[PP-F2] <<Let There Be Light>> Burning Bright! A Hero's Resolve

[Calcifer 0]

The Town of Beginnings was a little less crowded than usual today.

Whenever the frontliners unlocked a new level of the castle, players filtered upwards. There were a handful of appealing main settlements and other cityscapes higher up, begging the question: at what point would Floor 1 be rendered obsolete?

For one girl, the charm of the so-called "starter town" was timeless. A sprawling cityscape bursting with life, and no shortage of people that needed help. Where others may move on and leave these helpless citizens in the dust, one determined individual could be found patrolling the streets day-in and day-out, always willing to lend a hand.

"Cooome on... Nice kitty! This way, kitty!" A pale hand stretched out and beckoned to a lazy tabby cat where it sat atop the branch of a tree, watching its would-be rescuer with bare interest. Calcifer's hand retreated back to her so she could catch herself before she lost her grip and slipped down the unforgiving bark...again. The pink girl hoisted herself a little bit higher, wrapped her arm around a branch, and reached out again.

It took several more tries over the course of an hour or so, but Calcifer stood victorious with a writhing cat held firmly in her outstretched hands. "Here you are, Ms. Tanaka! Mittens is safe and sound, no need to worry." Her wide grin was complemented with thin, bright red gashes littering her face. Before Mittens could chip away at her HP any further, the dark-haired woman scooped the hateful cat up in her arms and unleashed a wave of gratitude. Calcifer wore that proud smile and waved off her thanks. "As a reward, please let me give you thi--"

"No, no! Don't worry about such things!" Calcifer insisted with a thick bravado, already turning away from the woman. "A knight helps wherever they are needed. No coin shall influence my duty to the people, so please!" She stuck her open palm up in front of her, as if to motion a 'stop!' "That won't be necessary. Knowing that Mittens is safe at home is reward enough." Dusting her hands with a couple of soft 'claps' as she brushed them against each other, Calcifer went about her day without a second thought.

Then she passed by the teleport gate. That large, imposing structure that stood on its raised platform in the exact center of the city. She saw people coming and going from it all the time, so it was hard not to wonder what might lie on the other side. Calcifer's wide eyes drifted past the gate and over the simple shops, the tall buildings, the people on their regular walking paths. Then back to the gate. She could always come back, right? It's not like she was abandoning the people here if she just took a peek at the next town over, right? Of course not.

She carried herself up the steps and approached the gate with a nervous energy. The name was on her lips--she could taste it. That's all she had to do, wasn't it? Say the word, and off she would go. No need to be scared! Or worried! Or guilty! Or--

'SLAP!'

Calcifer's cheeks went a stinging shade of red after her hands had smacked into them. A righteous determination burned in her chest that steeled her resolve in an instant. "How can I strive to be an Ember-Knight if I cannot thrust myself fearlessly into the unknown?" She asked aloud. A bit too loud. "I must meet each challenge with a warrior's heart! Urbus!" She shouted, and seconds later her body had disappeared under twinkling lights, leaving Floor 1 behind.

Urbus was different. Immediately from the platform of the second floor's teleport gate, Calcifer felt like she'd just been transported to another world. She still stood amid a city, sure, but it was nothing like her Town of Beginnings. The architecture, the people, the air, the ground beneath her feet--it was different. Her eyes were wide as ever, running over everything that stood in front of her and soaking it all in.

[quest info] Calcifer | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | ACC:1  NOTES   Hide contents Calcifer's Character Sheet THREAD INFO   Hide contents equipped »Rare Weapon (+1 DMG, +1 ACC) »Vanity Armor   battle-ready inventory »(3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP) skills »Straight Sword R1 (+3 DMG) addons » mods » buffs Spoiler »

 

Edited February 28 by Calcifer

[Ryo 0]

Another day, another possibility to find literally anything to do. Ryo opened his menu and navigated to his quest log. He grimaced at just how many quests he had done. He had completed a small handful of quests, which granted him a middling amount of experience. And the other handful he had done before had been changed from quests to field bosses. He had done a few notable ones to get some much needed skills, such as Survival to help him out on tougher floors. He figured he would start with the easier ones he could do by himself, at least before he started doing ones that would require multiple people. He could probably count on Tei if he needed help, or he could reach out to Theo if it was safe enough and he needed a proper scout. And if he needed the big guns he always had access to Jomei. With that, he would at least have some access to other frontliners as well. There was always someone around willing to help, he just needed to be loud enough.

