Prince
Aeternus ll Mystic Forest
Effected Players: Ares, Vick

Once again, it seemed the glasses wearing boy did not appreciate the assistance and only told him to quit it, but Prince merely gave a wheezed chuckle as a reply. Finding it somewhat amusing how this boy reacted, even going as far as make petty threats.

"You can give up on me, but I'll never give up on you. Even if you do something stupid." the red head grinned before blinking as he dodged out of the way of one wolf but Vick seemed to tackle and kill Prince's last wolf.

Not long after, the boy was just about dragging him toward the mages where the healer was, demanding he get recovered as soon as possible.

"Nah I'm fine, just a few scratches. The cutie can heal me when he's ready. Magic is long range after all and he's not that far off." Prince said as he waved his hand casually, as he lightly tugged away, but pushed his companion toward the healer. "You on the other hand should go." he said giving a smile before ducking away from a swipe.

Surprisingly, the Dark Knight came to their aid, smashing down on the wolves around them before making his own scolding of his own. Prince merely shrugged with a smirk.

"I thought we weren't allowed to make such claims Sir Boss, if so you needn't of wasted time with such a helpful hint. Guess there really is someone sweet under that stern handsome mug of yours!" Prince cooed but Ares was already off and taking on what seemed to be a werewolf. The boss of these pack of wolves no doubt.

Ducking away from another strike from one of Vick's wolves, the Buccaneer quickly stabbed at the two before using Serpent Strike on one, watching it burst into data at the impact before looking at the boss and throwing a rope. "Ensnare." he mused as the rope tangled around the boss, pinning it down in its place for a short period of time.

Grinning as he watched it roar and struggle against the binds, he glanced at Vick as he pondered if he should take a potion. Honestly, Prince hadn't been planning to take one, despite how much pain he currently was in. He even felt the taste of blood on his lips as it trickled out of his mouth.

Perhaps in a way, he didn't care if he died. He didn't know why, he couldn't think of a reason. It was odd really, he didn't want to die but he didn't feel so panicked about the face of death either. It was a weird and a little terrifying feeling. Perhaps something was wrong and he didn't realize it? Perhaps... But now was not the time to think on it.

Deciding not to waste the Dark Knight's effort, the Buccaneer quickly took out a potion and gulped it down. He felt the shaking stop, the red vision clear and his breathing return somewhat normal instead of wheezing desperate gasps. His injuries closed, only dry blood remaining now.

Deciding to lend assistance with the big boss, he waved to Vick to handle his last wolf as he tossed him one of his own health potions to his comrade, before bolting off, speeding around the werewolf. His swords slashing the beast in quick strides as he sped around it. By his estimate, this guy would only have to hit him twice, even if he was full health. Bosses were a little bit of a pain that way. Smirking, he lept from the back of the ensnared beast.

"Piercing Merlin." He said before putting his blades together and lunging, his blades powerfully sinking deeply into the monster. It roared and tried to make a swing at him but he quickly lept out of the way, and despite his attacks, Ares would still have more hate since he's done the most damage against him.

This may be a long fight...

---

HP: 75%
SP: 45
Status Effects: None
Level 1

Inventory
HP potions: 8
Sp potions: 10
Wooden Harp: 1
Cinnamon Cookies: 5
Gold: 50

Enemies
Wolf1: 0%
Wolf2: 0%
Wolf3: 0%

Vicks Enemies
Wolf 1: 0%
Wolf 2: 15%

Mini-Boss
Werewolf- 115%/150%

Wandering Fool
Aeternus || Nexus
Sleepy Leaf Bridge
Affected Players: Moon234, Xenoko, The Imagineer

---

Wandering Fool prepared to send another knife on its way, this one bound for a certain Ranger’s face, and he felt the hit before he even threw the knife. It would be accurate, Dead Eye would ensure it. But then a piercing pain erupted in his ears, causing Jeremy to drop the knife and then fall over to his side, holding his hands over his ears. Some sort of sound attack ripped through the combatants, and no one was immune to the high shrieking. Jeremy himself couldn’t make out any words, and didn’t bother trying, just holding his ears tightly until it was over. Even once it stopped, Jeremy sat up painfully and shook his head, trying to remove the ringing that wouldn’t quite disappear from his ears. The silence that followed was almost as crippling. Was he deaf now? Jeremy slowly dragged himself upright, growling at his burnt leg, The scene before him was a bit surprising. Three people passed out, Everyone else seemingly incapacitated except for a Brawler, and their health. A portion of them were under 50%, which meant that they were close to death.

