Annnd I miss. But they didn't, so I'll just act like that was my plan the entire time, yup. I aimed as a distraction for the others who do damage to succeed. Alex was even having a hard time trying to fool himself with that one. The truth is, he felt rather useless in this fight. To weak to go toe to toe with Rei, and his magic wasn't at a very useful point for utility yet, nor was it capable of offense. Well, I suppose I could move into firing range again, attempt to bind him in some way, and if it fails again, shove a potion down Artisia's throat. At least that way, the worst that could happen is, I hit my teammate, who fumbles into Rei, who then takes Tian out, and then proceeds to wreck us all. Alright, lets stop thinking negatively. I think I'll go for a tea and relax when this is over.
Alex moved in closer to be within range again, "The need to use an item shows that we are winning " Alex chimed in a cheerfully condescending tone, then he attempted to string Rei's feet to the ground.
Being overconfident when things looked to be going their way, Alex held has hand out to shoot Mana thread, but something felt a bit off. His mana which normally launched out felt stuck almost. Come on, come on!"Mana thread!" A bit annoyed with himself, Alex forced it out. And did it come out!
Bang!
15 appeared above his own head.
Alex launched himself backwards, landing on his rump. his hand still stretched out, but in excruciating pain. He sat there, stunned as to what just happened. "...The hell?..."
Perhaps he didn't judge the distance right. Perhaps he was a bit too eager to enact his plan and, instead of waiting patiently, just rushed right in and attempted to slash at Rei's legs. Rei, unfortunately, managed to hop over the low cutting slash by more or less pressing his weight into Tian-Gui and pushing from the ground with his greater leg strength and speed. If Rei was a normal human being, such a thing should be... practically impossible. Actually managing to push off the ground in this scenario just enough to dodge a sword blade.
Rei, however; was no ordinary human. He was no super human of course, but he was at least above what average humans were capable of by a good bit. As such the blade, unfortunately, cut a little too close since Kyosuke had simply rushed in, the blade would cut Tian's leg, his armor and natural defenses dampening most of the accidental blow, so he would only have taken 9 points of damage.
This would allow Rei to use the moment of him getting cut to get out of the grasp of Tian, using swiftness and graceful hands to slip free from Tian-Gui's grasp, although such a movement would not go unhindered, as it would leave Rei a bit open and allow Kyosuke to strike once again at Rei's still exposed back, Rei also not unfortunately stumbling on the corpse.
Unfortunately the spontaneous attack missed, but Rei still wasn't in a good spot. Rei was right between Kyosuke and Tian-Gui, and thus still in a good spot to get attacked. So anyone else could either strike at Rei taking advantage of the flanking, or still try and drag Artisia's body away and find some way to heal her.
[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]The battle continued with Rei effectively disengaging from the three man flank, only to be caught up by a smooth combination attack from Shouko and Tian Gui. Then, things slowly went south with Kyousuke and Alexander's engagements. Somewhere in the back of his head, Xenon managed to think: Did he just... blow himself up?
Nevertheless, with the battle's new proximity to Artisia's body, Xenon decided to make a break for it and pull her body away from the fray. With a deep breath, the red haired teen dashed forward, trying to keep his head low as he attempted to drag Artisia away.[/fieldbox]
Rei was free. That was good at least. His freedom did allow him to try and stop Xenon from dragging Artisia away. He would do a quick, back kick right at the magician, nailing him in the side with his spiked shoes. It hurt, alot, as it did 26 points of damage, but Xenon merely grit his teeth and pressed onward. Perhaps the distress he felt for his friend burned new desire in him, as he would quickly grab Artisia by the ankles and just drag her backwards with much more strength than he seemed to possess, getting her almost eight yards away from the struggle in his mad rush.
That show of great strength prompted a few windows to appear.
Your show of great strength in great times of distress has granted you 2 EXP and has granted you a new Skill.
Adrenaline Rush (Rank 10) (Level 1, 0/5)
You know how to get going when you are in danger. If you're ever in danger of passing out, Near Death, or in some other form of harrowing scenario, you will enter an adrenaline rush, exhibiting more strength than you have before. Your STR and AGI will both be increased by 10% Focus for a short period.
Rei, wishing he could have stopped Xenon, decides to focus on Tian instead. He figures he would go for two quick jabs, weaken Tian-Gui's Armor a bit more, and then mix it up with a Palm Wave executed at the last moment to give it more surprise. The first punch goes off well, dealing seven points of Damage. A little above a tenth of what Tian-Gui had left. His second punch flies for Tian's face, but Rei oversteps it, accidentally bumping right into Tian and stumbling backwards.
