Gotz

Without warning, I swing my sword and land a hit onto his body, gushing out his slimy blood. I would have make a clean cut if his arms do not manage to get around my plate armor and scratch its back. Feeling the pain jolting throughout his body, the mantisman detracts his arms back to normal size, panting heavily. 

"We can do this all day you know," I speak to him. "Even after sunset, I will still fight no matter how tired you are. I bet that your arms will no longer flail like tentacles at your exhausted state."

The mantisman grits his teeth in response and yells: "Shut the f**k up!" in the same way I did to the mysterious thief. Goodness...the irony of this situation... He rushes towards me at a rapid pace as he intends to bite my neck with his sharp teeth.

"Die in vain, swordsman!"

Gotz: HP 74/80

Mantisman 2: HP 7/12

ID: 68814

BD: 1

MD: 6

"Yes! Put all your strength into your stick arms, private!" I shout as I receive a few more strikes against my shield and my armor's breastplate at one point. The mantisman's incoming attacks are the ones which are never seen in the earlier stages of fighting him. Sometimes he would elongated his arms, and sometimes they would act on their own, similar to the arms of an octopus. and this can be unpredictable sometimes. One of them was able to go around my shield and almost pierce my body, and it would have done so if i haven't bash the insect away. 

As we are staring at each other, I notice one of the stone bricks on the walls seems to not align with the rest of the bricks. This must be another button, but I have an assumption that this will open the door to the basement. 

"What the f**k are you looking at?!" shouts the mantisman as he extends his arms, letting them take control of his attacks.

Gotz: HP 75/80

Mantisman 2: HP 7/12

ID: 68810

BD: 8

MD: 6

Got to give a little credit to him...at least he catches me off guard. The mantisman perfectly parries my stabbing attack and if I haven't push my shield further, he would have stab me in the same way a player would do after parrying in Dark Souls. The next thing he does is to clash his arm with my sword like a bladed weapon, and this is ongoing for a few minutes until both of us end up stepping into the dome house while still fighting.

...He is really focused this time, the attacks are getting better for him, perhaps due to the fact that he realizes how pathetic he initially looked while trying to fight to buy his brother some time to escape. I keep using my shield and sword to fend off his attacks as he starts to aim towards parts of my body that aren't blocked by my tower shield. The excitement of fighting him grows back into my soul.

Give me all you got, pest. Come on, hit me!

Gotz: HP 76/80

Mantisman 2: HP 12/12

ID: 68797

BD: 3

MD: 7

Unexpectedly, he leaps to the right side of my body, which is not covered by my shield, and proceed to slash my leg and attempt to bite down the flesh. In response, I knock his head with my sword's pommel multiple times, prompting him to get off and let out more screaming that represent grief and madness. 

"Good grief, he will be in purgatory in no time." I say casually. "Just shut up and stay still, would you kindly?"

This triggers him to yell even louder, and even worse, he is trying hard to flank me even though I bash him away with my shield every time he does so. I'm getting bored of fighting with him, for his attacks are nothing but easy to avoid. I am also already used to the knockback effect emitted by his arms, and because of this, I manage to retain my shield in its position during the attack. I let out a huge sigh of disappointment and charge my sword towards him like a spear.

Gotz: HP 77/80

Mantisman 2: HP 12/12

ID: 68796

BD: 2

MD: 1

Wait a minute, three of us? Entering this rock dome? ...Hah! F**k that! I'll just kill them right away!

And right this instant, I betray my words by skewering the side of the mantisman's head with my sword, the slimy blood splatters onto my face, but that is soon gone, as it is washed off quickly by the rain, which is still falling heavily throughout the entire fight. The other mantisman looks at his friend's demise in horror, barely letting out a yelp of grief as he watches his friend's brain being cut in half, dropping the remaining COL and a steel ore he keeps with him. I may have smile at this wonderful spectacle, but I don't feel like it this time...

I slowly turn my head towards the last mantisman, who is now in the brink of tears, gritting his teeth. In a maddening rage, he leaps towards me shouting while flailing his arms like some kind of fan. That looks so f**king reckless. Die already, scum. 