A decent enough place to start quest hunting would be the second floor. He had grown quite tired of the first floor's fields and rolling hills. Not to mention the same NPC's day in and day out. His attention span needed to be better stimulated were he to properly go through the effort of completing more of the available quests. Had he, been to the second floor before? He was unsure, he couldn't properly remember if he had or not. The surrounding landscape was unfamiliar to him. As he took the teleport gate into the city of Urbus he was hit with his least favorite thing in the world. Being assaulted by a random NPC. "Pl-please," she begs, "I've been trying to find someone to help me all day. My child--" Ryo grimaced as the NPC practically tackled him. He held up his arms in an attempt to pry himself free of the NPC and understand what was going on. "Right. What about your lost kid?" He asked, now able to breathe. The woman spoke, hysterically. "She-- she was playing in one of the caverns in the mountains with her friend. I-I told her not to go but she didn't listen to me!" Ryo nodded along, paying attention to the NPC this time around. They weren't real people, just a bunch of pixels cobbled to resemble people. But he always emotionally connected with them. "Alright, alright." Ryo said. "Where is this cavern they were at?" He asked.

  

<Quest Info>

Ryo | HP: 700/700 | EN: 102/102 | DMG: 21 | MIT:36 | ACC:3 | BH:31 | REC: 3 | LD:3 PARTY STATS Spoiler Ryo | HP: 700/700 | EN: 102/102 | DMG: 21 | MIT:36 | ACC:3 | BH:31 | REC: 3 | LD:3 THREAD INFO Spoiler equipped »Gin Kin (Damage | Damage | Damage) »Fierce Deities Coat (Mitgation | Mitigation | Recovery) »Accuracy Charm (Accuracy | Accuracy | Accuracy) battle-ready inventory » » » » » skills »Katana R5 »Heavy Armor R5 »Battle Healing R4 »Searching R3 » extra skills »Survival (Healing effects 10% more, immune to environmental effects) »Leadership R1 (Grants access to Leadership Arts, takes 2 Extra Slots) »Leadership R1 » » addons »[Katana] Focus (Minor Crit on BD 8, reduce DoT threshold by 1) »[Katana] Stamina (-2 EN) »[Heavy Armor] Iron Skin (+15 MIT, +45 HP) mods »Impetus (+1 DMG) »Emergency Recovery (Heal 10% when brought below 25% | Once per thread | 10EN) »Night Vision (No penalties from low light/darkness) shift » ST-Shift buffs » Dining Room: "Tasty" - Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. » Basic Kitchen: "Filling" - Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.(Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.) » Living Room: "Relaxed" - Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Edited February 28 by Ryo

[Calcifer 0]

Calcifer was entranced by the sights and smells and sounds and everything that this new floor had to offer. There were thick clouds littering the sky overhead limiting the sunshine from barreling down on the city. There was a distinct earthy musk that hit her nose from the surrounding mountain landscapes. The chatter of the townsfolk was subdued and less polite. The people that littered these streets had no time for idle chitchat and 'how-do-you-dos'. But amid all the newness, one word caused her ear to burn and her fingers to twitch. Bright indigo eyes shot around wildly to find the one who uttered it:

"Help"

Her focus locked onto a frantic-looking brunette woman and an uncomfortable-looking man dressed largely in purples. She grasped at him, physically and verbally, in a bid for his attention. Calcifer stood frozen. Her hands were rigid at her sides. The man wasn't walking away. He didn't dismiss or deny her pleas. She watched him nod. Could it be that she was not needed after all? Was another brave warrior rising to the challenge to assist those in need? Maybe she should be on her way. After all, if there was a hapless soul here who had found solace in the aid of another, what was to say that there weren't others who were not so lucky? Surely someone else out there needed her.

What would a true Ember-Knight do?

"Please excuse me, swordsman and gentlelady," Calcifer inserted herself into the situation immediately. She tucked one arm behind her back while the other folded over her front and she bowed before the both of them. "Upon hearing your plight, I could not help myself."

"Her friend came back to me just this moment a-and said that they were attacked by monsters!" The NPC woman labeled Choshi continued her dialogue, and for a short time she and Calcifer were speaking over each other.

"It would be unbecoming of me as a knight to turn a blind eye to anyone in need. Should you need any assistance, know that I would gladly take on any challenge or oblige any request for the citizens of Urbus!"

"R-really? Thank you! Thank you so much, you have no idea how grateful I am,"

By the time Calcifer had finished announcing her intentions, it appeared that some bit of her ramblings must have triggered the acceptance of the quest Choshi was so desperately trying to offer. The NPC's face brightened up and she continued speaking while the brazen pink girl stood there with a pose and expression that were nothing but sincere and determined.