This opens him to getting slashed right down the back, air escaping his lungs in a cough of pain and surprise at the spontaneous, but accurate, attack that deals him 27 damage. Unfortunately This causes Rei to be unable to react as Tian quickly grabs him again, but before Tian can get an efficient hold on him, Rei manages to break free, but this will unfortunately leave him right in the middle of both Tian and Kyosuke, who are still flanking him on both sides.
This battle is going well for the New Gamers. Not so well for Rei, who still isn't saying anything to them, a dark, deathly glare in his eyes directed right up towards Tian-Gui's face. A look that, if they didn't know about this ID, would really make it seem like Rei is out to kill them. Given how brutally he dispatched Artisia at the start of the battle, perhaps that wasn't entirely false.
The brawl on the middle of the vacant park was claustrophobic and awkward. Rei had managed to somehow jump over Kyousuke's attack and his strike continued on to strike Tian in the legs. Without question, Tian took quite a bit of damage. "Damn it." Kyousuke muttered. Rei wasn't an easy person to keep down. Kyousuke made a mental note to apologize, later. They still were in the middle of this fight. There were 5 people to be conscious about all at the same time as Xenon dived into the fight to try and pull Artisia out of the way. Thankfully, he succeeded despite Rei's attempt to stop him with a fierce kick to his ribs. Things were less cluttered, and now they didn't have to worry about hitting or tripping over Artisia anymore. It was just Tian, himself and Rei, sandwhiched between the two. Rei would have to divert his attention to both the gamers, which meant that it was likely easier to land a hit on him.
In fact, Rei messes up a combo that he launched on Tian, only landing one blow for 7 damage. He then stumbled right into Kyousuke's reach. Kyousuke didn't hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity. There was another red 27 that appeared for Rei. Kyousuke abandoned any thought of trying to land a fancy hit. So far, Kyousuke had dealt more than 50 damage to Rei and just two blows. Although Rei did use a potion to heal, there was no possibility that he could take several more blows like the one that. So, Kyousuke simply followed up with another full attack with both his hands guiding the sword at Rei without holding back anything.
After another scuffle, a second window of opportunity presented itself. Rei separated from the melee for a brief moment. Emboldened by her earlier success, Shouko let loose an arrow.
She watched in alarm as it flew towards Kyousuke, rather than Rei. Fortunately, it passed through the empty space between the two teenagers. Shouko breathed a sigh of relief; better a miss than hitting an ally. She would have to be more careful.
A surprise attack from Kyousuke took Tian-Gui off-guard, and in that moment, Rei broke free, a foot lashing out at Xenon. The boy was faster though, and managed to pull Artisia away even after getting kicked. Good, the battlefield was finally clear of obstructions. Despite having his grapple broken due to a mistake from Kyousuke, Tian-Gui didn't mind at all. Mistakes happened. They just had to recover from it.
Two quick jabs lashed out from Rei, the first one bouncing off his chainmail almost painlessly, while the other was dodged, the white-haired boy stepping into Tian-Gui's chest and bouncing back, right into Kyousuke's sword. This time, he didn't miss horribly, and it cleaved into Rei's back, giving another opening for him to exploit. Reaching out, the man grappled with Rei once more, performing the same dance in which the youth managed to slip away, shooting another death glare.
A death glare that Tian-Gui had long become accustomed to, and a death glare that he responded to in kind, flashing a fearless smile at Rei, his hands lifting up once more, open, ready to receive.
Shouko's arrow flicked through the air, whizzing by Kyousuke's head and effortlessly dodged by Rei, who once again dodged into Kyousuke's sword. It bit into the youth's side, and granted another clear opportunity.
Diving forwards, the raven-haired Gamer feinted another grab at the arms, before suddenly dropping down low and tackling Rei's legs. He bundled them up in his arms, pushed forwards, and suddenly, the white-haired youth found himself upside down and face-first with Tian-Gui's muscular back. With a grunt, he straightened his legs, bringing the two of them up high.
And then, he spoke those magical, powerful words. The first and only truly offensive active that he had, honed for hours on end against all sorts of monsters.
"Takedown."
A surge of strength rushed through his body as the armored giant pulled Rei's legs forwards, grabbed him by the throat, and jumped up high, before slamming the Gamer head-first into the grassy dirt. The two of them tumbled down in the self-sacrificial attack, but with an uncanny display of acrobatic skill, Rei managed to recover, rolling away and getting up before Tian-Gui could.
There was no despair, no fear, no hesitation in those heterochromatic eyes. Just the same steely determination.
