Hirru

The shatter arts were helping quite a bit.  Hirru was glad that Jomei had the extra art, or this would be just a little longer than it would have been.  In fact, this was going quite a bit better than he had figured it would go.  Sure, Jomei got hit once, but with a bit of healing, it was taken care of.. mostly.  Both of their energy levels were actually doing quite well, even if Jomei's was draining faster.  Hirru would remedy that with a quick Hyperactive charge.  He held his shield high, and a yellow glow would strengthen Jomei's energy regeneration. Though, to be fair, was it needed?

"You're good to blow this thing away!  Shatter it up, and let's get out of here.  Shouldn't be too much more now."

Looking back at the fog, it seemed like it was showing the sorrowful faces with pain across their features.  He didn't want to look at them, so he kept his attention to Jomei.  If anything would come up, he would be there to remedy it.  Though, he sure wished he could hit the bloody thing, and make it that much faster.  He would have to look into how Shield did what he did.  That was more useful than what he was doing here.

Passive EN: +4
RECOVERY?: [ID: 203454] [CD: 1] Nope
Post Action: Hyperactive --> +3 passive EN regen (4+3= 7 EN Regen) / -5 EN / 3 post cooldown

[9] Jomei: 795/820 HP | 88/120 EN | DMG 23 | MIT 104 (44)| EVA 3 | ACC 6 (4) | BH 45 | HLY BLS 18 | BLD 48 | FLN 8 | AA | LD 4(1) | F.Sprt. | Hyperactive +3 EN 0/3 | CoDwn: Charge 2/5 | Rend 2/5 | Stun 2/3
[0] Hirru:  HP: 997/997 | EN: 80/96 | DMG: -3 1 | MIT: 182 (122) | ACC -1 (next hit)| BH: 49 | HLY BLS: 39 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | THRNS: 76 (36)
CoDwn: Rally (3/3) | Press the Attack (2/5) | Hyperactive (0/3_

Fog of Reminiscence | HP: 836/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 120 140 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 || SHATTER 1/3 | BLEED 1/2

Critical (MD 9): Deals (400) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (240) DMG to every other player.
Critical (MD 10): Deals (440) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (340) DMG to every other player

"Squishy?  I'm pretty sure that I have the second highest mitigation, if I'm wearing everything properly."

Hirru would quip, but it made a smile come out of the healer's near gloomy face.  The whole thing was rather odd to him, and the commotion above wasn't helping much.  The group as a whole seemed to mostly follow the fallen king to where ever he was taking them.  Several corridors before passing over large encampments that filled the more open rooms.  People were still scrambling around, even after they had all left the slums behind.  The bright light that blinded him as they exited the lower ladonian sector made Hirru cover his eyes.  There were loud foreign sounds that were causing the wind to be quite turbulent around the areas.  Looking up in time, Hirru would see one of the masses that could block out the sun for a moment, before flying past slowly.

"What in the.. what are those?"

They looked like boats, but they were sailing.. in the air?  He figured it must have been something that the game allowed, but this was not something that he had seen too clearly.  He never ventured to the skydocks nor did he think that those ships were viable.  The look of them all, and the sheer numbers.

"Are we fighting those things?"

It seemed that there was much more to it than what he was seeing.  Yona had talked about her own experience with things like this, but it was brief compared to the sudden commotion of one man and his two animals.  Suddenly, it seemed like the place got a bit livelier, as he brought in a reason to move around a bit more.  Apparently, the little bear that had gone to town on the deviled eggs had come over with a small cherry, as an offering to @Yona.

"Well isn't that nice of you.  You're a lot nicer than another bear cub that I know.  He would have destroyed the table by now."

Hirru was speak softly to the little one before looking over to the man, apparently named Gaius, as the pink haired one alluded to.

"Hey, do they mostly eat your cooking, or do they mind whatever?"

He asked while pulling out a couple decently sized steaks, still raw, from his inventory.  It was just one of the hundreds of materials that he collected from farming mobs and other creatures.  These were from beasts on the 22nd floor, so they were more natural than others.  Taking the now empty plate that Boris had taken care of, he would place the raw meat on the plate and set it nearby, but away from guests.  That way, they could be content, without bothering others.

