Becoming a Hero ( ToWRM (T) )

[Airs -AKA- Hick]

(Uh, hi. This is the local Hick speaking, and I've got an open-ended fanfiction/roleplay thing; which is free to be edited to all the players. So, expect my posts to be doozies, and NW to be playing Yuan...Which means we need more people posting to make it seem more like the real thing. So, I'll just abbreiviate my Parts with an H - short for Hick, NW for NortheasternWind, DoW for Adminchan, and might use special colors for the people inside. Warning! May include swearing...and violence towards poor saps.)

DISCLAIMER: NO OWN. ENOUGH SAID. LET'S READ AND ADD ON!!

H: Mimaru looked around the area, confusion written on his face. His 5'5" form wasn't very used to looking at things besides the ship or the weirdly vivid dreams... And his body ached, again. Slightly wincing and looking around to almost sense another in the vicinity - was he imagining things? No. Bright violet eyes with a silver ring around the black irises...scanned the area again, he himself grateful for mustering the Magic Knight invite from a bunch of imposing others, a good feat of sorts. Besides that - his grayish-seeming-hair in a short, middle-length ponytail; bangs about his chin to frame a curious face and a mostly gentle features with brown tips in the dim light of the area...was in all actuality, silver with a slightly dull red tips in full sunlight or bright moonlight. The only thing he would need to do was to track down his allies. His decently armored form was using a bit of a deception-of-classes by armor and weapons. He had a Lamellar Leather on his top and a black ribbon tie that served to speed up his Cast Time and his boost his M.Def securing that ponytail, Scale Boots for the leg wear and the gloves on his hands were plain old Fingerless Gauntlets, ideal for skilled wielders of the blade. His small frame looked ridiculous with a Starry Shield - a gimmick; unless if it was put with an Enhancement of Septanite setting a Moonstone in all five corners and the center setting being a Diamond. Sure, it was hard to enhance the Level 1 Items, but it was an easy way to look weak with a entirely different effect in battle. He wasn't one to look too awkward besides that, as he was somewhat of a male with a mission. "Ah, someone is around...!" Breathing. A breathing pattern different than his own was a tipper. "Wouldn't you please come out and talk, if you're just watching in such a place like this...? It's just me; Mimaru..." A more refined but very naiive voice seemed to put him in his teen years...about the ballpark of 18 years.

NW: A man somewhere in his late 20s stepped out of his hiding spot, wearing a gray cloak and sporting sky blue hair tied back in a ponytail. "Yes, someone is around," he said flatly. "You shouldn't give out your name so readily."

H: A few blinks of those hues in a slight confusion, Mimaru sighed with a hurt look as if to say, 'Well, would you have rather I have gone and ambushed you...?' Much to his favor, he didn't say it aloud. "It's better to be friendlier than to be a sourly rude guy; right? That's only reserved for those that aren't exactly on the best of intents to the World and its blessings of Mana." The stranger, certainly taller, and then some kind of imposing - kind of a mystery, though it wasn't much to say anything as to that feeling of assured strength, Mana-given, and bodily strength. It was hard to tell why that he'd separate the two similar powers for that reason...if he had manners, then he wouldn't pry, but would let the seemingly elder talk about that much openly. "Then again - most are too quick to judge even that without knowing the real reason behind such actions. All things considered, I'd just like for everyone to at least bicker a little less." ...Not that he'd actually understand my reasons... He smiled slightly to the other in the area, who looked about as knowing as another ally. Not exactly the best thing, in this weird ruin, but still...he wasn't all that stupid to be defenseless around here.

NW: Yuan snorted. That was not his philosophy; he rarely came across random strangers in his... line of work, as it were, and those he did meet were always people to be treated with caution. And while he often used the "Give your name when asking for someone else's" excuse not to give his name, it was not something he actually practiced. "So you're polite to everyone who isn't actively doing something harmful to your world." He simplified. This kid looked rather clueless and naive, but he spoke with sense, which was something. And he was armed, so he ought to know how to defend himself. "A question. What are you doing here?"

