[PP-F24] Valentines Day Tournament - Round 1

[Morgenstern 1]

Arabelle... that was his opponents name. It wasn't one that he had heard in passing. Her words told him that she wasn't very experienced at this and he gave her trill chuckle. "That's alright, I'm sure you'll do fine." Rushing forward, his bokken would aim for her right hip in an upward slant. To his surprise, her weapon would catch his and prevent it from striking her. A joyous grin caught his face. Even if she didn't have experience, she could keep up with the speed. "Splendid." He would mutter. Faint movement caught his eye and he immediately understood what she was trying to do. For a moment, it looked like her plan would bear fruit. Giving way from his strength, he would sail past the woman. However, when her strike came at his unguarded back, he would suddenly shift and strike upwards to knock her blade away from his body. Taking advantage, he would raise his weapon into the air and slash down, halting the weapon just before it struck the girl.

"We'll just call that one mine, alright?" A laugh before he backed away from the girl. The bokken returned to his side, he would watch the girl. What would she do now? Or had she not decided yet? Regardless, Jonathan's style of fighting would remain offensive. He should move before she even got the chance to think of another plan. She was inexperienced, she would try to win him through logic. 

He wouldn't be able to use the same attack again, he needed to keep things fresh. It was off to round two now. A sharp exhale would be audible before the boy suddenly moved again. Unburdened by his heavy armor, he was faster than usual. Dashing to the side, he would quickly strike from a different angle, this time his weapon was aimed horizontally at the girl's midsection. 

---

Morgenstern: 1/3

@Arabelle: 0/3

[Hirru 0]

<<Round 2 was Morningstar's point.  Score will reflect that here>>

Before his bokken could connect, Morningstar had deflecting his blade, in doing so had slightly tapped the hand of the hunter.  Baldur caught on this and called out a second point to Morningstar.  After stepping back and readjusting, there was much that Hirru had to rework for this to work.  He would have to use feints to bring out the guess work and..

'Why am I trying so hard?'

This was supposed to be a friendly tournament, and the hunter was looking through each movement to see what he could do to avoid the final strike.  In the end, he didn't quite care for the reward or anything.  He wasn't even going to participate, but..

"Guess we all gotta blow off some steam, some time.."

Hirru said lowly while stepping back, away from the low hanging blow that Star had sent his way.  The tip of Hirru's blade would follow it around, to make sure that distance was kept.

Round 3: Tie

Morningstar - 2

Hirru - 0

Keeping his sword at length, the hunter would slap Star's sword away before circling his own around for an uppercut slash against the body, but would stop midway to give him a poke.

@Morningstar

Edited February 6, 2022 by Hirru

[Morningstar 0]

Hirru's attack was unexpected and Star couldn't block it quite in time. In attempt to dodge, he leaned to the right. He thought he was in the clear, for a moment, but the midway stop caused the sword to touch Star's chest. Hirru claimed a point and while it was well deserved, Star didn't like it.

"Damn," he muttered.

He'd made a mistake and it'd cost him his lead. He pushed down his sword, colliding with his opponent's. Star took the chance to back away while Hirru's blade bounced back. A close match was better, he told himself. While not daring to turn his back on Hirru, he wondered how many observers were watching their match. It made him a little excited.

He smirked. Star wanted to compliment his opponent on his skill, but decided to save the formalities for until after their fight. He breathe deeply and swiped forwards, determined to end the duel here.

Round 4: Hirru's Point
Morningstar - 2
Hirru - 1

@Hirru

[Astralin 0]

Astralin clearly wasn't expecting an opponent like this, but she wouldn't let that thought catch her off guard. If anything, it was reason to be more alert, more aware. Her opponent stepped back upon the hit, and once he moved following a calm breath, it naturally meant it was time for Astralin to move, too.

A fight was a fight, so a sharp mind that was well awake would be taking in the details and tell-tale signs. Not every sign could easily be found, due to how Astralin's mind worked, but she was able to notice enough before she could get hit.