"There we go.  Be sure to share now."

@Gaius

Stepping out of the match, Hirru stretched his arms and legs outwards.  Although it wasn't that long since he stopped using sword arts and really using his blade, it meant a good deal for him.  It meant that he could still work on his fighting skills, even if he couldn't do much.  Even if..

His mind started to wander as he too wandered.  His solemn face would give a feint smile before walking out of the dojo and onto the outer walkways.  From there, he would follow the walkway towards the back, where the bridges and walkways that connected all of the other rooms of Baldur's estate would be.  Hirru sat down with his feet dangling over the edge, where the 'pond' formed around them all.  Outside of the actual ocean below them all, the 'pond' was still more of a small lake than anything.  Though, with that, it meant that Hirru could work on the one thing that he could do, without combat and without following anyone and watching them get hurt for his own good. 

Fishing.

A wooden pole would form into his hands, and as he worked the line through it, he would have it in working order.  Attaching the little bobber to it, Hirru would be able to tell when something was on his hook.  Casting out the line, Hirru would watch as the little cork would plop on top of the water and sit there.  Moving only with the ripples and waves.  Up and down.

Up and down.

Not too long after, a hard tug sent the cork down into the water's depths.  Hirru pulled the line and felt that it wasn't living.

"More of these?  Really?"

Hirru pulled the line with both rod and hand, before revealing a rotted chest that his line had caught on.  Leaving no time to discern why he kept finding these things, he smashed the rotted mess to find three different weapons.  Two of which would have full open slots for runes, while the last only had two.  It was alright, as he could ask someone to work with him on fusions.  He set the three aside, and cast the line back in.

Appraisals 8/8

Total Expenditures = 108560 Col
Total Exp Gain = 192

It had been some time since the hunter had last been in this neck of the woods, or so that saying went.  Hirru couldn't quite remember the last time he had ever walked his happy little ass over to Zandra's.  It was probably long before the issue on the 23rd, but that was not his concern anymore.  He wasn't a proper hunter anymore, and that was showing in his inability to do.. well.. anything productive.  He couldn't farm, nor could he gather as quickly as others could.  Instead, he left himself in an odd place, but that didn't mean he couldn't use what he had to help those that need it.

Walking into the shop, the place was definitely different from before, but that was not in question.  Hirru walked over to the desk where he found an order form awaiting him.  Seems like Zandra likes to keep busy.

"Hey Zandra!  I've got a huge order!  Working to keep us healed up for the next floor or two.  Hope you're up to it!"

He would say as he slapped an order for over 100 crystals of both ST-Healing and AOE-Healing.

Total Pricing = 100x3= 300 Mats to Zandra

"Jomei!"

Hirru shouted out as the speedy player was knocked quite hard out of the area.  Slamming against a tree, Hirru had to run after him to do anything.  Damn this heavy arse and armor, he didn't need to be this weighed down.  Running over to the downed saber user, he would rub his hands together.  Sliding into range, the hunter would slap a hand upon Jomei's chest while performing his First Aid single target healing.  Green light would flow out from the hand to the other, healing a bit of the damage, but not all of it.  The rest would have to be done through his own battle healing capabilities.

The Fog was now starting to use a sinister grin on the faces that came up.  It was toying with their memories of those that died before.  What kind of shit was this?  It seemed like it was getting closer to those that had died not too long ago.  There was no need to even look that far, as Hirru already knew.

"You should be good.  I'll keep you going, just don't make me run too much."

