The Gamers: The Arcadia Games- Round 1

[Sairoh]

Chemistry Duo - Valeric and Sairoh

"Thanks for your patronage," Xenon smiled as the customer left. It was Thursday night, and the red haired teen was sitting on a stool in the middle of the entertainment district. It certainly wasn't where most teenagers were - most were at home, studying, sleeping, or procrastinating their work off. But for Xenon, night was synonymous for showtime. To him, weekdays and school nights simply meant it was time to hit the streets to entertain the pedestrian crowd. More often than not, these shows were simpler than his venue ones due to location and equipment, but regardless, he loved them no less than standing on a stage.

Having finished another round, with evening bleeding into night, Xenon leaned back idly on his stool as he took in the bustling night life around him.

---

Shouko glanced up from her cellphone, having heard the bustle of a dispersing crowd. She was on the way home from drinks with her college buddies. This was an alley she didn't frequent, and didn't know there was a street performance scheduled.

The magician himself had striking red hair. Shouko nudged her glasses up with a finger- where has she seen that before… his name was… Xe-

Shouko smiled and approached her fellow Gamer, waving when he noticed her.

"That explains the flashy hair. What are you doing here?" Shouko asked, having missed the show.

---

Xenon's eyes widened in surprise at the familiar sight of the other gamer. "Ah, Koizumi-san!" Xenon smiled and nodded in greeting. "Funny seeing you here. I do street magic sometimes in this area on the weekends, or when I don't have any shows booked on the weekends," he explained. "What about you?

---

"I was just on the way home. You're a highschool student, aren't you? Being a street magician is really impressive!" Shouko squinted at him. "H-how much are you making?"

---

Xenon cocked his head in curiosity at the question. "Thanks… I make a fair amount," he said slowly. "Though, it tends to depend on where I'm performing and what day of the week," the red haired teen added. "Any particular reason why, might I ask?"

---

"Fair amount?" Shouko repeated, cocking an eyebrow. She wondered how fair it was, though Xenon didn't seem like sharing. "I was just curious."

And a little envious.

"How are the preparations coming along?I believe I've mentioned that I will be bringing a bow to the fight. These twigs-" Shouko raised her arm and flexed her muscles, displaying her impressive lack of them, "-aren't going to be of much use holding a sword."

The entire group were more physically capable than her, which was why Shouko was compensating her weakness with bombs and arrows. Failure of this quest meant losing their amazing powers, and that wasn't an option.

---

Xenon chuckled at Shouko's display of power. "I'm not too sure about that," the red haired teen said pointedly. "I'm sure that the Big Imp'll just start running for the hills at the sight of those guns," he said sarcastically, "Or, at the very least, I sure would."

A bow and arrows, huh? Having never shot anything that wasn't a card, coin, or laser gun before, a ranged weapon hadn't even crossed Xenon's mind. "I think my preparations are going pretty good. Been practicing with a pair of katars to make use of my agility."

---

"Cutters? Those weird knives Rei used? To go up against something that big with those small knives, aren't you afraid?"

---

"Katars," Xenon corrected with a laugh. "And while the big imp did seem to have a lot of size and power, I think I've probably got speed and technique on my side," he explained. "What about you? Do you have any particular strategy in mind for taking it down?

---

"As I said, I'll shoot arrows at it from a distance. It didn't look too fast. Also, I've been making some molotov cocktails- should be fairly effective," Shouko explained. "I was also thinking of smoke bombs? If I can find out how to make them, they should help us run away from the Imp if it gets too near."

---

"Smoke bombs?" Xenon echoed. The red haired teen paused with a thoughtful look on his face. "You know," he said slowly, "Smoke bombs sound like a really cool idea." Xenon smiled, sitting up a little straighter. "I got this new skill the other day called sneak attack that lets me make a stealthed attack. I think it would combo really well with a smoke cover."

---

Shouko nodded slowly, considering Xenon's suggestion. "It'll definitely distract monsters. Should be easier to sneak up on them."

"This is pretty crazy, isn't it?" she chuckled. "The things we're discussing about. Fighting dangerous creatures. Why did we get these powers?"

---

Xenon nodded and his expression softened. "I wouldn't know. The most gaming I've ever done was kid games when I was younger," he admitted. The teen paused for a moment, contemplating before continuing, "Honestly though, I probably would have chosen to just go home if I didn't have to look after Artisia. Heaven knows that she'd throw herself at a dragon or something if the chance appeared."

---

A wry smile appeared on the girl's face.

"Oh? You two are together? That's sweet. A highschool romance."

---

"Funny, Tian Gui assumed the same thing," Xenon said with dry chuckle. "We're not together," he denied, "Just good friends in the same class."

---

"You just admitted you're willing to risk your life for her. Even I wish I had someone so loyal!" Shouko said in good humour. Artisia and Xenon would make an interesting couple- a magician and a martial artist.

"She's a very lively girl, that Artisia. I can see why you like her."

---

Xenon gave Shouko a half smile. "She's just my friend," he reasserted, "Really." Moving around a lot as a child hadn't really helped the red haired teen's friend repertoire very much. After finally settling down in Japerica, Xenon ended up befriending Artisia due to some circumstances. Granted, it was also because they were the penchant loners of their class - what with Artisia's delinquent background and Xenon's new student status. Still, it worked out.

"What about you, Koizumi-san? Do you have a lover?

---

"Had one. Haven't found the right guy yet, though I admit it's not a priority."

Love was nice and sweet, but was just as likely to be cruel and painful. Her parents' divorce was evidence for that. Shouko preferred to work on things that couldn't betray her, like the figures her bank account.

"I figure I'll leave it to destiny. In the meantime, I'll enjoy life and build my career."

---

"I see," Xenon nodded. "That's a pretty great mindset to have in this busy world," he complemented with an easy smile. "Though, now I'm curious, what kind of career are you studying for? Well, assuming that you're still in school…" the teen trailed off.

To him, Shouko didn't appear to be particularly old, and considering that most of the gamers seemed to be around his age, he had admittedly just assumed that she was still in post secondary school.