H: "It's everyone's home, isn't it?" A nod was the shorter's reply to the simplified restatement of his words earlier. "I'd ask the same thing of you. I'm just exploring these ruins with an intent to bring a nutcase over ruins here later, and the artist Kanonno Grassvalley trusts me on such a big guild mission mostly unsupervised!" Please, don't let this end in a fight...I dislike hurting others unless they deserve it outright! And he wasn't too sure but...he smiled to the other; but then confusion hit him! Sure... He wasn't a good at getting to the point of the other's...request, but he wasn't great at missing persons without a clue other than he'll be wary! "Ah! Now I get it! You must be that very talented person, that this one man asked me to look for if I was ever in this area." With that statement, he had barely remember to obscure his own quote; unquote - client's identity - the man had said if he doesn't name himself, then he wasn't to be named to the Talented One! He looked like the cat that had a bit of cream - not that he actually comprehended that statement - even if it wasn't nice...turnabout was fair play~. The other was in the better means, since he looked far more imposing, but then again, Mimaru himself didn't back down easy. Nibbling at the Orange Gel from his own pocket; the other not exactly attacking, nor did he seem outwardly curious. "...Or maybe not - I can't be sure who asked me to find you, unless you give your name."

NW: "...What I'm doing here is none of your business." A ruin maniac? Hm. The man's eyes narrowed at Mimaru's next statement. So someone may or may not be looking for him... And the only way to know for sure was to give his name. The usual ultimatum. "I'm not very well known. What could your... employer... want with me?" He might just end up giving his name after all.

H: Mimaru had the cards where they lay, and to be rude by putting things off, was by far and wide, not the best thing to do. "That man said to tell you something about...how the Great Tree seems to flourish without much by ways of use of Reiy-no, Rhei-somethings... I forgot the word, sorry. But, the Van Eltia is just fine...since it doesn't eh, run on the same principles." And Mimaru sweatdropped a little bit as he raised his hands and lowered his head; shaking it a bit. "But does a flying ship need legs? I can't see the logic behind that, it'd look silly..." HOW naiive was he?! After a had cleared his throat to excuse that stupidity, he raised it, face sobering a bit. "A-anyways, back to the point! The employer didn't even give your names out of respect." He looked serious, though that curiosity...it was confusing. "It seems that I'm on a sour spot, or I'm not good at finding things out like that. Either that, or he didn't seem too concerned to see me entrusted with a task this important; deliberately leading me on, until he thought I would do it. I was bugging him after I did get an Invite from that section of the Guildship... Maybe a bit too much?"

[NortheasternWind]

Dang, my posts are so short in comparison... T__T I love being Yuan: it's so hard not to infect my characters with my sense of humor, which makes being Dhaos difficult sometimes XD;

Anyway, I would like to say that Yuan's opinions are purely Yuan's and do not necessarily represent those of my own. I'm not as mean!

"Rheiards?" Yuan asked irritably, temporarily forgetting the topic of conversation in favor of correcting the other. "If you are forgetting how to pronounce two syllable words then I wonder why your 'employer' bothered to trust you with a mission at all."

But as Mimaru continued, a blue eyebrow shot skyward, only to climb higher and higher as the young man went on. The half-elf was not sure whether he ought to continue being exasperated or switch to being suspicious.

One at a time, then?

Where in the seven hells had this kid gotten an "airship with legs" idea? "I agree. It most certainly would look silly." Put lightly.

And, much more importantly, this employer person was getting more and more interesting. The Giant Kharlan Tree, Van Eltia, Rheiards-- not terms your everyday schmuck on an adventure would come across. Leading Mimaru on? Sounded vaguely familiar to Yuan.

"Too much." Yuan agreed flatly. In his impatient opinion, this kid talked too much and said too little.

[Airs -AKA- Hick]

(You know it, I ramble with details~! Heheheh...)

A slightly impish smile spread across Mimaru's face - though it died quickly as it came. Man, he's not as bad a killjoy as Kratos, but still...! "A-actually, I would leave, but I made a distraction to the minor hoarde of monsters at the front of the cave so my current teammates could beat feet and get more gathering supplies..." If anything; the kid had guts! "Plus...Considering what kind of Class I am currently - there MAY be quite the chance that you could see the employer of mine." A pause - he sighed slightly. "Though...I'd certainly be getting a lecture if that was the case..." He looked a bit scared. "If I got beat up by these monsters, I'd become a laughingstock to say the least, if not dead. It's not that they're high-level...it's the fact that they're in a mass." No duh; just get to the important point! Was what that nagging feeling inside him said. "Kinda like they don't like anyone with a shield..." The elder male had in some sense of how to avoid questions, but that was a moot point right now. "..." There was a noise in the distance - almost as if there was a minor earthquake; but that was a hard stretch for anyone human to hear...wasn't it...? "Oh, give a kid a break, why don't you guys just get lost!?" Adjusting that Starry Shield and finally drawing his blade; an uniquely hand-forged one - and with quite the steady hand; too. It may have been grimy past some aspects of the world, but if he had the time to have cleaned it - it'd shine blue as its clean, bright aqua tassel - save for the little inlays he did by hand of lotus blossoms near the almost-unnoticed pommel above the hilt, which were white. The shape of it was almost as if he had no experience, a square hilt belied that past the sleek and unique tapered triangle blade. Even when immensely dirty, though...it might as well have stated, 'I put a lot into this, so I dare you to misjudge me on this make'. By the time the monsters had neared, Mimaru had steeled himself for combat, maybe a bit past normal... Why me? "Really? I thought you'd all be stronger, so...this will be quick!" Just hope I'm right and not overwhelmed by the 'BOSS' this time! The monsters were numerous and had a bunch of HP and average defenses to Physical and Magical attacks, it did jack shit if they couldn't defend against Wind and Dark attribute-spells without being critically hit.