She jumped back when the false attack happened, then she rushed forward and leaped, grabbing the arm that was swinging, using it as leverage to propel her further. Thus did she not only manage to barely dodge her opponent's attack, but when she landed back on the ground from leaping through the air, she turned around as her arm swung to strike her opponent's backside.

Thank God, that risky move actually worked.

 

Results:

Spoiler

Astralin hits!

Astralin: 2/3

Calrex: 0/3

 

[Hirru 0]

Hirru couldn't recover in time, as the attack from Morning Star swept inwards.  He couldn't move backward, as he was already within slashing distance, and the slightly movement would still bring the tip level for a poke.  He figured that he would have time to deflect it, but..

A light slap against his side would make the third strike.  Baldur called out the strike and that was that.  Hirru sighed before chuckling a bit at the thought of it all.  Was this to cheer the hunter up?  Was that why someone put his name into the ballet?  It must have been, as the past few days have been rough for the hunter, as he hasn't been able to properly convey his title.  All he could do was follow and heal.  Give buffs and keep energy up.  Was this really a nice exchange for keeping everyone alive?

Hirru looked down, but not due to his loss, as if he was thinking too much about something else.  He would shake it off for a time to look back at Morningstar.

"Good match out there!"

Round 5 -> Morningstar

Morningstar - 3 [WINNER]

Hirru - 1

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex watched the second strike fly forward, aiming where Astralin was originally, the bluenette watched her move in a direction he normally wouldn't expect. From previous experience, normally someone would either avoid the blow by stepping around, or intercept it to stop the attack from occurring. Instead, his opponent seemingly leapt over the strike, "Heh, I guess nimble wouldn't have been giving enough credit."

He felt the blow connect with him from behind, the impact forcing him forward. In order to quickly regain vision on his opponent, instead of stumbling the Ultramarine Knight let the momentum carry him into a front flip motion. As his feet left purchase with the ground he threw his shoulders sideways while planting his free hand against the ground, serving as a rotational point. Turning 180 as his leg came around, he landed, letting his knees bend in order to prime them.

Fully landed he immediately launched himself forward, rotating his wooden sword into a reverse grip once again. Bringing it across his body, the bokken's point trained forward towards Astralin's center of mass. HIs left hand came up, palm against the end of the handle to reinforce the strike.

"This could be the determining blow. Now we'll have to see what happens next."

Spoiler

Calrex hits!
Calrex counters

Calrex: 1/3

Astralin: 2/3

 

[Morningstar 0]

Star was almost surprised when he felt his blade touch Hirru's side.

"Good match out there!" The hunter called out.

He'd blown away his own expectations and come out with his first, and hopefully not last, win of the tournament. He met his opponent's eyes and felt something he'd never experienced before: the joy of competition. He smiled.

"I'm glad I had the opportunity to face you. Let's do it again someday—maybe with our own gear."

He didn't bow, nor did he offer a hand shake. Were there unspoken rules involving the ending of a duel? If there were, Stephen wasn't aware of them. Instead, he gave Hirru a nod and turned toward the sidelines where the observers sat. His fight was over and for the time being, he'd wait for the next. As he left the arena, he glanced around at the other fights. There were still quite a few ongoing matches, but they seemed like they'd be ending soon. Who was his next opponent?

Morningstar - 3 [WINNER]

Hirru - 1

Edited February 7, 2022 by Morningstar

[Astralin 0]

You sow risk, you reap risk.

Astralin's risky move would be met with extreme difficulty, for despite her evasive strategy for the duel, her opponent was catching on, and predicting her moves. This was not good. Not good, at all.

Her opponent's latest strike would have quite the impact, it was clear that Astralin's weight and squishiness were unknown to him, for Astralin was practically sent flying backwards, until her back hit something.

Astralin got up, a bit slowly. "I'm...I'm ok...!" She said to her opponent, in case he was concerned, as she stumbled forward before regaining her footing.