Edited February 28 by Calcifer

[Ryo 0]

Ryo was about to question the woman more, but that was before there came a sudden pink motion beside him. Not started but confused, and worried that it may be another NPC wanting something from him, he turned his head. To his surprise it was someone well under his height, and looked to be in grade school. And he was even more surprised by the green player crystal over their head. Wait, did she 'plight?' He asked himself. Before he could question things further the NPC spoke more. Continuing her story about how the child's friend came back and informed her about the issue. If it wasn't the player crystal above her head, Ryo would've guessed that this person would be her friend.

Ryo was taken slightly aback when she mentioned that it would be unbecoming of a knight to turn a blind eye. Was this person, real? This was a death game, and she was treating it like some sort of isekai anime. But then again, so was he. Perhaps it was a shared coping mechanism they had. Judging from the starting gear, Ryo would surmise that they were a newbie just now starting their adventure. They had a dream it sounded like, of being a knight. Ryo smirked, and accepted the quest. "Fear not madam. We shall see to it that your daughter is found safe and sound." He said. The NPC spoke again, upon him accepting the quest. "Your e-efforts won't go to waste, I swear! I'll have something for you when you get back, I-I promise!" She said, before returning to her waiting spot. Ryo opened his menu, and locked his tier down to 1.

He turned to the knight in front of him. He gave a polite bow. "Miss Knight, I am Ryo a humble samurai. Shall we combine our strength to aid each other in this endeavor." He asked, raising from his bow and sending her a party invite.

<Quest Info>

Ryo | HP: 655/655 | EN: 87/87 | DMG: 12 | MIT:67 | BH:29 | REC: 2 | HM: 2 | BLD: 12  | PARA | LD:3 [Tier Locked] PARTY STATS Spoiler Ryo | HP: 655/655 | EN: 87/87 | DMG: 12 | MIT:67 | BH:29 | REC: 2 | HM: 2 | BLD: 12  | PARA | LD:3 Calcifer | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | ACC:1 THREAD INFO Spoiler equipped »Gin Kin (Damage | Damage | Damage) »Fierce Deities Coat (Mitgation | Mitigation | Recovery) »Accuracy Charm (Accuracy | Accuracy | Accuracy) battle-ready inventory » » » » » skills »Katana R5 »Heavy Armor R5 »Battle Healing R4 »Searching R3 » extra skills »Survival (Healing effects 10% more, immune to environmental effects) »Leadership R1 (Grants access to Leadership Arts, takes 2 Extra Slots) »Leadership R1 » » addons »[Katana] Focus (Minor Crit on BD 8, reduce DoT threshold by 1) »[Katana] Stamina (-2 EN) »[Heavy Armor] Iron Skin (+15 MIT, +45 HP) mods »Impetus (+1 DMG) »Emergency Recovery (Heal 10% when brought below 25% | Once per thread | 10EN) »Night Vision (No penalties from low light/darkness) shift » ST-Shift buffs » Dining Room: "Tasty" - Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. » Basic Kitchen: "Filling" - Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.(Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.) » Living Room: "Relaxed" - Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

Edited March 1 by Ryo

[Calcifer 0]

As soon as the woman stammered out some promise of a reward, Calcifer stuck her arm straight out, palm open, at the quest-giver. “No need, kind madam. Seeing the smile returned to your face will be enough of a gift.” She dismissed whatever it was the NPC was planning to give them, but it seemed the frantic woman was done speaking either way. She simply stood there, hands clasped together, looking between the two players expectantly while they lingered in the area. Calcifer turned to her newfound comrade. “Ryo the samurai! Pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Calcifer, the soon-to-be Ember Knight. You see, in my other—oh!” She was interrupted by the surprise of the dialogue box that appeared in front of her.

<<Ryo has invited you to a party. Accept?>>

She squinted a little while she read it, then hurriedly tapped on the little blue circle to make it go away and get back to what she was doing. “Of course, I’d be glad to join forces with you, samurai Ryo!” With a twinkle in her eye and a fire in her heart, Calcifer turned and led the way out of Urbus.

It took her a couple of tries to find the city’s singular exit. When they’d made it outside of the safe zone, she opened up her holo-map, otherwise known as her menu’s floor map, and found where Choshi had marked their destination. “A cave, huh… We’ve got no time to spare, so let’s take the most direct path. If we’re headed to a monster’s lair, we’d best stay vigilant. We should avoid any unnecessary battles on our way there.” Nodding, she decided that to be the best course of action.