---

"I'm in college only because they gave me a scholarship. Pharmacy. To be honest, I don't think it suits me, but I'm not bad at it, and it's a decent career."

Shouko chuckled again. Xenon is probably in his final year of highschool? The woes of adult life would soon be knocking on his door.

"Enjoy your youth while it lasts. I think mine is running dry."

---

Xenon felt a bit uneasy at the conversation's sudden change in tone. Part of him wanted to dispute Shouko's claim and encourage her that she was still young. However, the more sensible part of himself knew that it was a weak argument, especially coming from someone younger like him. So, the red haired teen simply decided to do what he did best.

"Well," he began with a smile, "Youth isn't bound by age is it?" Xenon leaned back and procured a deck of card from his vest pocket. "Age is, after all, just a number," he fanned out the cards as he spoke, revealing that the whole deck was composed of 2's. "And number," he regathered the cards and did a quick flourishing shuffle, "Is just a marker from your maker that shows how much you've grown."

Xenon fanned out the cards again to show that they were now numbered in order from 2 to 10.

"And no matter what anyone says or thinks, growth does not foster the-" he held all the cards in one hand, then flicked upwards, "... disappearance of youth..." The teen held out his palms to show that they were now empty.

Xenon smiled warmly. He leaned forward and gently took Shouko's hand in his own, with it's palm up. Then, he took his left hand and briefly covered her hand with his own. When he pulled away, there was a queen of hearts resting in it. "...But rather, the excellence of it."

---

Shouko's gazed scrutinized Xenon's movements, trying to decipher the trick behind his magic. It was of course futile- Xenon could have used true magic for all the knew, since they were all capable of throwing real magic around now. Her eyes twinkled with amusement and wonder when at last he produced a queen of hearts in her palm.

"That's amazing! Very charming. You're good at this," Shouko said, genuinely impressed by his demonstration. His words were musical as well, and her impression of the youth increased by a notch.

"Of course, our lives are different now, isn't it?" Shouko returned the card to Xenon as she spoke. "This power. From what I can gather, we're only at the beginning of our potential. Rei is worlds stronger than we are, and I don't think he has reached his peak yet."

She looked around then, wondering if anyone was overhearing their conversation. When her fears are allayed, she continued.

"Power. We're gaining it in the most literal sense, and power leads to wealth. Influence. Do you realize that you may not need to go to college? Become a mundane salaryman? Heck, we can increase our intelligence and wisdom through this system! Become smarter just by killing mindless creatures we can summon at will! It's like we're… cheating the laws of physics. It's crazy."

She checked her phone, and it told her that she had been talking to Xenon for quite a while. "It's getting late, I should go. It's been a nice chat. Maybe I'll visit your performance one night?"
---

"Thanks," he replied with a smile to Shouko's compliment. No matter how many times he did it, being able to awe people with magic tricks never got old.

Xenon returned the card to his vest pocket and listened intently to the older gamer. She made a fair point - the gamer ability was currently like a room without a visible ceiling. If Rei was as strong as he was at around level 20, then how strong would they all be in the 50's? 60's? 100's? There was no way to be sure. Though, Shouko's… enthusiasm about the prospects of wealth were somewhat amusing.

Though, in all honesty, the red haired teen hadn't really thought all too much in detail about the future. Yes, he was in his last year of high school, but there was a bit of a crossroads that was biting him. After all, his parents still didn't know just how much more he had invested in his magical nightly adventures.

"I have shows the weekends," Xenon replied with a smile. "And I..." he could already feel his hands moving, "...Would be much obliged if you came." He finished as he snapped his fingers, and materialized the queen of hearts again. This time though, it had an address written out on the back. As he handed it to her, Xenon broke into a small fit of laughter. "Okay, okay, no more tricks," he said between laughs.

---

Shouko giggled at his second trick, thoroughly enjoying the mysterious art of street magic.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said and left.

---

"See ya."​

 

[ERode]

Sparring (Sunday 4/29): Alexander vs. Tian-Gui​

With time running short, alex knew that he needed to test his training out, and test it on someone living, and preferably strong and able. Out of the gamers that left him with a handful of choices actually since most of them seemed to be in better shape than one you would expect with the title of 'Gamer'.

"Artisia comes to mind instantly, but I'd rather not have her enjoy the fact I asked for help. Asking someone of such social standing to be a test subject to being tied up, just seems too demeaning for Kyosuke. I would imagine Xenon would pull some magic stunt and I may find myself tied up. Shouko seems the frailest physically. Well I guess that just leaves, big muscles, bigger heart. I'll Call Tian." Spinning in his computer chair, Alex flicked his phone out, and sent a text.

"Hey! Would you be able to help me with some finalizing of my training? I'll help you train if you'll help me!" Hitting send, he paused for a moment and looked at his message. I may have just asked to be a ragdoll.

---​

"Oh, you wanna spar? Sure, I always have time for that! Gotta get ready for the big horned thing, eh?"​

---​

Straight to the point and ready to roll , Good. "Exactly! Thanks a bunch!" Alex quickly responded with haste. "If it works for you, I have a rather fair sized garden we can use. I live at 1018 in the upper residential district, its a big house of both mixed european and eastern styles, you can't miss it. But if you have troubles give me a call." With that Alex went out to his garden. It was rather large, it even had a pond with fish swimming in it. His Father's money finally being used properly, not just as a place for his mother to hold parties when she was hunting new prey. Finally a productive purpose for it.​

---​

Inconveniently, Tian-Gui didn't live in that same district, but conveniently, the bus was faster than normal. With a gym bag that carried his chainmail armor, as well as a healthy workout meal of lean meat and salad, it took the Chinese youth twenty minutes to reach the fancy house. Walking to the back, he saw the ponytail boy and waved cheerily. ​

"Nice place you got here," he said, "Hopefully neither of us gets pushed into that pond."​

With that, he activated the Pseudospace and put on his chainmail. The weight was still noticeable, but after a couple of days, Tian-Gui was getting used to that sort of weight.​

---​

Alex welcomed Tian with a smile and a wave back. He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Tian struggling in pond, "No, best we don't swim with the fish today," Alex looked at the koi swimming rather peacefully, "They've endured enough already." He muttered in a rather low mischievous tone.