Two strikes in a row. If Yona's words were true, Astralin was in danger now. "Curses," She thought. "If only I was in a skill environment that was more my speed, this wouldn't be happening..."

Such is the fate of a mage trapped in a warrior's world. But as she'd promised to herself since she first left the safe zone, she'd be working to overcome it.

Astralin took a deep breath. Her eyes were focused entirely on the opponent and his movements, as to avoid any further risk. It was now or never, wasn't it? If she fell, hopefully Yona could last, right? One of the two had to come out on top...if Yona's words were true... She couldn't give up yet, but the situation was dire. This could be it...but hopefully, what happens next may end in her favor. One rush towards the opponent, followed by a sidestep and a swift chop towards her opponent.

Hope was all that she had left.

 

Results:

Spoiler

Double hit!!

Calrex Hits...again!!

Astralin: 2/3

Calrex: 2/3 [DANGER!]

 

[Calrex 0]

@Astralin

As his strike landed true, Calrex kept focused, as this was only one point up from before. He still had to two more if he were to try and claim victory in this duel. This was no point to be getting comfortable. Astralin had already proven herself to be a formidable opponent within the first few exchanges. "Levels and equipment mean nothing in this battle. Right now it's purely our training and experience."

His opponent righted herself from the high force blow he had landed, taking a moment as he held his stance for a moment, giving a calm smile and nod. With herself now prepared once again, Astralin came forward as the Ultramarine Knight readied his bokken. His eyes tracked her movements, getting closer and closer before leaping to the side to come at him from off his centerline with another chop aimed at his collarbone.

With a quick breath his sword dropped low, angled as he quickly rotated, bringing it upwards as he prepared to intercept the strike with an upwards diagonal cut, intending to decide the match with this attack.

However, this was where his opponent's speed pulled through. Before the "edge" of his wooden sword could connect with her torso, the bluenette felt Astralin's strike connect with his upper torso. A quick tensing of his arm stopped his weapon in its path, mere inches away from landing. Taking a step back he transferred the training blade into his offhand and gave a bow.

With the match over he a small sigh of relief, followed by a relaxed smile, "That was an excellent match, I'm glad to have had you as an opponent. I'm Calrex by the way, it's nice to meet you."

Taking a moment to look around the area, he made note of the other matches still in progress, "I guess with our duel complete, it'd be best to clear the sparring area for now."

Spoiler

Astralin Hits!
Match Concluded, Astralin Wins!

Calrex: 2/3

Astralin: 3/3

 

[Lessa 1]

A wicked grin sliced across Lessa's face, and a long-buried part of her began to stir. "Trash talk," she observed. "Feels a little out of place in a dojo like this, but I can still appreciate it."

As the brunette lunged, Lessa shifted onto the balls of her feet. While it was true that the heavily-armored Lessa didn't spend much time flitting about, she knew enough to recognize her weakness. Surely, the other woman would attempt to use speed against the brick wall that was Lessa. But if Lessa knew it was coming, it would be far less effective.

Sure enough, as Yona attempted to drill her sword into Lessa's back, the Guardian pivoted. She slapped at the weapon with her own, and filled the ring with the hard thwack of wood. "Nope," Lessa countered, "not gonna be able to get in that way." And without allowing her opponent any time to regroup, Lessa struck out again.

---

Yona: 1/3
Lessa: 2/3

[Yona 0]

 

Everything fell apart all at once.

Yona's strategy had failed her, the attempted attack was deflected and countered, and it was now that Yona had realized that this was no run of the mill player... Yona raised her weapon to block the following strike, and rolled herself to the side before getting up quickly and keeping her training weapon in position to block incoming attacks.

In an environment not effected by stats, the only thing that effected the duel was skill.

This woman had the skill to predict Yona's assault like it was nothing.

"She's a...damn veteran!" Yona thought. "How am I supposed to handle this?"