Passive EN: +4
RECOVERY?: [ID: 203340] [CD: 7] +8 EN
Post Action: First Aid Heal 20% Max HP | -15 EN |= 820x.2 = 164*1.1 (Survival) = 180*1.2 (Life Mend) = 216 HP Recovery

[6] Jomei: 732/820 HP | 97/120 EN | DMG 23 | MIT 104 (44)| EVA 3 | ACC 6 (4) | BH 45 | HLY BLS 18 | BLD 48 | FLN 8 | AA | LD 4(1) | F.Sprt. | CoDwn: Charge 1/5 | Rend 1/5 | Stun 1/3
[0] Hirru:  HP: 997/997 | EN: 81/96 | DMG: -3 1 | MIT: 182 (122) | ACC -1 (next hit)| BH: 49 | HLY BLS: 39 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | THRNS: 76 (36)
CoDwn: Rally (1/3) | Press the Attack (0/5)

Fog of Reminiscence | HP: 1128/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 140 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 || SHATTER 0/3

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (400) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (240) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (440) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player

Hirru couldn't recover in time, as the attack from Morning Star swept inwards.  He couldn't move backward, as he was already within slashing distance, and the slightly movement would still bring the tip level for a poke.  He figured that he would have time to deflect it, but..

A light slap against his side would make the third strike.  Baldur called out the strike and that was that.  Hirru sighed before chuckling a bit at the thought of it all.  Was this to cheer the hunter up?  Was that why someone put his name into the ballet?  It must have been, as the past few days have been rough for the hunter, as he hasn't been able to properly convey his title.  All he could do was follow and heal.  Give buffs and keep energy up.  Was this really a nice exchange for keeping everyone alive?

Hirru looked down, but not due to his loss, as if he was thinking too much about something else.  He would shake it off for a time to look back at Morningstar.

"Good match out there!"

Round 5 -> Morningstar

Morningstar - 3 [WINNER]

Hirru - 1

<<Round 2 was Morningstar's point.  Score will reflect that here>>

Before his bokken could connect, Morningstar had deflecting his blade, in doing so had slightly tapped the hand of the hunter.  Baldur caught on this and called out a second point to Morningstar.  After stepping back and readjusting, there was much that Hirru had to rework for this to work.  He would have to use feints to bring out the guess work and..

'Why am I trying so hard?'

This was supposed to be a friendly tournament, and the hunter was looking through each movement to see what he could do to avoid the final strike.  In the end, he didn't quite care for the reward or anything.  He wasn't even going to participate, but..

"Guess we all gotta blow off some steam, some time.."

Hirru said lowly while stepping back, away from the low hanging blow that Star had sent his way.  The tip of Hirru's blade would follow it around, to make sure that distance was kept.

Round 3: Tie

Morningstar - 2

Hirru - 0

Keeping his sword at length, the hunter would slap Star's sword away before circling his own around for an uppercut slash against the body, but would stop midway to give him a poke.

@Morningstar

As Jomei headed out to attack the fog boss, Hirru was readying his actions according to what would happen.  It appeared that his previous observation was true, and that Jomei was using more TECH arts than anything else.  Was his shift truly of the TECHNICAL variant?  This intrigued the hunter, as he had only known one other that actively chose that shift, and that was the Ultramarine himself, Calrex.  Everyone else that he knew had the AOE shift for optimal mob burning potential.  Only a few really cared for SINGLE TARGET, but he knew which ones it better suited.  This was going to be interesting.

"Okay, if you have the 'shatter art', do that..."

Hirru heard it.  It was feint, but nothing he couldn't distinguish.  A small ringing as Jomei's blade found it's mark against the Fog of Reminiscence.  The blade would have a slight shine near the tip, indicating that the follow up art, SINGLE TARGET - BURST, was ready.  This was their chance for some big damage.

"Scratch that!  Burst it with your strongest art!  I'll supplement it with my own.  Press the Attack!"

Hirru would call out as an iridescent aura would fall upon Jomei, elevating his damage potential by another slot full of damage.  However, that energy had to come from somewhere, and the Leadership skill is not friendly in that manner.  The hunter could feel his strength being sapped from himself, but it was something that he could endure.  It was much worse when he did it back during the raid.  The accumulated damage that was sent out to everyone, it nearly tore him to shreds, if not for the fact that he didn't need to experience all that, as he would never fully attack with that kind of debuff on himself.  Although, it meant that he would never wield a sword for combat, ever again.

