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[PP/F1] The Third Lesson, Is Just As Free


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Hearing Katoka's stomach growl, Vie stifles a laugh and holds the exit door open for the two- the group travel towards the direction of a nearby cafe. The interior had been rather home-y and wooden, providing a quaint atmosphere in contrast to the regular stuffy restaurants dotted around the town. The redhead enters and takes a seat at a location facing a window, decently acquainted with how eateries functioned in SAO by now. An NPC working as a waitress walks over in some sort of normalized professional walk cycle and looks at the group expectantly, Vie responds with the gesture by voicing her order. "Can I have a glass of water with a few shortbread cookies?" The girl asks, having a bit of a sweet tooth ever since she entered the game for some unbeknownst reason. Watching as the girl jotted it down, and turned her attention towards the other two that hadn't yet ordered. While this happened, Vie began listing all the candy she missed that she hadn't yet get gotten her hands on- feeling like she ought to tell Kiluia at some point.

 

Spoiler

Vie | HP 280 | EN 28 | DMG 8 | BLD 24 [8-10]

Equipment
Cow Punchers [DMG I, BLD II]
Light Armor [Vanity]
Wabi-Sabi [LD III]

Skills
One-Handed Weapons [R1]
Two-Handed Weapons [R4]
Fishing

Battle Ready Inventory
<<Safegaurd>> A potion that blocks the damage from the first successful attacks that hits the player

 

Edited by Vie
BRI fix
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Katoka was embarrassed by her stomach but followed Vie to a nearby cafe. Once they were seated Katoka ordered a sandwich that sounded good on the menu along with some water from the waiter. She giggled a bit after Vie ordered, "You sure love your sweets don't you?" she propped her chin up on her hands and smiled at her. "So how much do you two know about the next quest? I think at this point I'm the only one that's done it?" she scrunched her face up in thought for a moment, "I guess that means you should call me senpai." she smiled smugly at the two.

The blonde put her fists on her hips and posed for them momentarily, "No need to get flustered, I'm kind to my kohais after all." she returned to a more serious look. "But in all seriousness, since I don't have the potion you both got from the last quest I'm at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of taking damage. I should be fine overall since I have a larger health pool now, but it might be best for me to hang back and only deal damage in case of emergency."

Spoiler

Name: Katoka
Level: 14
HP: 280/280
EN: 28/28

Stats:
Damage: 8
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 2
LD:1
BLD:12
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Mumyou Sandanzuki (T1/Perfect/Katana) | BLD 1, DMG 2
Armor: Shinsengumi Yukata (T1/Perfect/Light Armor) | REC 2, EVA 1
Misc: Rabbit's Foot (T1/Perfect/Trinket) | ACC 2, LD 1

Skills:
Curved Sword [Rank 1]
Katana [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions*3
Sand Armor Potion - +27 MIT (no stacking)*1

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited by Katoka
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"First of all, thank you for the last quest Vie. I'm really excited for the upcoming one! Traveling with you guys is tons of fun!". The redhead turned to the waitress "I'll just have a coffee and...". Hisa suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence. There was an important decision to be made. It's impossible to start an adventure on an empty stomach but she had to choose the kind of sandwich she would eat wisely. Should she go for a fish one, a ham one, a cheese one or a chicken one. 

Realizing that about half a minute had gone by, both of her party members and the waitress looking at her distressed face, she snapped back with " give me a chicken sandwich now and one of every kind of sandwich you have to go."

Turning her head she adressed her guildmates "Don't judge me, I just don't want us to run out of food in the middle of the quest. Also, Katoka, first you want to be our senpai and then you turn around and announce that you want us to take the blows, very interesting definition of" raising her hands to make air-quotes "being kind to your kouhais." returning her real life friend's smug smile in kind. 