He was going to kill them. That had been all that was on his mind. In front of him was a group of people that he had attempted to end. They had tried to kill him, but now were helpless. Should it seem so odd to remove their threat to others now? The thought shamed him, anger cooling as fast as it had come. In the end, we are all just doing our best to survive.

Jeremy looked to his right to meet the gaze of The Imagineer for a moment, a moment in which he slowly raised his hands in surrender. She didn’t look like she cared who was fighting, so much as that they were fighting. Best not to make the list of people to be ripped apart. Movement alerted him to the Brawler’s state of not-paralyzedinfearorwhatevertheheckiswrongwitheveryoneelse but suddenly a monk was there. Not that he could be described as anything but as a monk. Black robes, wrapped arms, and bare feet/hands. Either he was a monk, or some sort of ninja class. Regardless of looks, the man unleashed a barrage of flaming fists o’ fury that would have made Bruce Lee proud on everyone he could reach, flat out knocking the Brawler and pounding on the Knights health. And suddenly it was over. The last man standing had surrendered in what seemed like an instant. Jeremy sat down with a thump and immediately summoned the canteen from his inventory. A second later it was emptied over his leg. As to how advanced this game was, he had no idea. But hopefully that would hold off the burn status.

---

HP: 60% BRN
SP: 90
Level: 1
Inventory:
Gold: 20
Deck of Cards
Dice & Cup x 10
Bread x2
Flint & Steel
Whetstone
Canteen (Empty)

The Imagineer
Aeternus || Nexus
Sleepy Leaf Bridge
Affected Players: Moon-Moon(Moon234), Wandering Fool, Bruce Lee (Xenoko)

---

...Ah. There it was. The cease and desist. So close, she'd come to breaking, that she had to physically take hold of her head at one point at dozens upon dozens of thoughts began to course through her mind, small and big voices all screaming and whispering and singing of terrible things that made no sense and all sense -- a cacophony of contradiction that sang out in terrible delight to her. ...It looks like her plan had worked -- well, possibly a tiny bit too well. She was unscathed, saved for her slowly recovering mind, whilst...well...Her "companions" had taken some damage, save the Bruce Lee-wannabe that'd come in to give his glorious two-inch punch (no, not that, pervs!) to take down the rest. Her point had finally gotten across, along with several points thrown and shoved and stabbed with by the tag-a-longs that came in on her little mess.

...Ah. The newbie to the side had run off. That was nice at least. A soft sigh that fell from her lips as she pawed at her head, occasional shivers running up her spine and a jolt now an ten as her irises seemed to crack in areas, only to fix themselves and become whole once more. Her jacket trailed behind her as she slowly turned to the Brawler that lay in a surrendered position, and the glint of ornate silver could show that her knife was gripped tightly as she trained to stay away from the terrible thoughts dancing in her mind, trying to make her head explode when she could take no more. It was then that her voice rang out, soft undertones of other tones speaking within hers as she began to address the conscious thug.

"...You...Are going to go get a few NPCs to help us drag your friends to the Jailing area. And so help you, virtual gods, if I found out that you've run...I will end you, after trying so hard to not do such. Now. Go."

And just like that, the Brawler was up and at 'em, running off to begin gathering up a small group of NPCs to come over and drag the unconscious and the wounded of while the chance to do so without fighting could be done. That is when she would finally stumble back, dropping down to one knee and promptly falling down onto her rear as her gaze began to fix itself up and let her see right.

"...Ah. Right. Good afternoon. I'm The Imagineer. I suppose you were the ones that signed up to help deal with this little trifle of a thing?"

...And now we went on to pleasant conversation. ...Right?

---

Status
Hit Points: 100%/100%
Sanity: 40/150
Level: 1
Status: N/A

Inventory
Health Potion x2
Sanity Potion x2
Gold x100

Black Thought Result

Prince
Aeternus ll Mystic Forest
Effected Players: Lilth

Prince continued his work, his blades silver streaks as they lashed at the werewolf with tremendous speed, thankful that the potions healing effects died down the pain. His attacks were doing well in cutting away at the health as he lept away from dangerous attacks, his heightened agility and luck serving him well. He gave a little wave to Vick in thanks for the buff, it helped greatly.

