Adventures of Evpraksia Pavlichenko, Triste Winters, and Sinthia

Equipped Skills:

Sinthia dodged to the left of the mid-way boss, it was a level 5 Elite enemy, and swung into its side, dealing 10(+1) damage before bouncing out of its attack range. It was a large wolf that stood on its hind-feet, and it towered over Sinthia and Evpraksia. Evpraksia shot forward with her Scythe held firmly. She had one hand behind her holding about middle of the shaft, and her other on the end of the Shaft, held out a bit in front of her. Swiftly she pulled on the end of the shaft, and loosened her grip of the center so that it'll slide forward. Among coming in close contact with the enemy, she activated a sword skill, and then used it to deal 39(+3) damage.

"Andromeda, attack from behind while I keep it distracted." Evpraksia said, and she held her Scythe out to take the incoming hit, but upon taking the hit, she took 99 damage. Her eyes widened as her health bar dropped, but she gritted her teeth as Sinthia rushed in from behind and made three attacks, dealing a total of 25(+3) damage.

Elite Enemy:

Equipped Skills:

Triste stepped to the side, positioning herself. She pulled four picks from the pouch that hung at her hip and spun into the air, hurling one at the huge beast. The tiny blade emitted a yellow light as it traveled through the dark of the cave before finding its place in the beast's shoulder, dealing 1(+1) damage. Cursing quietly at how little damage it did, she quickly spun around again and tossed another, which pierced the wolf's snout, dealing 3(+1) damage. Her feet hit the ground and she took a moment to check on her party members. Her presence was of little importance, for they were the heavy hitters. She sort of felt embarrassed.

She watched as Grim took a hit from the beast and winced. Keep going... She stepped back and moved her arm as though about to throw a baseball, and sent a pick flying at the back of the beast's neck. Taking no time to pause, she released another and aimed it higher, towards the skull. The yellow bolts hit on point, landing within milliseconds of each other and dealing a total of 7(+2) damage.

Elite Enemy:

Evpraksia saw the bolts fly in and hit the target, and smiled as the enemy took a second longer to assess the surroundings, now having another enemy in its coding. She knew that this would only buy her a second or two, but used it quickly, and she swung her Scythe again with a sword skill before spinning it around and balancing it onto her arm, the blade behind her, and the shaft pressed against the back of her neck. She spun into the beast and loosened the hold on the blade, and it pierced into its side. She grabbed onto it again, and pulled herself closer into the beast, and then slid between its leg with a swing at the feet. During this she checked her damage output, and dealt a total of 96(+5).

Sinthia, however, took to the approach differently, and instead of going for a triple based attack, her goal was to constantly attack from all angles, and so that's what she did. She rushed toward the enemy with her first swing, dealing 14(+1) damage, and sliding to a stop she stabbed her blade into the ground, pulled herself toward the monster, and then swung into it, and with a quick spin she swung again before sliding to another stop, dealing a total of 22(+2) damage. Turning around to deal a fourth hit, she notices a glowing claw, and as it is swung toward her she had little time to react. She spun to the side slightly and started to duck, her knee digging into the ground, and as the claw just barely goes above her head, she kicks off the ground with a charged sword skill. She lifted off the ground and let the ability go, the beast turning just in time to have the sword dig deep into its eyes. On top of another 9(+1) damage, the beast was blinded, and Sinthia fell like a feather to the ground.

"Now, Yukino!" Sinthia yelled, and both Evpraksia and Sinthia rushed in with a sword skill, dealing a combined damage of 53(+4).

Elite Enemy:

Triste's smirk turned into a smile as she grabbed a handful of picks. Now was a great time to just let loose all she had. She took in a deep breath and sprinted at the enemy, her braid trailing behind her at a horizontal angle. When she was within a certain distance from the beast, she spun into the air and released the picks she had between her fingers. Once, twice, three times... she managed to discharge five skill-activated picks from her hand, leaving a neat, golden line down the beast's back (dealing 44(+5) damage total).

Her landing could've been graceful, yet it wasn't. While attempting to straighten herself out, she landed on one of her feet and then stumbled forward, spinning around in time for her to land on her back. I need a lot more practice... She rose to her feet quickly and took aim. She threw six consecutive picks at the head of the blinded beast, each leaving their own yellow trail, and one by one they pelted into its upper neck (dealing 29(+6) damage total).

Triste grabbed a couple more picks from her pouch, glaring at them. Out of all weapons, she got these temperamental pieces of crap. She looked back up as she heard the enemy release a piercing howl as it sprang back into action, its eyesight restored. "Careful." She called, preparing her next shots.

Elite Enemy:

Sinthia looked at its low health, and after seeing the picks fly in, she decided to try for some extra damage, jumping in a second before the monster let out its roar. It raised its hand high and swung down at Sinthia with force. Sinthia tried to get out of the way, but took the damage head on from the beast and getting knocked back, losing 76 health. Evpraksia noticed her fall, and rushed in to help, but before she could do anything the beast dropped onto four legs. It howled and rushed toward Sinthia, and Evpraksia knew that it'd be best to stay out of the way, because once that attack is started, it doesn't stop. It hit Sinthia directly, and dealt another 133 damage. Her health-bar was dangerously low, but Sinthia's Unique ability activated, and her sword cracked down the middle.

"Nice effect..." Evpraksia stated, Sinthia rushed forward in a flurry of three swings, dealing 35(+4) damage, and Evpraksia took the chance to join her, activating a sword skill and burying the Scythe down onto the enemy for 49(+3) damage. Swiftly she pulled it out and swung down again, Sinthia in tow for another three swings, dealing a total combined damage of 69(+5). Evpraksia backed off, but Sinthia didn't stop. She swung diagonally to the right, cutting the chest, and then quickly she added a stab, her mind set on killing the beast then and there. Evpraksia's eyes widened as Sinthia continued her swings; the beast was starting to stand, its claw skill charging.