With the psuedospace being put up, The two got ready to go. Tian put his armour on, and Alex took his hand out of his pockets. "I am going to ask you to try to move, then try to break them, try to come at me, and lasty try to swing at me. If my threads fail to hold you, feel free to not hold anything back." Getting himself into a battle stance, strictly for looking good, Alex made the first move, "Mana Thread!"​

---​

Nodding at Alexander's instructions, Tian-Gui watched as a thin, translucent thread shot out of his fingertips, latching onto his armor. Admiring the Mana Thread's appearance for a moment, Tian-Gui took a few steps back, shook his arm a bit, and the thread dissipated, mana dissolving into the atmosphere.​

With that, Tian-Gui's own chest lit up with a radiant force as he called out, "Intensify Energy!"​

"Come on, Alexander, no holding back! Let's see the full results of your training!"​

---

"Tsssk" Alex snapped his fingers, his strings really didn't stand much of a chance for simply binding a foes at the moment, He really did need to get stronger first, Pulling out a knife, he charged at the behemoth of a man. The knife glittered as the sun reflected off of of, "Mana Thread!" Alex aimed at Tian's leg, hopping to loosen up his footing with a tug.

---

With a forward stomp, Tian-Gui shook off the thread once more, closing the distance as Alexander charged him. Were they going into pure combat now? Alright!​

Tensing his muscles and recalling all the motions once more, he grabbed the wrist that held the kitchen knife, locked that joint, entwined one of his legs with the the youth's, before lowering his center of gravity and pushing upwards, ready to put him into the dirt.​

---

Oh hell No! Alex felt his body starting to move, "Tian words of warning, it may be training, but I'll fight how I'll fight!" With his hand holding the knife being unable to be utilized, He saw his only hope as either playing dirty, or taking a hit.

Hesitating, Alex thought of fighting dirty, but due to it being a friendly sparring match, it would be best if he didn't do anything too foul. Legs, I'll go for those. Attempting to aim at Tians feet and tether them to himself to thwart the...whatever wrestling move Tian was doing to him, Alex learned that such a thing would be a tad tricky in close range, and when a bit held up.

---​

Shifting his leg just barely out of the way of that Mana Thread, Tian-Gui began to push upwards, attempting to lift Alexander clear off the ground. Despite his efforts though, he still wasn't used to lifting up human-sized targets, and after some struggle, settled for maintaining his position.​

---​

Struggling as hard as he could, Alex managed to stay on the ground. How do I get out of this?! Attempting to think fast under the pressure, and knowledge that another attempt was going to come quickly to lift him, Alex realized just how helpless he would be in a fight without others to back him up, Pathetic! He decided the best option would be to again aim for the legs, but this time right before Tian would try to lift him, hoping to knock them both down.​

---​

The first time didn't succeed, but this was training, and lifting was lifting! Gritting his teeth, Tian-Gui redoubled his efforts, his other hand now splayed against Alexander's back, pushing him upwards. Bring his feet up as well, he lifted the ponytailed boy up into the sky, and grinned in triumph. That triumph lasted a total of 0.2 seconds as the Mana Thread latched on, and he lost his balance. Tumbling down onto the ground, his blue eyes sparkled with amusement at Alexander's quick thinking, but Tian's hand still grasped onto Alexander's knife wrist, keeping him grappled.​

---

His plan worked! Sort of! Both of them had ended up taking a topple and ended up on the ground, the problem was that Tian was a beast! He wouldn't let go! I bet he wouldn't let go even if I stabbed him. He let go off the knife with his one hand and made a face of defeat. Only to launch a string at it from the other and attempt to pull it to his other hand. Success! He smirked as the knife found its way into his free hand.

---​

"Oh, that was some fancy switcheroo!​

Did it really matter though?​

Tian-Gui, already grappling Alexander, pulled with all his might. With only one of Alexander's arms held at the moment, the knife-wielder's body shifted to one side, and Tian-Gui's other arm hooked underneath, pulling him into an improvised sleeper hold on the ground. Flexing his forearm underneath Alex's throat, Tian-Gui waited to see what he'd do next.​

---​

Grunting, Alex found himself in a rather uncomfortable position, This is not good! Alex had little knowledge in fighting, but even he knew this was far from any position you want to find yourself in. Dropping the knife altogether, Alex reached out trying to find Tian's face, I only have so much mana left anyways, might as well aim for his face and pull him into a headbutt!​

---​

Tian-Gui grunted as Alex headbutted him, but outside of a small smidge of pain, it didn't really affect him at all. Instead, he just tightened his grip and redoubled his efforts, now starting to choke him out. Headbutts were nice, but so far, Alexander was definitely a more magical person, and magical people should be figuring out magical solutions.​

---​

Again, his plan only sort of worked. Alex did get the headbutt out, and it didn't hurt himself, which was a bonus. But then came the struggle. THe struggle to keep breathing and remain conscience as Tian gripped harder. The fight was long, or at least it felt long, but eventually, and by some miracle, He broke free. "One...last shot..." Huffing and puffing, Alex went to give it his final attempt in the fight, He used his thread, aimed at the knife and flung it over as hard as he could, aiming for it to hit Tian.​

---​

The knife hurtled through the air, striking Tian-Gui straight in the chest as he rose up. The tip of the kitchen knife had struck dead center in one of the links that made up his chainmail, punching through to touch the skin. If it was a normal person, that strike would have drawn blood, but Tian-Gui had been upping his Resilience for this very reason.​

A red 0 appeared, as his own hand closed on the kitchen knife, grabbing it by the sharp end without flinching and tossing it behind him.​

The thread scattered, and the knife flew through the air, spinning.​

"Good effort, Alexander!" Tian-Gui called out, lifting his arms out to the sides as if welcoming another challenge. "Now, will you continue, or is this where it ends?"​

Plonk.​

"Oh, shit, I think I might have tossed it into the pond…"​

---

"Sadly, this is where it ends." Alex accepted his loss and rolled onto his back, "I'm out of mana, and I learned where my fatal flaws are." Staring blankly at the sky, watching as the clouds drifted by, "Next time, I'll be more of a challenge for you." He spoke as he sat himself up.​

---

"Your tactics are pretty solid, and you have lots of fun tricks, but don't neglect your magical training, Alex! If you could last longer, I might be the one that gets in trouble. Let's take 10 and get back to it, yeah?"