Spoiler

Level: 9

HP: 180/180

EN: 18/18

Equip:

WPN: Resonance (+3 DM)

AMR: Combat Vest (+3 EVA)

TKT: Blinding Sand (+3 ACC)

Skills:

Martial Arts Rank 2

 

Battle Ready Inventory:

Starter Potion (50HP) | 3

Rare Health Potions (40HP) | 5

Uncommon Tier One Damage Potion (+1dmg) | 1

Special Tier One Overhealth potion (+50HP) | 1

Potion of Safeguard | 1

 

Edited by Hisa
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The redhead's cheeks grew a redder shade after entertaining the idea of calling Katoka 'Senpai,' looking away for a brief moment until the topic was brought back to the quest at hand. "I remember a bit about it thanks to the guild hall guides," she spoke while remembering their first meeting and sort of smiling to herself. As the fellow martial artist makes a comment in response to Katoka, the girl covers her mouth with a hand as she thought Hisa's point had admittedly been quite accurate.

At this point the waitress had returned with their orders and the table had been filled with plates and glass cups, a few cookies stacked into a sort of pile laid in front of the girl. Immediately she stared down the delicious snacks- though stuck between being overly polite and courteous to those around her not looking like some sort of starved animal, her impatient and impulsive nature got the best of her. A brief pause to digest them passed 'It was irresistible, the baked sweets had just smelled so good-' was among several internal made-up reasons to excuse her behavior despite it being simple caveman motivation in all reality.

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Katoka's cheeks turned red at Hisa's comment. She cleared her throat before saying, "Actually, the way the quest works is whoever gets the last hit on the golem gets the drop. So if I happen to fight along side you both and kill the golems then we'd have to fight more than just two." she flicked her friend between the eyes lightly, "And you know I was just joking... Unless you want to call me senpai Vie?" The small blonde smiled behind her glass of water before she took a sip.

When their food arrived Katsumi greedily began to eat her sandwich as though she hadn't eaten in days, she had chosen well when the spice of the sauce on the chicken made her eyes water slightly. Wolfing down thew half that she held, she quickly chased it with her drink before letting out a loud and satisfied sigh. "God I love food in the damn game. It makes me so glad we can enjoy these little things and not worry about gaining any weight."

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"Sounds like a bunch of excus..." Hisa began before getting flicked interrupted her. She rubbed the spot between her eyes for a couple of seconds while her real life friend finished her sentence. Trying her best to hide a sigh as she witnessed Katoka flirting.

Before she could come up with a witty comment, the food arrived. In awe she stared at the mountain that was just delivered to her table. Among the plates were the sandwiches, way more than she expected, all but one wrapped up in paper. "T-Thank you very much" was all she managed to utter before she couldn't hold back anymore and began to dig in like her party members.

Despite being virtual, the food tasted real, she ate the first sandwich in record time but the flavors left her wanting more. Taking a second to breathe, she looked at Katoka "Yeah, but it's not only the little things you seem to appreciate", before smirking and nudging Katoka, signaling towards Vie when her fellow redhead wasn't looking. 

As she returned to her food, the found herself unable to choose and simply unwrapped the closest sandwich to her, before taking a sip of coffee.

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Vie watches as the plate stacked high with sandwiches slides onto the table in front of Hisa. After a bit of thought, "I don't mind fighting more than the two, though I would prefer you or I take the damage just to be safe." The comment escaped her lips and floated into the air clearly referring to the blonde swordswoman despite not directly suggesting so as she didn't want to seem like she was underestimating her other comrade. Listening to Katoka and becoming slightly flushed though attempting to divert their attention towards the quest at hand as to not make the fellow redhead feel uncomfortable. Hearing them talk about appreciating the game she decided to say as much as she could towards the topic as if that would prevent them from making fun of her embarrassed face, "The graphics are absolutely stunning, it feels so realistic for a virtual game. Though flavors are probably super complex to replicate, so it seems just as surreal... It's nice how it seems they just went above and beyond for the user despite it turning into... sort of a death game..." At the end of her review her words slowed and her embarrassment halted, realizing that it quickly devolved into something more grim towards the end. Attempting to figure out how to transition to something more positive, she mentions that they'll eventually conquer it together with their guildmates- talking about how they've improved drastically from that first quest and how they're bound to continue their growth. 