[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]Xenon grit his teeth at Rei's sudden kick, which had an added bite due to the spikes on his shoes. Spiked shoes? Really? But despite the pain, the redhaired teen persevered, edged on by a sudden burst of adrenaline. He grabbed Artisia by the ankles and dragged her, albeit a tad ungracefully, away from the fight. Once away, he sighed, feeling mixed emotions of relief and concern. Up close, Artisia didn't look too bad. "I got ya, Artsie," he muttered quietly. Some gamer dialogue windows appeared, but before he could read them, Tian Gui's voice rang out to him: "Xenon, he's all yours."
Xenon looked up sharply to see Rei, a little ways off from Tian Gui and Kyousuke, and looking a bit worse for wear. A prime opportunity. He'd have to thank the other gamers later. With a fierce look in his dark brown eyes, he stood up and aimed his palm again at Rei, his voice clear and solid, "Mana bolt!"[/fieldbox]
Sitting on his rear, Alex watched as the fight continued, still dazzled by his own error, He slowly picked himself up, and dusted himself off. Though doing so, he still felt the pain coursing through his right hand. "Guys, spells backfiring hurt," He then watched as Kyousuke slashed Tian, "Oouch." Alex Winced, "I guess weapon backfiring hurts as well." He spoke softly, not wanting to further point out the failure. Then watching Shouko's arrow almost join in the failure train, We really need to work on this team fighting thing...
Slowly getting himself ready, and enjoying the show the others had been putting on, Alex was again ready to attempt to join the fight!
The moment Rei managed to roll up was when Xenon fired his Mana Bolt. Unfortunately this meant that Rei wasn't really able to dodge in time, getting hit square in the chest by the blue bolt of mystical energy. A 16 would appear above Rei's head as the bolt slammed into him, the impact of the mystical projectile forcing him to take a step back. The aura surrounding his body would vanish as he falls to one knee, unable to keep standing. It isn't but a second later is when Rei would collapse, falling to the ground.
The Mana Bolt that Kyosuke and Tian-Gui had fought hard to set Xenon up for seemed to pay off, as Rei fell to the ground, no longer moving. It seemed like the fighting was over, a window appearing before them, saying the following.
Since the match was over, and her HP was still at one technically, Artisia would find herself awakening, and she would be waking up to a rather neat window that all of the New Gamers would be receiving.
The Quest 'Rei's Contracted Challenge' has been completed.
+12 EXP, +2 AP
Of course, as Artisia would be waking back up, so would Rei, and the first thing he said, unfortunately, wasn't a congratulations. First he downed a bottle of water from his inventory. Once he was finished with that, it is then that he said "Harmonization ID" as he raised a hand upwards whilst sitting on the ground. The space around them would change, and as it did the atmosphere would grow much calmer and more serene. They would feel a sense of ease and harmony wash over their beings as the following window appeared before all of them.
Entered 'Harmonization ID'
Regeneration and Recovery increased by 14. HP/MPCosts reduced by 15%
Energy/Mana based abilities strengthened by 15%
That seemed extremely useful, although it couldn't be used for sparring, having an ID that could speed recovery for rest periods between grinding seemed extremely useful. It was after setting this up that Rei actually addresses them.
"Well you beat me... even if I was weakened." He slowly stands up now, stretching a small bit as he says 'Set 2' to switch back to his Gekkoukan Uniform. "Against my better judgement, I am mystically contracted to start teaching all of you now, even if I think you all still should go and ignore your power."
So Rei's opinion on that matter hadn't changed. He still didn't think they were suited for this power or the Abyss, since he still wanted them to ignore it.
"Tomorrow at 6 PM, come here. That is when we will begin your lessons. Otherwise... I guess I also have to go to that Korean Barbeque place with you guys, apparently, although I'm broke, so I'm not paying." Rei sighs a little inwardly at that last part. The Contract did update to include that as one of the victory conditions for them, being that Rei now had no choice. His hands were tied, almost literally.
Still, despite this being his usual... calm and 'cold' demeanor, it doesn't match the demeanor from a few moments ago, the demeanor from a Rei who seemed as if he was out to straight up kill all of the Gamers. Of course, while he was a bit disappointed in his loss, he also knew that he had no choice to accept he. He signed a contract after all.
Of course, if anyone had any greviances or questions to give to Rei as he sat back down on the ground now cross-legged, cycling through his windows as his finger swiped through the air or clicked on it every now and again, now would be the appropriate time to do so.
[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]The battle was over. Xenon let out a baited breath, and slowly lowered his hand. Once the calm had settled, something began to bubble inside him. What... the hell was that? But before he could stalk over to where Rei was sitting and give him a piece of his mind, he registered movement in the corner of his eye. Xenon quickly bent down to wordlessly help her up. It seemed like Rei was going to have to wait. There was a larger elephant in the room that he was itching to address first.
