Ronnel
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Posts posted by Ronnel
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"I…. Sorry?" He blinked twice, then shook his head. Right. He wasn't outright dead so maybe there was a chance she was being honest about not wanting to kill him? He coughed and used his spear to stand himself back up, brushing dirt from his legs. Right - right if she wanted him dead, offering even backhanded complimentary advice wouldn't have been what she did.
"Sorry about that. I'm just a bit lost here, so I was trying to figure out where I was getting turned around. Thanks for the direction back to town." Without the imminent threat of death hanging over his head, the tension in his chest eased. He gave her a smile and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he tossed his spear into his inventory and offered his hand with a sheepish grin.
"My name is Ronnel. Sorry, I should know better than to judge off immediate appearances." He wasn't dumb enough to tell her that he didn't even have any teleport crystals - while he was willing to trust that she wasn't going to kill him immediately, that didn't mean she wasn't going to just snap and attack him randomly.
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"Ah?" Ronnel blinked and jerked backwards when he heard a voice from almost directly in front of him. He'd been looking up at the trees, trying to use the sun above to keep himself walking in a straight line, so had not really been looking down where he was going. So - the voice caught him off guard.
His eyes tracked downwards - and with a full body jolt he threw himself backwards as he caught sight of the orange marker. "Ah! Oh christ, please don't kill me!" He scrambled backwards, scooping up his spear and trembling as he pointed it in her general direction. He had no idea where the player killer had come from and he could feel icy sweat dripping down his back as he stared at the woman.
Fiery orange hair sat above cool blue eyes, set into a freckle-spackled face. Those eyes were currently staring at him with an irritated, annoyed gaze. He swallowed nervously.
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F02 - Orange Ain’t Bad, I Guess?
NB: Any bunnying in this thread has been approved by both parties
The forest was thick and heavy, the air clinging to Ronnel as he pushed through. He’d been out exploring, trying to get a feeling for actually moving and doing things, and now he was… Well. Lost. He knew if he picked a direction and just started walking in it he would eventually find his way out of the forest, but the problem was - he’d tried that. And he’d made sure to mark one of the trees as he went along. The problem was…. Now he was staring at that mark again. For the third time.
“Well, crap.” He breathed in deep and let it out slowly. He was going in circles in these woods. And he didn't even know where he was getting turned around! He puffed out a breath of frustration and sharply turned on one heel, stomping in a different direction than he'd been going in originally. If his original path wasn't working, then taking a new path would just be what he had to do!
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"Oh thank goodness." The fluttering of wings had been what caught Ronnel's attention as he back-tracked, looking for the woman. Her raven was still circling before settling, and the sound of his wings beating had helped guide the young man to his teammate. He turned a corner and paused as he saw Cordelia ahead of him, walking in his direction. Clinging to one hand was a young girl. The NPC girl had a small nameplate hanging above her head - 'Missing Child' - so he'd been right. The girl had only appeared once the target enemies were slain.
"Hey there! Sorry, I couldn't see the tunnels and made a wrong turn." He grimaced slightly before offering a bright smile to the young girl, who hid behind Cordelia. He chuckled softly before looking at the woman. "Alright! Next part is to get her back safely, shouldn't be any harder than rescuing her in the first place, huh. Not that I was much help, heh." Ronnel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he turned slightly to let Cordelia and the girl move back down the tunnel. While he hadn't been able to fight against the bats, he could at least maybe be a rear-guard in case anything tried to attack while they were leaving.
But they hadn't gone too far into the caves before being attacked by the bats, so it wouldn't take very long for them to get back out, either. And despite how hated 'escort' missions were historically, at least this girl that they were taking back to her mother wasn't going too slowly, probably because she was still hanging onto Cordelia's hand. -
He could hear the fight but for the life of him, Ronnel couldn't see a damn thing. From ahead of him he heard the sounds of swift motion - but he didn't hear any screeches of pain, or shouts from his teammate. He grit his teeth as his fingers clenched around the haft of his spear. He knew that she'd told him not to get involved but - was he really just going to sit back and let her fight without even trying to help her? Eyes drifted closed and he drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He had to at least try.
His feet kicked into motion almost before he'd come to the conscious decision. He sprinted down the cave, towards where he thought the fight was, preparing himself to try stabbing one of the bat's to at least distract them and maybe make Cordelia's job easier. The spear- wielder skidded to a halt, dust drifting up around his feet as he looked around and then began cursing.
