[Closed] Second Try At The Forest

[Angelo]

I don't mind. I'll probably stay around finding that humanoid beast that disappeared though.

Where Is The Boss?

Where Is The Boss?.

No sooner had he stood up than the wolves sprung out of the foliage of the trees, pincering him from both sides. Angelo swung his blade horizontally to make a long gash on the side of one wolf while the other tore a piece of his flesh. Angelo quickly turned around as the two monsters blazed past him. Holding his curved sword like a katana, he waited anxiously for either of the two wolves to make a move. What surprised him was that the wolves were looking both at Angelo and their partner, seeing what kind of attack plan they should use. They were more sentient and dangerous than the boy originally assumed.

Before any more time passed, the white-haired teenager decided to strike first. He dashed to the weakened one he originally hit and attempted to end its life, but the wolf dodged while the other attacked. He rolled to the side, evading the attack by the monster, and continued pressing his assault on the damaged wolf. It bobbed and weaved, and it felt like it knew exactly what move he was going to do. Frustrated, he feinted an attack on its legs, causing the wolf to jump backwards. Angelo took that single opportunity to lunge forward and plant the end of his sword into the mouth of the wolf. It warbled in and out of existence before finally exploding. A tad bit exhausted he was. Still, there was only one more monster left. That made it a lot easier for the boy to handle.

The two combatants circled each other, trying to find an opening to exploit. Angelo obliged by leaving his sword farther out from his body than he normally places it, leaving his entire backside open to attack. Seeing this the wolf sprung forward to deliver its deadly bite on the teen. An animalistic grin grew on his face as he planted his foot on the floor and pivoted a half circle to face the beast. His sword came flashing from behind and separated the wolf in half. As he watched the lifeless husks of meat crumple onto the ground, Angelo tapped his curved sword from behind, releasing most of the excess blood from the blade. He resheathed it and lowered his head towards the ground, thanking the two wolves for the thrilling battle.

"Now if I remember correctly, the other two girls were.. that way?" Emerald eyes scanned the immediate vicinity. No movements. He began walking in a direction based on his own hunch and soon found the other two women.

"How was the fight on your end?" Angelo smiled, his white hair fluttering slightly as he shook his head up and down.

[Scheherazade]

"My faith is seared into my skin; burned into my worldly flesh with ink as a reminder that I can never give it up. It is a burden that is worth nothing and everything. It is my pain." ☒ Angelo  Starlight ✐ 000 ✉ [[EXIT]] Scheherazade Lv1

Scheherazade let her axe fall grimly back to her side and dug it into the ground, using it as a support to get herself up. Her tired limbs protested, but she persevered. When Angelo came back, she merely gave him a nod, and then sighed, feeling the exhaustion from her fight wear her down. The blonde closed her eyes. "It went well enough, I suppose. But...I apologize for my absentmindedness. It seems that I have overexerted myself. I believe I should be leaving about now, since I don't think I could take on any more opponents." She paused, her fingers curling around the rough wood of her weapon's hilt before she merely shook her head and continued on. No point in not continuing on with her leave. "My apologies for the inconvenience. But if I may be so bold..." She flicked her hand up to summon her HUD, her eyes scanning over the white and orange screen before the knight-like young woman pressed on a certain button, while similar menus flared to life in front of the others. A small smile played on her lips. "A friend request." She then swiped her hand down, making her screen disappear as she flicked her hair behind her, the golden curtain swaying before stilling behind her as she spun around on her heel, the clicking noise of her armor plates shifting chiming gently in her ears. She paused and sent a look back, her lilac eyes blinking slowly at Starlight. "I do not believe it is safe to travel alone if you wish to leave as well, Starlight. If you want, I will accompany you back to one of the towns. Tolbana is my current planned destination." With those words, she began to walk. Leaves and branches broke under her heel, and she paid no mind. There was a nonexistent pain in her ankle. It was as if...she were imagining the pain, since it wasn't there. But it should be. She closed her purple eyes briefly as she strode through the forest, the smell of death being left behind. Pain was your body's way of telling you that you could not deal with something, that something was wrong. Without it...well. She opened her eyes again and flicked them over her surroundings before continuing. Her grip on her ax loosened slightly as she spotted more sunlight. The foliage seemed to be lessening, and that meant that she was actually getting out of the forest. She sighed in quiet relief. Scheherazade had been so focused on leaving the forest that she had forgotten to check which direction she was heading in, but it seemed she had left in the correct one. Why had she left, anyways? Her sense of duty pressed at her, telling her to go back, to help the others. So why was she leaving? The blonde's fingers curled around her axe as she slowly moved through the thick group of trees, cutting down the branches that impaired her in her journey. It was simple. Scheherazade might have seemed unfazed at the thought of death at the time, but it seemed so surreal. The stench of rotting corpses, the feeling of soft skin (dead skin, decomposing skin, little insects gnawing through their skin for food, turning their insides into liquid-), the wide-open eyes that didn't seem real, the smile lines around their eyes, wrapped innocence and blood-soaked hair: who could deal with that? Her eyes shuttered and closed. She certainly couldn't. The thoughts would haunt her from days. Death...death was terrifying. She didn't want to die. Scheherazade stepped forward and absently found herself in Tolbana. If Starlight was there, she gave her a short nod, and then lost herself in the crowds and masses of people in Tolbana, reminding herself that she was alive. That she was okay. Scheherazade breathed out slowly. I'm alive. It's okay. She turned a corner and found herself at a fountain. She took a seat at the edge and scooped up a handful of water, glancing idly at her reflection in the water. Her eyes looked haunted, vulnerable, and she let the water slip between her fingers. The feeling of cold death still tingled on her skin. She had a feeling that no matter how hard she tried to wash it off, it would remain.