Edited March 2 by Calcifer

[Ryo 0]

SHe joined the party, although it was strange that she seemed to be disinterested in the pop-up that appeared. This at least let him look at her stats, and dear god in heaven. She was still level 1? And she was on this floor? Did she do, anything at all before hand? She, must have right? She had to have, right? Despite the strangeness of it, he was going to do his best to make sure that she didn't explode in pixels in front of him. He saw the twinkle in her eye, and he could feel the blaze in her heart. Perhaps, that's what an Ember-Knight was? He would probably ask after this quest, or if he had some time in between.

"Do not worry Miss Knight, I know the way." He said, and with an embellished movement of his body he began to walk in the direction that the quest was pointing him in. There would be a few moments of walking, a time to get to know this person. "So Calcifer. What brings you to this floor of the castle?" He asked, curious as to why someone of such a low level would be up here like this.

[Calcifer 0]

Calcifer let Ryo lead the way with a heart full of trust and a head empty of directions. Keeping her holo-map open in front of her the entire time would have become a nuisance, anyway. As with any great adventuring team, the time for travel brought upon them the time for getting to know your travelling partner! And yet, guilt gripped firmly at her heart with the delivery of Ryo’s very first question. She clutched at her chest, lagging behind a few paces in the process. ”Samurai Ryo. I must be completely and absolutely honest with you…!” A look of dread was etched upon her features as she revealed to him one of her deepest, darkest secrets…

”My curiosity has gotten the better of me!” She exclaimed her shame. ”If I may be so bold as to claim that I was dedicated to the protection and the well-being of the Town of Beginnings’ inhabitants…” A wistful expression took over her, like a war hero recounting their hometown, ”I’ve spent many, many days watching over that beautiful city. Its citizens are like a family to me.” Her hands were clasped in front of her, and she let out a sigh.

”But! Like a mistress in the night!” Again her volume rose in an instant as she recounted the events of roughly thirty minutes ago. One hand pressed against the side of her face and then shifted, briefly covering her eyes as if the words were just too scandalous. ”The magic of that teleportation circle is…so terribly alluring.” She moved her hand quickly, before she’d trip and fall on the rocky terrain. ”I thought, ‘surely, if the summer sun shines on this place, it must be a noble pursuit to seek out those who are but yet shivering in the frozen winter tundra’!” Like some amateur Shakespearean actor, Calcifer bent her arm at a right angle, holding an open palm towards the sky and curling her fingers inward. ”Tell me, samurai Ryo! Is it not the ultimate betrayal to cast aside those you once swore to protect, in search of those you simply decide are somehow more deserving of your efforts?!”

[Ryo 0]

Ryo listened intently as Calcifier began to disclose her reasons. The reason for her being so underleveled, and wanting to explore further beyond. She worded it like she was going to give him some kind of rare secret. His brows furrowed as he listened even closer. Then when the grand answer was revealed he let out a loud sputter to stop himself from laughing. She then regaled him with the tale of, thirty three minutes ago and continued to site that the teleportation circle was just to intoxicating to not use. Then the realization hit him. "Wait, you've been protecting the citizens of the Town of Beginnings?" He asked. If she was doing quests or at the least killing a mob or two she should be something above level one. "Wait, when an NPC gives you a job to do do you.... complete the job?" He asked, then he thought for half a second before going deeper. "I mean, do you click the 'circle' when they stop talking?" He pestered.

Then came her next statement. It stopped him in his tracks while he thought back. The cheerful demeanor he carried faded away as he thought about what she had said. He betrayed his old crew, to Jomei and Lowenthal. And even if Ryo didn't participate in clearing the place, how many people died then? He looked up, rubbing the back of his neck. There were some bad people, who needed to be taken care of, but were all of them? And if that was true, was he just as expendable? He rubbed his eyes as he met Calcifiers eyes with a serious gaze. "Would it not be unbecoming of a hero to ignore other people in need?" He asked. "There's nintey-eight other floors, each teeming with people who need help. Are you to say that they should suffer, because those you met first need help now?" He asked, then shook his head. "It's not as simple as betrayal, It's about recognizing that there's too many people needing help. The woman who lost her child, the old woman who missed her cat, the players stuck here who just want to go home." He looked up into the night sky. "There's too many people who are crying for help right now. There's ninety-eight other floors, each one teeming with life and people who need help." He locked eyes with Calcifer. "And it's people like us who rise to the calling to help them." He said. He had ignored people crying for help far to often, and even now he could still hear them. Trying to get him to stop the men from taking them to be slaves, to stop them from taking away their loved ones, to stop them from killing them. He would never, ignore a cry for help again. "It's a heroes job to answer every call, not just the few. Isn't that right?" He said, raising his voice in a triumphant manner trying to psyche up Calcifer rather then bring the mood down.