It was then that one of the front fighters, the demon Lilth, had joined the fray between them and the mini boss. She hacked away a good chunk of its health, but she wasn't as fast as him to dodge out of the way of the counters. Seeing her start to bleed out, Prince once again ignored his own dangerous situation and lept to her.

His hand instantly reaching for one of his potions and quickly shoved it into the demon's hands. But to his dismay, the werewolf whirled on them to make another strike. He had enough time to shove the girl out of the way before a large sword slammed down against his back, blood splattering everywhere as he fell face first into the ground. The beast roared and dug the blade deeper, pinning the buccaneer down before finally removing it.

Once again, his vision blurred and flashed a color of crimson, but now a buzzing sound was heard, a fuzzy sound similar to one that was in a game called Slender before dying. His body ached so much, it almost felt numb. He could barely stand up again and his body only wanted to lay there. Ignoring it though, he spat out blood as he forced his body to stand once more, swords drawn and ready to take a potion. But the werewolf left no time for him to heal as it slammed its blade down at him again.

This time, he dodged, his movements sluggish, but still fast. It was lucky for him Vick buffed him... Or that would have been Game Over....

---

HP: 15%
SP: 45
Status Effects: Defense up, Speed up
Level 1

Inventory
HP potions: 7
Sp potions: 10
Wooden Harp: 1
Cinnamon Cookies: 5
Gold: 50

Enemies
Wolf1: 0%
Wolf2: 0%
Wolf3: 0%

Mini-Boss
Werewolf- 80%/150%

Ares
Aeternus || Mystic Forest
Affected Players: Prince

A dark aura engulfed his body in a tempestuous gust – Vick’s buff. Sparks burst as he readied Soul Eater. He knew Prince had saved Lilith but he also knew there could’ve been another way and now the Buccaneer lay clinging to his life. Maybe he deserves to die, Ares thought, such foolishness will only get in the way. The fact that he could think such pugnacious thoughts without a drop of remorse haunted him but he couldn’t dwell on it – he had to act fast. Ares darted forward, slid between the werewolf and Prince, hooked the beast by the leg with a resilient grip and, sweeping his legs, rammed Soul Eater into the monster’s back. Great-lance clean into the monster’s flesh, Ares slipped an arm under the werewolf’s neck and used the other to create a lock. He pressed hard. The enemy thrashed for seconds before managing to grip Ares with its claws. The werewolf flung Ares forward and sent him crashing hard against the ground. Within seconds, the beast rushed Ares and before he knew it, held him from the throat within snout distance. Blood trickled from the Dark Knight’s forehead from the impact, the vertigo impairing his thoughts. Seconds before meeting his end by the fangs of his enemy, Ares head-butted the beast point-blank. The resolute Dark Knight dropped to the floor with a thud but wasted no precious time before calculating his next move. Ares somersaulted over the beast and pulled out Soul Eater from its back before spinning and releasing a ferocious counter attack – Berserker Thrust.

The werewolf roared in pain from the heavy hit. Still, though, even that attack was insufficient to finish the beast. He’d need more; he’d need to at least buy the others time to use potions. Ares bolted forward and slammed violently against the werewolf. He lay on the monster and rained thunderous punches with his black-steel gauntlets, crushing its snout in. Soul Eater was in too deep the monster’s back, from where he stood, the apex of his weapon stuck out.

At that moment, Ares saw red – Roar of the Wild. The werewolf released a severe howl that sent Ares crashing into a tree several dozen meters away. A speck of sweat dripped from his bloodied forehead as he lay against the ground, his fingers digging into the soil and his gaze dead on the ground. He felt like his legs weighed twice as much as they should. He needed to heal but he also needed to retrieve Soul Eater, without it he was useless and would be a hindrance to his allies. He struggled back on his two, his right knee slightly bent from exhaustion. The werewolf was coming straight for him. Ares took a deep breath and remained calm. He knew what his next move would be and the first piece was already in play. Ares sprang up and burst forward in a collision route with the enemy. Just as the two forces were about to crash, Ares leaped off the monster’s chest, double stepping on its head before spinning efficiently to pull out Soul Eater and roll out of range in one brilliant maneuver.

Ares threw out his arm, Soul Eater firm in hand and prepared for round three.