"Andromeda, NO!" she yelled, unable to decide what to do. The creatures health was dangerously low, so maybe they could kill it before it could kill them. Sinthia was on her eighth swing, a total of 90(+9) damage done during her rage. Rushing forward, Evpraksia pushes Sinthia out of her eleventh swing, and did a swing of her own at the monster. She saw the skill ready to activate from the beast, and she knew that if it hit, she would be dead. Sinthia's two extra attacks plus Evpraksia's attack did a total of 73(+5) damage. Evpraksia waited for either Yukino to finish the beast off, or for the beast to finish her.

Elite Enemy:

Triste watched the situation unfold, picks ready to be loosed. The sudden movement of the beast left her struggling to aim. Adrenaline pushed her forwards, and she split the six picks she had pulled from her pouch. She didn't bother charging, she just let them fly from her fingers like bullets. As she let one fly from the fingers of her right hand, she let a pick fly from her left fingers, and she continued this until her picks were gone. It wasn't easy to tell if she hit where she aimed, since the familiar golden glow was absent, but she saw the life bar of the beast drop quickly towards defeat. Total damage: 24.

Just as the beast went to swing, it stiffened and fell before dissipating into the air. Triste dropped to her knees in relief and looked down at her hands. "That was... close..." She whispered, glancing up at the two girls who were quite obviously tense. Grim had been close to getting killed, not only in the game but in real life. It would've been all Triste's fault if that had happened. She should have used more picks beforehand. She shouldn't have hesitated.

She got up off the ground and brushed herself off before pushing back the white bangs that had fallen over her left eye.

Elite Enemy defeated.

Loot Received:
x166 Throwing Picks
Assassin's Cloak (Class A)
15 Col
x1 Minor Health Crystal (50 HP)

Evpraksia sighed in relief, and then glared at Sinthia. If this were under other circumstances, Evpraksia would have likely killed her without hesitation, but seeing as Sinthia is a stupid, childish, and blood-thirsty little girl, she let it slide...

For now.

Sinthia took her new sword, and quickly she equipped it, her eyes set on the stat bonuses from the new blade. It was a short blade, the hilt normal, but as white as a bone, and the blade looked like a long, carved tooth. The edge of the blade was like a saw that slowly formed into waves near the hilt, so hitting an opponent on the end of the blade would give her more pull, whilst hitting in close combat would let the blade cleanly slide. She swung it to the left and right in order to get a feel of the weight, and then she put it away. After that, she decided to use both of her health crystals, and then, after being offered, used two more of Evpraksia's. Though Evpraksia was upset with Sinthia, she was a part of her party, and therefore she needed to be taken care of. Evpraksia used one, and decided to let her battle healing get the rest of it. She looked at her party members health. Yukino was full, but that wasn't surprising, and Sinthia was at pretty much full. Evpraksia was the lowest when it came to health, but she was also the only one with a possibility at regenerating health.

"Okay, so shall we continue?" Sinthia said with a smile, and Evpraksia nodded before looking over to Yukino. She wanted everybody to be ready before they left, because the road ahead of them was probably the most dangerous road to take.

Health Pools:

Sinthia Loot Received:
x2 Minor Health Crystal (50 HP)
Tooth of the Black Wolf (Class B)
10 COL

Evpraksia Loot Received:
x5 Minor Health Crystal
10 COL

OOC:

"Yeah." She responded, distracted. She opened her inventory and looked with interest at the armor she received. Blade throwing and hiding... Why thank you, game gods. She thought with a smile that made her happiness obvious. She equipped her cloak and the warm black cloth fell over her shoulders. Quickly she switched to the skill window and equipped Hiding. After closing out of everything she examined her new piece of fashion, pulling the heavy hood up over her head.

Equipped Skills:

She walked a couple paces deeper into the cave. She spun on her heel to face her party members, walking backwards into the darkness beyond. She struck a pose and puckered her lips comically, mock-modeling her cloak. "Whadya think?"

Evpraksia sighed, and walked past her without a word. She didn't really care much for the fashion aesthetics, but more so for whether or not it was beneficial... Though if she had a choice, she'd rather red. Sinthia walked up to her, then giggled lightly as she followed behind Evpraksia, skipping backwards to keep herself facing Yukino.

"Sorry, Yuki. I think cloaks are silly. What if somebody steps on the end?" Sinthia asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She then spun around and continued walking normally. Evpraksia glanced back, making sure that Sinthia wasn't up to no good, and assessed the situation. They had some forms of healing, but the only one that could passively heal in this situation was herself. If they got into a dangerous situation, she's the only one that can safely take some hits, but with how strong the enemies are going to get after leaving this cave, it'd be best if nobody took risks. They should probably talk about it after they left the cave.

Her mind was racing as the darkness started to lighten from getting near the caves end. No more enemies have appeared yet, but past this point, all of the enemies are above level five... Would they be able to fend for themselves? The damage of these creatures were the only thing to worry about, because the health was pretty easy to chunk through until about floor 3, when bosses weren't the only creatures with defense.

Suddenly, a loud, shrill sound was heard from Evpraksia's right, and she was knocked off her feet after taking 141 damage.

What now?! There isn't supposed to be anything at this point in the cave... Her thoughts raced again, and Sinthia rushed to her side, her blade drawn and her smile lively. She was ready to fight, no matter how strong the enemy. Evpraksia strained her vision to see the creature in front of her, and took notice that it was a bat of sorts, probably level four or five. Wouldn't be anything to fret over, but the speed of the creature might be a problem. Evpraksia looked over to Yukino, yet struggled. She must be stealthed, so her first few attacks should be enough to cause a hard amount of damage.