Passive Regen: +4
Recovery?: [ID: 203275][CD: 2] Nope
Post Action: Press the Attack!  |  +1*Tier damage to all party / -Accumulated damage to user | -10 EN

[4] Jomei: 820/820 HP | 106/120 EN | DMG 27 23 | MIT 104 (44)| EVA 3 | ACC 6 (4) | BH 45 | HLY BLS 18 | BLD 48 | FLN 8 | AA | LD 4(1) | F.Sprt. | CoDwn: Charge 0/5 | Rend 0/5 | Stun 0/3
[0] Hirru:  HP: 997/997 | EN: 84/96 | DMG: -3 1 | MIT: 182 (122) | ACC -1 (next hit)| BH: 49 | HLY BLS: 39 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | THRNS: 76 (36)
CoDwn: Rally (1/3) | Press the Attack (0/5)

Fog of Reminiscence | HP: 1604/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 |  | REND 1/2 | BLEED 1/2 

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (400) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (240) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (440) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player

Hirru didn't understand why he was participating in the first place.  Did someone put his name into the bracket as a joke?  Wasn't this for the coveted safeguard?  Why was there a 'romantic dinner for two' also there?  The hunter was assaulting himself with too many questions to notice that his opponent had already started.  Seeing the attack in time to defend, his sword arm would react in a defensive manner, however, that cost him.  This wasn't a fight where shielding one self with an arm was available to him.  Instead, he had given his opponent the point, by using his old combat experience.

"Oh snap..  I think I need to readjust."

What did the hunter have to do again?  He remembered the way that Baldur trained in the dojo on some days.  Kendo, or something along those lines?  This was all in the spirit of that kind of training. 

"Morningstar, huh?  Alright, let's do this right!" 

Going off of that, he would bat back the blade before going for a shoulder strike.

<<Strike to arm -> Morningstar's point>>

Morningstar - 1

Hirru - 0

Stats

"I'll get you started with an accuracy booster.  Dungeon bosses have been getting near floor boss levels of accuracy and evasion, so keep yourself moving.  I'll keep you going for as long as I can, but I'll probably be setting Hyperactive on myself to keep up."

Hirru planned out what he was going to do with Jomei.  This wasn't like his bouts with Freyd, as they both were dealing damage.  This would be a battle of attrition, and it was not looking good in their favor.  Hirru held his shield up to the sky and activated the Leadership skill: Rally.  A purple haze would envelop Jomei before the accuracy buff would be given, but it would be sapped away from the hunter.  It was a worthy cause to perform, as there was no way that Hirru could fight as he was now.

"Hit it hard and fast.  Let me know when you hear the small ringing of a burst finisher.  I'll boost your damage for it."

Post Action: Rally | +1 ACC to party for 1 turn, -1 ACC to user until next attack | -6 EN

Jomei: 820/820 HP | 120/120 EN | DMG 23 | MIT 104 (44)| EVA 3 | ACC 7 6(4) | BH 45 | HLY BLS 18 | BLD 48 | FLN 8 | AA | LD 4(1) | F.Sprt. <Rally> +1 ACC
Hirru:  HP: 997/997 | EN: 90/96 | DMG: 1 | MIT: 182 (122) | ACC -1 (next hit)| BH: 49 | HLY BLS: 39 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | THRNS: 76 (36)
Cldwn: Rally (0/3)

Fog of Reminiscence | HP: 2000/2000 | DMG: 360 | MIT: 160 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3

• Critical (MD 9): Deals (400) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (240) DMG to every other player.
• Critical (MD 10): Deals (440) DMG to the target with the highest hate. Also deals (Tier * 85) DMG to every other player.

Looking down at the registry, Hirru found something odd.

"Baldur?  Why is my name on here?"

Hirru groaned as he was awakened by the sudden commotion from above.  Slowly creaking out of bed, the hunter looked around his little room that he now called home.  It was essentially the basement of the dojo, where some of the equipment was kept, but that didn't bother him much.  As long as he had his privacy, he would be fine.  Though today was a special day for Baldur and the rest of the dojo.  It would be in due practice to help out where it was needed, and it would definitely be needed.