She was always used to playing the offensive. She struck before an opponent could strike, she'd deflect and avoid before a relentless assault...but this was really new. Maybe it was because she'd been doing PvE combat too long. Players were always faster.

She knew what was at stake, but even if that wasn't the case, losing the first round would be more than a slap to the face. It was weakness to lose in the first round of a tournament. Weakness did not suit her, it would be an ill-fitting description for Tora Amberhide...

Perhaps playing defensively might save her ass.

She kept her wooden blade in position to block, her eyes were focused on her opponent's movements. She advanced slowly, her weapon readied to guard against sudden strikes. Once she got close enough, she made three false swings to try distracting her opponent, then when the chance arrived, she thrust her weapon towards her opponent before leaping back and attempting another guard.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yona: 1/3

Lessa: 2/3 [DANGER!]

[Lessa 1]

The attacks came in a flurry, each pulled only a split second before they struck her. Fake outs, Lessa mused, impressed with the woman's ingenuity. Recognizing that speed alone couldn't save her, Yona already changed tactics. She's a quick study.

And when the fourth strike plowed into Lessa's unprotected midsection, the blonde gave a small, approving nod. "Good hit," she said again, shifting her own stance before settling into the ready position. Yona was a dangerous one, a bit like a snake in the grass, unpredictable and explosive. Lessa knew her way around unpredictability. She could figure this out. She just had to take a moment to really assess the situation, and get a handle on this woman she'd never met before. Hell, this woman she had never even heard of before.

Then a slow, lazy smile unfurled. "You're not bad," she commented, "for a beginner."

Perhaps Yona's temper was as explosive as her movements.

Only seconds after delivering the statement, Lessa lashed out with her weapon.

---

Yona: 2/3

Lessa: 2/3

[Yona 0]

Things went from bad to worse in seconds.

"You're not bad, for a beginner." Yona's opponent commented. "This ain't my first rodeo, I'm not going down without a fight." came Yona's response.

...Well, Lessa put up a fight, all right. Yona was unprepared for the force of the impact, for it was too strong of an attack to simply block. Having been knocked a few yards(Or meters, if you use the metric system) from the force of the hit against Yona's blade, even though the tip of the opponent's weapon had only lightly tapped Yona's forehead.

What was worse than weakness was dishonor. Yona tapped her forehead with her free hand to confirm the hit to her opponent.

"Whew...You really kept me on my toes, Lessa. I'd almost forgotten what a challenge was." Yona complimented.

She'd lost, which normally meant she was in for it. However...

Yona was so clever and so slick, that she thought up a plan B and she thought it up quick. A smile crept on her face, one that could tell that she was plotting something...

"As much as I hate losing, I know when I'm beat." Yona began. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad it was you who I lost to." She said with an awkward smile as the sweat ceased to appear on her face. "Care to do me a favor, Lessa? You or Astralin, win this tournament, would you?" She asked. "I'm a woman, not some prize to be won, after all."

It was then that Yona got another idea. "Speaking of which, I might as well take an opportunity to sharpen my skill, by asserting dominance on the others who lost..." Yona thought aloud. She then looked back to Lessa. "Good match, Lessa. Maybe one day I'll see you again."

 

If anything, she might appear to be on par with that veteran, as it was a close match in the end.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

[DOWN]Yona: 2/3

Lessa: 3/3

Edited February 8, 2022 by Yona

[Bismuth 0]

Bismuth entered the arena on shaky legs, fighting wasn't something that he could really handle, and even more something that he was good at. The only solace he took was the fact that everything in this competition was designed to be non lethal in every way, with safety as the main concern, the weapons were wood and completely incapable of doing actual damage. In his slightly less, but still, shaky hands Bismuth held a long wooden dagger, it was slightly curved, but nothing like the curved swords that could be find in Aincrad. 

Bismuth opened his mouth slightly as if he was about to say something to his opponent, a highly skilled frontliner, someone who, in any actual combat, he would not last even a second against. Seemingly finding at least some resolve, though he was still clearly frightened, Bismuth spoke up. "M. . . May the best fighter win." With that Bismuth charged at his opponent sending in a light and fast slice towards her abdomen, something best suited for a dagger.