[NortheasternWind]

"...So you're not alone." Yuan should have guessed. This kid didn't really look-- or sound-- like he could do anything alone. Not that there were a lot of people who could do a lot alone. Now, a chance to meet his employer... In person? Could be a trap, though Yuan doubted that would be the case with someone like Mimaru. Who apparently had trouble dealing with large groups of monsters.

Though I'm hardly one to talk, as I rarely went anywhere alone when I was his age.

Yuan heard the noise as well; a sound like a small earthquake, but far enough away that no normal human could hear it without straining. He considered asking Mimaru how he could hear it. "We have company."

The angel watched the other ready his shield and sword. There was nothing particularly interesting about the shield, but the sword looked unique: it looked dirty, but well-made, with love and care. Mimaru's personal weapon.

Yuan's own Swallow would not be making an appearance here, however, as he could defend himself perfectly well with magic alone; physical combat was reserved for those opponents who deserved it. And these monsters hardly deserved the effort it would take to dispatch them.

"Let's hope so." he said, in response to the other's assurance that the battle would be quick.

[Airs -AKA- Hick]

(Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays...etc. Hope you're having a good one.)

The smaller other blinked at the way the other stood by; gripping his own Noble Water Lotus. I'm going to need some backup...unless he's just a Mage? In that case...this will be hell for us...unless he is that good... Well, I'll need to be chancing Kratos' judgment, if this is the same person. As soon as the first monster came into view, the boy fired off an Arte that quite a common one across several classes. "Majinken!" Granted...it did little to the crowd of monsters. One got hit, and it charged for the boy at a decent speed, as if he had planned for it - a big thrust that had a seemingly devious twist. "Shunjinken - I'm not through yet!" The boy wasn't one to mess around; as he was almost surrounded - and his lips were thin-set into lines of seriousness. With no hesitation, he took the mini-mob skyward... "Here - Dankuuken!" Through some odd luck, the six that had surrounded him were beaten soundly; and he landed safely to relative safety. Anything that got anywhere close to Yuan was met with a deft blade work, and maybe a few moves that might be described as self-taught. For a relative novice to his class...Mimaru had a good grasp on when to attack; defend and he wasn't doing too badly with his Artes; maybe wildly varying between Conservative and Ruthless, but he was making the monsters a bit more tired than he was getting. The good thing? He seemed to be recovering some slight TP for each foe bested...a lifesaver for foes that dropped some Orange Gels as a rarity. A lot of people might have panicked, but he kept his calm more than one would expect. Every move the 'child' was doing was more or less meant to be a test to his stamina - popping off a First Aid while he had the chance was done with speed almost to rival another serious one... It didn't seem too serious to start with; in fact, Mimaru was good at fighting, even if he seemed to hold an aversion to that skill set; good or bad. And for such a naive-seeming one, he did pack serious spellcasting speed...or so it seemed.

[NortheasternWind]

(And you as well~! ^^)

Majinken-- or, Demon Fang. Yuan had seen that one far too many times, but he supposed melee fighters needed a few long-range attacks. Mimaru seemed to be self-taught, at least a little; perhaps someone had shown him the basics, and the moves of his own creation were simple matters of habit? Or maybe not. The kid could hold his own, that much Yuan would admit, but he would save the judgment until they ran into a real fight.

The half-elf held out a hand and fired a burst of electricity at a monster that was getting a little closer than the others, but Mimaru finished it off soundly. Grunting, Yuan switched to a more powerful spell, aiming for a group of monsters bunched a little too close together:

"Thunder Blade!"

A direct hit. With Yuan's power, most of the monsters in the group went down. Leaving the writhing survivors to Mimaru, he turned to another stray.

"Lightning!"