Xenon helped Artisia stand up patiently and gently, despite the looming lecture that he held in his mouth. When she was finally standing, he spoke in an uncharacteristically steely voice, his expression unreadable, "I need to talk with you. Now." Then he turned to address the rest of the group, "Excuse us for a moment."
With that, Xenon walked off to the edge of the pseudospace, sure that Artisia would get the message to follow. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the red haired teen did realize that an open aired park really didn't provide that much conversation cover, he didn't consciously care at the moment. Once he stopped, he turned around. "Artisia," he addressed in the same tone as before. "How are you feeling right now?[/fieldbox]
Kyousuke sighed a breath of relief. That was a real fight. He could still feel his blood pumping. If anything, he felt like he could keep going and kind of wanted to. It was like a runner's high of some sort, but of course this was a bit more deadly. Still, it was over and there was nothing to be done. They had won. He soon started to work on the notifications that he had received after this fight. It appeared that he was level 8 now and had quite a bit of AP. There was one thing that he had been interested from the start. Thus, he looked up at Rei and said "Pulling stuff like that tends to piss people off. Just some advice from a senpai." Without a doubt, some of the people here had some ill will against Rei, but Kyousuke didn't mind in the end. They did win and the contract apparently forces people to carry out their promises. So, Kyousuke was fine with how things ended for now.
Kyousuke looked over at Tian and said "Thanks for holding Rei down for that long. Sorry about hitting your legs. I didn't think he would be able to jump over my sword like that."
Kyousuke then returned his attention towards Rei and continued to speak. "Anyways, I think I saw you use magic before against that boss with those two water bottles. How did you learn magic and what does it take to start learning spells?"
A bolt out of the blue lanced through the air right as Rei got up, knocking him down…and out. Justice was victorious, and Tian-Gui got up triumphantly. That final gambit was worth it after all, and, other than Artisia getting knocked out in the first round, the party had managed to dispatch Rei in less than half a minute. Fairly impressive, if he could say so himself. Brushing the dirt off his pants and rolling his shoulders, he clenched his fist and raised it up into the air as the Quest completed. There was nothing flashy like him levelling up or gaining any new skills, but it felt great regardless. All his training against Artisia had paid off, and he had been able to perfectly execute a whole bunch of grapples.
Rei, despite his confidence and his displeasure, and also admitted to the loss, and things were finally moving forwards once more. Tian-Gui waved off Kyousuke's apology, hoped that Xenon wasn't going to get too mad at Artisia's reckless behavior, and said, "Well, chatting around here's pretty much pointless now! Let's go celebrate our victory, and get some victory meat!"
"And don't worry about it, Rei, just give me a discount on the next thing I buy from you, yeah?"
There were many questions spiralling around in his head at the moment, but for the time being, Tian-Gui was riding on a wave of euphoria, his mood too festive to ask questions about how Rei even got stuff like 'PvP IDs' or 'inter-player contracts' when this was the first time he had seen other Gamers before. Raising up his hands, he offered a high-five to Shouko, for all the distractions she provided, and grinned at Alexander as well.
Well there goes me joining the fight. Though he wasn't much of a fighter, Alex was somewhat disappointed in himself. He wasn't able to show off in any way or form during the pvp, and if anything, just showed himself one above Artisia, which wasn't saying much.
He looked off a bit to see what he assumed would be Xenon chastising Artisia, So sometimes he wears the pants in their friendship? or is he just going into 'Mom mode'? Or is it something else between them? I'll try to squeeze some juicy gossip out later. He smiled at the thought of those two.
Alex listened to Rei, So tomorrow at 6pm, likely come earlier and get extra help, as you clearly need it. He thought to himself. The mention of a Korean BBQ place and victory meat came up as well. "Celebrating beating a single foe who handicapped themselves so we could win." Acting like he was think, he brought his hand to his chin, and tilted his head from side to side as if deep in thought, "Yeah, definitely a victory." He finalized it with a nod. then shook his head, trying not to laugh at it all of it, or cry at his pathetic attempts to help. "I'm in."
Kyouauke asked a question which was also on Alex's mind. He needed better control of his mana, and offensive magics. "I also am interested in magic, and also how all these different psuedospaces came to be. Did they just happen as you leveled it? or different requirements? Really, I have a lot of questions about them."