---

HP: 18%
SP: 20
Level: 1
Inventory
SP Potion x2
Gold x10

---

Ares’ Enemies
Wolf Level: 1 HP: 00%
Wolf Level: 1 HP: 00%
Wolf Level: 2 HP: 00%

Vick’s Enemies
Wolf Level: 1 HP: 0%
Wolf Level: 2 HP: 0%

Mini Boss
Werewolf Level: 3 HP: 45%

(Short post I know, sorry.)
Xenoko Feng
Aeternus || Nexus
Sleepy Leaf Bridge
Affected Player: Moon234, Wandering Fool, The Imagineer

---

Xenoko frowned as the enemies surrendered, while it was probably better than the alternative, he hadn’t really gotten in on the fight until the very end. He hated doing that because it made other people think he was only in it for the EXP. He frowned and walked back to the carriage that he was guarding and waved him forward. The carriage trundled forward and over the bridge. Here Xenoko paused the carriage and walked back over to the group whom he’d helped. He heard the woman who had been a part of that group ask if they were the ones who’d signed up to help her deal with her quest. Xenoko looked up and smiled “Oh no.” He responded as he pointed to the carriage behind him. “I was actually working on a guard duty quest, looked like you guys needed some help so I thought I’d intervene” He said as he looked toward the group “Although in hindsight it looks like you guys might have had it taken care of.” He said as he walked over to the man in the black clothing with what seemed to be a burn.

He knelt down next to him just as he poured water over the burn, he frowned and held out his hands “Here.” He said as he hovered his hands over the man’s burn “Let me help you.” He said before whispering “Lay on hands.” And put 40 SP into the ability. This would erase the man’s burn and bring him back up to full health. “There, that should feel better now.” He said as he stood up and walked back over to the carriage of cargo and climbed atop the back “Well, to make up for me jumping in at the last second and getting some EXP, would any of you lot like to come along with me and finish this quest? It shouldn’t take long and I’m more than happy to share.” He said as he sat down on top of the carriage and smiled at the others.

---

Status:
Hit Points: 100%/100%
Soul Points: 100/100
Level: 1
Status Effects: None

Inventory:
Health Potion: x6
Gold: x150

Wandering Fool
Aeternus || Nexus
Sleepy Leaf Bridge
Affected Players: Moon234, Xenoko, The Imagineer

---

The Imagineer seemed to cool down, but there was still something wrong with her, jerking every now and then, and her eyes seemed off in some way. When she gave orders to the surrendered, her voice spoke as multiple people in unison. Then she sort of sat, and sort of fell, down to a sitting position. Jeremy jumped when she spoke, and then growled at his leg for the pain and further lowering of health. By that time, the monk already began speaking. A guard quest? Definitely went above and beyond this time. Jeremy vaguely wondered if the assault on the people at the bridge would earn the monk a bonus. These men had been tolling players that were crossing the bridge, after all.

Wandering nodded in appreciation, and then sighed in relief when the monk did some sort of magic with his hands, healing his burned leg from a black and bloody red to a natural skin tone. “I am Wandering Fool, but call me as you like. I signed up for the quest, didn’t expect this much...” pain “...trouble though.” He stood upright tentatively, and was delighted to find that his leg didn’t send him into a blind rage of pain. “Thanks...” He glanced at the man’s public data, as well as the boy’s. He nodded to himself and added them to his contact list, his finger brushing past the friend’s list without a second thought.


“I don’t care about the experience, but I’ll take a ride any day!” Wandering Fool stood to follow the monk, but paused for a moment to bow to the mastermind. He spoke in a soft undertone. “Thank you for my reputation.” With that said, he continued to the carriage and jumped onto a step-down for one of the doors, holding onto one of the rails lining the top with his hand. He wanted to get his pants repaired, luckily it wouldn’t take any time at all, being an MMO. Just a short visit to an NPC to repair the damage. He cast Bound Blades one more time and glanced around at his new acquaintances. It was late at night, and he didn’t have a place to sleep, so helping out with this for now was as good as sitting in a bar somewhere. “Anyone else?”

---

HP: 100%
SP: 80
Level: 1
Inventory:
Gold: 20
Deck of Cards
Dice & Cup x 10
Bread x2
Flint & Steel
Whetstone
Canteen (Empty)

Level-Up!