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Katoka stared at her sandwich for a moment, she didn't remember the last time she had dwelled on the fact that this was a game of death. With her growing group of friends and the strong gear provided by her guild, not to mention the rate she was gaining levels, the blonde was not as scared as she used to be. No, that wasn't right. She was scared, but not of dying per say. No she was scared of losing her friends, which gave her the drive to grow stronger to protect them. She wanted as normal a life as she could have here. She wanted to have a home, and even eventually find someone to come home to. Was that too greedy of her?

The samurai shook her head and slapped the table, "There's no time to think about sad stuff, lets focus on the task at hand!" she devoured the other half of her sandwich and started to choke a bit. Using the glass of water to clear her throat she turned to her friends. "We have some rocky boys to take care of. Don't forget those potions, they are crucial to you both not taking large amounts of damage." 

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"Death game or not, I don't plan on kicking the bucket. Besides, these rocks don't stand a chance against two martial artists and a blonde with a butter knife!" she laughed before looking at her real life friend  "But you're right Katoka. According to the item description we should be able to drink it whenever we want and the buff will last until we actually get hit. I'm gonna drink it now, otherwise I might forget." Hisa said before opening her inventory, scrolling through the potions until she found it. After pressing her finger against the item's name, it materialized in her hand. 

She uncorked the flask and raised it "Cheers!" before drinking it. After wiping her mouth a new icon appeared below her health bar, indicating that the buff has activated. The empty container vanished shortly after.

"Alright then" she started while beginning to add all the uneaten, wrapped sandwiches into her inventory "once I stuffed all of this into my inventory I'd be ready to head out, what about you two?".

 

Spoiler

Consumed: Safeguard Potion

Safeguard-Buff active

 

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Katoka's words which were seeped with clarity cut through the awkward nature of Vie's comment. Relieved, the redhead becomes more of a bystander to the conversation now only occasionally interjecting for a few words to avoid similar mistakes. Oblivious to the Hisa's sense humor she says, "...T-That's a bit bigger than a butter knife actually-" before getting cut off and collaboratively deciding to chug down the potion, an action that she took alongside her now close friend. Somewhere inside she knew that it wouldn't be as big of a deal if she got hit, but didn't want to seem egotistical- ultimately taking her comrade's advice. Nodding at the cue to leave, she got up and transferred monetary compensation to the waitress.

After a few moments she travels to the other side of the door in wait for the rest of the party. As a bit of time passes the group now 'properly' gathered together, they move towards the location marked on their map. The redhead attempts to fill the silence, "So... Do you think there's anything else you should mention before meet this painter? How does she feel about compliments on her piece? Do you think she finds it rather obnoxious when someone comments on a work in progress?" She inquires, hoping that the petite blonde would carry the discussion with some sort of story about the encounter as they made their way towards the location.

Vie consumes <<Safeguard>>
First successful attack versus player is now ignored.

Edited by Vie
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"Hmmmm, I'm not sure how she feels about compliments and such. Though most artists don't mind as much, they tend to hear compliments often I would think. Just don't tell her how to paint her piece and you should be fine." Katoka responded as they left the building, "We won't be spending much time with her though, once you two turn in the package you were given-" the blonde began to continue explaining the quest in detail, making sure to tell the two that once they reach the cave they will need to venture inside to find and touch the gem requested by the artist.

"Now the creature will form around the gem so don't get too startled. Also it's slow but hits hard so you'll need to get out fast, make sure you hit harder." she realized that she had been rambling again and began to blush. "I... I'm sorry. I went off again didn't I?" she covered her face in embarrassment.

