"Oi! These vines on my foot are in close range!" While yelling at Hayato, Soka saw the Needle Blight preparing its attack. "Metal!" he called out, the liquid mix flying out of his sword case. It materialized in the air near the two Knights in the form of a thin sheet of hard steel. The needles sprayed against the steel defense, before falling to the ground harmlessly. A few needles did get past the shield, but the majority were stopped. "These plants sure are annoying. Don't they have any fruit trees here?" When the thin shield had done its job, it formed into a blade and flew up into the air, before crushing down toward the Needle Blight.

John thought things over, sure the Cactus-Cat had been very useful but now it seemed the fight was gonna become completely close ranged. Since he had no desire of making the others protect him, he decided to use his other spell. "Become one with me and lend lend me your power. The Summoner's last resort Fusion!" When he started chanting the Cactus-Cat turned into blue sparkles of light which surrounded his lower body. Seconds later the sparkles seemed to disappear and thorns grew on John's legs which now resembled that of a cat. He also grew the branching tail of a Cactus-Cat. "With this I should be able to handle myself, so I don't need protecting."

Joe grabbed the legs of the twig blight to use it as a weapon to stomp other opponents, particularly Needle blights and to block their eventual attacks. Similar to what he had done before. As his eyes glanced over the battlefield of the other members that still hadn't finished their opponents, the needle blight was about to attack the other guys. Using the twig blight he would stand in position. Time it right and use full rotation to slam the twig blight into the needles so hard in an attempt to slap them back to the needle blight. Protecting them while attacking the opponent. Either that would happen or they would get stuck in the twig blight. Which was fine for Joe also since it would only add the sharpness damage to the twig blight that he seeked. Regardless of what happened he would run to the needle blight and go berserk again, by ignoring all the attacks of the needle blight and continuously slam the twig blight into it. Specifically aiming for the part where the needle blight shoots their needles out to maim that. He was going for the kill.

In an attempt to dodge the oncoming fangs, Taeion weaved to the left to try to avoid the creature. However, Taeion's dodge attempt was quite late, and he was unable to avoid the attack entirely. The Fire Rat had managed to scrape his arm in a way that left a scratch which travelled halfway across his forearm, deep enough that it would eventually start to bleed. He winced at the pain that followed. Although the damage of the cut itself was not too severe, he would have to ask for the assistance of a Healer later. For now, he would simply have to continue with the Special Assignment; the rewards would likely make up for the injury he had just sustained. He ignored his attacker for now, well aware that it would soon die from the shuriken attack, Taeion tended to be quite accurate with his strikes. Looking towards the west once more, he could see that there was a great deal of smoke. He knew that he had to travel there quickly, but he was not feeling entirely keen on running. In the end, he actually walked there as if there was no urgency in the situation; something which he has done more than once, much to the dismay of the Academy.

Abigael fell to to the ground, face first. He didn't understand what was going on, due to not seeing the wire around him. He struggled and rolled around a bit, attempting to break free of whatever was holding him, or to at least get his face out of the dirt. Unfortunatley he could only manage the latter. Upon rolling over he spotted the girl that pushed him over. He sighed and began to relax a little, realizing the situation he was in. "Jeez, if ya wanted me t'stay out of this, ya could've just said so." He yawned and waited for the beast to hopefully die. Well it looks like I my mooching plan didn't work. Hopefully I can still tag the corpse so I have something to report back to home. Maybe I can just say we captured it or let it go if I can't tag it...

As soon as Winnifred's second shot had landed a direct hit, she looked over briefly to assess the full situation, only to realize Haruka had made a swift change of course to target the newcomer just like Rian had a moment ago, even though the cockatrice was still up and moving about despite its injuries. "Wha - hey, hey, hey!" Winnifred shouted, then gestured towards the cockatrice and added, "This thing's only mostly dead, you know! Can't you save that for after?!" She then quickly turned her attention back to the cockatrice, letting out a deep breath to regain her focus. She held up her gun, taking aim for a third time. Surely, she hoped, this would be enough to finish it off. She'd been hoping to get this assignment finished quickly and without much hassle anyway. She pulled the trigger with another command of "Bang!" still aiming at the beast's head with the hopes of landing a finishing blow.

