Beat

"Gotta love the aggro system. ALL RIGHT GRANITE HEADS TIME FOR ANOTHER TASTE!" He shouted as he spear filled with energy once again. Beat charged the group surrounding Shield, releasing his sword art in his partner's face, the wave splashing harmlessly and crashing right into the four soldiers, "Weeping Moon!" Two of the earthen soldiers were forced backwards, though managed to stay on their feet, while one of them toppled over with a large chunk of its torso now missing. The fourth soldier was far less fortunate. The wave caught it from the side, cleaving through its arm and cutting into its body as it was tossed into the wall once again. 

That was a good one!

Beat grinned at the one who had lost its arm, "Oooh tough break! Maybe next time just let us have the treasure yeah?" The young player was feeling himself in this battle, his timing and execution seemed to be sharper than they had been in the Cerberus fight. IT was a satisfying feeling to say the least. 

Horus returned silently, retaking his usual perch, an indication that he had not found anything. As the seconds went by, Beat's nerves grew more and more tense.

Okay, so then where a-

Before Beat could finish his thought, a tremor vibrated the cavern around them and, moments later, four stone warriors pulled themselves out of the walls and charged the two players. "Ah, so I guess the walls do have eyes." Beat said with a smirk as he charged towards the center and charged his spear with energy. He leaped into the air and made a full circle spin, releasing his lunar sword art, a pale yellow wave of energy infused with a red aura racing outward from his spear. The wave quickly crashed into each warrior, sending them into the wall indentations they had just emerged from and leaving a large gash in one of them. "Alright, I bought you some time to grab aggro, it's all you Shield!" he said, happy with the result from his attack.

Beat resisted the urge to cut her off as she talked about herself as if she was unworthy of living. It was unfair to devalue oneself because of mistakes in the past. She had learned her lesson hadn't she? She wasn't still taking lives that had never deserved it was she? Still, it would have been hypocritcal for Beat to talk about letting the past go and he kept his mouth shut as he continued to stare into the void.

The next answer came from deep within, but made more available thanks to the void. Who else would do it then? His crusade for justice was likely over-zealous, but it settled the ghosts of his past and gave him something to feel, not that he could explain that to someone he barely knew. Right? Yeah, of course not... 

He blinked hard as her hand touched him. It was the second time they had made contact and he felt no less confused this time. Human contact was something that he knew of, but to say his grasp of anything beyond a pat on the back or a fist bump was tenuous would have been understating the issue. Still, there was one difference: with the void emptying his mind, her hand felt warm and it seemed to provide a different sort of comfort to his mind that the void certainly did not give him.

What is this?

Beat felt the difference immediately when her hand left him and no sooner had his gaze shifted to her than she was gone. In the next moment wind was blowing through his hair as he activated his charge skill to catch up to her. What happened? Why am I here? Flying into her, he wrapped his arms around her, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" he screamed as his hand frantically moved through the air. A blue crystal appeared in his hand and he squeezed her as he yelled, "TOMOIKA!"

What..? Crap!

In the next few moments, nothing seemed to be happening as the wind rushed through his hair, the darkness making it impossible to tell whether not they had fallen into the void or not. A sense of panic began to wash over him as he considered the possible outcomes of the situation they were now both in. Maybe they would simply fall forever. There are worse fates right? Maybe they would die. At least I'm not alone right? The knot Beat had come to associate with being around Mari returned again as the sound of the wind blowing past his ears gradually falling silent, though his hair was still frantically trying to stay on his head. It was calming in a sense, similar to the emptiness he got from staring into the void. Maybe that was the power of the void. Whatever it was, it helped to ease Beat's racing mind.

He looked at her, their faces inches apart as they plunged further into the void, He wasn't sure if she would be able to hear him in the void, but the words that came up escaped his mouth before he could give them any though, "That was stupid, you know?" he said with a small smile into the now silent darkness, the crystal in his hand lifeless and dark. "You shouldn't be so careless with your life."