After all, there was still plenty of time before the morning ended, and sparring just once wasn't good training at all.​

 

[Renose]

Monday April 30th
7 AM
13 Hours before the Quest Deadline

When the New Gamers awoke from their slumbers on this Monday, they would not only see the usual notification telling them that they had been fully healed, but another notification would arrive for them as well. More accurately this one was another PM from Rei Amagi, and it read as such.
​

From: Amagi Rei

Come to Kirijo Park at 6 PM. I will allow you guys to either start challenging the Enemy early or to get some better last minute grinding in.

The Deadline is at 8 PM.
​

So they would have 11 hours to go throughout their days and possibly get some of their own personal last minute grinding in before meeting Rei, who was apparently telling them that they could get early tries at the enemy or some better last minute EXP Grinding.


Monday April 30th
6:00 PM
2 Hours before the Quest Deadline

The New Gamers chose to full on grind some more Zombies to try and get as much SP and EXP as possible so that they would be as high leveled as they could be before fighting the challenge. Of course, this meant that they would get fewer chances to try against the challenge, according to Rei, but they were at least a bit stronger after all 13 Zombies were fought.

Monday April 30th
7:20 PM
40 Minutes before the Quest Deadline

Now the group is at full strength once again after resting from their third Zombie encounter. Those Zombies were hard to fight, but there were more than one. So hopefully their training would all pay off. After all, they were fighting an enemy that, according to Rei, was still four levels above them. If they weren't careful, they could all die. Of course, Rei most likely wouldn't let that happen, but still its not like Rei was all powerful and could prevent death, so they would still need to be careful.

"Does anyone have any questions before we begin?"

Of course, only Tian had one.

"Did you already kill 10 Imps beforehand? Or are we doing that as well?"

"The enemy is ready to fight on my word, so don't worry about that."

After Rei's response, he waited to see if anyone had anymore questions, but again it seemed like Tian had the only question around. So with that, Rei decided that it was time to start the boss fight. Not before Rei had one final gift of course.

"Some Potions, for everyone. The Red Potions are Health Potions. Heal 30 HP. The Blue Potions are Mana Potions. Will restore 45 Mana. Use them wisely."

To all of them, Rei gave two glass vials filled with red liquid and two vials filled with blue liquid. It seemed this was going to be Rei's final bit of help to them before the big challenge fight began.

So Rei walked to about twenty yards back away from the group, so as to give them space perhaps to face the enemy that he was going to call before them. Rei, currently in just their Gekkoukan Uniform, raises his hand upwards now, so that he may create the Pseudospace necessary for them to take on the enemy. This is it. This very moment would begin the deciding factor on whether or not all of their hard work and training either paid off or if it would all be for naught.

"Challenge PVP ID Create!"

Suddenly the sky shimmers above them, to indicate the changing of the space, an enemy seeming to appear. But nothing came. Instead, a window appeared in front of the whole group, about five yards or so above their heads. It read as follows.

​

PVP Match Started

Amagi Rei

--VS--

JUSTICE

Anyone who reaches 1 HP will be incapacitated for the remainder of the match or until healed.
​

Twenty yards away, having changed to his other Set of equipment, was Rei wearing their familiar light blue hoodie, a pair of black cargo pants, and a white shirt that could only be seen thanks to the jacket not being zipped all the way up to their neck. On their hands appeared to be a set of iron gauntlets, only there seemed to be some sort of rounded, half crystal spheres inserted into the back of them.

Above their head read the following text in red.

Skilled
'The Gamer'
Amagi Rei Lv 12

Not giving the New Gamers much time to react, suddenly Rei would chant out "Harmonize Essence", a light blue aura of energy moving over Rei's skin for just a moment, before the Aura went towards Rei's center, a calm glow present at his core that seemed to fade right after. Of course, Rei wasn't giving them much time to react, his speed showing as right after the first Skill he used, he seemed to immediately chant something else. "Flame Shard!" and the orbs on the back of their gauntlets would glow, a sort of blue, 'tv static' like energy appearing for a moment before, from their palms held forward a ball of flame would shoot forward, heading with the swiftness of an arrow straight for Tian-Gui.

The flame like, glowing sphere impacted full on into Tian-Gui's chest, dealing him a solid 15 points of damage, definitely getting through his armor, the projectile feeling hot like fire, and definitely did hurt, but it didn't seem to have the same... scalding... burning feeling to it. Regardless, the fact of the matter is Rei, who was somehow now Level 12 for some reason despite having been Level 23 right before this happened, was now attacking them. The text above their head, like all of the other enemies they had been fighting so far, was also red, and unlike all of the other enemies they had fought so far, Rei had taken the initiative to attack first this time around.

If this really was the battle... it is definitely going to be harder than anything they have ever done before, Rei now in a fighting stance as he began to somewhat slowly, but still with good footwork and speed, move forward just a couple of yards now, putting the gap at around... fifteen yards or so.

Regardless of what was actually going on, the battle had begun, and, unlike they had originally assumed about the Big Imp...

Rei was the enemy.





​

 

[Sairoh]

[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]Despite any concerns he may have had, when the clock rolled around to quest time, Xenon felt fairly confident about the battle. The week had gone by like usual - school and other activities, just with a little added training to size up for Rei's upcoming challenge. Though, Xenon had to admit, being a gamer was actually kind of fun. The whole rpg dynamic reminded him a lot of his days huddled in the back of his family's van, shoved in between moving boxes, with his eyes glued to his small gameboi screen.