Edited by Katoka
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After a short travel, they arrived at the grove, spotting a woman sitting on one of the trunks painting, 

"Hey!" Hisa shouted, waving, interrupting her two party members' chat. "Are you Hannah?" she yelled.
The npc shot up from her painting, taken aback by the sudden appearance of travelers. 
"Yes! Please come closer so we don't have to shout!", the artist responded.

Quickly making their way to the artisan, Hisa opened her inventory to pull the parcel they were given out before nudging her fellow martial artist, to get do the same. "We were told to give these to you."

"Yes, these must be the gold bands Lyle wanted to give to me. Perfect, thank you." the npcs said before taking the packages. "Unfortunately, I require another material to craft the rings he asked for." she explained before turning around, pointing to a mountainrange with a dark cave entrance. 

"There are some jewels located in that cave with which I can finish my work. I would get the myself but they are guarded by strange stone elementals and I am an artist, not a fighter. Please bring me two gems, one for each ring, and I'll make sure to make it worth your while."

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  • 2 weeks later...

(Sincerest of apologies for the late reply. College has been killing me. I'll try my best to keep up- worst comes to worst keep me as a background NPC and I'll forfeit rewards.)

"It's alright Kotatsumi," Vie spoke the nickname she had given the blonde with a smile, remembering that she hadn't quite yet told Katoka her own name. "Oh, right... I'm Jami. Sorry for my lateness on th-" Before their interaction had been interrupted by the loud yelling of both Hisa and the artist that had been painting just as Lyle had foreseen. Eventually they arrived by the NPC's side and the back and forth had begun. At the thought of reward she ignored the rest of what the woman had to say, staring at her guild mates with wide eyes clearly wanting to rush towards the end goal in an impatient manner. Until off she bound towards towards the marked location on the map with the two in tow... perhaps reluctantly so.

The montage carried on until they finally reached their destination- the mouth of the deep, dark, and likely damp cave. The small redhead, blinded by the idea of a new item to add to her collection, stepped into it without second thought... and off she slipped into its depths... Her strange position somehow allowing for her hand to touch the shiny object embedded into stone that just so happened to spawn the massive big meany they were searching for. In fright at the sudden movement of rock, she scrambles back to her feet and stares at the large perpetually crumbling creature that had somehow moved- blinking in disbelief until it seemed life-threatening and her fight-or-flight response arose instinctively. A deep breath and she refocuses her vision on the creature at hand, enraged at it getting in her way though her back was turned to the others. Approaching the mob, she keeps her fists close and shuffles back and forth a little before seeming satisfied with her pose and attempting to strike the beast. Her fist met rock, and the monster seemed unaffected and displeased. As Vie's hand comes back to her waist slowly, feeling silly to even attempt the attack suddenly she watches in slow-motion as the monster's fist comes down on her in slow motion. As it gets closer her eyes widen as if pleading for nonexistent mercy. Seeing them in the corner of her eye, she remembers there are others here to help. If she were telepathic she'd say, 'p-please... help. I'll do... anything you ask'. What a shame...

 

Vie | HP 280/280 | EN 18/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 24 [8-10]

Cave Guardian | HP 20/20 | DMG 50(1st)/5(after 1st)

 

Spoiler

image.thumb.png.64a5643f8aa4bc57a5f96c72cb68f50c.png

 

Edited by Vie
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Katoka was happy Vie, no Jami-chan, had shared her name with her. It gave her a fluttering feeling in her stomach as they neared their destination, while distracted her guild mate had entered the cave ahead of her. The blonde snapped back to reality when she heard the grinding of the rocks as they formed the first cave guardian, rushing in she saw the golem as it was mid swing of it's fist. She saw the girls pleading eyes as she looked at Katoka.