This creature, though, seems to target the person with the strongest weapon. If it gets too much information, it might take notice of Yukino's stealthing, and target her. Evpraksia knew that she'd need to deal the most damage, and quickly she pushed herself up and rushed forward, a sword skill activated and her mind set... She swung, unknowing of whether she should make herself the target. Her eyes looked at the damage, 23(+5)!? This monster has some form of defense?!

Evpraksia bounced back as Sinthia rushed in, it was a switch, and unleashed a flurry of three sword skill attacks. She's getting too good at that, because the ability to get that many sword skills in that small of a time frame takes quick reflexes and coordination; hell, she might be able to master skill combo's. Her attacks dealt a total of 15(+6)... Evpraksia knew that this was a dangerous situation, and that the chances of survival were low if somebody messed up.

"Andromeda." she said, and Sinthia's eyes widened in acknowledgement, her stance changing entirely as she backs out of the range. She, too, noticed her damage was a lot lower than it should be, and instead of taking the normal approach of constant attacking, she held her sword-arm back a little, and then leaned forward.

"I'm ready for anything, miss Grim." Sinthia said as she flipped the blade around. She wouldn't be able to activate sword skills in that position, but Evpraksia didn't give herself the time to think about it. She looked at the creature in front of her, a giant black bat with red veins running through the wings. It was very furry, and had huge teeth and claws. The attacks were probably something to be feared, but she was at a loss on what to do.

What do I do in this situation? Sacrifice myself, or sacrifice others?

Health Pools:

Enemy Bat:

Triste stared up at the bat, caught off guard by its speed. She cleared her throat and reached into the pouch, pulling out seven picks. She believed she could easily hit it, but she felt uneasy about the damage reduction. Her blades already did little damage...

Her arm brushed against the fabric of her cloak and she instantly remembered. She could stealth and attack that way, get in some good shots. She quickly dashed to the side and bent down, watching as her hands and legs faded slightly. With the bat in her sights, she stalked to the side a little farther until she had an ideal view. She skill-charged the pick between her fingers and sent it flying at the bat. Yellow light pierced its side, right near the wing, dealing 2 damage to it.

This was going to be a long fight.

She moved to the right as to not give away her location and released another glowing pick, which hit its wing and dealt 6 damage. Slowly letting out a deep, frustrated breath, she moved to her left, getting a good distance away from her previous location before rapidly firing the remaining five without charging them. In total, they did 45 damage. She could get used to the stealthy life.

She hoped this battle wouldn't end with death like the one before almost did. She glanced down at Grim and Andromeda.

Enemy Bat:

Evpraksia waited for the right moment, but before she could start her way to fight, Sinthia rushed in with her blade arm swinging in, the blade resting along her arm, and her other arm now behind her. She spun in and pushed the blade out so that it wasn't resting on her arm anymore. The bat turned around with a swipe, but Sinthia fell to the ground in a ducking motion, her spin stopping with her facing the enemy. She dealt 3(+1) damage as the bats claw went above her head, and swiftly she jumped forward and grabbed onto its arm, pushing her arms out and putting her back to the enemy, but staying air-borne with the momentum of the bats swing. Once she got a good spin she let go and kept going, her blade stabbing into the beast to deal 0(+1) damage, her expression changing quickly, but more with anger than anything. She kicked off the creature to get her sword out, and upon landing she turned around and slashed the beast for 6(+2) damage, then turned the slash into a stab, her eyes full of excitement and malevolence. Evpraksia didn't know what to do... If she moved in, she'd get hit by Sinthia, but if she didn't go in, Sinthia might get hit herself...

"Die..." Sinthia said under her breath as she ducked under yet another attack, and she quickly rushed forward in a spin toward the legs, the blade cutting cleanly through and making the bat lose its balance. Sinthia smiled and grabbed the bats other leg, pulling it so that if fell. It went to flap its wing, but Sinthia then grabbed its left wing and ran the blade through it, cutting it clean off. Both attacks did a combined damage of 12(+2) damage before Sinthia jumped back and looked to Evpraksia. Her breath was sporadic, and her face showed her love for the combat. Evpraksia didn't hesitate for a second, and she rushed forward charging a sword skill, the scythe blade behind her, and her hands on both the middle and end of the shaft. She activated the sword skill the moment the beast pushed itself up, and it quickly went for a bite at Evpraksia, she wouldn't be able to dodge it, but suddenly she saw Sinthia rush over and grab the underside of the neck and pull it off course, her sword carving deep into its back.

"Die. Die! DIE!" she yelled, and Evpraksia checked the damage she dealt, 43(+5), not bad. She looked over at Sinthia, who was in the middle of a fourth swing, and saw her in a completely different way. This child was a MONSTER! Sinthia backed off, her damage from her flurry, plus her saving Evpraksia, totaling at 25(+5) damage. Evpraksia continued to fight, three more swings, dealing 177(+9) damage before backing off, and she watched Sinthia tear into the beast. Sinthia didn't stop; correction, she never stopped. She moved so much that Evpraksia didn't know where she would move to next, and it seemed that the bat didn't either. It was constantly moving to hit her, but she constantly dodged it... She hit it another seven times before backing off.

"It got stronger defenses, but we should be fine. What ya think?" Sinthia said, and Evpraksia noted that her damage was dropped considerably, this time having only dealt 12(+7) damage.

What is she?! Evpraksia thought to herself before getting back into position to fight.