Gotz: HP 77/80

Mantisman 2: HP 12/12

ID: 68785

BD: 5

MD: 10

A new, mischievous idea storms through my brain as I grin. Without hesitation, I walk towards the mantisman and bash his arm that is reaching for the window. I briefly look through the glass to find no one living in the house. Either the boss and the prisoner is gone somewhere out in the fields, or this house has a secret room in its interior. Back to the insect, I grab his arm and place my sword near his throat, looking at his friend who immediately stops in his tracks as soon as he knows what is going to happen.

"I'll tell you what." I explain. "If you stop attacking me, I will spare your brother. But as a price, you shall answer this question, pest. Do this dome have a basement of some sort?"

Without any form of reluctance, the second mantisman nods. The first one is panting heavily, his life is at stake and will be chose to be taken away...or spared. Depending on what I feel like doing to him. I continue on as I give him a nod.

"I'll let him open the door to this house, and both of you should lead me to your boss. You understand? And you are to not do anything stupid as I negotiate with him to give me the prisoner."

"Y..yes...we will not do so...friend..just...push the button..."

I withdraw my blade from his neck, waiting for him to do what he is supposed to do. The mantisman struggles to withstand the pain as he slowly pushes a brick wall just below the window. It is pushed into a depression and slowly, the 'door' opens vertically upwards, allowing entry to the three of us.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman 1: HP 0/12

ID: 68784

BD: 6

LD: 14

Obtained 1 Material

Obtained 60 COL

Well actually, I haven't execute my plan yet. The mantisman turns around and gives me a shitty grin as he looks at me, or so I think at first. I look behind me to see his friends already leaping towards my position at a great distance, yelling like a madman. I raise up my shield just in time to make him bump headfirst onto the metal at his next leap. The sound is similar to a small, blunt mace barely hitting against plate armor. I guess his skull is really thick like a stegoceras's. Too f**king bad he bounces off my shield like a ball.

I turn my head around to see the first mantisman falling onto his knees as his injuries are taking his toll. I can hear him mutter: "Almost...there...reach..the button..window..gah.."

Oh..there's a button nearby the window huh...well thank you sir. In return, let me give you a free ticket to a good part of the world of Limbo.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman 1: HP 4/12

ID: 68782

BD: 2

MD: 1

"Hey! Face me, you f**knut!" shouts the second mantisman. I turn away from the other, limping mantisman and stare at the second's eyes blankly, like a dead man. Probably due to my idleness, he turns on his own berserker mode and jumps towards me, swinging his arms wildly. Even though the first strike almost land onto my armor, the rest of the attacks are entirely blocked. This time I am entirely quiet, just waiting for a chance to run towards the injured mantisman and cut his body in half before he could reach the house. 

Through my brief glances at him, his movements are really slow, and he would have been limping a little faster if he isn't being confident that his friend could buy him some time. Regardless, I keep my focus on evading and blocking his attacks, with later becomes a series of kicks.

The more I spend a few minutes on engaging him, the more anxious I become of the mantisman's escape. As he is almost close to the house, I manage to parry his arm with my sword and bash his head with my shield. I quickly run towards the f**king insect and does something that would be considered "unskillful" to professional swordsmen.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman 1: HP 4/12

ID: 68780

BD: 5

MD: 5

Just as I am about to bring my foot down, the mantisman grabs it with his arms, prompting me to step back and watch him slowly stand up despite the mortal pain he is suffering from. His skin softens as my sword falls from the wound on his shoulder, and I quickly pick it up and stand in a defensive stance, expecting him to deliver his 'final blow' or whatnot. 

Instead of that, he walks towards his friend and pats him on the shoulder. "Go..finish him off...you can do this...I..will tell the boss...."

And with those words, he walks away, grinning at me with his slightly sharp teeth as he chuckles.

"Soon...the boss...w..will...deal with you...if you manage to hold on to this fight a little longer that is.." says the mantisman.

...I only stare at him and his friend who is ready to fight once more. There is no f**king way I will let him go just like that....a crazy thought comes into my mind.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman 1: HP 4/12

ID: 68778

BD: 1

MD: 5

...I do not expect the mantisman to harden his skin and have the blade stuck between the cartilages of his shoulders. He lets out an evil chuckle as he feels my blade struggling to get pulled off from his flesh. Seeing this a chance to have his friend attacking me, he shouts out: "Kill him now! Quickly!"