Said the guy who just jumped into the void to save someone he barely knows

@Mari

Beat raised an eyebrow as he continued to look around, "Well, it was organized by buff, but I keep neglecting to go back and reorganize when I take things out or put things in." he said, shrugging as he continued to watch their flank. A few minutes passed through the winding tunnels before the passageway seemed to open up into a much wider hall way. In the middle of the path, in plain sight with properly lit torches surrounding it was a glimmering chest. Beat rolled his eyes as he pointed to the alluring box in their way, "Oh man, Shield. How lucky are we? I wonder who left this here?" His words dripped with sarcasm as he amused himself with his own satire. 

The enemy is either well hidden or hasn't spawned yet. 

"I'll keep a look out, you do your thing chest inspector." He said, pointing down the hallway, sending Horus down to check as he kept an eye out closer to Shield. Beat's demeanor took on a more serious note as the danger presented by the monsters on this floor gave him pause. He wasn't about to underestimate an enemy to their demise. 

Beat exhaled sharply as he released the Manticore Mask, noticing how close he had gotten to success. The exhale was part disappointment, but he was slightly winded for the effort. They had executed a large number of moves in a very small amount of time. That sort of effort did not come without exertion and the fatigue that came with it. Still he wasn't far behind and it wasn't over yet and there was a permanent smile plastered on his face. He had not had this much fun in years. 

"Well, you're close. You got me twice before the disarm." He said, pointing to the glowing red marks on his body, "and that kick registered as an attack and was certainly clean. So that puts me at six and you at seven." He placed his hand on his spear and dismissed it rather than going through the discomfort and effort of pulling his spear back through his friend his eyes wide and intense. 

He offered his hand to Shield and pulled him up, "Been a while since we got to go at each other like this hasn't it? Remind you of anything?" he said as turned to head back to the garden to reset. He was practically reliving his Crossreign days and he had his hopes on what Shield's plan for round two would be.

Beat smirked as he slapped Shield on the back, "With how much of the lifting I've been doing, I'm surprised that little bit hurts your back. Guess you really are getting old." His hand moved through the air and a small piece of rum cake appeared in his hand with a fork in the other, "Well, if we're farming, I'm buffing." He said, giving Horus a small bite which evoked a small coo from the normally testy falcon. The torched here really did seem like they had almost been forgotten by programmers who never came by to re-light them. It added to the danger of the upper floors, which really made one think, "Can you imagine what floor fifty is going to be like?" 

How many of us will live to see that though?

He finished his rum cake and summoned his menus again, This time a small cup of coffee on a dish appeared. The aroma was a nice contrast to the stale air of the caves they were walking through, "Man, can I plan a snack or what?" he said, smacking his lips as the flavor of the coffee complemented the rum cake to make a culinary experience that he had come to deeply enjoy. 

Beat felt Shield's weight as he began to drop his hips making a sudden change in plans. Doubling down on the lift was certainly doable, but an alternative plan that seemed far better came to mind as the pole began to sink in the air.

Letting me trap you on my spear was risky, letting the ground hold it and you in place for me was a mistake!

With Shield stuck on his spear and the momentum of his charge, the spear stuck hard into the ground and dug deep any mobility Shield had would be slow and limited. Beat's hands immediately left the pole and he kicked off to Shield's left, both hands grabbing the Manticore Mask and pulling the man's arm and shield out and away as hard as he could to disarm the older player as he sent a hard side kick at the tank's torso to propel him away or at least give Beat extra leverage to remove the shield from his opponent's arm. 

I don't need my spear to win this!

Quote

Passive: +1 EN

Fatal thrust vs Dark Chocolate Bunny | -1 EN

ID# 150640: BD: 10 + 7 - 2 = 15 = Major Crit | 32 x 3 = 96

[H:1/3/3/2] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 59/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 3/3
[H:0/1/0/0] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 107/136 | MIT: 79    | DMG: 23 | Absolute ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (0/3)
[H:1/1/0/0]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 91/120 | MIT: 3      | DMG 23+3  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (0/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:4/4/4/4]  Shield - HP: 1575/1850 | EN: 148/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4 