Health Pools:

Enemy Bat:

Triste stared as Andromeda tore the poor bat apart. Sure, it was amazing that she just chunked it's health and that it wouldn't take that much longer to kill. However, it made her slightly uncomfortable. Hearing her words about stronger defenses, Triste cursed under her breath and pondered whether she should even try.

She pulled eight picks from her pouch and discharged them rapidly from the shadows, only three carrying a glow. 6 damage. Yeah, this isn't gonna work... Her eyes flicked to her pouch before they locked onto the other two. They could finish it off.

She sighed, pulled a pick out of her pouch, and hurled it and it's gold aura at the bat. 4 damage. Worth one last shot, I guess... At least I got 10 damage in... She thought.

Enemy Bat:

Evpraksia knew that even though she did the least amount of hits, she did the most damage, so she pushed her hand to the very end of her Scythe, stopped just before the blade, and pushing Sinthia back with the end. Sinthia's anger was shown in her eyes, but with a quick glance to the end of the Scythe she backed off. She knew that neither her nor Yukino could do consistent damage, so the fight was all hers now... Evpraksia looked to the beast, the beasts on floor one were programmed to revitalize them self if they were to take a certain amount of damage, just because they were typically so easy to cut through. Typically, it takes about two minutes, but this one was done in about thirteen seconds.

"Andromeda, take a step away from me..." Evpraksia said, and suddenly the bat flung itself at Evpraksia, and without a second of hesitation Evpraksia loosened her grip on the blade and flung it forward, the shaft sliding through her hands and stopping once it hit the bat, getting caught in its chest to deal 30(+3) damage. A smile appeared on her face as she gripped he end of the blade and tugged it away from the creature, whom was still rushing toward her, and she spun around. Without hesitation, she ducked forward, her back turned to the bat, and felt the breeze of it fly over her head. She grabbed the middle of the Scythe and then jabbed it into the ground, pushing herself up, and rushed forward, a sword skill charged the the Scythe blade behind her. She let the skill release, and threw the blade forward with her momentum, dealing 90!(+5) damage to the enemy as it now rested in its side, and before the bat could react to the situation, she tugged the blade out and held the end of the Scythe in her left hand, whilst balancing the middle of it between her thumb and index finger. She kicked from the ground and rushed forward, jabbing the Scythe as though it were a pool stick. The bat moved quickly out of the way and went for a claw attack at her. Evpraksia's eyes strained under her condition, but she kicked off the ground and pulled the Scythe forward, it locking in place behind the bats head and cutting halfway through, but giving Evpraksia the needed hold to pull herself over the attack, and at the same time dealing 37(+3) damage. Evpraksia found herself in a good position, and quickly she pulled herself closer, her face now in front of the bats, and placed both her feet upon the chest of this creature. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed beneath the blade of the Scythe with her left hand, turned to the right, and pushed hard to cleave the beasts head off, dealing another 38(+3) damage. She landed on her side, the bats head rolling to even with hers, and sighed in disbelief. She had to rely on trying something new, even though it was sloppy, and she has to figure out how to work her weapon.

"We need to talk, after we take a rest." Evpraksia said, and she got up quietly after accepting her reward. This isn't going to work unless Andromeda and Yukino got better weapons...

Health Pools:

Sinthia Loot Received:
x2 Minor Health Crystal (50 HP)
10 COL

Evpraksia Loot Received:

Winged Sword:

x3 Minor Health Crystal (50 HP)
15 COL

"Whoa... This is a pretty nice weapon." Evpraksia said, and she nudged Sinthia. Sinthia's eye-brows raised at the stats, and she laughed.

"Too bad you're unable to use it." Sinthia said, and Evpraksia sighed, reaching for the conversion button. She wondered if she could use it as many times as she wanted. Her hand hovered over the button, and she hesitated... If she did this, she would lose a very valuable weapon.

"Coward." Sinthia said, pressing the button for her, and Evpraksia's eyes widened, the stats changing before her eyes, and she smiled. She knew that she would get a stronger weapon, and even if it only changes it by a bit, it also seems to add a new stat, her starting sword getting a 10% critical chance...

Winged Scythe:

Hmm... No new stat, but... That is a huge boost to the Scythe Skill. Evpraksia thought, and she equipped it swiftly, the new Scythe replacing the old one.

"Interesting." she said, and she held out her new Scythe with wonder. Its length was about her height, and had two blades on the end instead of one; one blade was on each side of the Scythe. The blades were also larger, and longer than that of her original Scythe, and the blades seemed to curve out at the ends, with a shape kind of like bat wings taking hold at the inside section of the blade. She put it away, and then sighed.

"We should really go now." she said, and she turned around. They really needed to get to a safer, more secure area.

Loot Received:
x80 Throwing Picks
10 Col
x2 Minor Health Crystal (50 HP)

While Grim and Andromeda were talking, Triste unstealthed and made her way towards them, her demeanor surprisingly negative. If I couldn't do damage to that bat I won't be able to do damage to the final boss... As much as I don't like my little picks, I need a new weapon if I don't want myself or my party members to get killed. She sighed. It was impossible for her to get one at the moment, therefore she'd have to put up with her throwing for the remainder of cave conflicts.

Upon reaching the pair, their murmuring stopped and Grim turned to go. A good plan and some rest time sounded good to her, so she was prepared to follow.

Evpraksia continued until she got out of the cave and examined the area. It was slowly turning to night, and if this was like the beta, then there would be an event mob around here called 'Night Howler'. Evpraksia knew that they were too low of a level to deal with this, and so she quickly rushed forward, her feet crushing the cold ground beneath her; the grass pressing into the dirt and the dirt compacting. Sinthia was confused, but didn't hesitate to follow. She didn't put away her blade, yet, and instead kept it at ready, as though she were to always be in combat.

