He looked at the people nearby as they introduced themselves. He didn't really feel a need to give his name, as he felt like there were hundreds or thousands of people at AcadeMMO and the chances of him taking missions with any of these people again was slim. Nonetheless, he made eye contact with a few of them and nodded. "You all are pretty cool. That was a lot harder for me than I thought. Are any of you new here?" When he heard one of them was still excited about going on another mission, he got tense. He had clumsily dealt with his first mission and wasn't really excited about going into battle again anytime soon, so he stayed quiet. Of course, if the others did decide to go on another mission, he would probably tag along.

"Oh, I'm Hayato, in case I missed introducing myself too." said the Bladeknight as the others also passed names around. He tried to make a detailed mental note for each of them and their abilities, so that he could ask them to party up again sometime depending on what kind of assignment he tried. Overall, things had gone well here. His head wasn't even bleeding anymore, though it was still a bit sore. "Nice to meet everyone, and good work out there! I know I said our teamwork could use polishing, but hey, things could have gone a lot worse, right?" He stretched his arms out wide before folding his hands behind his head. "Maybe next time, if the whole party focuses on just a few enemies at a time instead of letting ourselves get separated, things won't be so chaotic?" When Joe said he was interested in doing another Special Assignment, Hayato shook his head. "That's all for me today, Joe, sorry. I've got to study a bit and make sure I get off on the right foot this year with the academic stuff." Soka had also mentioned that the mission was a little harder for him than he had thought. Hayato paused for a moment to pick his words; he wanted to help, but he didn't know how the other boy might take criticism. "Well, uh, I think your magic was actually really cool." He began. "But rather than using the weapons you make yourself, why not pass them to the Martial fighters, or manipulate them to attack from a distance? Like that arm blade you made earlier--if you had made, say, a spinning saw blade instead, and sent it zooming around like a death frisbee--" he gestured with his arm, making a "zoom zoom" sound, "you could have taken out those Needle Blights that were taking pot shots at us from a distance." [OOC: I'm assuming John and Soka will each take on of the two Enchanted Wood items, but no one's called dibs on anything else yet I don't think. Also, it's probably a good idea to add an Inventory section to the bottom of your CS so you can store your credits and loot.] One of the rats mistimed its jump, and Taeion's shuriken skewered it. The other simply wasn't agile enough, and it too went down. The one Taeion had charged at couldn't evade fast enough to avoid his enhanced speed, and it too was slain with a single strike from his blade. But Taeion would find that using a speed technique on a battlefield covered in oil probably wasn't the best idea. Suddenly he found himself unable to check his momentum, and he was heading right towards a large dumpster that had been overturned in the chaos, its contents going up in a large flame! As he slid ever closer at high speed, he could feel the heat of the blaze growing against his skin... [OOC: We've been waiting on Numbers a while I think, but since he would probably be occupied keeping the Cockatrice calm and it's already so weak I think we can safely push things along a bit...] With Haruka and Winnifred's last attacks, an artery was severed in one of the monster's legs and its head took yet another deadly wound. As the creature began to collapse in a heap of feathers and scales, it let out one last drunken cry...and then it was still. "Hmph." Rian said, cradling his staff and turning to glare at Abigail. "No thanks to you disrupting us." With a sigh, he looked around at the others. "But...it looks like everyone else did well." He wouldn't admit it, but he hadn't expected this to be so easy. For all he had been against bringing more than two people, it looked like teamwork had paid off. Then he looked to Ryouta. "If you've got the Sprite, then I suppose we could head back, hm?" [OOC: Since Zombehs left I distributed his EXP among everyone else, but if he chooses to return I won't take it away from anyone, I'll just give him what you guys would have normally gotten.]

Abigael lazed about for a while, no longer paying attention to the cockatrice, and not realizing the beast fell until moments later. "Oh, you guys killed it. Good job." He let out a yawn and pushed himself into an upright position. "Alright, so I'm gonna be straight and honest with you guys." Abigael let out a small cough before continuing. "My biggest goal here is to just tag that monster's corpse. I'll admit, I was hoping on taking some credit in fighting that monster by jumping in, but it looks like that won't be happening. Hell, I dunno if I even accepted that mission properly. That board is confusing as heck. Anyways, if I did, then you guys can split whatever I get among yourselves. If I didn't, well this was an evening wasted. All I ask is that you let me out of these..." He looked at his body, still unsure of what was keeping him in place. "Things, and tag the monster. It won't take anything away, it'll just be Beat taking a nibble at it's foot or something. No big deal."