[Starlight]

Breathing heavily as Starlight finally, finally found Angelo, that took a while, she stopped in front of the knight-looking player and the white hair player, and have a few seconds to catch up on her breath. She sighed softly.

"...Well, that was rough. I was here for a quick look at the forest, hoping for sight seeing and maybe getting some fresh berries for snacks. But having wolves for my first encounter ever in this game...sorry, that last fight have drained me of the last of my energy. I may need to take a break somewhere safe before I can even think about fighting again. I am afraid that I must take my leave here. " Starlight rubbed her pained shoulder...weird, she actually did not feel any pain or anything at all. Having a huge wolf stepping and pushing down her great sword and having her arm back against the ground, acting as the only support against the immediate impact, she thought her arms should be numbed and should be really painful to move around by now. But it was not so, she did not feel any pain, it must have been, the physics of this game working differently from the physics in real life. 

All as well, it looked like the fight with the wolves have also taken some big impact on her blonde hair teammate too, as she solemnly stated her intention to retreat from the forest. Starlight nodded her agreement, before looking back at where the corpses used to be. That was a mystery unsolved, what was the shadowy figure? Why can it summon support? And what is up with all that corpses? Something existed deeper within this forest and that nagged at her curiosity, she wanted to explore the forest for a little more, however having the feeling that if she were to remain here, she will only encounter even more enemies. And at this moment in time, she feels that she truly did not have the energy, nor the guts or the experience, to take on any more encounters. She fear that at the next encounter, she will finally exhausted herself and be overwhelmed by whatever that came after her. 

"But if I may be so bold.... A friend request."

Starlight looked back at the blonde hair girl just as a HUD flare into life in front of her, she accepts the request in a heart beat. She looks forward to working with this fair knight again, having her shield by her side makes her feel very safe and content. I guess, that was what having a teammate would feel like, yes...I think I would like the feeling of working with a team more now. 

"I do not believe it is safe to travel alone if you wish to leave as well, Starlight. If you want, I will accompany you back to one of the towns. Tolbana is my current planned destination."

"Of course! Thank you dearly for the offer, I would like to go to Tolbana as well. I believe that was the Town that was located very close to the dungeon, eventually, I would like to go into the dungeon, but not right now. I am still too inexperienced with the combat system of this game, but having a look around the dungeon will never hurt anyone. " Starlight agreed lightly as she turns to look at the white hair player. "Well, Angelo, I guess that this is where I will bid my goodbye. I am sorry that I was not able to aid you in combat, for that, I am sorry....and for cutting this exploration of the black forest short. But I hope that you have found what you came looking for, and if not, I hope that you could find it someday. I guess that this is farewell." She bowed slightly to the higher level player and with that, she turns to follow the other newbie player to walk out of the forest.