Immediately, I turn around and raise up my tower shield at a hurrying pace, hurting my shoulder in the process. His friend's attacks are getting more violent as he makes several scratches on its metal surface, the knockback effects are also gets more forceful. I have to step on his wounded chest just to avoid falling. I'm not going make his body my downfall! 

"Come on! Stop blocking and f**king die, scumbag!" The mantisman yells out, running out of breaths as his swings becomes weaker at every second. I do not make any movements as he steps back, panting heavily. I let out a grin as I walk past him and raise up my foot to stomp the f**k out of his lad's face.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman 1: HP 4/12

ID: 68777

BD: 2

MD: 1

The pleads of the mantisman finally triggers his friend to attack me with his arms. Sadly to him, I already hear his rapid footsteps and turn my shield towards his direction, blocking his slashes. I hate to admit this but, I am impressed at the strength of his arms despite having a smaller physique than the first mantisman. They provide a decent knockback against my shield, and I have to try my best to keep my balance intact. As he uses both of his arms together to make a dent onto my personal armor, I bash him in one single push. 

He falls to the ground and I ignore him as I have to dispose his dying friend first. This time I quickly plunge my sword into his shoulder, while looking at the rock dome, fearing that the boss may be seeing the whole fight. There is actually a round glass window which is never mentioned by the elf. If the leader sees the fight, his face would be visible at the window itself.

I look back at the mantisman, who is now weeping silently. What a f**king pussy...

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman: HP 4/12

ID: 68775

BD: 4

MD: 3

I kick the poor sod in the face and pin down his wounded chest with my foot. Raising up my sword, I grin happily as I shouted: "Sayonara, pal!"

I bring the sword down at great speed, aiming for his ugly face. But the mantisman blocks my sword with his two arms, and they are surprisingly as durable as steel. Trying to sever them isn't really effective, unless...hm, unless I can sever his entire arm by cutting his shoulder. I take a step back from his body, blocking his weak swing attack as I move to his shoulder. There, I stomp his head sideways, and pin him this way. 

His friend have been trying to take at least one swing towards me, but my eyes will always catch him whenever he is close towards me. He is already gritting his teeth in sadness and anger, since he really wants to save the mantisman but couldn't do so because of his fear that he would be butchered. 

"You will not utter any last words, kidnapper." I speak in a steady, but unnerving voice. I think he is already losing his sanity, because right after I said my statement, he starts yelling and begging for mercy.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman: HP 4/12

ID: 68770

BD: 4

MD: 3

In only two seconds, we are already launching our attacks against each other. I send the sword flying with its blade pointed forwards, aiming and stabbing through the heart of the mantisman. Meanwhile, he makes quite a hurtful graze onto my cheek, though he couldn't dig the wound deeper due to the fact that he realizes how f**ked up his body is at this point.

He lets out a bloodcurdling scream as my Sword Art stabs his heart two more times before cutting down to his groin, prompting him to get onto his knees as his green, slimy blood spills out onto the flowery ground. His friend tries to advance forward to assist him, but as quickly as I can, I withdraw my sword from the former's flesh and give him a rage-inducing glare.

"Stay the f**k out or I will gut you the same way I did to your pathetic friend!" I yell angrily. Now...for the good old ultraviolence...goodness I love that word.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantisman 1: HP 4/12

ID: 68769

BD: 4

MD: 2

S**t! I f**king miss! One of the mantismen pushes his friend away and swing his claw towards my neck, only managing to graze it a little. I quickly turn around and face the shield forward as I bang my sword against it, taunting him to fight me.

"Holy s**t...how did you know he was..." says the second mantismen, astonished at my appearance and his friend's knowledge of my presence.

"Easy. I can hear the clanging of his armor. I purposely ignore him until we reach home. At least you can call out for the boss if we are in critical condition. You have guts of following us back home, human. But you'll probabl--"

"Shut the f**k up and start the fight already." I interrupt. Why do the evil people always give out long speeches about how powerful they are and so on? Are they so narcissist that they think they won't be attack when they leave themselves open? It is retarded. 

"Straight to the point huh?" says the first mantismen, clicking his arms together as he walks towards me, grinning.