This was cake.

[Airs -AKA- Hick]

(Why do I wanna say: Activating Combat Mode...? u.u; Yeah, too much fun with the Dreamer today~!)

As the other was obliterating those things left and right by magic... Mimaru was a bit more as a quick striker, evenly blocking when needed, but more offense than spells or defense. It's not so much as I'm good or bad, it's just that the 'Boss' has a STEEP learning curve... Some of them seemed to be trying a tactical retreat...it wouldn't work. Immediately, he had a dark casting circle under him, incanting under his breath for quite a while, and not messing up in the slightest. "Buzz off, creep! Negative Gate!" It floored the monsters that weren't immediately hit, then proceeded to act as a distraction to those that seemed to advance, giving him time for another First Aid to himself. It was seemingly too easy, just as the Mage had felt for the moment. However, he picked up the Gels while he could, popping in a pair of Orange Gels with a bland look on his face; save for his eyes, which were searching the rather stifling place. That wouldn't be the case for the Boss, as the monsters were fleeing to the place for which they came... Mimaru taking the short reprieve to pull out a rag to get his Noble Water Lotus as clean as he could in the time before that same fiend could get near. But it didn't show. "...Figures; it wouldn't get in a nearly-enclosed space with two skilled ones..." Mimaru grumbled, letting out a breath of some stressed energy. Tossing the rag into the area where he pulled it from...it could use to be washed when they got back to the Van Eltia later on, so that he would be there. "Then again...it might be preoccupied or something...?" The thought hit him like a ton of bricks. Ah! Stupid me - the boss has to have been waiting again! Either way, he just let his feet retrace his steps nervously at best, at a slightly slower pace than normal. Showing an ever-so-slight hesitation when he was halfway out of that cave section... "A-are you coming?"

[NortheasternWind]

(When do we get a Modulating Phase? X3)

"Lightning!" ...And the rest were retreating. There was really no need to fight them, but it would indeed be irritating if they came back later with their strength renewed. Yuan let Mimaru cast his spell.

...Dark magic. That was rather unexpected. Maybe Yuan ought to start giving this kid more credit. He certainly knew what he was doing, and hadn't a scratch so far. And he bothered to stop and clean his weapon, often an easy way to tell the difference between enthusiastic novices and actual fighters.

"Then these monsters have brains. If they let me, a single cast of Indignation would probably clear the area." But Indignation took a while to cast, and Yuan would not do so unless necessary. "Following them would probably not be the best of ideas."

But if something happened to Mimaru, Yuan would never get to the bottom of this 'employer' business, would he? He sighed. He was already here. He may as well accompany the youth.

"I'm right behind you." he answered, walking up. He would let Mimaru walk in front, just in case. He could cast fast enough if something came up.

[Dreamer of Words]

((Hey guys... Modulating Phase... Octaslash LV5. ...Ahem, wrong game still... But still fun~! Let's kick this into HIGH gear. I'll be using the default for mister Boss...and I think that you'd be able to tell the difference for Kratos... As he DOES talk during battle~? Fwee~! Moving to my post now~! New Posting Order: H, NW, DoW...repeat!

Reason to Edit: TYPOS and the lack of variety.))

It...was waiting all right; although something wasn't right. Stomping and clawing the ground, that weird, gray, ridiculously hideous...thing...looked like a cross between of an upright Demonic Lyger and a Holy Wight, which were natually the size of an adventurer, if you got them to the ground. It didn't have (cherubim) wings large enough to fly with, and luckily - didn't have magic... It meant that it couldn't heal itself. But why had the monsters retreated so hastily...? If one was observant, they'd see it as it ATE one of its underlings. And yet...what would signify a monster being backed into that corner besides cruelty? Carnivorous or...the demonic part, to regain energy. Someone HAD to be fighting it...whom it was?

Well - none other than that employer in purple; out of breath and grumbling a little as he cast Thunder Blade himself. Decimating the little ones nearby the Boss; he wasn't doing very well on his lonesome. Scratches on his shield, indeed; attested to the foe's impressive tactics. Wiping off the strands of sweat-soaked red from his forehead with the shield hand while the Boss was stunned gave him the time to fire off a First Aid to hismelf, as he was looking quite haggard. "It took you long enough, Mimaru..." He scolded lightly, but he still readied his weapon with a measured assurance, "...But after this, I'm expecting a REALLY good reason as to why it didn't try to split you in half with its tail!" Speaking of that very appendage; he had to run around to the side where they stood their ground to avoid the spikes on that limb again; since that had left him Weak, Sealed and Stunned last time it connected. Thankfully, it wasn't to smack him about, but to try to recover... "I'll explain later...for now; we'll need to get past this monstrosity."