Frosted Bunny                 HP: 0/650 | DMG: 250 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 50
Toffee Bunny                   HP: 0/1000 | DMG: 150 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 125
Red-Hot Bunny                HP: 0/650 | DMG: 400 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 50 <BD7+, 60 Unmitigatable Burn DMG to the target>
Dark Chocolate Bunny   HP: 0/650 | DMG: 400 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 0 | St. Rating: 13+ <Stealth every 2 turns. Stealth attacks are AoE>

Loot Roll: ID# 150643: LD: 12 = Toffee Armor T3 [Bloodclot, Thorns 2]

"Oh no, I'll just follow behind and mop up. You relax Baldur. It's just such an honor to work with you." Beat joked, giving the samurai a wink as he laughed. This fight had been far from intense and the young player had no trouble feeling free to relax. The dark chocolate bunny stared at him as he approached at a brisk walk. Large globs of chocolate fell off of the nearly beaten bunny as it growled at him, Beat sneered as he filled his spear with energy, eyeing the creature with disgust, "Gross. Good thing you weren't very strong."

With a lightning fast thrust, Beat's spear impaled the bunny with a grotesque noise. As dark chocolate flew from the wound, the effect of the Spear of Destiny triggered, bathing the bunny in radiant light as it melted around his spear and into a dark puddle before bursting into a shower of red pixels. Beat stared at the place where the puddle had been and shook his head, "Again, gross."

Beat cackled as Shield complained about the shortage of food. It was impossible for him to be unhappy when people were enjoying his food and asking for more, "Well, I'm glad you have room for dessert then!" His hand moved through the air and appeared to press a few buttons before three pink sushi rolls appeared in front of each of them. "Now, this is a little special. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of a dessert roll, but this is certainly not what you think of when you think of traditional sushi." What sat before them was a deep fried roll of cheese cake and strawberry, wrapped with pink soy bean paper, topped with chocolate and strawberry sauce, "I call this, the Pink Lady. Other than me, no one else has tried one." 

Beat would refrain from digging in as he considered their words. His experience with the Celestial Ascendants had been less than impressive and had confirmed his belief that he and Shield needed little from other players in terms of cooperation and coordination. Still, Shield had sold the idea well enough to make Beat allow this new guild the chance to prove itself and he certainly approved of the members he knew of. "Well, my dps is towards the top on the frontline, is there a position for training recruits in the dps role?" He had once led one of the top guilds in Crossreign, so he felt comfortable training others. 

His eyes fell warmly on Mari, "I'd be happy to. I wish I had more people to cook for, honestly. Shield is a great taste tester, but more opinions and word of mouth advertising is always good for my cooking." He chuckled as he glanced back to his partner, "You have it easy too. This guy suffered through the grueling learning period at the beginning."

@Shield

@Mari

He took it on purpose?

Shield's rushing into his attack had been an unexpected development, but he knew Shield would not make such a move without a good reason. With how quickly they had been maneuvering around each other, it felt almost like one of those turn based strategy games,each of them making moves, defending, then trying to outmaneuver each other. Shield used calculating strategy while Beat used unrivaled instinct and intuition. Beat's eyes went to the shield, seeing the storm that was coming. 

I know a trap when I see one!

A red aura enveloped his body as his spear filled with energy once again and his speed increased dramatically as he lowered his center of gravity, "MIGHTY CHARGE!" In an instant, the two players crashed together, the shield connecting with with Beat's shoulder, causing the flames from the Manticore Mask to envelope him while the Charge skill and his sword art continued to propel him forward. Beat's muscles flexed as he attempted to use his momentum and the leverage he had left on his spear to lift his companion into the air before turning his body and spear to slam Shield to the ground.

Beat placed his hands on his hips as Shield jabbed back at him. It was always nice to see Shield having, especially when it was him giving Beat a taste of his own medicine. He returned the wry smile and happily met Shield's fist with his own, "I have to give you style points for that kill. It was pretty bad-ass. As usual, the two of us together is kind of unfair." He said as the quest reward screen came up. 

"I don't think I'm ready to go back just yet..." He said as he pulled up their joined inventory, "What would you say to a dungeon on the upper floors? I could even buff a little more to make it easier." He gave an eager look to Shield, hoping that his ambition to grind and put in effort to get stronger would not be lost on the king of grinding.  

Oh no you don't! I won't let you get back into your range. 