"I know I owe you at least three fish already, one for summoning you and two for the fusion. But do you mind if I at least check out the currently available Assignments before getting them?" John asked the Cactus-Cat whom he had decided to call Thorntail. Since Thorntail walked up to the Message Board, it seemed he didn't mind. After looking over the missions John only saw one he liked. "Hmm minimal risk of having to harm other Ex-Beasts, decent pay and time enough to collect your reward first. What do you say we handle Extra Curricular Tutoring?" Since Thorntail once again didn't object, John accepted it and then headed out to Academmo's private lake. When they arrived no one seemed to be present allowing John to just take three medium sized fish, that would otherwise be used to feed some of the aquatic Ex-Beasts. After he handed over the (for a desert dwelling cat) rare delicacy to Thorntail, his part of the Contract was also upheld and he canceled the Summon. With that done he headed over to the Gym.

Approaching the tipped dumpster at an alarming speed, Taeion had very little options before he would burn to death. The average person's life would likely end here, but Taeion was not average. He was - by all accounts, a ninja. He prepared himself as he approached the dumpster, and prepared to jump,; he aimed to time it perfectly in order to avoid the fire. '3...2...1...' He jumped, barely missing the burning contents of the dumpster, save for his trouser leg - which had managed to catch a small ember. He patted it out as he landed before looking north, almost completely forgetting about the amount of destruction the creatures caused. He recalled that there were two more rodents which had fled in the direction he currently faced. He rushed in that direction, he wanted to complete the mission soon - he wanted to lie down in the AcadeMMO again.

Hazel didn't really know the specifics of the unnamed Adept's magic, but as far as she could tell Hayato was right. "If you want to succeed here you need to know how to use your abilities best, or you'll stay in E forever. But no, I'm not new here." When Joe suggested that they go on another mission Hazel was quick to rebuke that idea, "I can only take so many of these boring D-Rank missions. Maybe another time, but for now I think I'm done for the day..." Hazel paused momentarily, "I guess I also still need to eat dinner." While the summoner went off speaking of fish, she lingered for a moment. Hazel suddenly had a thought. She fumbled around in her pockets for a few moments, and realized that she did indeed forget her wallet. She wanted to stop and eat but she would need her ID to get money for a school meal. She leveraged her options. She could just walk back to the A-Level dorms, but a much more fun option presented itself. She was surrounded by a group of boys, and was confident that using use all her feminine wiles she could extract a meal from one of them. She scanned the group. The Striker, Joe, came off as a bit of a jerk to her, and she doubted he would do it. She didn't even know the name of the Adept. The Summoner, John, was already off with talk of fish. But there was always Hayato. She began her act with a semi-exaggerated face palm, "Crap, I forgot my wallet in my dorm." Okay, now why can't you get it Hazel? She prompted herself. "They said they were going to steam clean the A-Level dorm hallway from 3-6 today... there was a bit of an accident a while ago. I won't be able to get dinner..." And finally she delivered the coup de grâce "... Unless someone's willing to help me out." Hazel gave Hayato a look with her devious 'puppy-dog eyes'.

"Seriously?" Hayato sighed when Hazel turned her eyes, normally so haughty but now so...big and shiny, on him. He rubbed the back of his head for a moment before shrugging. "Alright, let's head over to the cafeteria then. I don't have much on me either though, and you're gonna owe me after this." He nodded to the others; it looked like John had headed out already to feed his summon. "See ya guys, I guess I have a "dinner date."" He made the air quotes with his fingers as he said it, fully expecting Hazel to whop him one.' When the Summoner entered the Gym, he found the squares on the floor being used by several groups of students sparring, while other areas of the gym were being used for stretches, exercises, and drills. No one seemed to pay him any attention except for one person--and that one probably counted for at least ten of the others. The man had muscles on top of muscles and looked like he'd stepped out of a western superhero comic book. This was the head gym teacher, and one of the teachers for many of the Striker oriented classes, like Basic Martial Arts: Professor Kirby. "Hey there," said the giant in a booming voice as he covered the distance between himself and John in just a few strides. "Are you here for the extra curricular workouts?" As Taeion raced to the north, he heard the sirens of the fire department coming closer. He hadn't done anything to put out the fire himself, but it looked like it would get handled one way or another. Following the ashy trail of the rats was easy once he had gone a little ways, and the pawprints led him on a roundabout run and then through a broken window into a building where a massive ship hung overhead, still in the process of being built before it could be lowered into the bay. Scampering up the chains supporting its bulk were the fire rats, and as the metal grew hot, it began to creak and expand... [Two Fire Rats remain!]