After getting dressed in the robes that Baldur wanted him to wear, the hunter felt heavily odd.  He really didn't know how to wear it, but thankfully the system did a lot of that for him.  He was rather thankful for that part of the game, as he didn't understand a lot of Baldur's ways sometimes.

"Well, can't say I wasn't warned."

Hirru said while heading up the stairs, opening the sliding door so that he could join those on the main floor.

"Wow, we got a huge turn out!  Who do we have?"

He wondered before heading over to Baldur and Calrex whom seemed to be busy working out details.

"Hey guys!  Need some help around the dojo?"

Hirru stats

As he opened the door, he was greeted by someone that he ventured with some time ago.  A rumor that people and NPCs were being taken from the nearby forest, on the third floor.  It got quite hairy near the end, but the party of three seemed to handle themselves quite well.  This girl was..

"Ah, Astreya.  Hell.."

Before he could continue, a purple haired individual whom was being dragged along by Astreya, had bumped past him to get outside. 

"..Oh?"

He didn't understand the reasoning, until Astreya explained that they needed some air.  Hirru understood that, as he needed that sometime too.  He stepped inside so Astreya could go outside with the girl.

"Yeah, talk to you later.  I think she needs you to take care of her."

He would nod out the door to where the girl had stopped and was looking back at them.  A poor sight, but sometimes these things happen.  Whatever was happening, as Hirru had no idea what the reasoning really was.

Looking around the room, there were some faces he didn't know, but quite a few that he did.  There were Jomei and Lessa talking with each other.  They seemed to be having their own moment, so the hunter decided to not get in the way.  Although, the odd old man that was watching them was rather odd.  Koga was talking to many other guests at the time.  He seemed like he had quite a bit on his plate, more so with all the women that were around him, but that was not for Hirru to comment on.  Hirru would simply give the host a wave to let him know he was there.  Looking over to another wall, he noticed that NIGHT was talking to that girl, the one that escaped his memory.  They seemed to be talking about something, so Hirru decided to look into that later.

With no one that he really connected with, the hunter just walked over to the food table.  It looked like there was quite a bit of a selection from dishes to desserts upon another table.  Did Koga make all of this?  He took a few things here and there, before he bumped into someone.

"Oh sorry.. huh?"

He had bumped into a familiar individual.

"Oh, hi @Yona.  Did Koga invite you too?"

It wasn't very often that he got these invitations, in fact, he never really got any that didn't pertain to the front lines.  At least, not since Mack's disappearance.  He never really participated in any of Mack's functions, but he heard that they were all very fun.  Though, in the end, he wish he had joined in on the festivities.  He probably would have gotten to know more people.  He sighed while looking at the message.  There had to be a point to go, and one not to go.  Hirru had neither.

--------

As he rounded the next street towards the destination, he started to notice that the place was bustling.  He didn't know how many people had entered the house, but one of the most recent ones made Hirru wonder if he had seen them before.  They were familiar, but it felt like a fleeting memory.  Not like the ones that screw with his head, but one that was so long ago, that it was common to misinterpret it.  Where did he see her?  Definitely not the front, but.. so long ago?  A merchant maybe?  No, Hirru would recognize any of his business partners.

Without waiting for another moment, the hunter walked over to the door, and knocked.  He had watched another person enter casually.  Rather odd to do with the home of someone else.  Though, by the sounds and conversations coming from the other side, Hirru could swear that he could hear well enough without any skills to amplify anything.  Opening the door, the green hair of the Jade Hunter would pop out from behind the door as it opened to look inside.  The rest of his attire was his normal black sleeveless turtleneck, grey trousers, and the old KoB cloak that he wore for the festive colors, more than the colors of his old guild.  He just hoped Macradon wasn't there to see it.

"I hope I'm not too late!"

Hirru stats

"Huh?"

Hirru looked up to find that Yona had returned, and some time had roughly passed.  How long had he been fishing for?  He couldn't quite remember.  All he had been doing for the longest time was watch that bobber go up and down.. up and down.. up and down.  He shivered as he got himself out of another loop.  It was starting to become an ever growing thing with his fishing habits.  Hirru thought that it may be good to just fish at the ponds of Baldur's house.