Beat had just gotten back to his ideal range and he wasn't about to let that advantage go any time soon. Beat's feet worked to stay at his range as the pair of them left the boundaries of the garden, their speed making their movements difficult to contain in such a limited area. Beats spear glowed for a moment before he brought it across, launching a wave of pale yellow energy towards his pursuer, "Weeping Moon!"

Time to go back on the offensive!

Beat dug his back heel in and reversed directions with a mighty push that kicked up the ground beneath him, He was propelled forward as he chased his wave of energy, preparing to release another sword art, Imperial Southern Cross! His spear suddenly turned into six shimmering, white weapons as they all seemed to strike simultaneously, attacking from different angles to try and get around Shield's barrier as his lunar attack came in. The sword art ended with one, final thrust aimed directly at Shield's center of mass to attempt to halt any forward progress. 

Beat watched her take in his appearance, dismissing his spear as her eyes fell on it, "Sorry, that is for people without the sort of compelling story you have. I promise I don't just jump orange players. Hunting player hunters is not something I enjoy." He said, forcing a small chuckle to lighten the mood. He felt a small pang of guilt for even approaching her the way he had and he was grateful that she had apparently chosen to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Diving into that would have not be pleasant. 

Beat took a seat with Mari as she spoke, his eyes staring into the void, allowing it to drain the negativity away from him. He found it strange to be able to relate to someone about this sort of thing. Shield had made it clear that he wasn't really the sort to deal with that sort of thing and Beat had never really had the sort of conversations he seemed to be having with Mari lately. Is this normal?

"You know, I think that's why I come here too. I'm so full of..." He paused as he felt a tug on the back of his mind. Spilling his guts was not what he came there to do. She has her own crap to deal with, she doesn't need mine too. "...so I uh...come here to drain too. Being empty for a little bit is nice and is certainly preferable sometimes..." He continued to stare into the void for a few minutes that seemed like an hour before realizing that he had zoned out and forcing his gaze to her, "So yeah, I came here to empty out you know?" His face felt hot as he blushed slightly before quickly returning to staring into the void, "So...what were you going to message me about?"

@Mari

"Alright, last one..." Beat eyed the health bar of the remaining head as its eyes glared at Shield while it attempted to find some sort of opening, "Looks like it's going to take pretty good hit to get through all of that health..." He cracked a brave smile as he twirled his spear around, "Good thing I like a challenge!" 

Aim for the eyes, everything is weaker there. 

His intended target was a known weakness of most creatures since no amount of training could ever make an eyeball more resilient to impact. Still, this was a game and not all games had such weaknesses, however Sword Art Online tended to follow some semblance of realism, however actually hitting such a critical target was no short order. Not only would Beat be airborne, but his rapid strikes were hard to aim precisely. Add to that, the fact that his target was far from immobile made aiming for a critical strike difficult. 

"Alright, let's give it a go!" He shouted as he took to the air one more time, Horus screeching as he dove in to assist his master. Beat's sword art struck true, his strikes pelting the brow, nose and cheekbones of the elemental canine, but to no avail as the creature's health bar stopped just short of empty. Beat clicked his tongue as he landed, glaring up at the Cerberus angrily, "Come on! What is that?!"

Quote

Passive: +1 EN

D.Stampede + Charge vs Frosted Bunny | -12 EN [Well Rested depleted]

ID# 150271: BD: 4 + 7 - 3 = 8 = hit | 31 x 15 = 465 - 50 = 415

[H:1/3/1/0] Seul     - HP: 1150/1150 | EN: 66/106   | MIT: 126  | DMG: 18 | EVA: -1 |   ACC: 2 | BH: 57 | V (D): 115 | HB: 24 | Conc: 2/3
[H:0/1/0/0] Baldur - HP: 1510/1510 | EN: 113/136 | MIT: 79    | DMG: 23 | Absolute ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | BH: 75 | Conc (0/3) | Parry (0/2) | QChange (0/3)
[H:1/1/0/0]  Beat    - HP: 1225/1225 | EN: 91/120 | MIT: 3      | DMG 23+3  | Absolute ACC: 7 | EVA: 0 | BH: 24 | Conc (1/3) | QChange (0/3)
[H:4/4/4/4]  Shield - HP: 1495/1850 | EN: 157/176 | MIT: 226 | DMG: 2    |  EVA: -1 | BH:92 | HB: 48 | THN: 99 | ENV: 18/4 

