Jomei

The visage of more of the frontliners shone through the darkness as they activated items of sorts, beating back the shadow. Jomei, himself, had been focused on clashing with the shadowling before him, who taunted him with images of the friends and loved one he left outside of the boss room doors. Luckily enough, a stray attack from a comrade of his wiped the shadow out, its haunting effect lifting from Jomei's mind. With a retreating step, Jomei scanned his immediate surroundings. The sounds of battle were becoming less and less, especially as Chase's blade cut through two of the remaining enemies their group focused on. It seemed many of the shadowlings were no more.. for the time being. "What now?" Jomei said to himself, his eyes straining as he searched for the next threat. A quick flick of his wrist and the darkened rapier shifted to a more defensive stance, as he activated his Parry skill. Parry Activated Macradon | HP: 1985/1985 | EN: 174/191 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 194 | HLY: 12 | VO: 198 | PHASE | REC: 6 | FRTHRNS: 21, 6 DOT | BH: 99 | FIGHTING SPIRIT | LD: 5 | EN REGEN: 3 | FRAURA: 15 | PARRY | [PARRY: --/2] ChaseR | HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 101/148 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 106 | HLY: 12 | BRN: 12 | TXV: 24 | PRLYZ: 8+ | VD: 84 | HBS: 16 | LD: 8 | Dote: 3 | DoT -27 | BH: 84 | EN REGEN: 3 | FIGHTING SPIRIT | PARRY | [PARRY: --/2] @Mari | HP: 1820/1910 | EN: 91/170 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 88 | FLN: 6 | VO: 191 | FLAURA: 15 | KEEN: 1 | Dote: 3 | Dot: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 95 | EN REGEN: 3 | KEEN Hidden| HP: 1495/1510 | EN: 85/130 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 79 | HLY: 8 | VO: 226 | LD: 3 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 75 | EN REGEN: 3 | [VANISH: 1/3] | STEALTH: 10 @Pinball| HP: 1410/1500 | EN: 117/132 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 15 | BH: 90 | FRZ: 36/8-10 | Phase | SAFEGUARD | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 2/3 | EN REGEN: 3 Jomei HP: 1705/1705 | EN: 141/169 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 88 | BRN: 36 | BLI: 36 | HB: 16 | BH: 85 | EN REGEN: 3 | CONC 0/3 | PARRY | [PARRY: -2/2] (85 BH | 15 HB | +1 EN)

Darkness consumed the raid party, with not an inkling of what to expect from the shaded figure that once possessed the mighty Orgoth. The Shadow threw insults at the fallen minotaur, and claimed he would finish this fight itself. The darkness before them seemed to twist and curl, like black storm clouds rolling in over a sea on a lightless night. The ginger shifted his feet, swinging his front foot behind the other as he stepped back from the endless darkness. Were it a trick of the light or his mind playing games with him, a hand reached from the shade towards Jomei, followed by a strikingly humanlike face. Features were impossible to make out..but Jomei felt a strange sense of familiarity in the shadow, a pained, pleading look on its face. A cold chill ran down Jomei's spine, "Estelle?" he managed to let out under his breath. A smoky version of his lover, Telrenya, fought to break free from the clouded darkness before being sucked back under. The Irishman instinctually took a step forward, reaching out his own hand as if he were to help the illusion. The image appeared again, but this time without restraints. The image of the player moved towards Jomei with inhuman like speed. Suddenly, bits of light began to tear through the darkness centered on Raidou, Baldur, and then Macradon, as well as sparks from players Sword Arts activating. The visage of Telrenya before him was shattered, leaving in its wake a nightmarish creature of shadow. The ginger thrust his blade forward to intercept the demon, but missed his target. ID 181079 | BD 1 Miss | Concentration | Over Radiation vs Shadowling 25