[Calcifer 0]

”Of course!” Calcifer’s misunderstanding of Ryo asking whether or not she fully completed quest prompts was inevitable, so it was a good thing he clarified. The way he described it gave her pause. She squinted, tapped on her chin, and let out an audible hum. That blasted circle. She’d caught sight of it a handful of times, the annoying bugger. ”Well, most of the people who ask for help offer some kind of reward. A lot of times they get pretty insistent about it. But before you get the wrong idea! I always refuse any kind of gifts or anything the kind townsfolk try to give me.” She raised a hand, fingers together with her palm straight out, as if she were about to recite an oath or refuse another token of gratitude. ”I wouldn’t dare suggest that my assistance comes at a cost. The honest people needn’t sacrifice for my sake! It would be shameful to even entertain the thought.”

Then came his impassioned speech. Calcifer stopped, as he did, and watched as he spoke. As he validated her dreams and quelled her fear all in a handful of eloquent thoughts delivered with sincerity and conviction. A spark seemed to reflect in Calcifer’s indigo eyes. Her smile quivered and her fingers curled inward. Air filled her lungs in a hurry and puffed out her chest while she brought her closed fists in front of her. ”You’re right!” She exclaimed. ”You completely understand!” There was something in her voice that rang a little truer–some touch of authenticity that maybe wasn’t there before. ”Oh, samurai Ryo, what a kind stroke of fate that we would become allies this day!”

It wasn’t too much longer to the cave. The tall mountain ranges on either side of them seemed to converge as they traveled, and the mouth of the cave was visible for a few minutes from their approach. ”Just as Miss Choshi described…” Calcifer mused. Truly, the description of ‘large cave’ matched the one that stood before them to a tee. She drew the basic straight sword that had sat decoratively at her hip all this time and proceeded cautiously. With the sun long since obscured by the tall rocks, the inside of the cave looked like a pool of darkness that didn’t do well for Calcifer’s range of vision. She squinted, struggling to keep track of the rocky walls where they gave way to shadows past the edge of her sight. ”Be on your guard,” she warned, ”the monsters could be anywhere.”

[Ryo 0]

Ryo stopped walking, and stared at the pink woman in disbelief. She had put in the effort to do the quests, or missions, or jobs or whatever they were. And had opted to NOT collect the reward? His hand found his forehead with a loud slap. "That's-" He began, before thinking about what he should say. He let out a sigh, collecting himself. His hand removed from his face. "Completing those jobs and accepting the rewards is how you get stronger in this world." He said. "You can't expect to save everyone without some strength. And without any power, you'll end up failing." He said, thinking back on his past. The pair agreed at least philosophically and Ryo was having fun entertaining the idea that he could help Calfier along her journey get it started. But maybe, this was proving to be too much. He'd need a demonstration, show her what she had the ability to become.

Approaching the mouth of the cave was the perfect time. The cave was dark, and he could see that Calcifer was hunched over, squinting trying to see into the darkness. Ryo closed his eyes, then reopened them. His eyes shifted from normal to a bright green light. His night vision activating. Seeing into the cave Ryo could see shapes moving. Namely, a large one from the ceiling. Ryo placed a hand on Calcifer as she mentioned the monsters could be anywhere and pointed to the looming shape in the darkness.

The shape fell from the ceiling, and dashed out of the cave at the pair. Ryo stood firm as the shape flew above him, readying to attack. His blade drawn, he was ready to cut the giant bat into two. But what he didn't expect was for it to ignore him completely. Why though? He was ahead, he had a weapon drawn, he was ready to fight. So why did it dive at Calcifer? "Hey! Watch out!" Ryo said, flinging himself into the way between the knight and the giant bat. The bat's fangs pierced into his arm and into his shoulder, it's drool spraying about. Ryo flinched as the pain sensation sank into him. Didn't matter how miniscule the damage was, the pain was still there. From his adventure with Theo and watching how a boar nearly gored him in a single hit, he knew exactly what this bat would've done. It would've killed Calcifer. He flexed his arm up, gripping the bat and pulling it off of him before it's AI reset and it took to the air again. Ryo kept his eyes on it, before stating a word of warning to Calcifer. "Stay behind me. This thing can, and will kill you if we're not careful." He said. 