"Oh hey there!  Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.  Did you get that thing you needed done?"

As he asked that, the purple robed merchant walked past them going towards the merchant's wagon and Elizabeth, the chameleon.  He would give the now visible reptile a small pat, which made the colors around it shimmer a bit.  She was definitely happy.  Soon the mysterious would call out!

"Rune scribe!  It's time to go!"

Hirru would start packing away his fishing rod and would make his way back past the bridge.

"I'm on my way!"

He would shout out before looking back to Yona.  He would give a small two finger salute.

"Well, Yona!  Thanks for getting the old man for me.  It's nice to have met you!  Hope we can do business some time.  Later!"

He would hop onto the back of the wagon, as the mysterious merchant would snap the reigns to make Liz head out towards the next town over, where his blacksmith friend was waiting for him.  At least he thought he would be.  He better be..

"Rune Scribe?"

A shout back towards him would be called out over the sound of the wooden wheels and creaky boards of the wagon.  It was the merchant trying to reach him.

"Yes?"

"Don't think I didn't recognize my own stock when I see it.  A curved sword?  A double potency damage potion?  My protein lunch for tomorrow?!"

Hirru's thoughts went back to how each time he pointed an area out to Yona, there was a sleight of hand.. or was it a tongue.. that would place items in their respective places.  It kind of made sense in the end, as these two were the hunter's merchant quest NPC's.  Of course, if they were still part of the quest, it would stand to reason that they would still act like they did back then, and help out those that seek knowledge.

"Uh.. about that.. Liz.."

"Not only will you need cash, but you'll need guts to buy back those items."

"Wait.. but.."

"Not enough guts, Rune Scribe!"

Ask for peace and watch the blood flow.  Man's insatiable urge to grow. 
Aggressive to a fault.  Yet, kindness that would make one halt. 
Passion, to will through anything.  Cowardice, to know ones being. 
Bravery, to fight at a cost.  Sacrifice, for those that are lost.

They had only just finished the boss fight and survived from nearly starting another feud between the front lines, but they couldn't rest now.  Hirru was only just coming out of his funk when he was told to follow.  Their next fight would bring them back to the surface, as they moved through the lower slums, on their way to the main imperial city.  There was something off by the amount of people here.  They seemed to be scared, even more so of them, more than the fallen king of Galtea itself.  What happened on the surface while they were fighting?  Did a rebellion really break out, as he was starting to hear from several cries and shouts from along the echoing corridors.  Some men and women, were heading towards a direction that seemed the likely way to go.  Though, he would follow Gabrandr closely, it was mostly to gain more information about what will go down.  

"If we're going through with this, do you have a plan?  I don't think those that followed would want to go into this blinder than we already are."

The paladin would ask of the fallen one.  His armor was still shiny and ever present, although the contrasting crimson gauntlet that held on to his angelic shield, would contrast it a bit.  Still, the hunter had left his helm off for now, as it wasn't time for him to need it, which let his unruly green hair flair out past his red bandana.  He still held the wooden Bokken sword that Baldur kept in the dojo.  Hirru wasn't supposed to be the fighter this round.  He was a healer, and a leader.  Now, if only he could speak properly to people without sounding like a mad scientist.

"Since the only sources to this Scather's power are from these 'Lords', or you, it may not be too far to say that you shouldn't use any more of that 'power' of yours.  We don't want to feed that thing any more, if we can't help it."

Hirru's eyes looked past the people, and more towards those that may be harmed.  He thought to use his First Aid, but thought against it.  Depending on how things go, there would be others out there that would require his need.  Soon, he would be reminded of the little bit of power that was left to the boss.  A burning blue shield had been floating around Hirru for sometime after the last battle.  Gabrandr had said it was one of his armaments, but Hirru didn't remember him ever wielding this one, or was that.. the armor itself?  All that the healer could understand, was this thing didn't have any use for him now, but some time later.

"So, whatever it is you're planning, I hope we'll be able to keep up with it.?"

Hirru Stats

"Yeah, this is getting too.."