Hazel put on her classic Cheshire Cat-like Grin. Hook, line, and sinker. That was easier then I thought it would be. She was given a slight pause when he mentioned paying him back, but she recovered quickly, "Yeah, yeah, 'course I will." She said nonchalantly. He'll probably forget anyways. But when he used the word 'date' there was no pause. She slugged him on the arm, certainly not lightly. "I may be allowing you to treat me to dinner, but don't read into it you idiot." She quickly pivoted around on her heel with a small huff, heading quickly in the direction of the academies' dining hall. The facade she used to bait Hayato into paying for her dinner certainly evaporated quickly.

Joe watched them leave. Well.. Seems like nobody wants to do a mission with him. That one guy even went ahead and did a mission on his own. Leaving him thinking that he had teamwork, maybe he overestimated that. "Alright guys! I'll just go myself I guess.", he looked at the mission list to find something where he could fight again. Missing Convoy seemed too dangerous to go alone and it was advised against fighting. The teaching mission wouldn't have any interesting fights either and that other guy picked it already. That left looking for Mana Herbs. He picked that one and planned to stay long enough to get attacked.

Soka listened while Hayato gave him suggestions on how to use his own magic. Grr.... the nerve of that guy! Who does he think he is anyway?! Soka growled quietly, when soon everyone else was beginning to depart. Hmph. When everyone else seemed to have plans, Soka went off to his dorm to get some well-earned rest.

"Gah! It was a joke, geez!" Hayato said, rubbing his arm as he followed after Hazel. The school cafeteria was pretty empty this time of day, with only a few students grabbing a late lunch or studying with friends around a few tables. Really it was more like a deli or some kind of cafe than a school lunchroom; the only meals that were free were breakfast and lunch. Everything else had to be bought with Academy Credits off a menu, like ordering at a fast food joint. Of course, the fare was of much higher quality. "With what I got from the mission and saved up from last year, I oughta have enough for both of us." Hayato said. "What do you wanna order?" When Joe accepted the quest and entered his coordinates into the teleporter, the holoscreen displayed a notice that he would once more be going into Excaledvol. Missions to the alternate world were frequent, but the place still hadn't been mapped yet in all these years. The Exbeasts and the different rules of nature there made establishing any kind of permanent base of operations difficult, as they'd seen in the Blighted Woods. For things like satellites that they could use to take pictures from orbit, they were still a long way off. And since they had no idea exactly where, when, or what Excaledvol really was, they couldn't do a great deal from the Earth side of the rifts either. After another transportation, Joe found himself standing atop a huge, rocky cliff with a thick bed of lush grass and moss at its top. It was almost like walking on a marshmellow, the vegetation was so dense. All around him, tiny flowers grew with bright blue-white bulbs. These were the Mana Herbs he should gather. However, he'd need to be careful...one wrong step here, and he might tumble down into that valley far, far below... [Joe's location (large image): http://i.imgur.com/coQ5bVZ.jpg]

Taeion could plainly see the rats scuttling up the chains, but was unable to give pursuit. He considered the possibility of falling - what if they tried to fire at him whilst he climbed? He wouldn't be able to dodge effectively, and would end up getting burned. Taeion thought for a moment. By extension, the Fire Rats should have difficulty dodging anything he threw their way. He dug into his pocket for a final time, but Taeion was mildly surprised to find that he only had one shuriken left. He looked around for something else to throw, and was able to find a small rock - around the same size as a regular rodent. Maybe he could knock one of the rats off of the chain instead, letting it fall to its death. Taeion tossed both of the projectiles for a final time, aware that success would allow him to return to the AcadeMMO for a "well-deserved" rest.

"Hmmmmm..." She seemed to be fixated on some deep internal deliberation for about 40 seconds, before finally reaching a decision. "I think I'll have the... corn dogs..." She said ponderously, as if the question of what she was going to eat still hung in the air. It wasn't. Hazel had become damn-well fixated on the corn dog's battered goodness. While waiting for Hayato she decided to bring up the conversation she heard at the lab earlier. "Soooooo... who is it you're looking for? I mean, you are looking for someone, aren't you? That's what you were talking to that scientist about, right?"

