[PP-F9] Guardian of Fire (Takao)

[Azide 0]

Azide took a deep breath of the dry air as he lifted himself up from his knees. "In a matter of speaking..." he said, flexing his fingers slowly. He looked up from his hands and saw that his health bar now stood at less than half of its usual capacity. It was a humbling sight, to say the least, considering that his health bar hadn't hit yellow since his very first day outside of the safe zones. On one hand, he could simply pull himself up by the bootstraps, and soldier on as if nothing were amiss. On the other, he was not willing to throw his life away to inflate his own ego. 

He turned to address Takao, but caught sight of more than he'd been expecting. On the opposite end of the chamber stood a dark and massive body, drenched from head to toe in wild flames. The injured player watched as the creature opened each of its three mouths one by one and released a staggered series of fearsome roars, which made the whole chamber rumble and shake. The whole sequence prompted Azide to steady himself by way of a nearby stalagmite.

When the threatening gesture had died down, Azide removed himself from the creature's sights and stood behind the rocky structure. "Hey, Takao- how about you go ahead and take the first shot? I'll mop up afterwards if you can't stand the heat," he called out, attempting to throw his voice to anywhere else but the safety of his stalagmite.

[Takao 0]

Takao's eyes drifted from the Azide he saw in front of him to the similarly labeled health gauge hovering just out of his focus beneath his own. The orange colour was a clear indication of what kind of risk he would be taking by attacking the Cerberus, and the reward of a bit of experience alongside a rare item was significantly unbalanced with his life. He'd thought to let him rest for a while, but given their status in a party and his own health and energy being relatively untouched, the desire to complete the quest and return home was much stronger than the desire to include him in the process. Following Azide's comment, Takao glanced between him and the low health gauge again, and rolled his eyes as a low chuckle escaped from the depths of his chest. "Alright man. You just chill there for a minute, I'll see what I can do about him."

With his back turned to Azide and his front now facing the three-headed beast he'd faced off against so long ago, Takao rolled his head over his shoulders until he felt a satisfying pop. He gave his sword an unnecessary twirl by rolling his wrist and held the blade at his side. The tri-headed monster bellowed a thunderous roll, yet its attempts at intimidation were futile. Takao had faced a plethora of monsters both before and after his battle with Cerberus, and had advanced far enough that despite its imposing stature, he no longer held any doubt or worry in his ability to roll with the punches. He pulled his sword arm back and poised himself in such a stance that the blade began to glow blue. When he'd done so, the monster rolled forward onto its massive forelegs and began closing the distance between them. With the timing on his sword art's usage just right, he left the dirty work to the system. His legs tensed and he jumped into the air, using the momentum of his lower body to roll his body into a mid-air flip before he returned to the ground, sword-point first. Electricity was ejected from where the blade made contact, causing arcs of lightning to roll across the ground toward the monster. His roll of the dice proved superior, as the damage it dealt to the monster succeeded in defeating it with one fell swoop. The beast rolled onto its side before dispersing into hundreds of colourful shards.

"Alright then, that's that! Let's roll outta' here!"

- -

» ID : [[ 33863 ]]
» BD : [[ HIT (2 + 3(ACC) + 1(Concentration)) ]]

« Takao »
[[ 117/117 HP ]]
[[ 8/28 Energy ]] «Lightning Fall» used. (-14 Energy)

« Cerberus Head #1 »
[[ 0/75 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]
« Cerberus Head #2 »
[[ 0/75 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]
« Cerberus Head #3 »
[[ 0/75 HP ]] [[ 10(DMG) + 1(Charge) * (1*7) = -77HP ]]

[Azide 0]

From behind the rock, Azide dragged a sleeve across his glistening brow before rustling his slightly-too-warm coat. "Easier said than done."

Although he believed that it was within the realm of possibility that Cerberus could smell fear, he took comfort in the fact that his own perspiration was also a result of the toasty temperatures of the Inferno Cavern. "Hopefully that dampens the effect..." he thought, clutching a health crystal in a trembling hand. He took ahold of the shaking wrist with the fingers of his opposite hand in an effort to keep it still. "Must be the damn arthritis acting up again..."

As he'd been hiding out of sight for the entirety of Takao's tussle with the multi-headed mutt, the young man's efforts had gone very much unappreciated. Instead, Azide had simply heard a bunch of rolling around. By the time he'd peeked out from his cover, all he'd seen was a glimpse of a fallen Cerberus shortly before it shattered into a crystal menagerie. As the carcass dispersed, his eyes drifted over to greet a notification window which had popped up, informing him that a Cerberus Soul had been added to his inventory. 

He stepped out cautiously from behind the stalagmite and took two quick glances around the area before settling into a casual stroll. Azide slid his hands into his pockets, discreetly hiding his crystal from view as he approached Takao. With their task finally completed, his stomach rolled like thunder or a three-headed dog, reminding him of just how starved he really was. "We haven't eaten in at least two days now," he sighed. Looking back towards the entrance, he motioned for the other boy to follow him. "Come on, let's go get some dinner or something."

------------------------------

Topic Complete

+200 col to Azide and Takao

+4 SP to Azide, +1 SP to Takao

+1 Cerberus Soul to Azide