. You do whatever I say, when I say it, and without exceptions, excuses or backtalk. Obey each of those, and I shall accept your request." There were more of course, such as never ever kill someone unless there's literally no other way, and only target people who are truly guilty, not those who are misguided or misunderstood. But he had a feeling that wouldn't be too big of an issue with this man.

@Grimm Reaper