A voice unfamiliar to the Irishman addressed him, though they seemed somewhat familiar of him. Jomei was pulled from his thoughts as he turned to see the stranger, who sported heavy armor and a head of pink hair. Their name was Yuki, a player who assumably rose through the ranks and became a frontliner as well. The ginger offered a friendly smile, "Its a pleasure to meet you, Yuki. I'm Jomei. Yeah, I've been fighting with the raid party quite a few floors now. I take it that you'll be joining us on the twenty-fifth floor?" The ginger smirked, crossing his arms and shifting his weight, "We are definitely in need of another tank. We almost didn't have enough at the last boss fight. That was almost a disaster..." his eyes trailed off from Yuki, the smile he wore fading momentarily as memories of the terrifying fight flashed through his mind again. That was the past now, and Jomei needed to focus on the future of boss raids. Turning his attention back to Yuki, he smiled again, "I'm looking forward to getting to see you in action." The distant howling screech of a potential drakeling bounced off the walls of the caverns before them, reaching them as a slightly muffled echo. In the moment, the ginger nearly had forgotten why he had come here in the first place. "Right.. the drakelings.." he said to himself. Turning his head towards Yuki, he continued as an idea struck, "How about we test out those tanking skills of yours. I was planning on running this quest on my own, but we could probably speed up the process if we did it together. What do you say?"

Jomei grunted as he righted himself within the pit, the top of his ginger head just poking out and breaking the surface. "Yeah.. I'm fine" he reassured Lessa as his hands searched for some sort of purchase that would allow him to climb out of the empty tomb. "Well.. that is definitely not something I want to experience ever again.. at least, until.. you know." his joke slowly turned sour, so he tried to clear his throat as if to wipe the slate of the conversation clean, "Anyway." Now standing beside Lessa once again, he looked towards the floating spirit, which had now rotated within the air and looked towards the two players. Even without many features, including eyes, Jomei could feel the sorrow and restlessness that the spectral feeling was giving off. His eyes trailed from the spirit, to the grave marker, to the six foot pit before he finally came to a conclusion. "Wait a second... She's not mourning someone at all." He turned his head to look at his blonde companion, "I think this was supposed to be her resting place..." A hand ran through his hair, pushing his long ginger bangs from his face as he pondered what their next step was, "But.. we found her remains within the cathedral.. We're we supposed to bring her bones back to this grave?"

As the data fragments faded and blended with the frost-topped ground, the large shards of ice that blocked his path shattered, clearing the way. It was a simple task to retrace his steps and return to the Long Barrow, he just needed to move quickly to avoid succumbing to the freezing temperatures. Squeezing through the fissure in the side of the mountain, and hiking back down the winding path, Jomei found a bit of respite seeing the lights of the roaring fireplace within the Long Barrow. As he opened the door to the interior, he nearly collapsed to his knees, but he kept himself standing as to not create a spectacle. He immediately made his way over to the fireplace, where another two sat in conversation. They seemed a bit annoyed at Jomei's sudden intruding by placing himself in front of the fire, but the ginger could not care less. Placing his hands before the flames, Jomei allowed the heat to return to his body. The frost that had gathered at the ends of his hair and clothes quickly melted. The stranger from earlier approached Jomei from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I take it the job is done?" "Yeah, its done." The stranger let out a heavy sigh of relief, like a weight that had been building up for years was finally taken off of his shoulders. "Good.. I'll sleep soundly knowing that thing won't take another soul.. Thank you. Now.. I promised you a tree. Didn't I?" Thread Complete Jomei: +5 SP (3 Quest)(1 Thread)(1 Event) +400 Col (400 Thread)

Seeing that its shield was useless at this close range, the King tossed the item out of the way. The metal clanged to the ground and slid to a stop before his throne. Raising his fists high over his head, the King slammed down around Jomei, just nearly missing. The entire chamber rumbled, as icicles above the two began to plummet. Jomei's eyes went wide placing a foot on the Night King's arm and kicking off of him, sending him sliding backwards. Using the same tactic as before, using his rapier as an ice pick, Jomei went to work dodging the plummeting icicles that crashed to the surface around him. Once the small quake had subsided, it was just the King and Jomei left. Letting out a battle cry, the King charged at Jomei in a last act of desperation. Jomei, on the other hand, stood his ground, with his rapier pointed forward at the ready. Closer, and closer the ice King got before the axe came plummeting down atop Jomei. A small sidestep to the side was all he needed to dodge the attack, as the axe cut into the ground side him. With the King's bearded face in range, Jomei pulled his sword arm back and smirked at the doomed boss. "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal." As his sword art carried out, the Night's King was no more. Pixels and fragments slowly rained around him like a shimmering snowfall. ID 180357 | BD 9 (+4) | MD (-3) | Over Radiation 14 x 12(+1) (-50) = 132 Jomei: 1536/1590 HP | 134/167 EN | 12 (17) DMG | 36 BNR | 36 BLT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 43 MIT | HB 16 Healing | 80 B. Healing (+80) (+16) Night's King: 0/450 HP | 300(385/400) DMG | 50 Mit Players facing the Night's King within his throne room receive a variable debuff to their base damage. If their base damage is above 12, it will automatically be reduced to 12. If their base damage is below 12, no change will occur. The bonus damage from Charge and consumables is nullified as well, although the effects of the Charge's mods are not.