"There was a branch in the tunnel???" He hadn't seen it in the darkness. He had to have made a wrong turn, either following a wall he shouldn't have or not even realizing there was a tunnel where Cordelia had gone. This blasted darkness in the caves and the effect it was having on vision was problematic - now he had to back track and hopefully find the right way to where Cordelia was fighting. With an aggravated grunt he tossed his spear back into his inventory and started back the way he'd come - this time hopefully he didn't make a wrong turn!
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"I'm Ronnel." He didn't know if it was supposed to be reassuring or not, but hey, he was going to take it as her saying it'd be pointless for him to try attacking. The caves were dark and the shadows seemed to stretch out of sight - something twisting vision, probably. He frowned slightly as he looked around and shrugged.
"I'll do my best not to get in the way." He didn't make any promises if one charged him, but she figured she'd be able to pull all the Hate from any mobs that spawned faster than he could hope to. The dark-haired man would focus on trying to find the girl, instead, assuming that this wasn't one of the kinds of quests where the missing NPC would only appear once the enemies had been slain.
Who was he kidding. It was probably exactly that kind of quest. Ronnel cursed quietly under his breath as they made their way through the caves. He didn't have anything to help see through the dark of the underground, and he'd stumbled over rocks a few times already. Still, it certainly meant that he wasn't too close to Cordelia so he shouldn't interfere if and when enemies spawned.
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"My daughter was playing with her friend near the caves and..." Ronnel's attention was dragged away by a haori flickering into existence as it came out of inventory-space. The coded character kept speaking as he raised an eyebrow at the woman's dismissive attitude. It wasn't that unexpected though, most people weren't too interested in the NPCs that surrounded them from day to day.
For him though - he straightened his back and squeezed the woman's shoulder. "We'll look for her." He knew it was a programmed response, but there was strong relief on the mother's face as he turned and started following the katana-weilding woman.
While he wasn't too keen on working with others he didn't trust, the flashing indicator that had shown up told him this was a proper quest, not just a random encounter. Which meant he almost certainly wasn't strong enough to handle it on his own. So pride had to be swallowed - if he tried to solo this, he was almost certain to die.
"Miss, miss!" He called after her as he jogged slightly to catch up. Hopefully she didn't just dismiss his request to party out of hand. She certainly came across as far more skilled than he was. Ronnel equipped his spear and hefted it onto his shoulders as he caught up to her. "Sorry, but - do you mind if we work together on this?" He fumbled a bit as he scrolled through menus - this was the first time he was trying to invite another player to a party.
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{{{Private Party: Cordelia and Ronnel}}}
"...lp me?" The woman ahead of Ronnel was shaken off of the person who she had grabbed onto, their head twisting in the negative. The dark haired man frowned slightly as the woman seemed to deflate in on herself for a moment, tears leaking down her face and falling. Even though he knew that the woman was just lines of code, programmed to act like she was, he couldn't shake the feeling of pity, worry, as he watched her.
Her head came up, and he could see that her cheeks were damp with tears. Their eyes locked, and a faint light of hope burst across her face as she hurried towards him, pushing past some of the other passer-by in the city. Ronnel planted the butt of his spear on the ground as the woman came up to him.
Closer now, he could see faint lines of gray in her hair, and crows-feet at the corner of her eyes. Her dress was worn, patched and mended so much the original color and material of it was almost completely gone. A thin band of metal hung from a chain on her neck, a wedding band.
"Please, sir, please." Her voice croaked out, worn from grief and tears, and doubtless countless pleas. "Please, can you help me? My daughter, she's…. She's.. She's…" The woman's shoulders shook as a fresh sob wracked her body.
Family. Ronnel flicked his wrist, tossing his spear into his inventory. One hand clamped onto the woman's shoulder as he supported.
"Easy, easy. Take a deep breath and start at the beginning. I'll do what I can to help." Family is important. Even if his hadn't felt that way at the end.
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Breathe out.
But - Ronnel was done hiding because of his fear. He grit his teeth, hard enough that his jaw began to hurt. So what if he could die? There wasn't anyone waiting on him to come home from this accursed death game. He had nothing left - nothing to lose now.
If he couldn't bring himself to fight one of the monsters on the low levels, he might as well run back to the City of Beginning and stay there as a leech on the success of everyone else. And he didn't know how much longer he could live with himself like that.
This wasn't just a hunt. This was his chance to prove to himself that he actually could do something with his life now. His fingers tightened on the haft of the wood. He would do this. He had to do this. There was no turning back any more.
With that thought ringing in his mind Ronnel stepped out from behind the tree. Dark eyes scanned the forest around him, revealing nothing. Whatever movement he had seen before, the source had not come any closer to him while he was psyching himself up.