As the two walked along the path, the sky seems to be slowly light up, signalling that they were in fact, on the right path. With Sche walking before her, cutting away the branches on their path with her axe, she could tell that Sche was already feeling exhausted from something. But no matter, they will be out of the forest and into the Town soon, she would be able to rest then. 

As the final little bit of green disappeared from view, the two have walked into the gate of Tolbana, the second largest Town of the first floor. It was not as busy as the Town of Beginning, but nevertheless filled with life and with people walking about busily with their routine. As the light from above was shining down on the Town and the Town's folks, Sche turns around and give Starlight a little nod, signalling her goodbye. Starlight bowed slight back to the blonde player, conveying her thanks for everything that she had done for her, and as an acknowledgement, wishing the blonde player well and good game, Starlight waves a little as the blonde player disappeared into the sea of people. 

Starlight closed her eyes and sighed softly, rubbing her tired arm, she felt exhausted, truly exhausted. But once again back to safety of the safe zone, she could afford to relax a little. Slowly opening her eyes once again and have a look around, the Town is buzzing with life. 

Where should I go next?  

Silently, she asked herself. And the answer was as clear as day. If anything, anything at all that she could take away from this brief adventure into the black forest, it would have been that, she was severely under-leveled. Having find out the truth about this game, if she wants to survive, if she wants to live, if she wants to be able to go out by herself to anywhere. She would need to become stronger. Yes, she would need to take this much more seriously now, because her life is on the line, and so much more, she would need to be so much more prepared for what lies beyond. 

But not right now...right now I would need to rest.

Thinking about that, she walked along the main road and towards the center of the Town, she would need to find a place to stay the night, and in the morning, when everything heals up, when all her fear melted away and when she felt safe and was herself once again, she will venture out again into the unknown. Her long black hair swinging behind her in the wind, as she disappeared into the Town, preparing silently to herself for what she should do next.


But for now. Let's rest. 

[Angelo]

Time To Meet Thy Maker

Time To Meet Thy Maker

"Stay safe, Scheherazade, Starlight. Thank you for all your help." It still left the situation with the supposed event unanswered. Angelo decided to stay for a bit and figure out the mystery surrounding this particular location. The blonde one surprisingly sent him and Stella a friend request. He stared at the menu prompt that popped up in front of him and began thinking. Was there any other ulterior motive for 'Sherry' to send this? He recounted his first encounter with her in these woods. Angelo heard a sound, went towards it, and saw the girl alone. Her weapon was out, so it was probably a monster she was fighting with. If there was another player killer in league with her, then that exact moment in time would have been the ideal time to strike. But she was about to leave.

The white-haired boy was thinking too much. He pressed the accept button and saw the prompt fade away. He bowed to both Scheherazade and Starlight as they walked towards the center of the floor. Now which direction did they come from, he thought. Angelo backtracked his way to where he last fought the two wolves and then headed in the direction they came from. Although they were level ones, he missed the comfort of having them be there by his side. He didn't have to strain himself as hard when keeping a lookout for anything that might have happened. Now? Especially with the massacre back there? He knew deep down that he shouldn't but the curiosity overpowered his will to live, at least for the moment.

Three minutes of stealth walking led the white-haired teenager to a small clearing in the middle of the forest. What was waiting for him was a tall beast standing on two legs, its poleaxe made of some white material that looked oddly like bone. Adorning the Kobold around its neck seemed like human skulls.. Creepy. A chill ran up his spine as he stared from the shadows. There was a single wolf by its side.

[Angelo]

Time To Meet Thy Maker

Time To Meet Thy Maker

The snap of a twig. Angelo immediately turned around to a jaw half a meter from his face. He fell flat on his back to avoid the sharp teeth but still managed to get a sizable gash on his neck and part of his face. Why didn't I, he thought before rolling into the clearing. Now he was surrounded. For the moment, it seemed that the bigger than normal Kobold was simply watching him while the two wolves get their share of the prize.