 

Ryo attacks! ST-I vs Giant Bat (-2EN)
ID#: 243090| BD: 1  [Critical Miss] 

Giant Bat attacks Ryo!
Giant Bat | ID#: 243090 | MD: 10 [Critical Hit] - Deals 35-67 = 1 DMG

Spoiler

Ryo | HP: 654/655 | EN: 87/87 | DMG: 12 | MIT:67 | BH:29 | REC: 2 | HM: 2 | BLD: 12  | PARA | LD:3
Calcifer | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | ACC:10

vs

Giant Bat | HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35

 

Edited Tuesday at 08:01 PM by Ryo

[Calcifer 0]

”Hm?” She felt the weight of Ryo’s gauntleted hand on her shoulder and looked over to him with a curious hum. She followed his hand, pointing up into the darkness. She squinted again, straining to make out the shapes of the uneven cavern ceiling. The something shifted. Something moved.

Calcifer jolted when the giant bat descended on them. She renewed her grip on her weapon and held her sword aloft, separating from Ryo as he drew his own blade. She took a couple of steps back, sizing up the beast–it sure was massive for a bat. Its fangs alone spanned the length of your average bat, and its wingspan stretched wide enough that it looked like it might be able to scoop her up and carry her off without much effort. Just as the thought occurred to her, the monster flew straight for her. She steeled herself, raising her blade up above her head in a prepared strike. Her first taste of combat, and she would stand strong. She would meet her enemy head-on and emerge the victor!

But before she could sink her own fangs into the enemy, a shout reached her ears. Before she knew it she was staring at Ryo’s back, the bat’s wings flapping and flailing around him, the wind it kicked up tousling her hair and dust spraying her skin. She froze, taken aback by his sudden self-sacrifice to quite literally throw himself in front of the enemy. ”Samurai Ryo, why would you–” but he already began to offer an explanation before she could argue with his actions. She almost had, her mouth opening and a new breath drawing in, but something about the finality of his words gave her pause, and she closed her mouth with a stiffer bottom lip. The sincerity in his tone was different from before. Still, her chest was feeling tight with her inaction. Though she still stood out of view behind him, she gave a single nod. ”I see…” She was at a strange loss for words. Her usual candor just didn’t feel right in this moment, and she failed to scrounge up a meaningful response. ”Right. I trust your judgement.” She simply affirmed, holding her sword at the ready in front of her.

Quote

Ryo | HP: 654/655 | EN: 87/87 | DMG: 12 | MIT:67 | BH:29 | REC: 2 | HM: 2 | BLD: 12  | PARA | LD:3
Calcifer | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | ACC:1 0

vs

Giant Bat | HP: 75/75 | DMG: 35

 

[Ryo 0]

Ryo let out a small sigh of relief as Calcifier resigned to listen to him. Last thing he wanted was for her to accidentially get caught up one of these things and turn into pixels. "I've been around the block a few time." He said, watching the bat zip back and forth in the air. "So just watch the great Samurai Ryo, and he'll show you how it's done." He said, gripping his katana with one hand. He took a few steps to the side, so that he'd had plenty of room to move if need be. He had gotten the bat's attention at least, and now he would be its sole target. No more preying on the week for the bat.

Ryo took a stance turning his body to the side, holding his blade above his head. "Ittōryū-" He began, as his blade glowed with the power of his sword art. The bat let out a mighty screech unafraid and programed to kill it flew at him. Ryo shouted his attack name. "Half Crescent!" And brought his blade down, striking the bat. The ground shook slightly as the air was displaced from the attack itself. The bat's sputtered for a moment, before being severed cleanly in two. And as each half fell to the side, they disappeared into a mess of crystals. Ryo spun his blade once, the blade humming slightly before resheathing the blade onto his hip. "And that's that. Now there could be more, so we should be careful." He said taking the few steps back to Calcifer.

Recovery...
ID#: 243247 | CD: 5 No Recovery...

Ryo attacks! ST-I vs Giant Bat (-12EN)
ID#: 243248 | BD: 6  [Hit!] Ryo deals 14*12 = 168 DMG |

Spoiler

Ryo | HP: 654/655 | EN: 86/87 | DMG: 12 | MIT:67 | BH:29 | REC: 2 | HM: 2 | BLD: 12  | PARA | LD:3
Calcifer | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | ACC:1 0

vs

Giant Bat | HP: 0/75 | DMG: 35

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Ryo