"We need to get to shelter. I'm pretty sure that there is an Inn down this road. If we follow this road, there shouldn't be any thing that will fight us." Evpraksia said, but she wasn't completely sure. There wasn't supposed to be any sort of enemy after they killed that wolf from earlier, but there still was. Her eyes pierced the surroundings just in case, but all of the mob seemed a bit preoccupied, their coding having their field of view limited, and their aggro distance short. This was to keep the enemies from ganging up on lower levels, and to make these mobs stronger in one on one situations, typically giving them some sort of buff when fighting alone. As she made her way down the road, she could see the Inn in the distance, and along with it, she thought she saw a player. This caused her to momentarily hesitate; her balance was lost, but she regained it quickly. Sinthia's eyes were still darting around to the sides, she was hoping that an enemy would aggro onto them so that she'd be able to enter combat.

"Careful, there may already be a player out here..." Evpraksia said as they closed in on the Inn. Suddenly, a group of four, nay, five players rushed at them from behind the building. Their eyes showed that they were serious, yet doubtful. Evpraksia skidded to a stop, and held her arm out to grab the back of Sinthia's shirt.

"Not yet..." she said as Sinthia tried to rush in for a fight. Evpraksia wanted to try talking things out, knowing that these players probably are still level one, MAYBE level two. However, Evpraksia's attention was less focused on them, and more focused on the figure watching from the side of the figure, just barely out of sight.

"Just... Just give me all of your gold, we really don't want to hurt you!" they said, and they held their equipment toward them, but at a quick glance one of them let out a gasp of terror. "W-what the hell is that?!" he said, pointing at the Scythe. Evpraksia sighed, knowing that she can't let this get out.

"Listen, if you guys can keep a secret, I'll pay you 80 Col. Okay?" Evpraksia said, and the sound of Col caught their ears, but one of them pushed the others out of the way and held the blade to her throat...

"I don't care what it is, it's probably just for show! Give me all of your Col, and after we take that, give us your equipment! I bet that thing will fetch a fine price, whatever it is..." the man said, he was younger than most of the others, but seemed to be influential as the rest of his party nodded in agreement. Evpraksia was in a bad situation, but with no options left, she knew what had to be done.

"Yukino, we both know that I can't allow them to live after this..." Evpraksia said, her grip loosening on Sinthia. "I would like to know what you want to do in this situation before I let her go."

"What are you talking about?!" the younger one said, and quickly he swung at Evpraksia. Evpraksia knew this was coming for her, and she quickly let Sinthia go. Sinthia parried the attack, and then swung a sword skill at this person, their health bar lowering as they took 19(+3) damage. Evpraksia quickly took hold of Sinthia as she went to lunge forward, stopping her short of her attack.

Health Pools:

Enemies Stats:

When the group of players appeared from behind the small building, Triste instinctively took a step back, her eyes wide with surprise. "Just... Just give me all of your gold, we really don't want to hurt you!"

Are you kidding me? She thought, her frosty eyes scanning the situation as her cheeks flushed. Here they all were, stuck inside a game. They all should be working together, not robbing each other... She wasn't one to get angered easily, but the group almost instantly got on her nerves. There was a kid here, with actual lives on the line...

"W-what the hell is that?!" the same chubby man exclaimed suddenly. Triste looked where his eyes were locked. He had seen Grim's awesome scythe. A light smile played upon her pale lips. If they were wise, they would abandon their mission. They wouldn't want to fight someone with a special skill...

"Listen, if you guys can keep a secret, I'll pay you 80 Col. Okay?" Grim said. Triste scoffed in disbelief, her smile wiped clean.

"Why wo-" She started, but her words caught in her throat as a man pushed past the others and put a silvery blade to Grim's neck.

Everything was suddenly intense, as soon as the man started making demands, she crossed the space that had been made when she had fallen behind a little bit during the run. Grim could die right here, right now. She faintly heard Grim address her, but she couldn't make out all the words. Suddenly Andromeda was let loose and she pounced upon the man like an unofficial guard dog. No! She thought with distress. If Andromeda wasn't stopped, they'd be the one taking a life. She was relieved when Grim grabbed her.

Her right hand had fallen into her pouch of picks. Only if she had to.

The sudden silence was tense. Darkness had fallen and small street lamps had turned on, illuminating the streets and the shocked faces and casting gray shadows every which way. Her heart was beating harshly in her chest. "Leave us be." She said, her light voice enveloped in bitterness.

"W-we aren't afraid of you!" the man that was struck said, and he rushed back at them. Evpraksia's eye caught sight of the youngest one in the group, and for some reason she seemed out of place, out of thought, and out of sync. Evpraksia let go of Sinthia, and without hesitation Sinthia rushed in with a sword skill, followed by a flurry of three swings afterward to deal 67(+6) damage. She danced between the swings of the others, yet her eyes caught onto the younger one, the one in which was calculating the fight. Evpraksia watched the younger one, and noticed her menu was open, what was she doing? Suddenly the group of robbers glanced at their HUD where there party members are... Did she leave the party?

"Hello." she said as Sinthia and the girl locked blades, Sinthia's eye gleaming with malevolence. "You're a troubled child, aren't you?" she taunted, and Sinthia took the bait, swinging at the girl with speed, and chaining her sword skills back to back, however her opponent kept on dodging the swings or knocking them to the side... What kind of reflexes does she have?!