Frosted Bunny                 HP: 0/650 | DMG: 250 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 50 <Other bunnies heal 10% of their max HP per round>
Toffee Bunny                    HP: 0/1000 | DMG: 150 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 125
Red-Hot Bunny                HP: 351/650 | DMG: 400 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 50 <BD7+, 60 Unmitigatable Burn DMG to the target>
Dark Chocolate Bunny   HP: 616/650 | DMG: 400 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 0 | St. Rating: 13+ [Hidden] <Stealth every 2 turns. Stealth attacks are AoE>

"About to make my kill count two." Beat said, eyeing the the bunny with whiter frosting coming off, revealing the monstrosity's sweet insides. It was like a five night at Freddie's game without the robots and instead, baked monsters that tried to eat you. "Healing is cheating and absolutely not allowed." He said to the creature as his spear shimmered with energy. "Game over!" With that, Beat's charge skill activated once again, turning him into a red blur as he closed the distance between him and the frosted bunny, the creature staggering backwards at the sudden appearance of the player.

"OraOraOraOraOraOraOraaaaaaa!" Beat's multi-strike sword art ripped the delicious bunny apart, chunks of frosting flying off before bursting into red pixels as the bunny's health bar drained to zero, its stunned feet fading away last. "Thanks for playing." Beat said with a wide grin on his face as he eyed the Red-Hot Bunny net. 

Beat's eyes grew wide as he watched Shield prepare to turn his shoulder ram into a full on charge. The younger player could blame the man for wanting to keep the fight at close range and being in the air limited his options, at least for anything preemptive. 

Alright then, defense it is. 

Beat met Shield's charge head on, the shaft of his spear guarding him as the Shield crashed against it. The sound of Metal crashing against metal echoed through the garden as Shield's charge forced him backwards. Beat's feet returned to the ground, his stance allowing him to maintain balance as they began to slow. This was when Beat made his play.

Here my chance!

Kicking off with his back foot as he turned his hips outward, Beat moved to the side and in the opposite direction of Shield, allowing the bull-rushing tank to pass by as Beat's body turned to follow. To pad his efforts, Beat kept the pressure from his spear against his opponent as long as he could, his spear pushing against and guiding Shield along his course and making turning to follow such a quick change in direction and momentum difficult. He clicked his tongue as he was forced to accept the fact that Shield's defenses had bested him that round. 

Not much of a chance to attack through that though. That's the defense I remember. 

"I think I like this boss." Beat said with a devilish grin. As he spoke, a familiar red aura surrounded him as he filled his spear with the energy for his sword art, "A boss I can charge multiple times? Yes please." Seeing the red sphere coming from Shield, Beat pushed hard off of the ground, taking to the air at blinding speed, reaching his target instantly. The red orb diligently tracked its target, following Beat all the way to the middle head of the Cerberus. Beat's right hand snatched the orb out of the air before grasping his spear once again and unleashing his strongest sword art one more time, "Dimensional Stampede! ORAAAAAA!!!!" 

With his concentration skill still on cooldown, Beat focused hard on remaining stable as the charge skill shook his body with the turbulence created by the speed it granted. His efforts were a success as the Middle head failed to evade his vicious onslaught of rapid strikes. Each blow chipped away at the heal health hovering over the middle head as they traded just a little of Beat's own health, though hardly enough for concern. "Too easy!"

Beat continued to snicker as Shield did his best to keep his composure. Watching the stoic player attempt to handle compromising situations was a pastime of Beat's and it still hadn't gotten old. The added bonus this time was that he had someone joining in on the fun, only if just a little bit. Beat plated it up a few more pieces of sushi, glad that it seemed like there would be very little left over if any. He nodded to Mari as he took a sip from his tea, "Transparency is all I was after today. I'm just glad Shield was right about you. If I think of anything else, I'm sure it can wait until we go on that quest."