Ares -> Level 3; 8 Gold; x2 Wolf Pelt; Wolf Fang

Prince -> Level 3; 9 Gold; Wolf Pelt; x2 Wolf Fang

Vick -> Level 2; 5 Gold; Wolf Pelt; Wolf Fang

Sir Valentine -> Level 2; 9 Gold; x2 Wolf Pelt; Wolf Fang

Lilith -> Level 2; 8 Gold; Wolf Pelt; x2 Wolf fang

The Imagineer -> Level 3; 75 Gold [Our Way or the Highway Complete]

The Wanderer -> Level 3; 75 Gold [Our Way or the Highway Complete]

Xenoko Feng -> Level 2; 75 Gold [Our Way or the Highway Complete]

Moon234 -> Level 2; 75 Gold [Our Way or the Highway Complete]

The Imagineer
Aeternus || Nexus
Sleepy Leaf Bridge
Affected Players: Moon-Moon(Moon234), Wandering Fool, Bruce Lee (Xenoko)

---

...Huh...As she listened to the three men(...or two men and one girl, all depended) speak up, the reeling of her head eventurally began to cease to the point that she was able to push herself up from the ground as the Knife Thrower introduced himself formally and bowed to her in thanks for preventing a bloody situation. Ah...Her first time being thanked for anything, really, she brushed off her jacket and rubbed one of her eyes as the cracked irises were slowly beginning to prefer their wholesome presence, and the smallest of smiles came to fit atop her lips.

"Not a problem. I am The Imagineer. Call me Imagine if liked. Following Fool's initiative, I've taken it upon myself to add you all under my Contact list. And a ride on the carriage doesn't sound so bad after coming so close..."

A small tap to her temple would be made, the cacophony singing in her head settling down as she felt a surge of energy begin rushing through her. Ah? Seems she'd grown a bit stronger for completing the quest. Lovely, lovely. She made to climb onto the back of the wagon until she stopped to notice the kid that'd come in first to help her. Despite initial thoughts...Boy or girl, this kid'd had the backbone to stand up to the group of eight she was ready to take on solo. With that in mind, her next motion was...an offer of kindness, in short, as she reached her hand out to him and spoke up to the monk that'd come thundering his way in.

"I'm coming with you, and so is this one. Very brave, I must say. Came to my rescue when I opted to take on all eight of them at once. The poor guy with the burnt leg helped me out too. ...I do find it a bit of an insult that the one that caused the most damage to their ranks was completely ignored."

A small shrug game of it before she turned her attention back to the one before her.
"Your public data gives your username, but if you don't mind, I'm going to list you as Moon-Moon. The ah...Well...One of my abilities doesn't discriminate between friend or foe, and in order to stop anyone from getting killed...I had no choice but to use it. As a result, it put you in a stasis of sorts. The Stop effect, you see. I'm sorry for the trouble."

She was able to own up to her poorly-thought ideas when she actually indulged upon them. Rare as they were, they still happened and she knew that the fireball Fool had taken on top of Moon's familiar being harmed was...unforeseen consequence of her direct actions. So this was the least she could do -- take responsibility. ...And ah...
"...We can help the nice monk with his quest, and once we do, I'll be happy to pay for all four of us to spend a night in the Heroic Inn if you would like. As thanks for joining in before things got ugly."

---

Status
Hit Points: 100%/100%
Sanity: 150/150
Level: 3
Status: N/A

Inventory
Health Potion x2
Sanity Potion x2
Gold x175

Black Thought Result

Prince
Aeternus ll Mystic Forest
Effected Players: Ares, S.V, Somewhat Lilth

As he dodged away from the attacks of the beast, his teal eye blinked as a large figure blocked his vision. Blinking away the blurred flashing red vision, he identified his rescuer once again as Ares. It honestly was a little bit of a surprise for most people to bother helping others when their own life was at stake. Prince was one of the exceptions for his own reasons, but he had not really expected the same treatment.

It was a wonder, how many people were willing to watch others die... Or risk their own? Both situations were not pleasant feelings. And of course there was always the question just how far someone is willing to go to protect themselves or others. Were they willing to kill someone? Become a murderer? Or perhaps put themselves in unimaginable suffering. Who could say? The only one could answer that is deep within that persons soul.

Ares pounded against the beast, his lance diving into the back of the werewolf and meleeing the large wolf at point blank. His attacks were powerful, but the werewolf used a ability that launched the dark knight off and land harshly. He got back up though and quickly retrieved his lance, but he now was also severely low on HP.