The younger one pushed himself back up, but he didn't look like he'd fall back yet... Evpraksia didn't want to do it, but she pulled out her Scythe, and rushed forward with a Scythe skill, and let it flow right on top of him to deal 168!(+10) damage. No! her thoughts screamed, and she looked to the man she just killed.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered under her breath, and his eyes widened as he read her lips, a tear rolling down his face as he died, and his body disintegrated. Evpraksia spun around and knocked a sword downwards with the end of her Scythe, quickly turning and catching another blade in the middle of its downward swing. She then tilted her Scythe and let the blade slide down. She killed one, but there were three more! What do I do? Sinthia has the fastest reaction out of us all...

She swung again and the swing hit the blonde in the side to deal 58(+5) damage. Her eyes full of fear, she decided to run after pushing herself up. She didn't want to die, and Evpraksia didn't blame her, but the position she just put herself in was very dangerous. Turning, she saw a smile on the middle-aged mans face, and she felt two blades swing through her to deal 36(+0) damage. With a battle roar of victory the turned around for another swing, but what they got was the end of her Scythe at ones throat, and a kick at the other.

"Leave now, and you'll live." Evpraksia said. Without hesitation, the middle-aged man at the end of her Scythe ran, but the one she kicked down pulled out and threw a series of Throwing Picks, missing each of them. "... Yukino, I think you should teach him..." she slowed to a stop as she noticed the girl that Sinthia was fighting had vanished, along with Sinthia... She looked over to the ones she let run, and found one impaled by a blade, and suddenly disintegrate... The wielder of the sword was the red-haired teen! Where did Sinthia go!? She looked to her HUD to see Sinthia at full health, so where could she be? She saw Sinthia's sword in the air, along with her, in a swinging motion at the teen who had let her guard down. With a quick reaction and remarkable speed, the red-haired teen spun around and hit the sword to her side.

"No!" Evpraksia said out loud, and her eyes widened in realization. Sinthia killed the other one!

Health Pools:

Enemies Stats:

Only if she had to.

She didn't think she'd actually have to.

She thought they would leave.

Triste stared as blades clashed and she found herself unable to reach into her pouch. She stepped back, her eyebrows furrowed. Am I a coward? She thought as her feet inched backwards. It's self defense... I should be helping... She watched as Grim brought her scythe down into the young man. He burst into pixels and disappeared. Her pale, shaking hand raised to her mouth, the feeling of nausea suddenly overwhelming. Long shadows moved rapidly, silhouettes striking and falling and crawling. She saw another burst of pixels. Another death. Her eyes frantically searched for Andromeda.

Instead, she saw another shape. The red-head, who had been with the hostile group moments before, was now killing the blonde woman. Andromeda suddenly appeared, going in for the kill, yet the girl spun around with amazing speed and knocked the sword to the side. Everything was going downhill...

Evpraksia looked over to Yukino, and noticed that she looked rather sick. Of course, this must be a lot for her to handle at the moment... Facing the situation versus theory is completely different, and so Evpraksia walked over to Yukino and put her Scythe away, then she gave her a hug.

"Close your eyes, it's fine. You're right for not wanting to fight them..." Evpraksia said, and she gritted her teeth and let out a gasp of pain as she felt two Throwing Picks enter her back, but she didn't care, her battle healing skill would render the 3 damage useless. "If you need to, then just close your eyes." she continued with a calming, cheerful voice. She then let go of Yukino, her demeanor changing completely, and turned to face the man.

"I'm sorry for this." she continued, and she swung at him with a sword skill, the blow landing perfectly in center of his chest. It dealt 165!(+10) damage, and the moment Evpraksia pulled the Scythe out and put it over her shoulder, he tried to pull his sword, but Evpraksia was quicker, and she brought the Scythe back down on his head, her heart skipping a beat. "However, if I let you live, then I know that you'd just try to do this to somebody else..." She looked at her damage, 108!(+5). There would be no surviving this...

"Rest peacefully." she said, and she let go of her Scythe, which was embedded slightly in the ground, to put her hands together and bow her head; a little prayer in hopes that they all rest peacefully.

Sinthia, however, was still deep in battle, her anger increasing, along with the power she put behind her strikes, but no matter what she did, she couldn't hit her opponent.

"Bastard, stop dodging!" Sinthia yelled as she did a right diagonal sword skill, her sword just being pushed upwards and off course. She was using the momentum of the sword skills to counter them. Sinthia kept going and pushing herself faster, but the faster she pushed herself, the faster her opponent blocked attacks. "Die, die, DIE!" Sinthia said, and she thrust her blade forth, catching her off guard, and lands a strike directly through her stomach, dealing 15(+1) damage. The girl's eyes widened, and her emotionless face turned into disgust.

"You are annoying me." she said in a rather Scottish accent, her eyebrows furrowing. Her pale skin lit a beacon in the darkness for Evpraksia and Yukino, and her freckles were distinct along her nose and cheek. Her height was between Yukino's and Sinthia's, and her hair length was half it, wavy, and the deepness of its red only rivaled by Evpraksia. Her eyes were a light, light green, and a scar was down the length of the left side of her face.

"What, can't keep up with me?" Sinthia mocked, and suddenly she felt herself pushed back, and a swing was made at her from the left. She went to parry it, but before the swing made contact the blade curved into more of a slicing manner, and so the blades skidded past each-other. Sinthia's eyes widened as she knew what was coming for her, and she leaned forward, her head leaning left, along with placing her blade in position next to the right side of her neck, tip pointing up. She felt the enemy blade make contact with the flat of her own, and then she felt it scrape through her shoulder blade, dealing 16(+2), and then dealing an additional 113 damage. Sinthia was confused as to how she did so much damage, but before she could figure it out she felt the blade stab through her chest, dealing 23(+2), and then again dealing and additional 113 damage. She fell backwards and onto her knee as the blade was pulled from her.

"Well, that's not fair. Where'd ya get it?"