"Tch." This is really really bad. The white-haired boy brandished his curved sword as he tried to get into a more favorable position by having both wolves in his vision. Currently it was monkey in the middle: two wolves throwing imaginary balls over or around the monkey, Angelo. He wanted it so that it would look like a triangle With all three beings on each point. Emerald eyes scanned back and forth between the two furry creatures while slowly moving perpendicular from them to create that 'triangle'.

Suddenly, both wolves began to move back to the 'Monkey in the Middle' position and attack him from both sides, pincer-style. Soo much for all that positioning. Angelo dashed towards one of the wolves so they would not reach him at the same time and sidestepped just before it got a mouthful of human flesh and tore open the side of its hide with a single slash. The other wolf jumped up at him and almost took a chunk of his leg off but the boy was able to kick it in its face. The giant Kobold was still there, still watching with its beady eyes. Angelo did not have much time to look up at the monster when the two wolves continued their assault. The injured one with the noticeably darker coat of fur was further behind the whiter one. Emerald eyes saw a small chance at a quick victory and jumped at the chance. He swung his sword downwards at the whiter wolf which dodged his attack and moved away, leaving a completely unobstructed view of the grayer target. As soon as he landed, he dashed forward and swung his sword at the wolf's face, delivering a nice red gash on its eyes. He followed up with a downwards slash, decapitating the head from its body. The Kobold twitched slightly as he saw one of its own creatures die before him.

[Angelo]

Time To Meet Thy Maker

Time To Meet Thy Maker

Mister Kobold with the human skulls began to move from its slumber. He took the massive poleaxe into its arms and took two steps closer to Angelo. He was taller than the teenager by about a meter and had huge, rippling muscles to accompany its size. He lifted the poleaxe above his head and snarled at the level three player.

Fighting against beasts and monsters was one thing. Fighting against humanoids was another. Luckily, Angelo had been trained to fight against humans since a very young age. This upcoming battle would follow those same principles. The wolf behind him snarled alongside its 'owner' or whatever its relationship is to the Kobold. Emerald eyes looked hard at the towering monster in front of him. It growled in anger once more before beginning its assault. It brought down the bony weapon upon his head, which Angelo parried with his curved sword while moving to the side. It crashed onto the ground next to him, the skull ornaments around his neck hollowly clanking together. He opened up a sizable gash on the kobold's stomach at the same time it crashed onto the floor, giving the monster not a lot of time to change its direction to avoid his attack. The boy rolled away to put distance between him and the humanoid while also putting both enemies into his sight range. He glanced at the top corner of his screen, seeing his health just above the half way point.

The boy would need to kill the wolf first before he could attempt to take down the Kobold monster with his sword art. As the wolf lunged at him after Angelo rolled, he blocked its bite attack with his sword. The sound of metal against teeth sounded painful to the ears, but luckily it would not last long. The white haired teen aimed a kick at the wolf's throat, attempting to disable it for a few seconds that were needed to end the furry creature's life. His foot connected with the soft flesh and heard the wolf yelp in pain. The humanoid began sprinting at him, knowing full well what was about to happen to its wolf. Before it could reach them, Angelo pierced the wolf's skull with the tip of his blade, running it through the entire head. It twitched slightly before collapsing. The boy didn't have enough time to pull out and had to run away, leaving his sword behind. The kobold took its pet into its arm for a single second before it shattered into thousands of pixelated polygons.

If looks could kill.. The flames of hatred burned within the monster's eyes as it stood up to its full height. The boy was left without his weapon, which was by the kobold's feet. He needed it to perform his sword art.. What could he do.

[Angelo]

Time To Meet Thy Maker

Time To Meet Thy Maker

It was just him and the kobold. One versus one. His sword was in the middle of the clearing, right next to the feet of the giant humanoid standing a few meters away. Angelo was crouched near the edge of the clearing without a single weapon, save his body and mind. He couldn't use those in actual combat here, so he needed the sword.