Okay... warm up over. If I remember right, I've got 66 mana, so I should be able to channel mana for a minute and be able to fire three mana bolts. More if I choose to use Rei's pots. Considering that his astrological horoscope had purported divine luck and the ease of preparation, Xenon felt level headed and calm... until Rei pitched a curve ball.

PvP...?!

As Rei made the first blow at Tian Gui, Xenon's instincts came in. He surprisingly adjusted rather quickly to the new change in pace and objective. (Maybe the whole gamer thing was growing on him...) "Mana channel," he activated the skill. Not level 23 anymore, huh? the redhead observed. Must be to even the grounds. Let's see if this works then. Xenon thrust out his palm towards Rei and yelled, "Mana bolt!"[/fieldbox]

 

[Valeric]

There was an air of excitement on the day of the challenge. The group had just finished fighting against monsters, gaining more levels and experience. Finally, it was time.

"The enemy is ready to fight on my word, so don't worry about that."

The boy's words made Shouko raise an eyebrow in puzzlement. To her knowledge, bosses required their lesser kin to be slaughtered before making an appearance. Considering Rei's experience with this whole phenomenon, it was possible there was another method. Shouko didn't think too much about it.

She stretched her arms forward, loosening her joints. Shouko was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a baby-blue T-shirt, along with sneakers instead of heels. It was an attire she usually would never be wearing, but for combat she certainly couldn't be wearing a dress.

I hope I don't look fat in this. Maybe this Gamer business is a good motivation to get active and lose weight.

"Challenge PVP ID Create!"

That was when Rei dropped the bomb. Nope, it wasn't going to be the big imp. It was Rei himself. Shouko's jaw dropped when the PVP Match information message popped up in her view. She quickly read it, processing the information. So it was impossible for anyone to die within this match. That meant this was truly Rei's test, and not some kind of trick. True to his word, Rei's level was somehow reduced to exactly 12.

"You've got to be kidding," Shouko complained out loud. This wasn't what she was preparing for! Without giving them time to react to the sudden change, Rei was already equipping his weapons, and then shot a spell right at Tian-Gui. Shouko stepped back from the blast, though it wasn't powerful enough to hit anyone else. Tian-Gui took a bit of damage.

"He's serious. Get him. Attack!" In the periphery of her vision she saw Xenon summoning a Mana Bolt. Shouko called out her Inventory, grabbed an Alcohol Molotov Cocktail, and started the party with some fireworks. She hurled it at Rei with an overhead swing, eager to use it before he closed the distance.

 

[Renose]

[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]
Xenon quickly acted first. He had prepared himself for an enemy to appear, so the moment the PVP match information appeared he had activated his Mana Channeling, a blue glow of energy flowing through his body from the center of his self for a moment before dissipating, a rush of mystical power now moving through Xenon's body, the flow being strengthened by his mind. Once the 'Channel Mana' Skill had been activated, he quickly fired a Mana Bolt straight towards Rei.

Mana Bolt Accuracy
2 - 10 DEX = -8

The Bolt hit Rei dead on right in his torso, exploding on impact in a burst of blue energy. A red 12 appeared above his head, indicating that a fair amount of damage had been done to Rei by the mystical projectile which Rei hadn't been able to dodge at all given the very well executed firing of the attack Skill. Well at least they could actually damage Rei it seemed, although Rei didn't seem to visibly react to the pain, but they did clench their teeth a bit. Perhaps this sort of pain was something Rei was used to from the two months of fighting they have done. [/fieldbox]

[fieldbox="Koizumi Shouko, orange, solid"]
Shouko had a much less elegant, but still very effective, form of attack. Taking the brown bottle from her inventory, a rag stuffed in the top, she would light the rag with her lighter before heaving the bottle towards Rei in what can only be described as a very 'grenadier' or 'gang' like manner.

Bombs Away
25 + 25 Distance Penalty - 11 Accuracy = 39

The bottle hit Rei in the shoulder as he attempted to dodge, shattering and spilling flaming liquid upon him, causing Rei to let out a cringe of pain as the fire began to spread over his body. It only dealt 5 points of Damage at the moment, but it seemed like, even if it was just for a couple of seconds, the fire was going to continue doing damage, although with Rei on fire at the current moment, perhaps grappling for now wasn't the best option until said fire went out.

Rei was glaring forward now. While Rei, thanks to helping them prepare equipment and having watched the New Gamers grind against Zombies, knew what they could do, the New Gamers had no idea just what Rei was actually capable of. The fact that they were just glaring and enduring the pain of being momentarily on fire just showed how serious Rei was, and if the New Gamers didn't go all out, then there would be a very minuscule chance of victory for the New Gamers. [/fieldbox]

​

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Kyousuke couldn't say that he was completely surprised. The entire thing was a bit too vague for his liking, but it was too late now. It was time to fight. Rei started off by launching what seemed like a bolt of fire at Tian, who took it head on. It dealt quite a bit of damage to him. Still, the gamers seemed to be taking this rather seriously. Xenon responded with a solid mana bolt followed by what seemed to be a molotov cocktail by Shouko. This took Kyousuke back a bit. Were they rioters all of a sudden? Where did she get the idea to make molotov cocktails? Shouko was a strange one indeed.

But, it was effective as Rei seemed to catch on fire. Rei seemed to be taking prolonged damage from the fire, but how much HP did he have? That was the important question here. Still, without any real ranged options, Kyousuke couldn't add on to the ranged attacks that the gamers had thrown. So, he could only prepare for the close quarters combat that had to happen eventually. He reached down to grab some dirt with his left hand. The moment that Rei charged or if someone else charged to get in close, Kyousuke would try to interrupt or support by throwing the dirt at Rei's eyes. Hopefully, it would blind him long enough to make it hard for him to attack or avoid their attacks.

 

[ERode]

Tian-Gui didn't even have time to react as the projectile flew through the air, smashing him straight in the chest. A hot, burning sensation flared over his chest, but it didn't linger, dissipating moments later. If it was a few days back, he was certain that such a blow would have toppled him, but now? After fighting imps and zombies constantly, after being battered by Artisia daily, this amount of pain was insignificant. Splaying open his hands and bringing them up, he smiled at Rei. So, in order to win, they were going to be facing after the man himself? Just what Tian-Gui wanted.