With speed she didn't know she had the samurai seemingly blinked from one side of the cave to standing in front of Vie. The only indication that she had attacked was the shower of sparks when her sword had struck the incoming fist, which was now lying in a pile on the ground having been separated from the main body. "Are you ok Jami-chan?" she asked, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "Take a moment to gather yourself and then get those fists ready. I've taken a good amount from it's health for you."

Spoiler

2091360700_caveattack.png.0d655784c58700f1329c4b98255e08b8.png

Basic Melee >> Cave Guardian << HIT (Crit)
DMG 8 + 2 Crit = 10 DMG

Vie | HP 280/280 | EN 18/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 24 [8-10]
Katoka | HP 280/280 | EN 28/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 12 

Cave Guardian | HP 10/20 | DMG 50(1st)/5(after 1st)

Edited by Katoka
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A little taken aback by her fellow martial artists punch not phasing the elemental creature, Hisa hesitated for a moment, looking for a weak spot to ensure that her kick would not only connect but actually have an effect.

Her real life friend had ensured the safety of her fellow redhead and damaged their foe, opening it up for a follow up attack to eliminate the danger.

Eventhough she was pretty sure that sand wouldn't help because the stone golem doesn't seem to have eyes, she wanted to try regardless. Years of videogames taught her that sometimes games ignore wether or not creatures had eyes when it came to clouding line of sight. 

Running in from an angle, her ankles began to glow before she jumped, getting ready for a kick. Unable to see her foe properly due to the darkness, she blindly threw the sand which bounced off of the sentient rock, hitting her right in the eyes. "Goddamnit!" she yelled while sailing past the elemental before hitting the dirt behind it, performing a less than gracefull landing. 

Spoiler

stone_golem_1.jpg.ffb5d07fa2dee73fb0e904107c014ea3.jpg

Vie | HP 280/280 | EN 18/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 24 [8-10]
Katoka | HP 280/280 | EN 28/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 12 
Hisa | HP 180/180 | EN 16/18 | DMG 8

Cave Guardian | HP 10/20 | DMG 50(1st)/5(after 1st)

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Just before the fist was able to pummel the redhead's body into mush, the blonde woman had protected her. She watched the event in awe- their blade risen, a golden shower of sparks falling from the katana impacting something rock solid as a once-stable leg was cast across the cave and into the 'safety' of its shadows. Vie felt overwhelmed with motivation, happy yet also upset that she needed to be helped.

Ignoring Hisa's minor blunder, she looks beyond Katoka's distracted shoulder to find that the monster had risen once more and was headed straight for her friend- unsure what to say or do, her expression alters into more of a shocked state. She thought the creature was too close for her to protect the blonde, despite this she yelled "WATCH OUT-" as if that was supposed to be of help- grasping her hand and pulling her away from the combat in a way that it seemed harmless. Would this be yet another on the list of mishaps on her part? She begun being frustrated at herself internally despite the mob having the chance to miss- she already blamed herself wholeheartedly... Fortunately, Vie had pulled Katoka away from the guardian's attack just in time- managing to save her.

Enraged at the beast that had scared her and rendered her helpless for but a moment, she turns to glare at it for attempting to attack someone she held dear. Rushing towards it and utilizing the speed to further inflict pain on the creature- her rapid fists rendering the mob's remains rubble. Despite this, she continued for a moment- looking up to ensure that the girl hadn't been harmed, she backs off and returns to her natural state. Attached to the blonde woman's side, "Are you alright?" She asked in a concerned tone wanting to make sure just in case.

Vie | HP 280/280 | EN 14/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 24 [8-10]
Katoka | HP 280/280 | EN 28/28 | DMG 8 | BLD 12 
Hisa | HP 180/180 | EN 16/18 | DMG 8

[0,1,0] [DEAD] Cave Guardian | HP 0/20 | DMG 50(1st)/5(after 1st)

Spoiler

image.thumb.png.d229419eafd19fb82bfe132633ad4d79.png

          Quest Item Recieved!