Beat's hand moved through the air again as he checked his dwindling food supply. Vanity food was overstocked for sure, but his supply of mitigation food was non-existent and the rest of it was getting low, "Yeah, I probably need to start cooking more. It's been a while since they nerfed cooking items. I'm sure we'll be fine as long as we make sure to get good info from the broker." He gave Shield a wag of his finger as he dismissed his menus, "You know what they say, a good offense is a good defense. Most things won't live long enough to inflict any real damage."

@Shield

@Mari

Beat laid in bed, his gaze empty, fixed on a spot on his ceiling as he worked to pull himself out of bed. His mind had been more unstable than it had been in a long time and he knew the reason.

Mari...

Something had happened during their conversations that had cracked the foundations in the resolve that he had managed to build after his encounters with the slavers. He had always taken solace in that he was the one responsible for handling orange players that would harm others or the front lines, but now, somehow that wasn't enough anymore. There were other feelings mixed in there as well, but the strongest one was the overwhelming urge to talk to her again.There was far more to what both of them had said at her house and the fact that she could actually understand the price of a human life was something Beat had not expected when he had met with her. 

I need to think...

He quickly dressed and headed towards the transporter of his home settlement. He stepped onto the pad and shouted the name of his destination, "Yomi!" In a blurry flash of light, he was whisked away to the beautiful and haunting caves of the tenth floor. He took in the moist, somewhat stale air as he headed toward the Stygian river. He followed the sound of the water, knowing the path well enough to not need a light source as he drew closer to the void. As he approached his destination, his blood stopped cold as he noticed another player standing there, the only distinguishable feature being an orange marker. 

An eye for an eye...

Beat's eyes stared ahead as he drew his spear and set his equipment, his hand dancing through the air without a glance to the interface. He had trained himself to never need to look as it was attention taken from the situation at hand. The pk hunter slowly moved closer, his heartbeat sitting behind his eardrums as he stalked the potential victim of justice. Beat set his target and charged his sword art as he drew closer, the distance indicator counting down the feet. Fifty feet. Forty feet. Thirty feet. The distance marker finally turned red, indicating that he was in optimal range for his charge skill as his cold eyes focused on his target. He was ready. Ready to administer justice should this player be guilty. He opened his mouth to speak as his eyes noticed the red hair and height. 

No way...christ...

Beat's body suddenly felt cold as the adrenaline left his body. He strapped his spear to his back as he stood up, walking much more casually towards her. "You know, an orange player walking around alone is a recipe for trouble. I almost thought...well, I'm glad it was you." He stopped next to her, staring down at the void he used to lose himself in though so often. "You know, they say it just spits you back out and some people say they hear voices. I've never had the guts to test that rumor though. You?" He said, looking to her and giving her a small smile. 

@Mari

Beat's eye glanced up to his health bar, watching his newly acquired battle healing skill doing its job. The hounds thorns damage barely did anything and the Cerberus was hardly any more. He looked himself over, noticing the luminescent red marks left by the effect that was normally reserved for the poor creatures who chose to strike his companion, "Battle healing is so nice! I'll definitely cap it. It'll make a huge difference in floor boss fights. Anything to take pressure off of our already poor supply of healing." 

Oh right!

Beat grinned as he peered up at the heavily damaged head of the Cerberus, "Sorry about that, was distracted. Now then, I think I was trying to teach you the sit command." He leaped into the air,. wind rustling his hair as his spear seemed to strike six times at once in a ring before finishing the combination with a fatal thrust, "Sit!"

Chills ran down his spine as the angry howl of what he assumed was Cerberus reverberated off of the cavern walls, adding to its intimidating nature. He followed Shield's eyes towards one of the dark caverns as Shield tossed him the red orb of energy. He snatched it happily, feeling the energizing sensation it provided, letting him know that he was now hitting harder than before, "Alright, let's kick some ass!"

Come!

Three pairs of red, venomous eyes peered through the darkness as the heavy thud of the creature's footsteps grew closer, "Damn, what is this thing?" He muttered before soon getting his answer. The Cerberus emerged from thew passage way, it's three heads appearing to look for its kin before splitting their attention between the two players. 