Once more a face that Hirru was not willing to see, but this one.  This one was of an older man, much older probably around his 50's or so.  He seemed strong of jaw but eyes filled with kindness.  At least, they should have, if not for the face being more solemn.  His expression being that of peace.  It would not do the same for the hunter though, as that face was one that he knew far too well.  One that he knew long ago, when Mack first asked him to join the Crimson Blades.  The oldest member of the guild..

..whom died alone in a cave..

..whom they had a large funeral for on the first floor memorial..

"Lindow.."

Hirru got up slowly before tightening his grip on his shield.  His own expression went from bewilderment to anger in a matter of minutes.  This thing was going way too far now, and if this was going to continue, there may be faces that he would not like to see up there.

"Yeah.. Let's end this thing.. before it makes me remember any more.."

EN Regen (3/3)

"Oh right.."

The small reminder of where they were gave the hunter a small pause to look around them.  The clearing that this odd rock formation made seemed weird, as if it was made to keep the trees out of the way; or, was it that something was keeping the trees from growing here?  Hirru was going to start speculation when he snapped back to reality and thought of this as a game, or what a game should be considering Shield and Baldur's explainations.  This was supposed to be an area of battle.  Dungeons were not always delving underground, some of them have been situated in a single area, like this one.  Though, that usually meant that something else was here too.  He had seen this before with a few others.

"Still, unlike before, the faces were heavily distorted, but with some familiar features.  Almost like they were mixing features together."

Pointing to the main being itself, the faces were cycling through more faces.

"Each one is different.  Every single one has been different."

It was then that a feminine face would fade in, which instantly got a reaction out of Hirru, as his face went pale.  Eyes widened, before the face faded once more into a face unrecognizable. 

"I think I knew that...one"

That was her.. the blue haired girl that stopped him from choosing the <kill> option in the boss fight.  A few faces cycled through in silence as Hirru looked on.  Some of them were..

Two more would appear that gave him pause and concern.  The woman in pink, and the brown haired warrior from that hallucination.  They weren't just something in his mind.

"Those too..."

EN Regen (2/3)

"Ah!  Thank you.  I'm glad my apprentice isn't just guarding Elizabeth."

The purple robed merchant said as he heard that his apprentice had been looking for him.  Walking over to the large pack, it seemed to be positioned in a way that the mysterious merchant could slap some buckles and clips.  Enough would be strapped to him before he was able to hoist it up.

"Leaving already old friend?"

"Ay, I got an apprentice of my own to get back to."

The quest NPC was quite surprised by the thought, as it's eyes widen by the news.  Who knew that someone else could read the runic language, if it wasn't translated properly, as was the way he trained his apprentices.  It's easier for the system to auto-translate everything once it has already made its choices.  However, the system that the mysterious one used was from the base runes themselves, where the process was not translated, and the runes were to be learned as they were being chosen.

"You have someone else that can read those old runes?"

"Studious boy, and inquisitive.  Not only that, but he has guts."

"Huh.."

The shopkeep waved his old friend off as the Mysterious Merchant passed through the doorway without near little resistance from the amount of stock in his pack.  He started back down the main road to the town entrance.

----------------

"Achoo!"

Hirru sneezed while still fishing up what he could.  He figured that he couldn't be getting a cold, as he didn't think he could in the game.

Purchasing the following items:

• 20 Field Rations         [20,000 Col]
• 20 Immolation Potions T4 [24,000 Col]

Total Expenditures:           [44,000 Col]

Hirru's eyes seem to fall a little more into the flames as Baldur spoke.  It was the right thing to do, to fight for the front.  Even under the pressure of keeping everyone well stocked and survive, Baldur seemed to keep his spirits high.  Freyd was always an enigma to the hunter, as he never really got his story ever when they went out to quest or farm.  Though, the little that he did give coincided with his reason for being here.  Koga, although it seemed funny at first, but his other reasoning warranted concern.  Did the guy not think he had any worth?  Where was his self-worth?  Surely he respected himself?  No, it could be more to that, but the healer didn't have time to ponder on that.