Shouko audibly sighed when Rei finally went down. Rei's quick takedown of Artisia was impressive, but the rest managed to hold on, even through the various mishaps. Fighting in a group was more difficult than she had thought. Shouko unequipped her weapons and joined the group, which were now chatting to each other as if the earlier fight was just a game. Even Rei, who looked like a feral beast, was back to his usual cool self. Very odd.
Rei told them that his promise to teach them would be upheld. What that entails, Shouko had no idea. It was probably prudent to ask first, instead of suffering from a surprise like today. To one side, Xenon and Artisia was having a moment. So much for being just friends... he flew off the hook the moment she went down.
Tian-Gui raised his hand when she got near. It took Shouko a moment to realize he wanted a high-five. Shouko smacked his open palm hard, although with the height difference she had to tip-toe to reach.
"Thanks for holding Rei back, big guy. He would have slaughtered the rest of us," Shouko said to him. Tian-Gui's friendliness was very charming. "Barbecued meat, huh? Let's go!"
Artisia wasn't very present during the conversations that they had before they battled Rei. Artisia was incredibly focused and ready to just beat the holy hell out of Rei. Her determination boiled underneath her skin, making her feel hot and ready LITTLE CAESARS for battle. She prepped herself for a sprint toward Rei once the battle had begun. She rushed toward Rei, hoping to get the jump on him before he could attack them. Then Rei used the spell or something like that that was called 'Palm Wave'. All of a sudden, Artisia felt a wave of energy hit her, which caused her incredible pain. She was about to scream when all of a sudden, everything went black.
Next thing she knew, she opened her eyes to the sky and she had been moved away from where they were fighting Rei. What had happened? She felt a little lightheaded, but she ignored that because she was just plain confused. She tried to remember what had happened. She was rushing Rei, then she... Well... She got hit with an incredibly powerful attack.
Artisia looked up at her health bar and it was at a measly 1, which made her grit her teeth in anger. Rei had taken her out with a single damn hit. How is it possible that he could just... It's the damn level difference. It's probably because I also rushed in there. Lesson learned. But how could I be so weak to only a single enemy?!Artisia pressed fists against the temples of her head as punishment to herself. It hurt, but she didn't care. This was the price she paid for being an idiot. Artisia closed her eyes incredibly hard and then could feel wetness beginning to form near her eyes. Wh-What?! What is that?
Then she saw someone standing over her. When the person spoke, she immediately recognized the voice. It was Xenon. He helped her up and he quickly used a tone that scared her. It wasn't like Xenon to get all serious. Not in any situation... Ever. Artisia quietly followed Xenon with the slight wetness in her eyes still present.
When she got over to where Xenon thought they'd be out of earshot, he asked how she was feeling. Artisia wasn't going to actually say that she was mad at herself for being beaten, that would be stupid. "I... I'm fine. What else would I be feeling?"
Her eyes betrayed her words, glossy and avoiding Xenon's gaze. Artisia was certain she was going to cry. She had to get away. She had to leave before anyone saw her cry. She had pretty much never lost before. And not in a way like this. In a single punch. She didn't even get a chance to prove herself in battle being being absolutely stomped on. She couldn't even hold a candle to Rei's flame. Artisia's body contorted itself into a position she wasn't used to. Her arms were hugging her torso, her legs were close together and looked weak, her knees shook, and her face was so scrunched up that deep wrinkles formed on her face. This sadness dug deep within her. Why was she being so weak right now? Why did she decide to suddenly be vulnerable when in front of all of these people? WHY AM I BEING LIKE THIS?
A tear suddenly found its way to the ground. Then another. And another. The only word that could escape her mouth was one that she had never ever used before. It escaped her lips, as if it was her last breath, faint and quiet.
[fieldbox="Xenon Zhu, red, solid"]Xenon felt a little unsettled as he watched Artisia speak. It was just... strange. The Artisia he knew was head strong and radiated power. She was a delinquent, but not without purpose. And yet, that wasn't the same person in front of him. Why does she look so small? Despite that he stood a full two inches taller than her, she had always made up for it with her stance. Any trace of that was gone.
Xenon bit his lip. He still wanted to go through with what he had intended and give Artisia the scolding of her life. After all, had they been fighting the Big Imp instead of Rei, there was no telling whether or not she would still be alive. That thought alone terrified the red haired teen, hallowing out his insides, and leaving him cold. But just as he was about to start talking again, she began to cry.
Artisia was crying.
The lecture dissolved in Xenon's throat. Any unease settled away. In one smooth movement, he stepped forward, closing the gap between them and pulled her into him. His arms looped up and gently pressed against Artisia's back as he rubbed small, soothing circles. "You're okay," Xenon murmured softly. "No one can see you like this."[/fieldbox]
Artisia could feel herself about to fall onto her knees. Her knees started buckling and she just felt this strange energy residing in her chest. It was dark, heavy, and foreboding. That ball of energy seemed to grow bigger and bigger with every second she cried. As the energy was about to swallow her whole, there was a force that held her up and dispersed the energy that enveloped her.