He didn't know when, how or why, but Lilth had practically shoved his own health potion down his throat when she obviously was bleeding out. He may have been severely wounded, but he wasn't losing life points as time went on. She then managed to get over to Ares and give him a potion as well, but she was now down to just 3% and was fading.

Prince was about to make another dive towards her, but thankfully the Blade Dancer of the group paused from his onslaughts and hurriedly rushed to the demon's aid. The red haired man gave a grin and wave as S.V called to them of his plan.

"No worries! Just make sure she doesn't die on us!" Prince grinned before holding up his blades as he watched the werewolf about to follow S.V and Lilth but the buccaneer was already launching a attack until he felt his aching body feel power coursing through his veins.

A gold glow emitting from his body as a soft little cheery chime echoed his ears. He then saw two golden letters flash in his eyes.

Level Up 2!
Level Up 3!

And then they were gone, but they had made him feel a bit more confident. He could feel some of his strength and speed grow, even if it was barely much. Hey, levels were levels and he was going to need them in his battle.

"Ensnare." Prince said as he through a magical rope that materialized in his hand, the object wrapping around the werewolf and constricting around it to keep it somewhat in place.

It roared angrily as it struggled to get free, its movements much more slow now. Speeding around its uncoordinated swings, the buccaneer's Musketeers swiftly sliced up all around its body. Cut marks appearing where he striked. He then stopped only to have dice materialize in his right hand. He blew on them for luck before tossing them.

"Lucky Dice." The bare chested man spoke as the dice rolled, one landing with a red tile color on top, the other with a happy face. He pumped his fist in victory as he felt power coursing through his veins, red energy swirling around his twin swords. Lucky enough he got another attack boost.

With a smirk he held up his arms to his chest as he pulled his two swords together and held them straight at the werewolf's back. "Piercing Merlin!" He said before thrusting foreword like a bullet, his blades stabbing through the beast's back, the tips appearing from the belly.

The werewolf howled out in agony before giving a snarl as a red glow emitted from its jaws. Recognizing the attack, Prince pulled his swords out and dashed away, diving and rolling as the werewolf howled, emitting a large red blast similar to the one Ares was hit with.

Luckily, Prince managed to escape it with only a little bit loss of health.

Standing up again and wiping some blood away from his cheek with the back of his left hand, he flicked his two swords lightly to rid of some of the blood before getting in a readied stance as the werewolf broke out of its binds.

---

HP: 40%
SP: 5%
Status Effects: Attack up, Defense up, Speed up
Level 3

Inventory
HP potions: 7
Sp potions: 10
Wooden Harp: 1
Cinnamon Cookies: 5
Gold: 59
Wolf Pelt: 1
Wolf Fang: 2

Enemies
Wolf Level 2: 0%
Wolf Level 1: 0%
Wolf Level 1: 0%

Vick's Wolf Level 2: 0%

Mini-Boss
Werewolf Level 3- 20%/150%[/center]

Email Announcement!

Dear Player,

I've grown bored of the situation, not enough deaths, so let's up the ante, yes? Before a Boss can be destroyed, after dropping its HP to 1%, a single member of the party will need to employ his or her Soul Attack. Continuing to attack the enemy once its HP hits 1% will do nothing unless the Soul Attack is used. Of course, the player that activates his or her Soul Attack will have their own HP, in turn, drop to 1%. No conventional potion, remedy or anything you can do will restore it, you will be Soul Bound. Of course, your master is kind and will provide with a special item that will cure this special status...good luck finding these.

Ra, Lord of the Dark Flame

Level-Up!
Ares -> 10 Gold [Wolf Trouble Complete]

Vick -> Level 3; 10 Gold [Wolf Trouble Complete]

Sir Valentine -> 10 Gold [Wolf Trouble Complete]

Lilith -> 10 Gold [Wolf Trouble Complete]

Prince -> 10 Gold [Wolf Trouble Complete]

Ares
Aeternus || Mystic Forest
Forest Edge -> Nexus
Affected Players: Lilith

Ares took the HP vial from Lilith and downed it. “Have you gone mad?” He asked. Her own HP was dangerously low. The Dark Knight’s emerald eyes shifted to her before reverting back to the enemy only to witness Vick deal the final blow. Too many mistakes had been made; fortunately no lives had been lost.