For a fight on the Fourth Floor, this was proving to be a bit more difficult than he had imagined. No wonder he was avoid going out and questing on his own. How did a trip to find a Christmas tree turn into him fighting one of the most difficult bosses that this floor had hidden away. Jomei shook those thought from his head, he was a frontliner, he could handle this. Wiping his cheek, Jomei brushed away the frost that was gathering on his skin. He needed to finish this quickly, before the ice claimed him rather than this new enemy. The King rose to his feet, putting its weight on the opposite leg than Jomei had not attacked. Still within proximity to each other the King bashed its shied at Jomei to create some distance so it could get in a strike with its axe. As the shield pushed towards the ginger, Jomei acted quickly and took the brunt of the shield bash, but gripped the edge of the slab of iron. The shield was freezing, and Jomei could feel his fingers going numb just holding onto it. As the King retracted the shield, Jomei allowed it to pull him along the ice to get a closer shot at him. Skating around the corner of the shield, Jomei was now able to get up close and personal with the King. Another Over Radiation took a huge chunk of health out of the King's once green bar. One more strike should do it. ID 180356 | BD 2 (+4) | MD 7 (-3) | Over Radiation 14 x 12(-50) = 118 Jomei: 1440/1590 HP | 142/167 EN | 12 (17) DMG | 36 BNR | 36 BLT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 43 MIT | HB 16 Healing | 80 B. Healing (+80) (+16) Night's King: 96/450 HP | 300(385/400) DMG | 50 Mit Players facing the Night's King within his throne room receive a variable debuff to their base damage. If their base damage is above 12, it will automatically be reduced to 12. If their base damage is below 12, no change will occur. The bonus damage from Charge and consumables is nullified as well, although the effects of the Charge's mods are not.

The Night King grunted, its voice sounding larger than the form itself as it echoed throughout the chamber. Opening itself up, the hulking figure swung its axe at Jomei with a sideswipe. The duelist rose his rapier in vertically in front of him, blocking the strike. Jomei felt his muscles tense as he tried to hold the Night King at bay, but the force of his enemy's attack sent him sliding across the ice they stood on. The ginger hurdled towards the far wall, unable to stop himself easily. Using his blade, Jomei shoved the tip into the ice, which scraped and dug into the surface, slowing his speed. Ripping the sword from the icy surface, Jomei closed the distance yet again, dodging another powerful strike from the king that caused the ice beside him to crack and spiderweb out. Now at the King's side, Jomei ripped his blade through the back of his leg, causing the King to fall to his knee. Now at his level, Jomei delivered another powerful sword art, this time knocking the king's health into the yellow. Jomei's wounds illuminated with a white light as his Battle Healing and Holy Blessing kicked in, healing some of the massive damage he had taken. ID 180354 | BD 6 (+4) | MD 4(-3) | Over Radiation 14 x 12(-50) = 118 Jomei: 1344/1590 HP | 150/167 EN | 12 (17) DMG | 36 BNR | 36 BLT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 43 MIT | HB 16 Healing | 80 B. Healing (+80) (+16) Night's King: 214/450 HP | 300(385/400) DMG | 50 Mit Players facing the Night's King within his throne room receive a variable debuff to their base damage. If their base damage is above 12, it will automatically be reduced to 12. If their base damage is below 12, no change will occur. The bonus damage from Charge and consumables is nullified as well, although the effects of the Charge's mods are not.