Edited by Vie
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Katoka had let her guard down for just a moment when she rushed in to help Vie, she wasn't thinking much at the time and her body just reacted. She was shocked at the speed in which she attacked, especially considering she hadn't even used a sword art. In the amount of time it took for her brain to begin processing what happened she heard Hisa attempt to attack the golem and unfortunately fail. Then Vie pulled her away from the beast just in time, she had forgotten that it would be focused on her after her attack. Seeing the redhead pound the beast into cobblestone surprised her, she stared at the girl in awe of her ferocity.

"Are you alright?" she had asked. This snapped the samurai back into reality and her cheeks flushed. She didn't realize how long she had been staring, and with her mouth open. "I-I'm good." she managed to get out, feeling a bit flustered. "I just... Lost my cool for a second. I'll keep it together though." she promised to the two. She was supposed to be looking out for them, not the other way around. "Alright Hisa, your turn to grab a gem and summon a boulder buddy."

Edited by Katoka
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'So they can be harmed by martial arts, perfect.' Hisa thought, releasing a sigh of relief. "Alright then, I'll go and look for a gem." she announced, venturing deeper into the cave, leaving Katoka in Vie's care, as her real life friend still seemed a little shocked by the events that just unfolded.

Sticking to the walls, Hisa slowly explored the cavern. Due to the lack of natural light, she relied more on her sense of touch than her sight to find the gem she was looking for. After a while, something that stuck out of the wall caught her attention. Grabbing and examinig it, she realized that this was another one of the quest items. This meant that one of the cave guardians was about to spawn. 

She didn't know where it would come from and the dim light made it hard to spot it against the stone backdrop. She barely noticed an unnatural looking formation before it tried to take a swing at her. Thanks to her quick reflexes, she managed to dodge the attack, causing the stone creature to smash its fist against the wall behind her, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the cave. Without being able to regain her footing in time, her retaliation attempt missed.

Spoiler

stone_golem_2.jpg.f10018f714675bc23369e42f0b171d69.jpg

Hisa | HP 180/180 | EN 14/18 | DMG 8

Cave Guardian #2 | HP 20/20 | DMG 50(1st)/5(after 1st)

Edited by Hisa
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Watching the girl from her peripheral vision she saw Hisa straying away from the group, bringing her hand atop Katoka's head essentially patting her, a grin spreads onto her face, "I'm glad. I don't know what I would've done." An exhale leaves her as she refocuses her attention on the redhead, concluding that she ought to follow Hisa's footsteps out of both curiosity and concern. Enclosing the sword woman's hand in her own after a moment she spoke, "Stay close to me if we're going to tail her," hoping that the blonde woman would allow her to take the lead on this one. Sticking close to the wall in case she were to get lost in the darkness, she lets her left hand drift atop the cracked yet somehow slightly damp edges of the wall which eventually lead her deeper into the tunnel to where yet another battle was happening. Unsure whether aid would be welcomed by the rather competitive martial artist, she stays back silently supporting and watching her from the sidelines- allowing Katoka to do whatever she thought was best, she lets go of her hand and stares vacantly at the fight. Her eyes nervously dart around capturing the action,  hyper focused on the battle at hand.

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Katoka felt her cheeks flush when Vie patted her head, "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't made it in time. I'm glad you're ok too." The blonde looked around for her other redheaded friend and realized she had wandered off without them. She then felt Jami's hand enclose around hers and she was certain that her face would light up the room with how much she was blushing. She let the martial artist lead her along in the dark as they searched for Hisa, Katoka's stomach was doing flip flops as they walked. Even though she was worried for her friend, she was content to let this small moment last for as long as possible.

Sadly it did end as they came across the small ball of fury engaged in combat with her own golem. When Vie let go of the Samurai's hand and she saw her face so intently focused on the battle and turned to watch it herself. She rested her off hand on her weapon, ready to quickly jump in to attack this amalgamation of stone as well.

"We're here if you need us Hisa!" she called out to the woman.

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