"There are three rare drops on this floor and they can only be dropped once. This is one of those drops." she said, and with that she put her weapon away. Evpraksia was now behind Sinthia, her eyes watching the girl closely. "My name is Lyliana."

"Well, it's apparent that in a fight, you'd probably be able to kill all three of us before we could hit you enough time to deal damage, yet you don't seem to want to fight... Why did you take your own party members life?" Evpraksia questioned, and the glare she was given made Evpraksia's face shift into a bit of anger.

"They were perverts, and honestly, the only reason that I put up with it so long was so that I could stab them in the back when somebody like you lot showed up. Problem with that?" she said, and her Scottish accent sounded in Evpraksia's ears as she decided whether to trust her or not, but in the end, she sighed and let her have her way. She grabbed onto Sinthia's collar, and looked to Yukino, as if to ask if she had anything she wanted to say before leaving.

Health Pools:

"Close your eyes, it's fine. You're right for not wanting to fight them... If you need to, then just close your eyes." The voice sounded too sweet to belong to someone who just brutally killed two people. Her body grew tense within Grim's arms, and when she finally let go Triste stepped back, her hands balled into tight fists. She watched as Grim turned and started in the direction of the remaining man, her red hair swaying and her scythe held lightly in her hands. The grim reaper...

Triste turned away, her skin paler than usual and her eyelids drooping. Slowly, listening to the sound of clanging and yelps behind her, she opened the party window. They wouldn't notice right off. Her finger hovered over the Leave Party option. I don't know these people. She thought as she pressed it. She glanced over her shoulder, the cloak leaving her nothing more than a tall, dark figure.

Grim brought her scythe down on the man's head and he burst into a shower of color that fell to the well-trodden dirt streets. Triste quickly turned and activated her stealth, running behind the building that the gang had originally hid behind. She stalked behind the line of buildings that progressively got taller. Dim light shone through thin alleyways, guiding her feet through the dark of twilight. The chirping of insects covered up any noise that she may have produced, and supplied her with a little comfort. If only I could log off and hear the real thing... She thought to herself, glancing around her. Nothing.

She came to an alleyway slightly bigger than the rest and slid her thin body through it, letting her stealth wearing off. Once again she was on the street, deep enough into the village that she didn't see the three girls she had just run away from. She adjusted her hood so that it slunk slightly over her face. In front of her was the inn. It was tall, at least three stories, with two white balconies hanging over the street held up by matching columns. The majority of upper-story windows had closed shutters. However, the lower windows released a flood of light onto the dirt road and allowed her to see that there was activity inside. The others would be here eventually, but they wouldn't know where or if she was inside. She rushed inside.

She opened the door and saw a square room framed with small rectangular wood tables. Other players sat around, chatting and eating food. It would be her ideal environment if she wasn't so tired and lost in the state of shock. The innkeeper was an old woman who stood behind a wooden counter, an ever-friendly smile on her face. Triste quietly crossed the brown-carpeted floor, placed 15 col in front of the innkeeper, and let out a low sigh. When the woman handed her a key she quickly departed upstairs, her eyes locked on the floor as she recalled what just happened.

Back at the scene, Grim turns to see that Yukino is gone.

For a second, Evpraksia was shocked, her grip loosening quite a bit on Sinthia. Sinthia looked over to Evpraksia, and then to where Yukino should be... Though Sinthia had no care for her, Evpraksia valued her as a person, and to her it felt like she lost somebody. Good luck on your travels, Yukino.

"Hey, Andromeda... I'm going to split, okay?" Evpraksia said, and Sinthia looked to her, and she smiled mischievously. Though the moment the smile hit her face, Evpraksia noticed, and she sighed. Sending a friend request, she disbanded the party, and walked over to Sinthia. Sinthia accepted the request, and took a step back from Evpraksia; she was more confused than afraid, but something about her made Sinthia uneasy. Evpraksia stared at Sinthia for about seven seconds before smacking her, hard. Sinthia fell back, her head turned to the side slightly, and her face full of shock.

"That's for what I know you're going to do." Evpraksia said before smacking Sinthia again. "That's for thinking about what I know you're thinking about." she continued, another smack. "That's for doing what you did..." Once more. "That is for the next time we meet..."

She turned her back on both Lyliana and Sinthia, whom she probably scared more than hurt, and made her way to the darkness, and away from the safety. Her mind set on the future more than anything. With this, she would become a solo player. Sinthia looked over to Lyliana, whom snickered, and pushed herself up.

"Next time, I'll kill ya. Okay..." Sinthia said, and she walked past Lyliana as she laughed.

"Hah. You can't even keep up with me, what makes you think you'll be able to kill me?" Lyliana replied as she followed, her destination being the same place.

Health Pools:

MEANWHILE, in town, as a young female buys her Inn room.

"Excuse me!" said the voice of a young male as he tried to get Yukino's attention. His hair was messy, short, and brown. He was standing with a hand behind his head, scratching it. He had a light skin color, but not pale. His eyes were a dark green with an orange tint on the inner edges. He looked nervous, and yet he had a feeling of relaxation about him.

Triste paused and glanced behind her, searching for the source of the voice. She saw a boy looking her direction and she turned, offering her attention.

"I was wondering if I could have a little help? I kind of ran into those guys too, and so I lost all of the cash that I had on me. Do you think you could spare some for me?" he asked a bit nervously, and he smiled at the end of his question, his arms idly held at his sides. His weapon was no where to be visible. Suddenly it dawned on him, he should probably introduce himself.

"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Ja-" he caught himself almost giving his real name, "Razor. I'm not really that big into games, a friend of mine told me to try it out, and so I decided why not." he said, probably giving a bit too much information about himself. He felt awkward and as though every time he spoke he made the situation worse.