“Hm.” Ares grunted and he was on his way again, disappearing into the cold of night, between the trees, in the direction of Nexus.

...

The black-steel of his robust shoulder plates and the red, embedded orbs within them shone under the reflection of the moonlight. His crimson hood concealed the features of his face as he strode across the forest unnoticed. From a bird’s eye view he appeared but a speck under the towering trees. There was utter silence, only the occasional twig could be heard as it subdued under the pressure of his armored boots. This was the way he liked things. Unlike some folk, Ares didn’t care too much for idle chatter. That might be why he found meeting strangers insufferable – the exchange of senseless drivel that usually preceded whatever business was at hand.

It was at that moment that his train of thought was derailed by the sound of a snapping branch. Ares remained still, scanning for unusual movement. There… He could sense the weight of two heavy silhouettes approaching from opposing directions. Whatever was coming was heavy, he’d have to rely on his agility to outmaneuver the unrevealed enemy. Ares was already at an advantage. In a flash, two swooping blows swept diagonally against Ares. The Dark Knight parried the first blow with his great-lance and spun to avoid the second. He was face-to-face with two hulking forest trolls, one grotesquely larger than the other, that held massive wooden clubs. Ares sidestepped away from a third attack from the smaller troll before taking his last SP vials between his teeth and biting into them. Just as the huge creatures charged forward once more, Ares dropped to avoid their lethal blows. He flung Soul Eater to the sky as a distraction and spun his legs in two mighty kicks that connected one troll at the chest and the other on the face. He then somersaulted to catch Soul Eater midair and violently crashed into the smaller of the enemies – Earth Breaker.

Just as the peak of Ares’ Soul Eater impacted the troll on the face, the larger one went for a tackle that managed to catch the Dark Knight by surprise sending him knocking against a large tree. Ares tried to scramble back up as the two trolls charged him. He quickly managed back on his own two but at this point he was breathing hard. He rolled out of the way at the last second, both trolls instinctively colliding against the giant tree, spurring dozens of branches to come crashing down. Bright emerald eyes shifted from the top of the trembling tree back to the trolls.

He needed to separate the two. He’d go after the smaller one first and then focus on the larger enemy – the slower of the two.

With a firm grip on Soul Eater, Ares threw out his right arm in preparation for his next move. He bolted after the larger troll and, dodging a swing of the wooden club, slammed his weapon against the creature’s knee. The monster roared in pain prompting the smaller one to go after Ares. The Dark Knight thundered off, the lesser troll trailing at a planned distance – away from its larger counterpart. Ares was on a collision course with a giant tree. At the last second, he double kicked against the tree, his boots pressing hard against the bark causing it to crater from the impact, and spun. With Soul Eater on both hands, he met the traveling force that was the troll for a massive collision that resulted with the great-lance deep into a fallen troll’s chest. Wasting no time, Ares ignited Soul Eater and released a powerful blow that connected at three points – Triple Thrust – ending the beast as it lay from the ruthless attacks.

As the remaining troll approached, Ares chipped 3/4ths into the trunk of a giant, nearby tree with his great-lance. The troll raised its wooden club and swung viciously at the wounded Dark Knight’s torso. Ares rolled to catch the blow on his armored shoulder, but the attack was powerful enough to shatter through it and connect with his flesh. He felt a burst of pain from the joint of his left shoulder and soon realized it was dislocated. His vision started to go black but he remained calm as best he could. He rolled once more to avoid a second hit. Without a single drop of hesitation, Ares gripped his left arm and tugged hard with his right, popping the shoulder back into place. A jolt of electricity surged through the tensed nerves of his entire left arm. His breathing was becoming forced but had enough adrenaline for his checkmate move. Ares bolted for the chipped tree and stab-climbed it using Soul Eater. The troll took the tree between its arms and began to violently shake, desperately trying to bring Ares down. Just as the Dark Knight reached a sturdy branch, the giant tree came crashing down smashing the troll into bits of data.

Ares held onto the branch of a second tree, whose branches were within reach of the one that had fallen, dropped Soul Eater and then himself.

---

HP: 12%
SP: 40
Level: 3
Inventory
Gold x28
Wolf Pelt x2
Wolf Fang

Ares’ Enemies
Forest Troll Level: 4 HP: 0%
Forest Troll Level: 2 HP: 0%