[Arabelle 0]

good fortune that it took more than a failed plot for arabelle to lose her wits. she wasn't going to fall back on less tasteful habits; far from it in a harmless duel with a crowd on every side, but surrendering had been the farthest thing from her mind when the sword came straight for the peak of her shoulder, she wanted to angle her bokken differently, to thrust the point into morgenstern's knee milliseconds after his blow was slated to land.

mid-swing, morgenstern stopped. immediately, arabelle locked her movements in place.

and stopped breathing. it was easier that way. 

then she batted morgenstern's bokken with hers, bringing it to complete its arc and lightly tap its intended destination. "all yours," she conceded easily.

they parted. following his example, she took a few steps backward herself, then placed her guard up and waited with her head tilted slightly as if in invitation. and when her opponent took that as his cue to attack, the smile that curved up arabelle's lips nearly gave her away.

before he moved, he looked,

there.

--!

she didn't want him as close as he had been prior. she spun, knocked his sword away from her body, and immediately retaliated. the 'hit', this time, was a gentle but firm tap to his exposed side. arabelle backed out of his reach long enough to call, "one point," before she closed the distance once again. they were on equal ground but she could tolerate less mistakes. she would aim to deflect the first swing that came her way, then adapt a more familiar two-handed grip on her bokken and make her own.

.

[point]

1/3 Arabelle
1/3 @Morgenstern

[Macradon 0]

What a sight, this wasn’t really what he had anticipated for what seemingly was a valentines event … a tournament. Macradon chortled and looked at the crows around him and Baldur standing strong on his centralised position to everyone, telling everyone present what was going on and how the tournament was to be executed. It was quite the setup Baldur had prepared, training clothes, weapons, and gear. Everything seemed to be proper sparring gear where everyone could go all out without anyone being hurt. The dojo’s aesthetics were pleasing to the eye and everything seemed to be neatly placed to nail in the aesthetic even more. For whomever he were to go up against, his current attire would not be suitable, even if he had hoped for an all out brawl, this wasn’t the place for it.

As he quickly donned his sparring uniform, he took off his right sleeve and let it hang besides him, letting half of his torso stay loose for dexterity purposes, and possibly looking cooler than being fully covered. And with possibly meaning not at all. Of all the weapons at display, Macradon was at a slight disadvantage with what he could pick out from, there really wasn’t anything that he was too comfortable wielding in this weight class, so he just went with what he felt most at home with: this shitty weird thing. He picked up the wooden sword, slightly curved in its long blade, but still enough leverage for two-handed use. What really picked this weapon out from the rest was the handle which was nearly as long as the blade itself. “Na-ga-ma-ki … huh” he muttered after picking it up and inspecting the item “Guess I’ll try this bad boy out.” he said with a joyous smile.

He quickly side eyed up towards Baldur when the competition prize was a rare Safeguard potion, something that he hadn’t seen in the game in a while, this might even be one if not the last safeguard to ever exist. “Now that’s what I call a prize.” he said with glee as he walked over to the brackets to see who he would be facing. 

“Night .. huh. I’ve met her a few times, but I don’t really know her that well.” he mumbled for himself as he scoured through the mass of people, trying to pick out the stealthy greatsword wielder, but she was fast to enter the arena before he even scouted her out, he would follow suit and enter. “You’re using something smaller than usual. Shame, I would’ve loved to spar with you at your full potential, guess this’ll do anyways.” he said with a friendly smile as he got into a near guard with his blade trailing behind him, lowered down towards the ground. He would set himself up with a lowered stance leaning forward, either having to take the initiative himself or let Night engage upon him. "No personal attack taken." he replied with a nod.