After all, what better way to prove your worth if not by smashing through someone both higher-leveled and better-equipped than you? Projectiles rained from behind him, a mana bolt and a Molotov cocktail smashing into Rei's body. It elicited only a grunt from the white-haired youth, but that was fine, even expected. It wouldn't be a fun fight if it was just his bouts with Alexander or Artisia, after all.

Kyousuke looked ready, brandishing an iron longsword. Artisia looked ready to go ape shit. Alexander was basically as impassive as always, but hopefully that brain of his was getting its gears turning. Until then, Tian-Gui knew that he only had one job.

"Stay close!" he called out, taking a few steps in front of the group, centering himself to Rei, "I'll block anything Rei tosses at us!"

With that, his blue eyes flickered and he hardened his resolve, preparing to intercept any projectile Rei tosses at them. Harmonize Essence was a set-up ability, no doubt something else that worked like Tian-Gui's Intensify Energy, while that Flame Shard was connected to the gauntlets that he wore.

He grinned.

What a fancy bastard.

 

[Omnial]

This is an unexpected turn of events. Alex was a bit shocked at the event which unfolded. Instead of fighting a Boss Imp, they would have to take out a lower level Rei. Or likely, take him out to a specific point of health, and have a battle that they can't win and just see the reactions that they would give. There is likely more to this fight, then simply beating you, what are you testing us on?

"Rei is also a gamer, so traditional formation may work out against us." Alex spoke after watching the group move forward with the standard tactics, I can see him slipping past and taking us back liners out, he isn't going to follow traditional rules. He let out a sigh before moving forward, starting off slow then going into a run, I have options, though I am mostly a support character at the moment. I need to try to hinder his movement, though he will likely predict that move, I'll aid my companions, as soon as he goes to hit one, I'll pull them away with Mana Threads, then break my threads. Just hope he doesn't aim for me.

 

[Renose]

[fieldbox="Artisia, purple, solid"] The fight had begun, and so far three attacks had been exchanged, two having been fired at Rei and Rei having fired first and hit Tian. Of course, Artisia was next. Instead of relying on the others to protect her and staying back, she would move forward, chanting out "Energize Hand!" as she did so. This caused a small rush of energy to go to her hand, making it glow as she moved forward ahead of the group, now 6 yards away from Rei, and 9 yards ahead of the group.

This could be both a good and a bad thing. Most likely though, with Artisia's eagerness to fight and somewhat reckless nature, it was a bad thing. At least she wasn't blindly rushing up right into Rei's face though, which... could be seen as a silver lining to her rather bold, reckless move. [/fieldbox]

Rei quickly acted, charging forward, but rather than just run forward with their fiery arm, they instead suddenly did something a little more graceful. They would duck low as they moved the six yards, before rolling forward suddenly and, right at the apex of their roll, they would leap forward, striking forward with both of their palms as they chanted out "Palm Wave!" , energy swiftly traveling up their forearms and gathering over their palm in conjunction with the forward thrusting motion, which they further improved a small bit with the momentum of their rolling maneuver.

A powerful bang could be heard as both palms slammed straight into Artisia's stomach while at the same time Rei used the thrusting motion of his double palm strike to not as much attack Artisia, but rather shove her over, although one red 15, a red 10 and two blue 7's did appear over Artisia's head though indicating that a good chunk of damage had been dealt with just an over complicated shoving attack, having dealt a total of 32 damage to Artisia seeing as how, since they were all in the same party, they could see her's and Tian's health bars in the corner of their eyes, showing how much damage they had taken.

Of course the fire now did another 3 points of damage as about two and half seconds passed. It was a fire that, while still very hot, was going out very quickly. While three may not have seemed like much, considering that it was fire, it also just showed how different from ordinary humans these Gamers, especially Rei, had become. Shrugging off fire as if it was nothing... was something one would truly only see in anime, games, or movies. Something that was above human.

Of course Rei didn't stop there. They looked at the fire burning on their arm for just a moment before, focusing for just a moment, as their fiery arm began to glow as what appeared to be that same blue, static-like energy forming around the fire for a moment as Rei quickly does a quick, low leap forward, their hand angled diagonally downward towards Artisia whilst calling out "Palm Wave!"

For a moment, the static like energy caused the flame to flare up, a red 14 appearing above Rei's head, but then in the next the static flared up and now the energy glowing on Rei's hand was lit with a fiery glow that was blazing on their palm as they quickly landed in just a manner that allowed them to quickly go right at Artisia's torso in an even quicker, more accurate manner.

Thanks to Artisia being on the ground, there wasn't much she could do to dodge out of the way, the blazing palm strike hitting her dead on with a loud burst of force and energy that would have obliterated any normal human being, a 30 and a 22 appeared above her head. Given how Energize Hand took 10 HP when she used it, and the first strong attack she took, her HP bar that had been at 49 would rocket down to 1, and a window would appear before all of them reading the following as Artisia would stop moving, the glow fading from her hand.
​

Artisia has been incapacitated.​

Rei stood up now, the fire on their hand gone, breathing a small bit softly. There was a dark glare in their eyes as they gazed at the rest of the party as they took a deep breath in, before letting it out as they merely used their foot to roll Artisia's unconscious body to the side.

True Artisia had put herself in a reckless position and true Artisia had used 10 HP when activating her Skill, but the fact of the matter is despite Rei being seemingly weakened, they were still much stronger than each of the group members. It was unclear how much HP Rei had, or whether or not Rei's abilities were taking away their own HP, but regardless with one member down in just a matter of a few seconds they would have to be incredibly careful, because as Shouko had said...

Rei was serious. And he sure wasn't planning on holding back, now 5 yards away from the party. He wasn't saying anything either, his purple and blue eye giving the group a dark, ominous glare. While death within this ID was impossible, if one didn't see that message and could see the vibe Rei's gaze is giving they would assume that Rei was out to kill them given how quickly and efficiently with precise brutality he finished Artisia off.