"Sorry again! I find that I can talk a bit much some times!"

-

Evpraksia looked at her surroundings, and noted the level five enemy wolf. She needed to make sure that it didn't have any form of twitch before attacking it, just in case. After about six seconds, it performed a normal idle stance for this type of mob, and Evpraksia rushed at it, her Scythe glowing as she got the skill ready, and when the swing hit, she pulled the blade out and spun around, another sword skill charging, and swung again, hitting the beast for a total of 286(+20) damage. The beast lunged forward at her, but she sprinted to the left, dodging the attack, and swung her Scythe a third time at the beast, no sword skill, to deal 59(+5) damage. It turned and pounced at her with its claws, but she had already been charging a sword skill, the Scythe's blade behind her, and she swung in a clockwise motion, her sword making contact to deal 151(+10) damage, and killing the mob.

Loot Received:
x2 Minor Health Crystal
20 COL

Health: 602/750

-

Sinthia was making her way through the town arguing with Lyliana, when after what seemed to be a while of traveling, they both paused and looked at their surroundings. They were no where near an Inn, and instead appeared to be in a market place. Sinthia glared at Lyliana, and then swung her sword at her, which instead of damaging her, knocked her back. Lyliana's anger took hold, and she pulled her own blade, swinging back. Their swords clashed together, and Sinthia glared between them.

"It's your fault that we're lost." Sinthia said, and Lyliana laughed.

"You're the one that wouldn't shut up, and I was following you. I thought you would know the way, but I guess your sense of direction is about as good as your fighting skills, but oh wait. You don't have any!" she sneered back, and Sinthia's eyes lit up. She punched forward and knocked Lyliana back, and after a bit of swearing she turned around and they clashed swords again, the echoes of their blades filling the streets...

Health: 484/750

She hesitated, eyeing him. She couldn't help but smile at his awkwardness. However, the smile soon faltered. "How'd you know..." She swallowed hard and glanced down at her room key. "...that I ran into some guys?"

His expression changed to a bit of surprise and unease, he had forgotten that he was hidden in the background during the situation. He sighed, and then opened up his menu. He slid it over so that she could look at it, and it showed his skills and level.

Razor:

"I was hiding when they confronted you, which was about thirty seconds after they confronted me. I didn't really know what to do so I stayed behind. I didn't really expect so many travelers, and I didn't expect anything like..." he paused. "Anyway, I didn't know what I should have done, so I just stayed in the shadow, and upon watching you abandon the group, I followed. I'm kind of scared of the other two." he said with a light smile and gentle laugh, and then he realized how this must sound to her, and quickly bowed his head.

"I apologize..."

-

Evpraksia sighed and moved toward the next wolf. Her heart was heavy, and her mind tired, but she pushed herself forward. She acquired hate status of the wolf early, but as it jumped toward her, she sprinted out of the way again, and then back at it to swing with a sword skill.

She did 65(+11) damage. Either she needed to start attacking faster, or she needed to start doing more damage. She rushed forward and swung again, but with a normal swing, to deal 47(+6) damage. She needed more damage! She swung again, the blade slicing through as she continued to spin around with a slight jump into the air, her sword glowing with another sword skill, and a slam down on the creature, slightly disorienting it while dealing 183!(+17) damage. Upon landing her feet on the ground, Evpraksia raised the Scythe above her head and rushed forward with a downward sword skill, the attack again hitting and disorienting the wolf, along with dealing another 77(+11) damage, but before Evpraksia could react, it lunged forward, luckily missing due to disorientation and the inability to directly attack. Evpraksia took this as an opening, and charging one more skill, she rushed past the beast in a swinging motion, the ability hitting and dealing 168!(+11) damage, and killing it.

Loot Received:
25 COL

Evpraksia fell to her knees as she thought the day over. She let a killer off of their leash, and she also killed two people. Her free hand balled into a fist as she punched the ground, tears streaming down her face. What would she do? She killed those people to protect others in the future... Was she really going to take that path? Did she really have the right to take somebodies life in order to protect others? What if they weren't going to try it again after losing so many to Sinthia? Evpraksia punched the ground again as she let go of her Scythe and put her hand to her face. After moments of thought, she made the decision to completely cut emotional ties to the value of life, and decided that she was going to protect, even if it meant causing death in her wake.

I must become the one that is strong enough to do what others can't... I must do what my name suggests, and become the Law's Reaper.

Health: 612/750

-

Sinthia and Lyliana were still fighting each-other, neither of them tiring, and their yelling caused a few NPCs to poke their heads out and assess the situation. They eventually disappeared back to where they came from, and repeated the process. Sinthia punched Lyliana again, but Lyliana countered with a punch of her own, both of them falling onto their back as they cough. Neither of them got up, and Sinthia stabbed her sword into the ground.

"I swear that I'll kill you." Sinthia said, and she reached her hand into the air. "As soon as I kill you, I'll end this game on my own, but first comes your death..." she said, and she giggled. Lyliana's ears deceived her, and she pushed herself up slightly.

"Why do you, of all people, want to end this game? You get to kill without penalty..." Lyliana asked, and Sinthia just sighed. She knew that she'd get asked this question, and so she rolled over onto her side and rested her head.

"Killing in this world... It doesn't have the benefits of killing in the real world. No blood or mess. It's just boring. You also can't kill somebody the same way you could kill somebody in real life! You have to make them lose a certain amount of health before they die, and blah blah blah." Sinthia said, and then she closed her eyes.

"Wake me up when the sun is out, this spar isn't over." she said, and Lyliana smiled.

"Okay, but you won't win..."