A few seconds that felt like an eternity leapt by as nothing really seemed to happen, they were both dead-locked in being reactionary, so whatever he could do now was to set it all up “HERE I COME!” he roared as he charged in with a ferocious might. As predictable his moves were, it didn’t surprise him that Night easily began to counteract his brash spearheading.

@NIGHT

Stats
«Macradon» 920/920 HP | 114 MIT | 19 DMG | 2 ACC | 0 EVA | 8 REC | 49 BH | 99 VMP | 16(8) FRT | 16 FRS | 16 Holy | Phase | 124/124 EN

Spoiler

Macradon The Imperial Topaz	Level: 31(61) «Macradon» 920/920 HP | 114 MIT | 19 DMG | 2 ACC | 0 EVA | 8 REC | 49 BH | 99 VMP | 16(8) FRT | 16 FRS | 16 Holy | Phase | 124/124 EN
Stats	HP: 920 EN: 124 ACC: 2 EVA: 0 DMG: 19 MIT: 114 REC: 8 FRT: 16(8) FRS: 16(2 turns) VMP: 90
Equipped Items	- Blade of the Bloody Dictator // +16 Holy Damage, Phase, 10%+Survival(101) Vampiric Offensive - Silverlight ................ // +64 Mitigation, +16(8) Frost Thorns, +16 Frost Damage - Templar's Necklace ......... // +8 Recovery, +2 Accuracy
Battle Ready Inventory	- Empty inventory slot ....... // - Empty inventory slot ....... // - Empty inventory slot ....... // - Empty inventory slot ....... // - Empty inventory slot ....... // - Dimensional backpack - - Empty inventory slot ..... //
Buffs	- Rested ..................... // -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat. - Filling .................... // Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by                                   +1 T1 slots. - Relaxed .................... // Increase Out of Combat HP regen by 5*Tier+Survival(22) HP and decrease full energy regen                                   to 2 Out of Combat posts. - Col Deposit ................ // +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. - Paragon Level 60 ........... // +240 HP, +24 EN. - Buff name .................. // Buff effect.
Skills & Mods	- 2H Straight Sword ............ || Rank 5: +7 Damage. - - Ferocity .................... // +2 Damage. - - Stamina ..................... // Decrease Energy Cost by 2. - Battle Healing ............... || Rank 5: Heal 5%+Survival(50) each post In-Battle. - Charge ....................... || +5 Damage -1 Accuracy on first hit. - Combat Mastery: Damage ....... || +1*Tier*Rank(12) - Energist ..................... || Add 5*Tier(20) Energy to your max pool. - Fighting Spirit .............. || +1 Hate generation. - Heavy Armor .................. || Rank 5: +35 Damage Mitigation. - - Impetus ..................... // +1 Damage. - - Iron Skin ................... // +15 Mitigation, +15*Tier(60) HP. - Searching .................... || Rank 5: +5 Loot Die, +5 Stealth Detection. - - Reveal ..................... || +2 LD when seargin for Sub-Dungeons or Labyrinths. You may also search for a                                    sub-dungeon or labyrinth once every 10 posts (instead of 15). Reduces the                                    personal post cooldown when searching for a labyrinth to 3 posts (instead of 5). - Quick Change ................. || Allows the user to instantly equip, unequip, or swap any equipment in their                                   battle-ready inventory. - Aerial Ace ................... || Increase damage at the cost of ACC, EVA, & MIT while in Aerial stance.   - Disguise ..................... || +1 EVA for one turn, lesser critical doesn't autohit. - Meditation ................... || Recover 4*Tier(16) energy with post action. - Parry ........................ || Reduce incoming damage by 50%(rounded down). - Survival ..................... || Increase all Healing from all sources by 10%. Immune to environmental damage.

 

[NIGHT 0]

One strike -- the first. She hadn't really thought much into adapting to the new weapon, but the quick success caught her by surprise.

In other words, it came immediately as a distraction. A quick draw of her blade to put Macradon with the back of her hilt quickly became a position of vulnerability, the instinctual counter from the other player pushing the woman backwards, and NIGHT struggled to stop herself, lighter without the weight of her weapon.