​

 

[ERode]

It happened in an instant.

Before Tian-Gui could react, Artisia's hand glowed with a burning power, as she consumed her own life force and rushed in, past the others, out of Tian-Gui's protective range. In that moment, Rei rushed in, and with that same Palm Wave Tian-Gui had seen before, demolished the martial artist instantly. Artisia's health bar plummeted, and she laid still.

Damn, why did she rush out? No, it wasn't really her fault. He should have chased after her and protected her. Retrospective regrets bubbled up in Tian-Gui's head, but he quickly shook them away. This was no time for regrets. Regardless of how it happened, Rei was close now, and there was no way he wouldn't take this opportunity. Palm Strike came from Rei's palms, so naturally, that's what he will restrain first.

"Kyousuke, let's go! Alex, show me something fancy!"

With that, he rushed in, getting right in Rei's face. Towering above the first year, Tian-Gui's countenance hardened as his legs coiled, his hands ready.

He will grapple the moment Rei began to move, first to redirect his palms, and then to wrestle him down directly.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Kyousuke watched as Artisia charged in at Rei. "Do these people never learn?" Kyousuke thought. It seemed like every time there was a fight they would just charge in. Maybe it's because they had never seen anyone much stronger than them, but it was clear that Rei could physically overtake any single one of them. Kyousuke grimaced as he watched Artisia take a heavy hit that sent her flying, but what was more disturbing was how Rei followed up. "So, kicking someone while they're down? I was hoping that you would at least have some mercy." Kyousuke thought. Thankfully, it didn't seem like it was possible to die in this type of ID, and Artisia seemed to have just been knocked unconscious or something. "Let's not be stupid! The main advantage we have is numbers! Don't think about trying to tango one on one with Rei." Kyousuke said to the group.

It was then that Tian began to move in towards Rei. While he didn't like the idea of just charging in like that, Kyousuke couldn't just leave someone to run at Rei alone again. Otherwise, Rei could just knock them out one by one. So, Kyousuke abandoned the plan to throw the dirt and followed Tian from his left with both hands on his sword. He had added some points to STR and DEX to help with this fight, so he was hoping that he would be able to deal some damage with the sword that he had just bought. Either way, The plan was to let Tian grapple with Rei and hold him while Kyousuke would follow up by flanking and striking at Rei with a two handed strike with his longsword. Kyousuke hoped that everyone else would pick up on what was going on and help attack. One person attacking at a time was a fool's errand, but with all of them then their chances at the very least improved.

 

[Omnial]

Of course she charged in blind and got taken out like a fool... Alex didn't even get the chance to pull his ally away from harms path, it just happened too quickly. Well, that plans a bust. I guess I'll go for plan B and try for hindering Rei so the others can get close enough to do some work. He eyed up Tian. Alex knew from personal experience that it would take effort to break free from his grasp. If Alex could slow Rei down, or blind him, they would be at a major advantage...as far as advantages against someone who knows your skills, fighting tactics, and not to mention is stronger then you...Okay maybe it just evened it out a bit?

Cautiously Alex moved a bit to the side, attempting to close the distance to Rei, and either attract attention, or get a good shot of. "Mana Threads!" He aimed at Rei, in an attempt to his him in the face.

 

[Renose]

[fieldbox="Alexander, pink, solid"]
Alexander would only need to move to the side so that Tian wouldn't be standing in the direct line of fire, needing to also move back a bit more so that he could get a better distance with this projectile attack. Once in proper firing sight, he would then aim his finger towards Rei and chant that phrase to shoot a Mana Thread from his finger, making it move straight towards their current enemy and much more experienced Gamer.

Mana Thread Accuracy
63 - 25 Distance Bonus - 15 Accuracy + 15 Cover Penalty + 25 Head Target Penalty = 63

Unfortunately Rei was barely able to dodge, thanks to Tian providing good cover, however the moment Rei managed to barely dodge the thread was the moment Tian had been preparing himself for. The dodge was barely accomplished, so he was more than capable of reaching in and grabbing Rei's hands with his own, restraining Rei for at least just a moment, long enough for Kyosuke to move in and get off the strike he had been preparing.

Kyosuke Sword Strike
8 - 25 Distance Bonus - 10 Flanking - 5 Sword + 30 Targeting During Grappling Penalty = -2

The sword strike would slash deep into Rei's side despite the two now being close in a grapple, Rei gritting his teeth, but ultimately didn't let the pain show too much. A 29 appeared above Rei's head, indicating that the blow was very deep and did a good bit of damage. Of course, Rei was still standing, most likely having way more HP than all of them did.

With the New Gamers now in a more favorable position, perhaps this wouldn't be entirely impossible after all. Of course, who knew what else Rei had up their sleeve at the moment. [/fieldbox]​

 

[Valeric]

Watching Rei advanced unflinchingly even after being set on fire sent chills down Shouko's spine. Both the fire and the mana bolt dealt damage to him. It was a significant amount compared to the health point values Shouko had, but at an apparent level of twelve, there was no telling how many points Rei had. A hundred? Two hundred?

"Stay close! I'll block anything Rei tosses at us!" Tian-Gui yelled out. It was comforting having a large man between them. Artisia, however, had other plans. She rushed forward to meet Rei, and was summarily taken out without landing a blow.

"S-shit!" Shouko cursed. Rei's attacks dealt a ton of damage! Shouko was about to pull out another Cocktail when she realized it would be very dangerous to use it in close quarters. She drew her bow instead, as was the original plan. Hitting Rei was going to be a tall order.

However, Tian-Gui was already engaging him. Their close proximity made aiming difficult, as Shouko could easily hit her ally. She decided instead to move a few steps back, towards the right flank of the party, trying to get everyone out of her trajectory. Shouko took a deep breath, and nocked an arrow, with her sights set upon the white-haired boy. I can do this, she told herself, though Shouko had never been a stellar archer, not even good enough to make it to the inter-school competitions. At this range, on a moving target... luck would play a greater role than skill.