With the combined attacks on that last Needle Blight, the group in the Blighted Woods found itself surrounded by nothing but regular, non-murderous trees and silence. Their enemies defeated, they would finally have a chance to regroup themselves and catch their breath. "That...that looks like all of 'em." Hayato managed, sheathing his sword and then leaning on it like a walking stick. He pulled off the tie under his blazer, which was going to need an extreme patching job, and used it as a makeshift bandage for his head. That last Vine Blight had clipped him pretty good, and he wiped away the blood in his eye with a sleeve but still looked quite worse for wear. He looked over at the rest of the group. Everyone except for Hazel had taken at least a few hits, and they had been so broken up and chaotic. Not really what one imagined when they thought of the word "party." "Um, guys, I don't wanna be a nag...but I think our teamwork could use some polishing." he said. Of course, now the group faced an unspoken decision as well. They could head back to the bunkers, and report their activities, or if they felt up to the task, they might continue hunting through the forest... The Fire Rat landed some distance past Taeion after its attack, but the Bleed damage it suffered caused it to fall over, squeaking one last pitiful breath. As the ninja headed west, however, he would find that the situation was more serious than he had originally imagined. The three Fire Rats had scampered across the shipyard and had startled some of the dock workers. One of them had jumped or run, and either way bumped a container of oil that had spilled across the concrete slab underfoot. As the Fire Rats ran into it, then slipped and slid and rolled while squealing frantically all the way, they ignited a dripping trail that soon began spreading to other flammables, including the coveralls of the dock workers. Several men were frantically beating the flames while others had already started running towards the open section of the yard where the ships were being lowered into the water... [Dock Workers are in danger! 3 Fire Rats gain 10 Magic when using Fire due to Oil!]

sorry was meant for ooc

The final Needle Blight unleashed it's last attack, but Hazel saw that Joe once again had the Needles covered, and people were already moving to attack it. She sheathed her sword, deciding to give them the last kill. She stretched, raising her arms up to the air. She glanced at Hayato, "That didn't go too bad, all things considered. After all, this is your first combat mission, and I suspect that might be true for some of the others here." She said giving a sidelong glance to the rest of the group. "Anyways, I suggest we head back. This Twig Whatevers are kinda boring. And you also look pretty messed up, Hayato."

Now that it seemed that he misjudged the situation and used Fusion without reason John decided to be more careful when it came to using that spell. "I'll stay in this form for as long as possible, preferably until we're all back at Academmo" Though since for now it seemed that combat was over, he focused on finding usable material among the Blight's bodies to ensure that their deaths weren't futile. While he was searching he heard the tow knights talk." Yeah I agree with the female Knight, also don't forget this was our first mission together. Now to change the subject do you guys think the Magical Research Society might be interested in studying these bodies?" The reason he asked was because he hoped the researcher might figure out a non-lethal way of dealing with these species of Ex-Beasts.

"..." Taeion took a few moments to assess the gravity of the situation. The rats had managed to create a large fire in such a short space of time. He blinked once, and looked to the right. Some nearby crates were burning - they were likely full of rubbish like the other crates Taeion had seen. He blinked slowly again, and looked to the left. The dockworkers were desperate to reach water as fast as possible. Perhaps he should have brought a Water Adept along on the Assignment, or something of the sort. It was too late to do that now though. He slowly turned to a nearby dockworker who had luckily managed to avoid the flames. After a few seconds of staring at him in silence, Taeion spoke. "This looks... pretty bad... doesn't it?" The dockworker looked at him, puzzled. Taeion did not wait for an answer, and continued on. "Could you, uh... find a hose?" His nonchalant attitude towards the ordeal served to confuse the dockworker even more. But Taeion once again did not wait for any form of response. Instead, he turned around to face the flaming creatures which were causing the problem, and rushed towards them. He did not want to attempt to use the Deft skill, as there was a high risk of him dashing into the fire. He also believed that he was low on mana, and would eventually run out of it if he continued to use that skill. Taeion thrust forward with the blade when he felt he was close enough without being too near to the oil flames, aiming to kill the first rat which had slipped in the oil.