[Airs -AKA- Hick]

(Holy fuzz on a stick you've beaten me to the punchline and the punch! Nice going. I'm just betting that it's a general NPC that we all can use as long as it's within reason.)

Mimaru gave Kratos a, 'what the heck,' look. A Miracle Gel was handed to him, and he wasn't going there without letting the others know what he found out from before. "Dark magic, Light Artes. Wind works to the big one when trying to restore strength. It's a bit stronger than what I can handle, mostly... With you both, I guess it should be easier!" Wait, maybe Kratos is right with me being too trusting. Ah well, we need to get past this thingy, too. He sighed, to be the one that had some experience to this creature, a little more than underleveled to fight it for the most part... "We just need to stay away from the tail unless it's staggering... Lopping it off might just work to our advantage. At least, that's my logic..." He'd been hit by it a few times as well, but it wasn't with a spike. Kratos had to have really worn it down! He grunted as he charged forward, plucking up all of his courage; and putting it forth to be a rapid attacker even though direct attacks weren't much in the good range. Not even triple digits when it guarded. "Geez...stop blocking already! But that would just defeat the circumstances...of a challenge!" It blocked the five hits he managed, but was broken quite easily by his next strike, a Base Arte of many strokes. "Chirisazame!" It was a peppering of the low end of triple digits now, so it was safe to say that his attack variance was to overwhelm the opponent. A slight hop of his, swinging his blade down, expression a bit stern. "Back off! Gou Majinken!" Or the blunt way of putting it, one blow was him bringing his sword down; and three were from the shockwave that the normal projectile had turned into from all that pressure put behind it. "Here...cat-birdie... Who's an ugly monster-boss? You are! Yes you are~!" And he backstepped away from the tail and then ran a bit away to avoid the spikes when it flailed.

[NortheasternWind]

...

...

"I knew it." Yuan said flatly. "It's always you. What do you want this time?"

Unfortunately there was clearly no time for Kratos to give a satisfactory answer, so before allowing any pause for one the half-elf threw a hand up and sent a burst of electricity at the monster as a quick distraction so the melee fighters could get their hits in.

"The both of us? You should be glad I'm helping you at all. Thunder Blade!"

The spell crashed down upon the monster, but had a rather diminished effect compared to what it had done to the other creatures running around here. Not terribly surprising, if this was the 'boss.' Yuan was standing a little too far for the tail to reach, but he kept a weather eye out: if either of the other fighters was distracted for a moment, he could find himself in a lot of pain if he wasn't paying attention.

"This thing is a nuisance... Gravity Well! ...If you have a sword that can chop through that thing, feel free to do so." he said flatly. "But if you get hit, I sure hope you have plenty of panacea bottles ready."

A Thunder Arrow might be useful right about now... Yuan gave Kratos a pointed look and began casting. If he got hit, he was going to blame the redhead.

[Dreamer of Words]

((Sorry sorry sorry! I take so long...))

Kratos took the half-elf's comment in stride. "This isn't the time, and we should wait until we're all out of this damn place." He mutters slightly to himself, but loud enough to be heard by Yuan. Popping in the offered Gel...he had to judge that the other was planning on a casting of Indignation. It wasn't like he could bark an order when the very aspect of that might alert the boss...slicing through the stragglers that were around even using a few Artes to help. However, his help stayed localized to Yuan, only pausing to cast a short spell; First Aid or Fireball being the main two besides Stone Blast. Why those two more than one with a good hit to damage ratio? For one, Dark Magic as a Magic Knight made it harder than blazes to perform anything useful in terms of healing. Then again; it gave off a path to learn at least one Light spell to balance it out entirely, didn't it? It could be to their advantage. But that was another story entirely, Mimaru wasn't ready enough to perform a useful overlimit, sure... Then again, fighting his own son had surprised him before. He couldn't afford to be reckless either way; playing protector to one; babysitter to another. He just wanted this fight OVER and done with, just so that he could talk to Yuan on more private terms! "I'm starting to loathe this monster..." He uttered.

Well, it roared loudly again, thankfully no-one was in it's path to get hit by that vile vocal shockwave. Mimaru had little in terms of level; comparatively, but was certainly fleet-footed. So far; they were disrupting it just enough so that the boy could dart out of the way of potential attacks. And there were some dents on the tail now; surprisingly. Minor cuts and nicks; but it was a progress in the right path.