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Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

She had assumed that the logical choice was to dispatch the powerful close-range warrior to defend the area with the most possible cover.

She had guessed that it made more sense to focus on the more open side while the demon pinned down the advancing knights from the covered side.

She'd been terribly mistaken.

Sparks flew as Fanilly narrowly intercepted the tip of the demon's spear, the shock of the impact reverberating up the length of her arms and into her core.

Her teeth clenched, she slide back along the grass, only to be greeted with a crimson blur as the demon's weapon became a curved sword. Using the flat of her own blade, Fanilly was able to guide it off-course just enough in the same motion as she threw herself to the side.

The axe that followed bit through thin air, as she disengaged as quickly as she could manage.

She'd made a mistake.

A core element of the plan she'd put into action relied on the demon being deployed to cover the Southern approach, and she'd been completely mistaken.

The light burning the air ahead made it clear there was no time to focus on her failure. There wasn't even time to evade.

All she could do was----

Swing.

The Blade of the Iron Rose Knight-Captain flashed through the air in an instant. The speed honed by days of practicing dueling against the Gentle Blade ensured she was able to intercept the bolt of magical energy in the same way she would have intercepted a blade.

Her body rocked. She felt the earth beneath her feet break. She felt a burning sensation run through her arms as heat rushed through her sword.

Her body twisted.

The spell that had been launched at her was deflected.

It was rushed. She could hardly aim.

The spell was sent sizzling by, just past the demon's head and hurtling off into the distance.

Fanilly nearly hit the ground, gasping, her body shaking as she barely caught herself.

But there was no time to lie still.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@baraquiel: Thinking over his ability as bit more, just wanted to make it clear I wasn't skipping your bio or something.

@Teyao: Hmm, okay, that probably seems fine? Unless my co-GM disagrees I think I can okay this.

@King Cosmos: I did like the Dodomeki angle, but are you alright playing a more support-based character? It's ultimately up to you which angle you want to go with there.

I'll be getting my own character done most likely today, barring any outside circumstances.

Incidentally, if I'm missing anyone please let me know!

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Undead-Infested Town

---

"D-d-did you both just pat my head?!" I cry. Why?! What!? I'm not a child! I'm seriously not! Cutie?!

I can feel my cheeks burning hot, my hands clutching at my beret as find myself glaring at the both of them, fuming. Just because I look like this doesn't mean anything!

Is... is this the same feeling as the original Sephily felt when she was treated this way---?

I don't even know how to feel about that!

With everyone gathering what they can, and hopefully listening to my subsequent suggestion on a formation as we leave the ruined inn, it's time to go.

It only makes sense to put Bianca first. She's clearly armored and wielding the largest and most directly offensive weapon out of all of us. She's already demonstrated how swiftly she can kill one of these undead. Putting myself towards the middle is obvious. I can't fight. I have no idea what I'm doing yet. Plus this body definitely isn't as strong as Sylva's or Sora's.

---And as much as I hate to admit it, I can't help but feel a bit scared. My heart's hammering in my chest. Just one undead was a completely different experience compared to fighting them in a video game.

The air is fresh out here, at least. I'd been bracing myself for a rotten odor, given how many corpses were shambling about, but the open air and the sheer age of the bodies seems to have ensured that the smell isn't too strong.

That's a relief.

I feel more comfortable with our formation, too. It's plenty clear that whatever happened here was a much larger conflict then just the outbreak of the undead.

Is there a war going on? It would explain some things, like the barricades I saw from the inn's windows. Those were fortifications in preparation for battle.

Whatever the case, it definitely happened a while ago. I'd already suspected as much given the state of everything, but now that we're out on the street I can see the various ways nature is already starting to reclaim this place.

Except----

The burned out buildings are fresh. Even from here I can tell, they look like they had to be burned only a few days ago. They're charred black, not crumbled into ash or completely collapsed.

All the other damage looks as if it had to have taken place some time ago, so why are the burned buildings so new-looking?

I don't get it.

Was someone here before us? But why would they just set fire to some buildings and seemingly leave(or maybe die) then?

The thought makes me uneasy. I don't understand what could have happened.

On top of that, someone must have rung the church bell. I can see all the shambling corpses gathered off in the distance. Who did that?

Was it an undead just falling back on the lingering memory of a routine? Did the bell ring due to some sort of magic? Or was there someone here who did it on purpose?

I've only got more questions then I started out with. But I can't just stand here wondering about what might have happened.

"Th-there," I begin, pointing with my staff towards the building with the sign faintly displaying a hammer, "I'm guessing that was probably a blacksmith. You might be able to find more weapons in there, though I don't know what kind of condition they might be in."

@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@King Cosmos: Hmmm.

On one hand I do like the idea of the stacking effects on a target, but on the other I'm still a little concerned it's too potent of an autohit to work around when GMing a fight scene with her.

I'm a little torn on this, because I kind of agree with Rain that it might be too hard to evade but at the same time I like the general idea and can see your point? Hmmm.

I'm kind of stuck, I might need my co-GM to step in here.

@Teyao: As I understand it, he can force someone to work on his narrative? I'm a little sketchy on that, because it takes away pretty much all control from the other player.

@PKMNB0Y: Accepted.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

Okay, before I get to addressing bios one by one:

I think given the limited number of slots I'll allow people to sign up, but I'll reserve the right to pick the characters I feel fill out the cast the best.

Anyone else will be placed on a waitlist in case we lose someone.

With that, I'll be getting to the rest of the bios later today!

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

Okay sorry for the delay over the weekend! I was getting my new PC set up and that took some time and effort. ^^;

I'll give everyone a proper look over tomorrow!

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@Aku the Samurai: Hm.

I still don't think this Contract Ability screams Orochi, and it kind of blocks out anyone else who might want to go for an elemental focus.

I think you should lean into the snake elements more and set up a different contract from the outset. There's other serpents or potential ideas for serpents(an OC snake god could still be pretty serious business) you could go for.

@RoadkilBanana: You should probably look up some actual Japanese names before naming characters.

While I did kind of hope to see this sort of contract thematically, I feel like your power is way too weak for B. B's not particularly weak, it's the higher end of average.

@King Cosmos: Lighting fires on eye contact is a bit too much, since it's a pretty potent ability that'll immediately handle most threats. I'd say try and figure out a different effect or find ways to make it a little more restrained so it's not an inescapable autohit.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@Rune_Alchemist: Accepted.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

@Raineh Daze: Accepted. While I don't want everyone taking these kinds of contracts, the steep limitations make it balanced out and they're not unheard of even if they happen infrequently.

@RoadkilBanana: Declined, this is very flat and doesn't really elaborate on the abilities well enough at all. I don't get a sense of the potency of the fire manipulation or why it would be B-rank.

@Aku the Samurai: As noted by my decision to lower the ceiling for player characters, declined. I also don't think his abilities connect well to Orochi's mythology, being a bit more generically snakey. I feel like conceptually he might be served a bit better starting at a lower rank and working his way up.

@Half Pint: I know it wasn't directly mentioned in the OP, but by this point other countries do have their own contract academies even if the practice likely originated in Japan. You'd be better off going with someone who lived in Japan before making a contract, but originally came from elsewhere or is half-Japanese.

Shadow Contract: An Urban Fantasy Action RP

Okay, want to apologize for any inconvenience this might cause but I think I'm going to need to adjust the OP a bit to better reflect my intentions for RP powerscale and contract rankings.

The big thing though is we're now going to have no player s-ranks.