Soka saw that the enemies around them were finally downed. "Well I'm sure glad that's over," he said, walking toward the others. He agreed that they could use a better teamwork formation. Soka was almost sure that there were more Exbeasts that would attack this same area again, but for the time being the area seemed clear. He wanted to scout the rest of the area to see if there was anything else nearby, but decided to be quiet and let those with more experience decide. Briefly, he wondered how the other students were doing with the other D-Rank missions. "Thanks again for helping me, Hayato. And good fighting, everyone."

They finished the fight and Joe couldn't help but smile. This was definitely enjoyable. He might have been disadvantaged, the only one not using it's weakness but he still had fun. This only verified it for him, it was what he wanted to do. "I have no idea what you're talking about, my teamwork was great.", he gave a look towards Hazel and the summon guy, He remembered doing just fine with them, superb teamwork even. "I would like to continue but I got shook up a little while attacking, most of my opponents have been fast. So going back might be a wise decision."

With everyone in agreement to go back, the party made their way through the woods the way they had come. Soon the research station was in sight again, and as they approached another scientist noticed them and ran over. "You're back! Our equipment's not picking up any more Exbeasts, so great job!" he said, before pointing them towards a central bunker building. "Our telepad is in there; I'll go ahead and operate the Restoration function too!" He pulled a tablet from his coat pocket and began typing away, but before they headed towards the bunker Hayato raised a hand. "I have a question, sir. What exactly is this station researching?" "Ah!" said the scientist, excited that they had taken an interest. "Well, as you probably know Excaledvol hasn't been explored very much yet. But for the most part, the plants and water and overall geology are very similar, almost identical in some aspects, to Earth's! We're here to take samples of said geology and biology too, and study them. We've actually made some very interesting findings about some of the species here already." "I see..." Hayato said. "But I don't suppose you see a lot of people, then? You haven't seen any AcadeMMO students besides us?" "Not recently, no." said the scientist. Hayato's face suddenly perked up. "We do send the school requests for assistance every once in a while. But you're the first since the new semester only started yesterday, of course." "Have...have you seen someone who looks a bit like me, except with a scar across his nose and a different hair style?" Hayato asked excitedly, leaning forward so that the scientist could see his features. The man raised an eyebrow, but looked at him closely for a moment with a hum of concentration. "Mmm...No, I'm sorry. I can't say I have." Hayato was crestfallen. "Ah...oh well, then. Thanks anyway. And let us know again if you need more help." When the group stepped back onto the telepad, this time the magic runes and lights glowed green for a moment. Their HP and MP was restored in a flash, the healing magic spreading through them like warmth from a fireplace. Then, once the coordinates for the school were set, they disappeared. The scientist waved farewell, then went back to his studies. Out in the woods, a boot crunched down on the remains of a Twig Blight, the hem of a cloak billowing around it. "So this confirms it." said one voice, a male. "They're trying to use our own power against us. If we want those busybodies gone, we'll have to bring out something that kids like that can't handle." Another voice responded from a small, purple sphere that floated in the air near the hooded figure. It was somewhat similar to the Sprites used by AcadeMMO, and its voice had the same mechanical twinge, though it was obviously female. "Those children were inexperienced. No doubt they have stronger heroes available to them." "True..." The hooded figure looked around at the remains of the Blights. "I suppose I'll have to do some thinking on this one..." With that, the figure turned and began to walk away, soon disappearing into the depths of the forest... The Fire Rat Taeion attacked only barely managed to leap out of the way, sliding when it landed on all fours in the oil. The other two, however, took aim and unleashed a dual Fireball spell at him. The oil all around instantly began to ignite, only adding to the growing power of the conflagration magic as the two projectiles rushed towards Taeion. The dockworkers around him ran and dove for cover, the idea of a hose completely forgotten. The fire continued to spread over the docks, and the oil continued to ooze from now melting containers...if it got into the water, not only would the fire spread further, but it would be a major eco-hazard...