 

[Sairoh]

[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]Everything happened in an instant, each player falling into motion with their own attacks and readied stances. But even so, Rei's brutal counterattack on Artisia was impossibly slow in Xenon's eyes. One moment she was charging out, then the next, the hit points literally melted off of her. The sound of the last attack echoed sickeningly in his ears.

"Artisia!" his voice came out involuntarily as his eyes set on her still form. Xenon was so very much tempted to damn the whole exercise and flat out sprint to Artisia's side. He was, after all, only human: A lover of logic and slave to circumstance. But the physical embodiment of the blockading fight in front of him rooted down the prickling desire to bolt. Just barely though. Because if he recklessly tried to go around the combat area, he would leave his back vulnerable to attack. Helping Artisia meant more than charging in.

He brandished his katars. Damn. Ranged attacks are too risky with Tian Gui and Kyousuke. Approaching Rei's other side also makes me vulnerable. Shit, if only we could pin him long enough for me to run to her ... Xenon decided to chance a sneak attack by using none other than Mr. Six foot three, Tian Gui as cover.[/fieldbox]

 

[Renose]

[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]
And sneak he did, rather easily in fact. Perhaps it was because Rei's focus was momentarily misdirected by the longsword slashing into his side and the hulking Chinese youth grabbing him, but Xenon would easily be able to use that wonderful blind spot created by Tian-Gui's frame and sneak closer. By the time Rei would actually suddenly notice Xenon coming out from behind Tian-Gui's other flank... it was a bit too late.

Xenon's Attack
59 - 25 Distance Bonus - 15 Flanking Bonus - 6 Accuracy + 30 Grappling Penalty =

He was barely able to block the hit at all, the sharp blade stabbing into Rei's side, making him grit his teeth as he bared through the pain with ease, his eyes sharpening into a stronger glare now. This attack had managed to do 17 points of damage. A good bit less than what Kyosuke had managed to do with his strong sword, but still good damage nonetheless. They were definitely getting him down, but he still wasn't dropping despite all of the damage he was taking. [/fieldbox]

Rei knew that he was not in a good position now. He had to get away to heal, and he knew just how to do that. He had to reverse this hold on him, and he knew just how to do it. Unfortunately it didn't work exactly the way he wanted, which was to jump up and, using Tian's arms as support, get a good, powerful double kick into Tian's stomach. He still managed to pull himself backwards and make a very strong side kick right into his stomach, his foot glowing with energy for a moment as he shouted "Burst Kick!"

A very solid kick would be landed right in Tian-Gui's stomach, a full, direct hit. Right at the kick's apex though, Rei would let out the full force of the energy in his leg. The energy in their leg would give his shoving kick the extra force it needed to shove Tian back just two yard, but he would unfortunately have let go as he was shoved, Rei too falling, but attempting to tumble backwards away from the reach of Kyosuke and Xenon so that he could make a temporary retreat.

Rei was indeed very agile and acrobatic, rolling backwards towards Artisia's unconscious body that was just about three yards away from where Tian was grappling him and quickly getting behind it, putting her between Rei and the group, making her body an obstacle with his quick movements as he then reached into his Inventory and quickly chugged down a red potion before just tossing the vial aside, Rei sighing softly. This battle wasn't over yet, and while Rei was still close for Kyosuke and Xenon, he was a small bit further for Tian.

At least he was in good firing sights for Shouko's arrows, but not so much for Alexander's Mana Thread.


​

 

[Valeric]

Shouko spent a few tense moments eyeing down Rei's scuffle with the guys. It didn't take long for him to break away, having taken a decent amount of damage. She drew the bowstring, feeling the familiar bending of the wood. It had been too long, and her muscles weren't what they used to be. Rei reached Artisia and used her body as cover. Shouko let fly her arrow anyway, and prayed that it would hit the correct target.

She was genuinely surprised when the arrow struck home, impaling itself into Rei's side. Despite the impact rocking his body, Rei's only response was a hateful glare. If it wasn't for the red number "12" on his head, Shouko wouldn't have guessed she had hit the boy. She gulped and reached for another arrow to prepare for the next shot.

 

[ERode]

A burst of energy expanded in Tian-Gui's chest, a detonation of power that sent him reeling back. His feet slid against the dirt as he clutched his chest, coughing out in pain. Rei tumbled away, only mildly injured as Kyousuke's blade grazed by him, before the white-haired Gamer repositioned behind Artisia's unmoving body. How distasteful. Tian-Gui's blue eyes narrowed, and he caught Kyousuke's eyes, for just a brief moment.

"Leave this to me."

With that, he dashed off, charging Rei the same way he had originally. Rei tensed, expecting the same approach as before, but, before he reached Artisia, Tian-Gui's legs coiled, and he leapt over her, landing behind Rei. The more experienced Gamer lashed out with a backhanded blow, but Tian-Gui turned as well. Two gauntlets clashed against each other, before Rei's blow was parried with a violent force. At that moment, Shouko's arrow struck him, the momentary pain and glance creating a small opening.

Reaching out with his right arm, he slapped the parried arm into the other arm, wrapping his arm over it and pinning both of them against each other, before sandwiching them between his ribs and his own arm. Locking those two dangerous hands together, Tian-Gui's left hand opened up and thrust outwards. Rei dodged to the side easily, reactions still superior to the larger man's, but that wasn't the point.

The left arm bent back, hooking behind Rei's neck and pushing him towards Tian-Gui, into true point-blank range, where they were literally hugging each other.

Facing the others, Tian-Gui grinned. He had done his job. Now it was time for them to do theirs.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Kyousuke watched as Tian practically flew over Rei to grapple him. He managed to get a good hold of Rei once again, which was relieving. But, this time Kyousuke had something different in mind. This fight would drag on for too long if Rei could escape to safety every time that he took a bit of damage and then drink a potion. So, what if they could make sure that he couldn't run away that easily anymore? Kyousuke took his sword in both hands once more and ran at Rei's exposed back. However, instead of just generally striking at his body, Kyousuke wanted to strike at Rei's legs so that he wouldn't be able to effectively use them to run because of the pain.