Her resettled gaze on the man's figure came with three realizations:

1. Being quicker meant her strikes were going in faster,

2. which meant she needed to move even faster than she was originally used to, just to prevent openings as such in the future.

3. She didn't have any method of defenses being that close up to another.

If she paused, it was to contemplate on the last point, stewing and exhaling once she'd made up her mind. NIGHT's fingers bounced upon the surface of her sheathe, before the woman made another run towards her opponent.

Maybe she could use her size as an advantage, sliding towards the side, and unleashing an upwards strike once a swing was baited out of her way.

---

NIGHT: 1/3
Macradon: 1/3

[Macradon 0]

With a quick upwards strike trailing behind him like a tail, Macradon glamorously failed to connect with Night who easily diverted from his oncoming attack. The incoming attack would then at least attempt to be parried, but the added momentum, and the lighter weapon Night was using, easily manoeuvred around his unwieldy blade with a just as unwieldy grip. His boulderous rock slide of a parry didn’t go his way and was hit by the quick strikes of Night. To his retaliation, Macradon would boulder his way through but play to his own advantage now, reach. Not only was his blade longer, his hilt as well. He was practically using his sword like a wonky glaive, being able to leverage like a greatsword, but reach close to a glaive, but doing neither at their greatest strengths.

Night was moving fast and swiftly, taking her lighter weapon and armament to their fullest by moving faster than Macradon could realign his momentum in strikes, what seemed to be working now was straight forward broad sweeps, he would have to keep out for quick fake outs in Night’s movements, he had to try and feel his way towards the path Night would go, trying to cover as much as possible like an avalanche. With breakneck sweeps, Macradon aimed for a wide strike going towards his opponent.

---

NIGHT: 1/3
Macradon: 1/3

[NIGHT 0]

One large swing followed her, like a prey, hunted. She let the blow run its course, ducking as low as she could without losing her balance, and in what was almost a push from the strike that caught her back, NIGHT forced herself forward with an added jolt of energy, shooting past Macradon's view to his blind spot. She wouldn't lie -- she felt the attack there, as heavy as it may have been for a practice shot -- but movement without restrictions meant bearing the burden of a careless mistake.

The man was smart -- NIGHT hadn't needed to think twice to deduce that -- a veteran that's made it this far into the game had to have gone through enough tribulations to be able to adapt to various sorts of attack patterns. Still, Cardinal's creatures were within their limits, hence her dilemma: the follow through of the sweep had her wondering when the last time he'd fought a real opponent was. Because it'd felt preemptive, and she wasn't going to ask for a head count from anyone with a green cursor.

She'd almost lost the grip of her blade while juking the combatant, but held fast to it the moment she sprung up from the ground. Now in clear view of Macradon's side from the diagonal, a hurried draw of the weapon from its sheathe would result in another attempted strike. Steady, the player was in her counter -- though she'd be a fool not to dodge as soon as she was able to.

---

NIGHT: 2/3
Macradon: 1/3

[Morgenstern 1]

Arabelle had been able to get into his defenses and an eyebrow rose. He noticed that she was doing her best to keep them distanced as well. Could it be that she was just an extremely quick learner? She had started this battle looking clumsy and inexperienced. After exchanging only a few blows it was almost as if she had slipped into a stance that made her feel more comfortable. She even was confidently calling out her points. Cocky? Perhaps. He would be more than willing to enjoy it though.

"Alright then, not bad!" A shit-eating grin would plaster onto his face. Continuing forward, he would thrust his weapon forward and strike the girl in the center of the chest. His attack seemed to have worked until he realized a bit too late, it didn't seem like she actually intended to block the attack. Was it a trap? Attempting to back away, he would take a backstep away from Arabelle. 

 

I dunno what Rolls are needed with the error I am pretty lost tbh.

This is the known score:

2/3 Arabelle
2/3 @Morgenstern