Soka listened quietly while Hayato and the scientist talked for a few minutes. In the meantime, he looked around at the trees, plants and the nearby surrounding. He was still in awe of this new world and had so many questions. When it was time to go back to the Academy, he nodded to the others as they went to the telepad. When no one was looking, he picked up a small tree branch that was on the ground. He placed the twig in his pocket and walked toward the telepad. It had been an exciting first mission and he had learned a lot. Now he needed to focus on increasing his battle skills and maybe gaining a few allies. While the telepad glowed with green energy, a look of determination and resolve focused on Soka's face. He thought about his goals for the rest of the week.

Haruka smiled as the boy dropped down to the ground. He couldnt possibly steal anything from them now since he was bound. Haruka would have given the reward to the others anyway. It wasn't really needed for her to get something great out of it aslong as she got to train her skills some more. She called the command "Hide" and slowly went over to the beast its leg to cut it horizontal. She took a big jump back smoothly going over in two handstands before getting a good distance betweeN her and the bird.

Hazel took note that she was called the 'Female Knight' by the summoner. They didn't all know each others name. Not exactly conducive to good teamwork. She would bring up the issue of putting names to faces in a few minutes, but for now the group returned to the laboratory they were protecting. Hazel wasn't particularly attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation between Hayato and the scientist, but the D-Rank wasn't exactly being discreet about the matter that seemed to be personal. He's looking for someone. Family maybe? They're supposed to look like him, after all. Hazel wasn't at all opposed to prying into the boy's personal business, and planned to ask when they returned to the Academy. As they made their return to AcadeMMO Hazel announced aloud to no one particular, "My name is Hazel, by the way."

When he heard about the Restoration function, John decided to undo the fusion despite his earlier decision."No point in risking this becoming permanent somehow." Immediately after splitting both the Cactus-Cat and Summoner felt exhausted as the stress of the unnatural changes to their bodies hit them. The healing done by the telepad was great, not only did the scratches on John's arm disappear he also felt completely rested. After Hazel's introduction, he felt he couldn't remain unknown either. " I'm John and even though I haven't named him yet, this is my Summon a Cactus-Cat." He pointed at the feline Ex-Beast that was still around, since now it was time for John to keep up his end of the Contract.

Taeion was once again able to avoid both of the oncoming fireballs, this time by quickly dashing backwards, the fireballs hitting the ground because of it. It seemed as though all the rats had poor aim. Taeion stood for a moment, silent. He was simply staring at the now paused Fire Rats, They too seemed to await his next action. He reached into his pocket once more, and pulled out two shuriken. Temporarily putting the ninjato back into his pocket, he concentrated. He held a single shuriken in each hand, with the intention to throw them. Taeion was by no means ambidextrous, although his training had definitely improved his motor functions in that regard. At once, he threw the two shuriken towards to of the rats, he then quickly retrieved his ninjato, and activated his ability. "Deft." He charged at the third of the rats, the one which had first eluded him. His plan was to kill all three rodents at the same time, to prevent any further damage to the docks.

Joe didn't lose to their conversation. He was anxious to just get back and maybe do another mission if there was still time. This one didn't take that long anyway. All that he wanted was to fight, maybe he could ask someone to accompany him. He found that fighting with other people was a lot more fun than doing it alone. "Yo!", he told the researchers. "If you ever want someone to fight for you for again for free, search for me. The name is Joe. All I want is to-", well.. "Erhh, help people!", he gave them a thumbs up. The teleportation pad healed most of his injuries. That was a nifty feature that put him in a position to be able to hit a special mission again. "I'm just your average Joe", he grinned. "So who wants to hit another mission with me? I'm satisfied but I found it too fun. I want to go do something again. Besides, I've shown good teamwork with everyone. So how about it?", he asked the others,