The Kobold was clothed in fur pelts from boars and wolves alike, adorned with the bones of humans on its neck and arms. In its hand was a similarly decorated poleaxe made out of some gigantic piece of white stone, or perhaps bone. It took two large steps at Angelo and swung his axe down, crushing the ground, sending debris everywhere as the boy dodged to the left. Emerald eyes would realize that he did not have time to take his sword again because of the horizontal swing from behind. Angelo took cover by the trees which would hopefully lessen the amount of swinging the kobold had to do. Make best use of your mind when fighting, his father used to say. Even if he hated his father now, he did give good advice from time to time.

The kobold, so obviously enraged at the person who killed his two wolves, chased down the murderer. What Angelo wanted to happen was a swing to get lodged into one of the nearby trees so the weapon would get stuck.

"You're a murderer too, killing all of those villagers back there. Aren't you? Come on!" He egged the humanoid a bit deeper into the forest but still in view of the clearing. It swung its ax at Angelo's head. The boy ducked and hoped for the best. His eyes widened as the poleaxe sliced straight through the tree. It crashed onto the floor with a thud, shaking the floor slightly. "Haha.. ha.. oh shit."

The kobold kept swinging with bloodlust in its eyes. Angelo tried to dodge and weave, but the reach of the monster was a bit too long. Every soo often, the boy would receive cuts on his back and his arms, the trees suffering a far worse fate. He turned around just as he was blocked between two trees in front of him. "くそ!"

Angelo put his back on the tree and watched as the humanoid swung his poleaxe diagonally. He cowered and stuck out his hand towards the monster, as if it would spare him. The next moment, he heard the poleaxe wizz above him and stop. It went through his left arm and a tree, but got stuck in the other one, just centimeters away from his neck. He looked down at the ground where his limb was. It soon shattered into a hundred blue pixels. The stump where his left hand used to be was now glowing red. The Kobold was trying to take his axe out of the tree and Angelo realized his chance. He dashed to the clearing and picked up his sword with his right hand, the echoes of enraged roars in the forest behind him. The boy turned around and trained his eyes on the forest line.

The sound of a tree creaking and crashing onto the floor left vibrations shooting out in every direction. The white-haired boy was surprised that no other monsters had come by since. perhaps because this was an event? Sweat dripped from his forehead onto his eyes, forcing him to wipe them away with his stubby left arm. It appeared. Crimson eyes were trained on Angelo's small body. The monster was radiating soo much bloodlust from its body that one could see red steam rising from its body. But it was okay. It was definitely okay. The 'fearless leader' had his sword in his hand.

His health bar was at around 40%, just above the red zone of 33. Angelo's blade was pointed at the giant kobold's chest. His left hand, or stump rather, was out to the left side of his body more for balance than anything else. It still felt very strange to be 'wiggling' his fingers but not have anything show for it. This experience was most commonly known to as a phantom limb, but it's the first (and hopefully the last) time he experiences it. The beast swung its poleaxe and Angelo rolled away. He would continue to dodge and weave while occasionally parrying blows , looking for that one opportunity to activate his sword art and give it a real blow. This chance presented itself when it used both hands to swing its weapon down hard, trying to cut the boy in half. The boy stepped diagonally forwards while parrying the attack, getting within close proximity to the kobold's chest. His sword began heating up to combustion level as his sword art activated. Two strikes drew a blood red cross on its chest, the additional bleeding effect casted upon the humanoid for a good minute or so.

He backed off and watched as blood began trickling out of the beast's chest. It was losing health gradually and Angelo knew that one more strike at the monster would end it. Little by little, the movements of the kobold were slowing down, allowing Angelo to slowly turn the ride of the battle. Strike after strike, the monster lost its footing while blocking his ruthless attacks. He took that opportunity to dig his blade into the heart of the kobold. The boy collapsed onto the humanoid's body, exhaustion finally taking hold of him.

"..." He was too tired to speak any words as he lay on top of the dying beast. The boy wanted to speak a few words for the worthy fight he had before it disappeared. He opened his mouth and croaked out a few words. "...Rest In... Peace..."

It shattered into thousands of pixelated light after a moment of silence, both his sword and Angelo himself falling half a meter to the ground. He remained in the clearing for ten minutes before he was able to stand up again. His hand was still gone.. Will it come back? Keeping that near the back of his mind for now, he sheathed his sword and began walking out of the forest, back into the Town of Beginnings. He was finished with the Black Forest, at least for now.