"No aoe if I remember right. Gotta hit one at a time." he said as he activated his charge skill and ran forward at blazing speed, "Fine by me! Let's go boy!" His voice carried through the cavern as he leapt into the air, his form distorting as it always did, pummeling the central head with thunderous strikes as all three heads roared in pain. He retreated back towards Shield as the undamaged heads each took a snap at him, being far too distracted to land their teeth on the glass cannon.

Beat was glad he had made Shield choose a gambit path, one that offered more of a trade than anything else. Still, he could see the reason Shield had chosen this path. There were multiple payoffs if things went his way, but Beat saw an opening afforded to him buy a skill he did not frequently use to such an effect. 

He was never going to make this easy, we knew that. 

Beat committed to the strike on Shield's shoulder, feeling the blow crash against his armor. As the wings of the shield began to trap his spear he activated his skill.

Quick Change! 

In an instant, Beat swapped the positioning of his hands, his right hand now furthest up the shaft as his spear disappeared and another appeared in his hands, the blade now on Shield's exposed side, though still holding the shaft closer to the blade. Doing this meant accepting the other part of the deal. He lowered his stance and leaned into the shoulder charge to avoid losing his balance when the inevitable impact came.

Bring it! 

Beat took a small hop as Shield's weight crashed into him, allowing the force of the charge to push him backwards through the air as he allowed his hands to move back down the spear shaft to take a swing at the tank's exposed side as he retreated through the air. Skidding to a stop, Beat peeked at his health bar, confirming that Shield's thorns had indeed gone off. "Nice shot! I didn't know you could deliver thorns like that!"

Beat gave another smile as she fed him the words he wanted to hear, doing his best to not look like he had a feeling that she was doing the same thing he was. It was odd to be able to read someone though he imagined he couldn't be spot on. Pain knows pain I guess. It made Beat wonder how much she knew about him after all. Was he that transparent? Was it that obvious to everyone all the time that there was more going on in his head? He was beginning to regret saying that he was out of questions.

Maybe I don't like being the one answering questions. This could be bad... 

He found maintaining his smile much easier as she asked her questions, a wave of relief and gratitude washing over him for the turn of mood and tension. He felt a rush of excitement as he replied, "Is that all?" His hand once again danced in the air as he opened his interface and sent her a friend invite, "Of course. I think we can find some to do without my doting husband's buffs." Beat gave his betrothed a cheesy grin and bat his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to Mari, "It would be good to see what you can do. I don't normally run around with other dps, so it should be fun!" He looked back to Shield lovingly, batting his eyes once again, "Unwess you want to come pwotect witlle ol' me."

@Shield

@Mari

Beat watched as Shield pushed through his hail of strikes, glad that Shield's defenses were living up to their name so far. Immovable object indeed. As he landed, he ceased his flurry, realizing that Shield's progress had not only changed direction, but was relatively unfettered by his efforts.

He'll be too close for conventional strikes, but this weapon is way more versatile than people give it credit for. 

As he drew back his spear, he allowed his hands to slide up the shaft, reducing his range, but dramatically increasing his swing speed and flexibility, something he would need at the closer range. "Fine, we can play closer to your range for a bit." Using his Spear more like a staff now, Beat brought the blade of his spear down diagonally, giving Shield something to guard against as he closed in and hoping the increase in swing speed would give him pause. Beat's true attention was on Shield's next move, wondering where this gambit was going. Maybe I just need a closer look at those defenses. 

Beat shook his head as the envenom debuff ticked and nearly finished off the hound, but not quite. The sliver of health was almost non-existent, merely coloring the end of the health bar to let you know that it did, in fact, have a little life left. "Well, guess I get to whip this sword art out. That thing has like, one hit point left." 

Beat walked forward at an almost casual pace, holding his spear out to the side as it filled with energy, though the glow from his spear was far dimmer than usual. "Alright, puppy, time to say goodnight. You're up way past your bed time." With that, Beat activated the sword art, causing him to seem to disappear and reappear in an instant, his new location being directly in front of the hell hound, his spear piercing the canine's throat.  "Guess dogs only have three lives." He said, looking around the cave as the hound burst into red pixels.