It was warm and she didn't feel significantly better, but she was glad that Xenon expressed how much he cared for her. She thought he was going to yell at her. She thought that he was mad and was going to stop being her friend. She was scared that she'd be alone. She had the other gamers, sure, but they weren't her best friend. She wasn't connected to each of the gamers like she was connected to Xenon. They had been through a lot, and it seemed this was something else that they would go through.
Xenon's voice coaxed her sadness out of her, making her feel a lot better. No one could see her crying. No... No one can see her crying. She had to stay strong. She was a foundation to the party. If she started to crack under pressure, then the party would be rendered useless without her.
The tears continued to flow from her eyes, but she hugged Xenon back, as tightly as she could. It was probably hurting him, but she didn't care. Right now, she needed to try and recover as fast as she could. One obstacle can't get in her way. If one obstacle gets in her way, she just needs to plow right through it. Artisia felt a new burning in her chest, a determination that wouldn't be broken. She was going to be smarter about combat. She was going to get stronger, so that the party could rely on her. She needed to start thinking about everyone else.
Something suddenly hit Artisia. Artisia released the hug and wiped away her tears. "Xenon. We have to do something. With everyone. Right now. I think I know how we can win without improvising." Artisia smiled at Xenon. "Thanks. You really saved me back there. I promise to be more careful in the future. I don't wanna die... You know?" Artisia smirked a little bit before she kissed Xenon on the cheek. Then walked away from him. She felt her face get a little hot as she walked away, but she couldn't have Xenon getting any hints, could she?
Artisia returned to the rest of the group. "Sorry. Xenon and I needed to talk about something important. After talking to him though, I realized something. We need a strategy. I know I'm not the smartest tool in the drawer, but I know when I fight, I go in with some kind of tactic. I don't know why I haven't applied that here, but I think that would help our chances of success significantly. Especially against an enemy that's a lot stronger than us." Artisia glanced at Rei and nodded. Then she looked at Tian-Gui. "Do you remember when you picked up that imp and I uppercutted it as you threw it down? We barely knew how to fight then, but we were still able to almost kill it with that one hit. I think that this power rewards smart tactics, like how a game does. In order to fight the best we can, we have to know what each other is capable of, right? Just like a character in a fighting game. We each have basic attacks that can be done, but we each have specialized attacks that make each of us unique. But, unlike a fighting game, we've got all different types of fighting tactics." Artisia just realized she had gone a little too in-depth with the whole concept and she was probably starting to seem less cool. She rolled her eyes to attempt to recover whatever coolness she probably lost. "Or... Whatever. I just think we could win if we knew what each other was capable of."
Rei only watched momentarily as Xenon, once Artisia had awoken, took her far away from the party. Thankfully the Pseudospace was pretty large, since it covered the field that was in the park, which was about the size of a football field, give or take. Deciding not to give whatever that was the time of day, Rei instead focused on the questions and thoughts of the Gamers before him. Well... almost all of the questions. He ignored the discount thing from Tian, only giving it a shake of his head and a simple "me paying wasn't in the contract."
Still, he would go anyway. Free food and all. He was nearly broke, having spent all of his money on some new Equipment, so he figured nothing wrong with getting some free barbecue. With that question answered, came a really simple answer for the questions on Magic. "You aren't smart enough. Get your INT to 20, and then we'll talk. Work on the Knowledge Skill if you have it." A rather... insulting and very blunt answer. Also somehow Rei knew what their Stats were. Perhaps he had some sort of Skill that allowed him to see such things?
"As for my ability with Pseudospaces. Once I advanced the Skill I gained the ability to better control it and be able to make new ones. Then I advanced the Skill again into a much easier to use form. You'll be learning about that later since I am mystically contracted to teach you guys." Rei really didn't feel like explaining it all right now. Still, it did show that he would possibly be explaining it to them later.
"But before we go celebrate beating a foe which willingly handicapped themselves, weakening a bunch of their abilities and even losing access to one of their arguably most powerful Skills that would have easily turned the battle..." Rei's tone was a bit sarcastic, repeating what Alex had said. Sure, Rei had lost. He admitted that. But he still wanted them to know that this battle could have gone very differently had he been using his full abilities. Still could have gone either way sure, but the result wouldn't have been so quickly decided had they not been given that handicap.