Hayato ordered a regular cheeseburger for himself, and picked an out of the way table to bring their orders too. As they ate, Hazel asked him who he had been so adamant about finding before. Pausing to swallow, Hayato leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "My brother, Rikuto. About four years ago, he was a senior S-rank here. He could have easily made SS or SSS if he'd wanted." Hayato looked down at his plate. "But he disappeared in Excaledvol. From what I heard, it was an exploration mission, something to do with ancient ruins." He turned his head, looking somberly out the window at the rays of the soon-to-be setting sun. "I was never able to find out much more. Some of that stuff is kept hush hush because they don't want people here on earth to panic at the prospect that there may be civilization over there." To imagine that there could be another intelligent lifeform, something beyond the Exbeasts, capable of putting the magic and resources of Excaledvol to as great and skillful a use as humans had used their own technology, was indeed a scary prospect in many ways. Hayato looked at his sword, leaning against the table. It was a plain katana, made from manufactured steel infused with magic here at the academy. Compared to a sword of yesteryears, it could cut through tank armor if the person using it had enough strength and skill. Rikuto had used one of their family's traditionally made swords. "I spent all of last year ignoring Special Assignments and classwork and focused on training and sparring. To be honest," he looked over at Hazel. "You're only the third person to ever beat me. I suppose part of it is that higher ranks have better things to do than sit around here..." He looked down at his clenched fists and forced his hands to relax. "But I still need to be stronger, to find Rikuto. Being out in Excaledvol for real made me realize that. So, thanks, Hazel. Since you beat me, I've got even more motivation to keep going." [Hayato Spent 10 AC!] Taeion's projectiles flew true, and the rats, though swift, had few options up there on the chains. Below them was a long drop into the sea with sheer concrete walls, and above them the large ship, still too far away to provide cover. The shuriken pierced one Fire Rat, carrying it off the chain and across the large room, landing with a clatter and death rattling squeal on one side of the concrete floor, just shy of falling into the drink. The other rat, struck hard by the rock, wasn't dead--but as it fell, flailing, into the water below, a great sizzle of steam went up. Afterwards, its corpse floated up to the surface--hitting the water from high up, combined with the impact from the rock, had probably broken its back or something equally fatal. With his mission complete, Taeion would be able to use the Sprite to warp back to school and take his long awaited rest.

"That is right, Sir. My name is John Harley and I'm a Summoner." John introduced himself to the gymteacher hoping that his insane amount of muscles didn't mean he only liked Martial Classes. He looked through the gym, trying to find the freshmen. "But wat exactly am I supposed to do, just spar with them or something?"To be honest John was hoping that he was just there to tell them about the dangers of Excaledvol , and maybe give them some advice. But he knew better than to expect it would be that easy.

Once the cockatrice was dead, Winnifred walked over to the boy still tied up on the ground from Haruka's binds. "Beat, huh? I don't really get it," she said, listening to his story and looking at his weapon with a perplexed look on her face, "But... It doesn't sound like it should be a problem for us. Or at least for me anyway, I dunno about the others. But next time I suggest just joining a team ahead of time. I dunno about some people here, but I don't bite. Unless you turn out to actually be a weirdo stalker or something. I'll totally bite if that turns out to be the case. But, uh, since Haruka's the one who tied you up, I'll go ahead and make it her call on what to let you do." After she had finished speaking, she sat down on the ground to wait for the rest of her team to decide what to do and when to head back. "So, what stuff are you guys gonna want from that thing?" she asked.