Gotz: HP 78/80

Mantismen 1: HP 4/12

ID: 68768

BD: 8

MD: 9

Energy: 4/8

Used Snake Bite!

..On second thought, I stop myself from sprinting and stay myself away from the mantismen. Alternatively, I could secretly follow them back to the dome, and since the rain is getting heavier, I can barely see anything for more than, perhaps, a few blocks away or something similar to that matter. The mantismen continues walking normally, for they have extraordinary visions that would help them see in dark or rainy areas. Throughout the journey, they never turn around to see if anyone is following, and I have my tower shield raised up the whole time. I figure that such movement will somehow reduce noise, and I would sneak better too. 

Finally, after what seem like an hour, the rock dome and the arch of the forest's entrance are visible in front of me and the mantismen. I take a deep breath and stop hiding behind my shield, pulling my sword backwards as it glows into a green color. 

"VASLAGAN!!!"

Gotz: HP 79/80

Mantisman 1: HP 12/12

ID: 68767

BD: 1

MD: 7

I wipe my sweat away as I look at my new creations. There is only one masterpiece grade equipment, but at least the rest of them are good or uncommon. Plus, I manage to save a little amount of materials, and hopefully I will gather them in my next session of violence. The first equipment I forged for today is a Russian Zertsalo plate armor, full suit. I stare in awe of its beauty as I keep my eyes on the texture and pattern I implemented on the surfaces of each piece of armor. I would have use this armor right away, but then, I decide to change my mind and put it on sale instead. 

The good items are Spartan and Viking helmets, while the uncommon is a spear, sharp enough to cause bleeding when piercing the flesh. I originally want to forge metal masks, but seeing that I have no concrete idea on how they would look like, I decide to forge the helmets instead...

Forged items:

The previous customer seems rather off...though I do not wish to indulge more about him. I can even tell that his smile wasn't genuine, it is either a smile of anger, disappointment, or just being a d**k in general. Regardless, I step into the shop and head into the basement to get to today's work. 

As I promise to myself, I am going to forge some armor, and maybe some weapons too. Hopefully the results will be as perfect as they can be.

I gather my remaining steel ingots and count them altogether. Seven...that seems to be enough, although I am a little worried that I will keep failing until the ingots exist no more. I nervously heat up the ingot, watching its natural color turn to bright yellow as it is reader to be flattened and shaped into components of human protection.

I become perhaps a little too calm when I bang the metal with my hammer. Maybe it's the sound of rain outside my shop...

1. ID: 68748 CD: 12

Masterpiece item forged! Gained 8 EXP

2. ID: 68749 CD: 5 LD: 2

Junk item forged. Best salvaged or discarded. Gained 1 EXP

Immediately, I wake up from my slumber as I hear the mocking words of Esther's master. Yeah...that f**ktard ruined my dream for some reason. Now I cannot sleep in peace, which will be pointless anyway. Because I hear two voices and stand up to see who is nearby. To my surprise, these voices belong to two of the monsters I am supposed to butcher up.

The two creatures are humanoid mantises, all of them have elongated, fore arms as a typical mantis would have. These arms have sharp tips, and I presume that they are used as weapons. They are capable of human speech, though their voice are a little high pitched.

I draw out my sword and hide behind my tower shield, slowly approaching them so I can catch one by surprise. They are conversing about the girl they kidnapped.

"It's no fair that the boss has that b**ch all to himself," says one of them with a frustrated tone.

"Why don't you catch one by yourself? There are plenty of elven women wandering around the fields, especially when it almost close to the village."

"You got a point...but..that woman which we kidnapped together? She looks really hot, I want to fondle and ram her at her ass. Hahah!"

"You are an impatient dickhead, you know that?"

"Ah. I see. Well, I will keep my shield then. But thank you for the polite declination." 

I give him a smile and walk out of the store. It is such a pity, but if he wants to keep it so I gain the money from the shield, so be it. At least I already know that he is confident that he can survive despite the small amounts of COL. I enter Swordaria and replace my shield onto the rack, staring at my other shield that bears a terrifying face. To this day, I still don't know why I forged such a shield, I guess I was thinking of my violent self while doing so. 