He stands up now, stretching a bit as he reaches into his still open Inventory, pulling out a small stack of papers, about six sheets, and then looks at them with a serious, ominous, soul searching gaze.
"You all will have to decide what you are all capable of as Artisia said. You will also need to decide whether or not you are willing to kill another person, whether to further your own goals, or out of necessary self defense." Rei's tone turned much darker here, and even went a bit soft. "You may be willing to put your lives on the line, but what about other humans? This is The Abyss, the supernatural version of the Yakuza with much greater dangers. There are no laws, no governments, nor any prisons. There's only Business and Death." There were those words again. The Abyss. The supernatural underworld.
"You may get attacked one day by another Ability User, and they will make it a battle to the death. What will you do then?" He looks to Tian now. "Put them in a choke hold? Hope they'll surrender? Try to talk it out and be friendly?" He then looks to Artisia. "Or will you rush them and try to get in as many hits possible in hopes that you can 'beat them up'. This isn't some schoolyard brawl or gang dispute." Once he said that he looks back towards the whole group, saying one more detrimental thing to them.
"You all are normal people still. You may have above average strength and special energy Skills, but in the end your combat experience with death on the line has only involved fighting mischievous monsters and living corpses. You can't afford to mess up, hesitate, or let sentimentality get in the way." At the 'mess up' he looked at Kyosuke, and at the 'sentimentality' part he looked at Xenon, who had put himself in harms way to save Artisia. Nothing wrong with that, but he is lucky that he only got out of there with just a single kick.
"Fights with other Ability Users in the Abyss... will most likely end up with someone losing their life, and they aren't going to be like me and make it so you can't die, unless their intent is to sell you to a Mana Factory where you'll be harvested for your energy until you die, and they will most likely keep you alive for as long as they can, so in that case they may go for knocking you out, or possibly dismembering you" There was another... shocking visualization. This is most likely why Rei came at them with incredible killing intent, to possibly give them a taste as to what a battle to the death would be like.
"So it isn't about your willingness to put your own lives on the line... but the willingness to have to take the life of another person." This was the ultimatum here. Rei simply hands the small stack of folded up papers to whoever is closest before taking a step back, pulling out his phone and checking it for a moment. "If you can't stomach that thought, not that our power would let you fall into despair about it anyway, then you all just need to forget about this and move on. Get any higher leveled, and there will be no turning back."
With that in mind, Rei now gestured to the sheets he handed to them. "If you are willing to kill and dirty your hands with blood, even in self defense, then that paper contains your homework, which you all need to spend alot of time thinking and planning on, not just two seconds. We are all Game Characters, so Ill start leveling you like one, since I thought you all would have reached Level 10 by now, but I guess not."
If they read the sheets, willing to continue down a road that could potentially be paved with bloodshed, they would see the following, including some space between each question for writing their responses. It was all typed out as well. Rei clearly put alot of time into this, and at least he wasn't coming in completely arrogant in saying that he would have never lost at all by preparing these sheets, there being text on the front and back.
If you are willing to keep going, then consider the following tonight. You may work together as a team, but you can't be together all of the time. So you will need to be able to fight on your own as well.
1. What is your preferred fighting style?
First decide on how you want to fight. You want something that you are good with. While our power lets us go in any direction, its not good to fight with something that you feel awkward using, as that could prove fatal.
2. What sort of mystical abilities would you like to learn.
Like it or not, you will be fighting enemies that you can't punch, kick, or slash due to either just being too physically tough or being ethereal. As such, you will need some way to deal with enemies like that. This isn't a game after all, so the 'Life' isn't going to balance itself to cater to your select choice.
3. Desired Weapon choice.
Fighting unarmed is good and all, as is utilizing just Mana, but you will need some more proper means of fighting in case a foe gets right in your face or is simply unaffected by your punches. So decide on a Weapon you would like to use, even if its just secondary. Go for melee, ranged, or both.
4. Desired armor type.
Do you want to go heavier armor that can protect you more, but slow you down, or would you rather wear lighter armors.
5. How much do you know about Gaming Lingo?
While Game Logic may not completely apply to the real world, in this fantastical battle situation it is good to take some inspiration from it. As such, games are a good inspiration to study combat strategies that utilize supernatural powers and a good way to classify your Skills. So do some research if you don't already know, which seeing as how all of you are average, you most likely don't.
There are types of abilities you will need to get are Healing, CC (Crowd Control), DPS (Damage Per Second), Finishers, Melee, Ranged, and Defense.
Even if you can only focus on a few of them, if you can figure out how you can possibly cover all of these categories then you should be good. Again, you may work well as a team, but you need to also be able to fight by yourselves as well.