Breathe in. Move.
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Breathe.
A flash, just a moment of motion ahead. Ronnel had been torn when he was looking at what kind of armor to wear - in the end he'd just gone with what had come when he logged in first, a set of light leather armor that was barely thicker than the shirt that clung to clammy skin beneath it.
But as he pressed himself near-silently up against a tree, out of line of sight of whatever was ahead, the brown-haired man was glad he hadn't gone for something heavy like plate or scale. Leather made a muffled thump against wood - metal would have clattered, alerted whatever was there to his presence.
His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he tried to calm himself down. People had told him that he should party up with someone, go into battle with a teammate at his side. It would help him get started, learn where he was safe. He'd heard all of them, and knew that they had good arguments.
But he could not. Talking with people was easy, a smile, a wave, a disingenuation to distract when someone probed a little too deep. Talk was easy - but trusting someone else with his life? A stranger at his side, he was supposed to rely on them in battle? No. No, he couldn't. Not now, not yet. So here he was, out in the forest, alone.
Sure, he was on the lowest floors, where creatures were supposed to be just barely stronger than the players who were facing them. But even that carried the risk of defeat, and with it - death.
I have to breathe!
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Breathe in.
A torso swelled as lungs obeyed the instinctive, automatic command. The air breathed in was thick, pungent with the smell of loam and greenery. Fingers clenched around hard wood and teeth ground against each other as hesitant, stumbling feet followed a faint trail broken through the brush.
The sound of birds chirping in the distance echoed through the trees, reaching ears that hadn't heard such a sound in weeks, months. So different from the sound of the city the man had been in for so long - the birds sounded free, no concerns or worries plaguing them. They didn't care if they lived or died, content to just exist.
Ronnel didn't know what had prompted him to finally leave those who were huddled in fear of death. No large, world-shattering moment had inspired him, banished the fear that had paralyzed him. Even now, he was shaking as he stalked along the trail, trying to find what had caused it.
But he could point to birdsong as something that had helped. Bright and cheery, cutting through the pall that had been choking him - he wanted to be like that again. Free, living and doing.
Breathe out.
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Ronnel
Real Name: Robert Neltain
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Height: 5'11 / 180cm
Profession: N/A Currently
History:
Robert grew up as the oldest of three children, with both a brother and a sister following after him. He was expected to pick up his father's passion and eventually inherit the family business, but he could never bring himself to honestly care about the accounting. Instead he drifted, forced from interest to interest by his family's demands that he 'stop wasting his time and settle down'. This gave him a rather eclectic set of hobbies, but nothing he was ever able to truly get attached to. Thankfully for him, when his younger brother hit late schooling ages, he displayed an uncanny aptitude for mathematics and logistics - and he had no problems what-so-ever with taking over for their father.
With his brother now set to inherit, pressures on Robert fell away. While he had originally hoped and prayed for this turn of events, it actually ended up cutting the young man adrift. Now there were no expectations at all on him, and it rapidly became apparent that with a more suitable 'replacement' his parents didn't seem to care about what he did at all. From heavy focus to a sudden uncaring demeanor, the shift left Robert at a loss. He'd spent so long fighting against what his family wanted him to do, that he'd never really considered what he wanted from life. Realizing quickly that his parents' change in attitude towards him meant that he could be cut off at any moment, Robert began working whatever part time jobs that he could, building up savings as much as possible before what he saw as inevitable occurred.
One of the few hobbies that he permitted himself to 'waste' money on at this point was keeping up with trends in gaming. While he was never claiming to be spectacular at them, games had long been one of the few ways that Robert could safely de-stress, and now with a whole new slew of worries, he wasn't about to give it up easily.
Two years before the fateful log-in, that exact situation happened. His family shut him out and stopped talking to him altogether.
About:
Being trapped had almost felt it was bound to happen to Ronnel. He had spent so long running from being trapped by his family that to him, being trapped inside his one escape in life rang of a certain irony to him. It also, for a long time, left him paralyzed with indecision and fear that kept him from doing much of anything for some time. Even now, when he has finally worked himself to a point where he isn't petrified of committing to actually doing something with his life, he doesn't believe himself capable of working on the front lines. For now - he plans to work as a supporter for those who can actually accomplish things. While he didn't have a single skill-set that would be too useful here, something that Jack he was good at? Was learning new skills.
{Virtues}
- Loyal: Even though he didn't want to be, Ronnel was planning on giving up all he knew in life to follow his family's desires, until the day that that became unnecessary. Once he makes a commitment it takes an astonishing amount to sway him from people that he has thrown his lot in with. Friendships mean a lot to him, now that he isn't isolating himself in fear.