The Night King's boots pounded against the icy floor as he took two large steps forward, extending its arms out to the side in an inviting manner to allow Jomei the first attack. Jomei's eyes shifted to a new status indicator below his health bar, a debuff to be exact. Seemed like he was right, the below freezing temperatures were going to make it much more difficult to fight this foe. His <Charge> skill probably would not do much to assist in this case, so he would need to depend on old fashioned fighting. Releasing the breath he was holding, a cloud of his own breath formed before his face. Jomei then rushed forward, the tip of his rapier dragging along the ground. The Night King raised his shield in anticipation for Jomei's attack. Once in melee range, Jomei thrust his rapier forward with as much power as he could muster. The blade crashed against the shield, pushing the Night King back about a foot. From over the shield, the large axe quickly came down, cutting from the top of his shoulder and down to the center of his chest. The blow knocked Jomei onto his back, sliding across the ice a couple of feet. "I need to get past that shield.." he said to himself as he got to his feet, gripping at the gaping wound on his chest. Another approach, Jomei's rapier clashed with the shield again. This time, he was ready for the counter attack from the King. As the axe came down, Jomei snuck in with an attack, cutting through the armor of the King. ID 180354 | BD 8 (+4) | MD 9 | Over Radiation 14 x 12(-50) = 118 385(-43) = 342 Jomei: 1248/1590 HP | 158/167 EN | 12 (17) DMG | 36 BNR | 36 BLT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 43 MIT | HB 16 Healing | 80 B. Healing Night's King: 332/450 HP | 300(385/400) DMG | 50 Mit Players facing the Night's King within his throne room receive a variable debuff to their base damage. If their base damage is above 12, it will automatically be reduced to 12. If their base damage is below 12, no change will occur. The bonus damage from Charge and consumables is nullified as well, although the effects of the Charge's mods are not.

The King shared a much more human-like look than his wight minions, though its skin still pale and cracked. Long white hair flowed from beneath a stone crown, coated in ice, a beard to match. The armor it wore fit for royalty, showed as much wear and decay as the rest of the castle, but shone like new because of the sheet of ice the coated it. As Jomei approached, the King stood, standing about seven feet tall, a cape that matched the blue carpet fell behind them. From aside the throne, they retrieved an ornate looking axe, which the King held easily in a single hand, and a kite shield. Lastly, its eyes finally seemed to open, like two blood red garnets looking into Jomei's soul. Jomei trembled as he raised his rapier, though not out of fear, but like piece of machinery fighting the elements. Ice began to cling at the ends of Jomei's hair and cloak, if he had blood in this world it would probably be just as frozen. The King rose his shield about two feet off of the ground, before slamming into the surface before the chair which he once sat, causing the room to shake and rumble. Behind Jomei, icicles twice his side crashed down, blocking off the exit. Relaxed 2/2 Jomei: 1590/1590 HP | 167/167 EN | 12 (17) DMG | 36 BNR | 36 BLT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 43 MIT | HB 16 Healing | 80 B. Healing (+96) (+15 Relaxed)

The fortress was smaller than Jomei had expected, as the chamber through the entryway at the top of the stairs seemed to be a single, long hallway that opened up into a larger chamber at the end. Holding his rapier at the side, and at the ready, Jomei continued forth through the corridor. The interior seemed to hold remnants of a previous legion, before time and ice claimed it as its own. A mostly ruined, navy blue rug with gold trimmings created the path that Jomei walked to the proceeding room. Sconces with the same, icy flames burned every six feet or so, large icicles protruded from the ceiling like stalactites. The farther Jomei progressed, the colder the air got. Even <Survival> did nothing to fight off the freezing temperatures. Jomei could not help the uncontrollable shivering that kicked in to keep his body warm, yet his body still felt the lasting effects of the cold. "T-This may b-be.. tough to f-f-fight in.." Jomei said to Adere, who seemed to shake and shiver just as much as Jomei was. Finally, the corridor opened up into the following chamber. The room almost completely coated in ice, which coated the walls, floors and ceiling. Icicles that ranged in sizes dropped from the ceiling, collecting in a mass above a jagged, icy throne. Sitting at the other end of the room, awaiting Jomei to approach was the Night King. Relaxed 1/2 Jomei: 1533/1590 HP | 145/167 EN | 17 DMG | 36 BNR | 36 BLT | 4 ACC | 3 EVA | 43 MIT | HB 16 Healing | 80 B. Healing (+96) (+15 Relaxed)