I stare at my weapons as I wonder if there are anything else I can buy to further increase my strength. I feel that the only equipment that I really lack is a full suit of armor...which I happen to forge one even though it is a samurai armor. ...I think I will forge one myself, screw buying one...

Rain has always been my favorite weather, as it brings me the greatest peace and comfort I could ever have. As a pluviophile, I tend to stare at my window for periods of time whenever this blissful weather comes around, it is as if it washes off all corruption of the world instantly with one swift fall. Sometimes I would go outside and soak myself wet in the rain. Occasionally I would refill my giant bottles with rainwater, boil them, and place them in the refrigerator. As I said earlier, their taste are really freshening. 

And now, I am happy that I could enjoy the rain in Aincrad....I stare at the sky blankly as the cold wind blow against me...I think I am hearing something...maybe it's just my imagination.. 

I close my eyes to take a little nap, somehow I am able to enter a dream in mere minutes. I am alone in the dream. Well, that sounds wrong. There are people in the dream, but I seem to be the only person to be ignored. Strangely, I am desperate for social activity, but nobody gives a s**t about my plight. Rrgh...get out..please...out of my head... 

@Macradon

A few minutes after I left my shop, I couldn't help but being bothered that my tip is unpaid, and surely the smithy needs more COL than the initial price. Hmm...what to give...must be..ahah. 

I have an idea. Maybe I can give him one of my crafts. Yes, that would be possible, hopefully. So I go back to Swordaria and take one of my masterpieces, a beautiful, metal shield. It is dedicated to our green hero, Link. And even though it would fetch a high price, I figured maybe I can just spare at least one of my shields to the smithy.

Strapping the shield to my back, I get out of the store and run back to the Blazing Typhoon. I then strap my shield to my arm while proudly display it to him.

"Take this as my gift, smithy. How about it? Huh?"

Plunging the sword into its mouth has never been so satisfying. I watch the Lizalfos twitching as his tongue is chopped off, before turning into pieces of discarded data, dropping a steel ore. After picking up the material, I continue my journey as I hold onto my sword and tower shield, looking hard for the dome. 

For the first time in my new life in Aincrad, I see the clouds turning dark due to the containment of so much water within themselves. Then, in a split second, rain pours heavily throughout the third floor. I have an intense feeling of joy as I feel the heavy droplets of the rain splashing onto me like the bullets of a machine gun.

I set down my equipment and roll over the flowery grounds as the rain soaks me wet. It is so freezing cold, but I do not care. I even drink some of the rainwater, and it feels fresher than the typical water I always drink.

Rather than bashing him again, I step back a little from the Lizalfos, with my shield still facing it. It is now confused as it doesn't know what to do, it never even try to flank me, perhaps because he knows that I will quickly turn around and block its attack. After a few more seconds of waiting, it becomes frustrated and hisses loudly as leaps towards me, intending to move my shield away. Before it could do so, my shield is already shifted to the side, and I swiftly stab it in the chest, using my Snake Bite to further assault it with three brutal slashes, severing one its arm and legs in the process.

The Lizalfos falls to the ground, bleeding severely as I step onto its neck with my foot. My shield pins down its other arm, which is still holding its sword. 

"Sayonara, motherf**ker," I blurt out as the Lizalfos screams like a cat in a bag.

Gotz: HP 79/80

Lizalfos: HP 0/20

ID: 68729

BD: 9

LD: 9

Obtained 1 Material!

I take my previous statements regarding the Lizalfo's combat skills back. He is proficient enough to parry my slashes, chirping repetetively in a way that he seems to be laughing at my futile attacks. I push my shield forward to bash his him, but he manages to jump a few inches away from me, enough to have my shield missing its target. 

After the attacks, I take cover behind my shield, panting a little from exhaustion. This lizard still have some reflexes after all, perhaps I should just drop my shield... No. I won't do it. This shield is part of my armor, and my sole protector in the hostile parts of Aincrad. The Lizalfos tilts its head as it looks at the way I raise up my shield, it looks more like hiding behind a wall. It approaches me carefully, as it knows that I am planning something fishy...

You goddamn right I am...

Gotz: HP 79/80

Lizalfos: HP 3/20

ID: 68728

BD: 9

MD: 2

Energy: 2/8

Used Snake Bite!