Even so, all of them seemed to have a more proper reason than he did.  Their reasons were far better than from when he had no recollection that this place was a game set in a fantasy realm.  Whatever that meant?  Hirru was still working around some of the things, but he was picking up on quite a few things here and there.  It all still made that prior goal to bring everyone 'back to their own world' a much more odd reason.  Though, was it really?  Didn't he join the front to stay with his guild?  Wasn't he just following his guild leaders wishes? 

What wishes were they, again?

"Huh, I guess so.  I'll try to keep that in mind."

Looking over to the rest of the players that had gathered, it looked like everyone had finally arrived.  Especially Zandra and her flag was getting everyone pumped up.  Although it wasn't buffing him, Hirru felt that with this talk, and the general output of this raid..

"Looks like we're all here.  Koga, Bal.  'Let's lead from the front.'"

Hirru joked before getting up from the stump.  He would turn to Freyd and give him a two finger salute before putting on the bucket helm upon his head.

"Thanks for the pep talk."

He would walk over to the entrance that Shiina had conveniently already broken.  Hirru sighed a bit before looking back and awaited his party members.  This was his first time back on the front lines.  He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Everything..

..was going..

..to be..

..alright.

"That sounds good to me."

Hirru bent over while grabbing the meat of his thighs.  This was the first that he had used so much energy that wasn't helped along with the support of a sword art.  He was really running in to touch Jomei each time there was a need to heal or regen health and energy.  It felt like he was out of breath, of sorts.  How did Zandra do this AND fight way better than he could?  There was a slight thought about getting rid of the Leadership skill, as that ate up far too much skill points for it to be useful.  He then looked back at the boss fight and figured that the extra accuracy and damage during the fight were much more used than his first aid arts.  About the only thing he really used was was the Barrier art.

"I think I need to work out some more.  Being a healer is rough without the assistance factor."

He said walking a bit of a distance from the stone structure.  The fog had formed back into the center, amassing in full into something that really caught his eye.  The new creature that had 'formed' didn't really take a humanoid form, but stayed in its gaseous form.  Two large arms would form from two vastly asymmetrical places, and seemed to flow around with the fog.  Even more unsetting, was that it was still showing faces, but less twisted and grotesque.  These faces would slowly fade into another, one after another.  Nearly all of them were unrecognizable.  None were anyone he really recognized. 

"So, what do you think the deal is with this thing?"

EN Regen (1/3)

There was noise all around him, but it felt like static.  There was so much going on, but the healer had had enough.  His mistakes kept on piling up and causing everything and everyone to fall apart.  His ideals were nothing more than a fallacy that none would really care about.  He was flawed and it was more than just his memories, as no one except two would know the truth.

The one known as Simmone had seemed to speak to him and then to everyone, but all he took out of it was.. 'What would he pay for this kind of trade..'  What was he willing to give?  His friends, his memories,..

..his life?

There was no need to fight over all of this, and Hirru's mind was starting to darken with his mind.  There was no need to gamble on his friends lives, nor did he have the right to gamble on the one that slept out there, the Hirru of 'their world.'  He had still not selected a proper choice yet, and he was sure of his choice now.  His finger fell ever so close to the only option that seemed viable, as everyone else was so adamant on.  Their evidence was sound.  It was.. the only.. choice.

<̶̛̲̗̽<̵͕͙̎̇k̸̠͙̃͝ĭ̸͙̦l̸̤͆̾l̵̬̀͊>̴̩̙͂>̵͈̏́

Hirru blinked as the light in his eyes seemed to slowly come back to him.  He was still in front of Koga, with Baldur next to them.  Where did those three come from?  Who.. were they, and why were they so.. familiar.  As he looked around, he figured that it may have just been his mind playing tricks on him.  It had happened plenty of times before, and no one else seemed to have noticed anyone that shouldn't have been there.  Though that was.. surreal.

He gave a weak smile to the newest member of the front lines.

"Sorry, for this being.. your first raid experience.  This doesn't happen."

He would turn to see those that had spoken to him and would nod to each.

"Thank you.. all."

He would notice that his finger was atop the selection window from before.  The prompt said:

<<Spare>>