She smirked at the tied up boy and was suprised that the bird had already given up on fighting. She walked over to the bird while she occasionaly listened to them talking and took the loot dropping it a little closer to the group "You 3 can have all the items that it dropped and the new guy can do whatever he wants with the bird. She layed her hand on the katana and mad a swift motion holstering in the blink of an eye. She had cut all the wires with one swift movement from the new guy his body without leaving a single scratch "Just making sure thr guy steals anything from us thats all." She gently smiled at the others and waited for them to pick out the loot and activate the crystall back to the academy

After receiving the loot from the now-dead Fire Rats, Taeion was able to make his way back to the Sprite which would send him back to the academy. His assignment was successful, a slightly damaged arm as his only casualty. He had also ran out of shuriken. He took note of this, and planned to buy more from the AcadeMMO's weapon store. At least, he thought they had one. He wasn't entirely sure. Taeion made his way back to the Sprite, completely forgetting about the carnage and destruction in the docks which he had inadvertently caused by luring Fire Rats out of a crate. He would take no part in the clean up of the mess either. Finding the Sprite, Taeion prepared to travel back to the academy, save for the fact that he had forgotten how to activate the Sprite. He tapped it lightly first. The Sprite bobbed up and down for a bit before stabilizing itself, although nothing which carried a 'teleportation' vibe seemed to occur. Taeion blinked, waiting for a few moments. The Sprite hadn't said anything so far - nor had Taeion. There was a long, drawn-out silence... Taeion then struck the Sprite with a punch. While it may not have been the right way to activate the Sprite, it certainly was effective. The Sprite began to glow, enveloping him in a light which grew brighter and brighter. With that, he disappeared from the docks. Moments later, he reappeared within one of the teleportation rooms within the AcadeMMO. He stepped out of the room, and looked around. He was certainly back at the academy. Taeion turned his attention toward his arm; it was healed, although there was still a minor scar - likely due to him assaulting the Sprite to try and get it to activate. Taeion would probably need to find the assistance of an actual Healer if he wished to fully remove the injury. With little else to do, Taeion's only objectives were to eat and then return to his constant resting, perhaps even rest whilst eating, should he feel like it. He made his way to the dining hall, albeit drowsily - his Special Assignment had ended, there was nothing left to fight, meaning Taeion had returned to his lazy state. He reached the double-doors leading to the dining hall and in his absent-minded disposition, put to much effort into opening them. The doors swung open, both hitting their respective walls. With such a small amount of people in the dining hall, the noise the doors created echoed throughout the hall. It was surprising, and few of the students looked to see what had caused it. A portion, seeing Taeion, were all too aware that this was how the "Indolent Ninja" acted most the time, and simply went back to studying. Others were slightly annoyed by his obnoxious disregard for the other students within the dining hall. Nevertheless, Taeion ignored the reactions of his peers, and made his way to the cafeteria's menu. It was hard to believe that he completed an ExBeast Assignment just a few minutes prior.

Abigael flinched at first, then relaxed when he realized he was free to move around. "Alright! Thank ya kindly. Now... Let's see..." He got up and picked up his glaive, pointing it at the corpse of the cockatrice. "Beat! Um... Tag it I guess?" Beat activated, flying up and straight towards the body. Once the mechanical beast reached the cockatrice, it zipped around it, eyeing its various parts. It then landed on the head of the beast, and a loud stabbing sound followed. Beat then glowed various colors, blinking while doing so. The blinking eventually ceased, and bug companion returned to the glaive, resting on the blunt end and closing its eye slots. A clean stab mark could be seen on the head of the cockatrice, but nothing more seemed to be missing from the monster. "Huh... That was different. Doesn't look like it did anything either. Ah well, that's all I needed." Abigael put his glaive away, looking satisfied with his work quota being met. He then waited for the rest of the group to finish their business.

Hazel listened intently as she ate. "Hmmmm. I never really imagined that someone as famous as that could be your relative, but I think I've heard of him. 'S-Ranked Student Goes Missing in Excaledvol' sounds familiar at the very least. But it's kind of a cool prospect, isn't it? The idea that something else sentient might of, or who knows, even still might live in Excaledvol." She laid her head back, looking at the ceiling, still balancing a corn dog stick in her mouth. "At the very least they might be fun to fight." She paused again, turning her head back to Hayato. "Well, I hope you find him. I'm sure if he's an S-Rank he wouldn't go down easy. Even if he never did get to SS or SSS they're still a great margin above other students, even compared to A-Ranks." Hazel could sympathize with Hayato's wish to get stronger. She too wanted to get stronger. She was determined to climb the ranks further, but she still wasn't strong enough to move to S. She'd also need to train more and more. She seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, but pulled a pen from her back pocket. She grabbed a napkin and scrawled on it for a moment. She held it up in front of the boy, "I guess since you told me all this I feel obligated to help, so take this. If you need to train or do a mission or something call me." She set the napkin down in front of him, with her cellphone number written on it.