6. Type and print a comprehensive list of all of your Skills and, if applicable, Items.
So that I can properly level you, I will need to know everything that you can do. That way, I will be able to give proper ways to strengthen your Skills and what sort of Skills to strive for based on what you currently have.
This, if they are willing to do it, is something that would they need to spend alot of time on.
"Anyway, I will need to do a rain check on that barbecue. I need to get home, so you guys go celebrate your victory without me. Ill be sure to honor the agreement next time, and to make up for it ill be buying..." While he didn't say it outright, Rei was pretty sure that what he had said possibly put a damper on any celebratory moods they were in since they did need to contemplate whether or not they could take another life, even in self defense. These are matters best discussed among themselves without him present.
Technically the contract was never updated to include that condition since all of the parties weren't present to update it, as Rei quickly checked by opening his "Journal", so he wouldn't need to worry about that. That was more or less a spoken agreement between him and Tian. So he figured he'd just go home. Besides, he really didn't want to go to celebrate his own defeat either. Sure he was willing to admit the loss, but that didn't mean he was willing to celebrate it.
"So unless anyone has anything else to say, ill be going now."
Once Artisia finished what she had said, Rei jumped in. He agreed with her that they needed to know what each other was capable of, which made Artisia smirk a little. Rei had finally agreed with her on something. Then, he began to talk about killing someone else. Artisia held her breath for a second. Kill someone? Can I do that...? I mean... Maybe? Artisia's mind went back to a time when she almost killed a nerdy kid for just looking at her the wrong way.I'm sure I could... If I got really worked up. Although, I'll try and put it off until my own life is in danger...
Artisia listened to Rei continue to ridicule them about their lack of individual fighting experience and power. He even jabbed at her for trying to rush Rei. It was true what he was saying. Individually, they were weak. Incredibly weak, at that. Rei was right in saying that they just had extra human strength. They weren't truly people that surpassed human capability yet. I have to become stronger. I have to get better.As much as Artisia disliked Rei, she knew that Rei was their best bet at surviving inside of The Abyss. Rei knew significantly more about this world than the rest of them. And they hadn't even met someone who was part of this world besides Rei and Jin, but they were probably not going to see Jin again.
Artisia sighed, which led to a damper on her mood. She knew that this power was incredible, but it required work. This power was strangely getting more and more like a game every time she discovered something new about it. In fighting games, you had to learn how to work as a certain character and perfect their skills. That certainly took time. Artisia wondered if she could ever become like a game character at the end of a game. Strong, intelligent, and a complete badass.
Rei handed her a piece of paper, which he said was their homework. Artisia was about to complain, but before she did, she read the contents of the paper. It seemed that Rei had prepared accordingly for his defeat, which made Artisia frown. He intentionally went easy on us. As much as he seems to deny it, I bet he wants to teach us about this power. Being alone with this power is probably extremely boring. Just like trying to play a board game all by yourself. Artisia looked up toward Rei. He may even need us in the future. Since he knows that this power is probably limitless, he may recruit us to help him with his own agenda.Artisia looked the paper over again before narrowing her gaze. Rei was a dangerous person. He couldn't be trusted, but he was Artisia's ticket to strength. She needed him.
Rei seemed to be a bit disappointed with the group, but she thought maybe he was feeling something else. Envy? No. Loathing? Maybe. Desperation? Definitely. Rei needed them for something. He definitely needed them for something. Teaching people is not something you do 'just because'. Especially when you're someone like Rei. He may have been mystically bound to teach them, but Artisia was starting to think maybe he lost on purpose.
As Rei was about to leave, Artisia kept an intense gaze on Rei. "You didn't happen to lose on purpose, did you? I realize that you're a lot more powerful than us, but I'm starting to think that you're just using us. The fact that you mystically bound yourself to a contract was to gain our trust, then losing would ensure that you could learn our every strength. That's even what this 'homework' is for. You might be trying to come across as a teacher who doesn't want to teach, but I think that's bullshit." Artisia let herself relax a bit. "That being said, I'll accept your help. Otherwise, I'd be useless to the rest of them. I want to learn to be strong, and you'll help me do that." Artisia turned around so that Rei couldn't see her face anymore. She wasn't expecting any kind of reaction from Rei, especially since he was always so apathetic. He would say 'whatever' and then keep on walking home.
Artisia sat on the ground and started thinking about the questions on the sheet. Rei may have made her mad, but she needed to answer these questions. Artisia shook her head. Not here. She should answer them when they all go out to barbecue together. She got up again and faced the rest of the group, waiting for Rei to react or for the group to leave.