"Gah!" Jomei grunted as he staggered down a few steps away from the undead ice creature. It extended its arms, releasing a hissing growl as it taunted the ginger. "Lucky shot. Last one you'll ever get." Jomei said as he turned towards the wight, already feeling his natural healing seal up the wound and remove the numbing from his shoulder. Jomei shot forward, his rapier clashing with the wight's longsword. The sparks of metal against metal further illuminated the staircase they fought on, Jomei's powerful stabs causing the wight to take retreating steps up the stairs. The Emerald Duelist was relentless with his attack, moving just fast enough so the wight struggled to react on time. As Jomei finally activated his sword art, the thrusts became more rapid, continuously pushing his enemy up the stairs until they stood on the landing before the entryway. One strike caused the wight's blade to snap in two, and a final pierced through the center of the wight's forehead. The lifeless creature erupted in a rain of data fragments, Jomei's last obstacle before proceeding into the Night King's lair.

One down, Jomei thought to himself as he looked over his shoulder to block the attack from the wight with the long sword. The creature's toothy maw opened, its breath creating a cloud before it, smelling of decay and death. It pulled its sword back for a secondary attack, which Jomei thought he could use as an opportunity to quickly strike and end it. From his flank, the war hammer of the other wight came down hard, crashing into Jomei's shoulder. The shock rang through the ginger as if he were a bell, the strike itself causing his left arm to go numb for a moment. Jomei retaliated with multiple, lightning fast strikes to the wight's upper chest, appearing as one strike with multiple golden spears crashing into its body in rapid succession. The head of the creature separated with no gore, erupting into a rain of pixels before the head would tumble down the stairs. Another numbing sensation was sent through Jomei's body as the final wight's blade cut diagonally across the ginger's back, leaving a deep gash of red light.

He didn't have enough time to prep his <Charge> skill again before the three wights were on top of him. He hoped that the bit of evasion that he had sacrificed for this new build would be enough to keep him alive. The wight with the war hammer stepped just past Jomei, while the one with the great axe stopped just before him. A swing of the war hammer flew through the air towards Jomei's hip, while the great axe was lifted up into the air over the wight's head. Jack's Rapier moved quickly, slipping in just over the handle of the war hammer to allow him to gain control over its trajectory with a parrying move. A flick of his wrist and a shove to the side, the hammer swung just past Jomei's leg. The ginger used the momentum of the parry to spin and catch the great axe over his head. With his palm near the tip of his blade, Jomei tried to hold the great axe strike back. However, the powerful weapon took him down to a knee. Jomei struggled for a moment before pushing upwards with all of his might, causing the wight to stagger for just a moment. His rapier moved even faster than Jomei did, cutting a triangle into the wight's torso. The creature let out its last breath before falling backwards off of the stairs. The third wight with the long sword swung sideways at Jomei's back. Jomei responded with a quick orbit around his head, blocking the blade behind the back with his own.

".. I take it that wasn't our target." Jomei said to the owl who hovered just above his shoulder. The sound of footsteps behind him caused him to start and give a half turn. Another three of those creatures stood at the top of the stairs, each sporting a different weapon of choice; one with a great axe, one with a long sword, and a third with a war hammer. The ginger looked down at where the previous wight once stood before looking back up to its three brethren. ".. I take it your'e not willing to negotiate.." Each of the three readied their weapons, the one with the long sword pointing the tip down at the player. The two wights then rushed into action, letting out the same, shrill scream and echoed off the icy interior. "I'll.. take that as a no." Jomei said with a flourish of his blade, readying it for yet another bout. The wight with the longsword followed just after the other two. It was times like these Jomei wished he had an area attack like all of his other friends did. Looked like he would just have to take them out one at a time while playing the dodging game as usual.