- Jack Of Many Trades...: Ronnel knows a decent bit about a lot of different subjects. While he was never able to settle on anything, he was able to get started on learning several different fields of study in life. Most familiar with keeping track of sums of money and numbers, he has worked as a handyman or assistant in many walks of life, giving him a breadth of familiarity.
- Social Butterfly: From one job to another, one town to the next, Ronnel found himself mixing with many people. Loud and crass plumbers one month, followed by reserved office staff the next. He's done his best to learn to read the air around him and gauge the emotions of those around him, helping him fit in wherever he might go.
{Flaws}
- ...Master of None: While he could hold a conversation about several different subjects, and one or two in more depth, Ronnel is far from greatly learned about nearly anything. A lifetime of fighting against family expectations and being forced from interest to interest has kept him from truly developing high levels of skill or knowledge. This in turn has led him to fear truly talking with people for being labeled as 'shallow', or a pretender.
- Social Butterfly: Ronnel finds it hard to create lasting, meaningful relationships with people, or to truly trust them. For over a year before finding himself in the Floating City, he was drifting from job to job and town to town, often leaving without giving anyone a way to contact him once he moved. He drifts, unsure if he can ever find someone else to truly be friends with after his family cut him out.
- Fearful: While he is making progress, and fights it every day, Ronnel is afraid. Afraid of being hurt, of committing. Dangerous situations make him freeze up as he over thinks - or tries not to flee. While surface-level social situations are a breeze, deeper or more meaningful talks will have him trying to make his goodbyes and escape as soon as he can. He wants to change - but is afraid to.
Relationships:
Friends with:
Acquaintances with: Ceres, Mari, Dracul
Gear:
Weapon:
Name: Varathra
Item Type: Two Handed Assault Spear
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: +1 Accuracy, +1 Dam +1 Bleed
Description: A large two handed Lance with red cord wrapped around the dark wooden haft. There is a solid x-shaped guard at the base of the spear blade, protecting from anything sliding down the blade to the hands. The blade itself is split in two near the base, with two thick branches forming the majority of the length. Sharp, jagged teeth line the outside edges of the blades.
Armor: Tem Heavy Armor (Breastplate) :
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: +2 Heavy Momentum +1 MIT
Name: Tem Armour
Description: Shiny Heavy Armour - if you look really closely on the top of the left breastplate is the face of a small puppy
Armor: Pup's Greaves
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancement: +1 MIT
Name: Pup's Greaves
Description: Burnished bronzed heavy armor greaves, lined inside with boar pup hide.
Extra Equipment:
Potions: Ronnel currently has three(3) starter healing potions.
Skills:
Unspent Skill Points: 2
Total Skill Points: 35
2H Assault Spear (Journeyman) 13sp: Effect: +4 Base Damage
A beginner's proficiency with his weapon. Ronnel has learned a bit more about the timing of thrusts and attacks for two-handed heavy spears.
Known Spear Sword Arts:
2H Assault Spear:
Rank 1
- [x1 AoE] Sonic Charge (1 Energy +2 per target hit) - A forward thrust which explodes energy at the end of the move.
- [x2 Stun] Twin Thrust (5 Energy) - A pair of quick thrusts aimed at the user's knees to immobilize them.
- [x2] Heft (2 Energy) - Lift the heavy end of the spear diagonally across your opponent from the ground, cutting their torso with the tip.
Rank 2
- [x3] Fatal Thrust (3 Energy) - A single powerful thrust.
- [x4 AoE] Hellish Twice (4 Energy +2 per target hit) - A pair of alternating sweeping motions which damages multiple targets.
- [x4] Mighty Charge (4 Energy) - Charge your opponent fiercely and impale them with your spearhead. Your opponent is then lifted up before being slammed into the ground from the momentum of your maneuver.
Heavy Armor Skill Rank 1 Novice: +8 MIT (5 SP)
Passing familiarity with heavy armor has led to minor adjustments in positioning and donning the armor, giving more protection from the gear.
Stats:
LVL: 14
HP: 280 (Lvl 14 * 20)
EN: 28 (Lvl 14 * 2)
DMG: 6 (Base DMG 1 + 4 from Rank 1 2H Spear Proficiency, +1 Slot DAM on Spear)
MIT: 26 (+8 Heavy Armor Rank 1, +9 from One Slot MIT from Tem Armor, +9 from Pup Greaves)
ACC: 1
EVA: 0
Col Count: 2335
F02 - Orange Ain’t Bad, I Guess? {PP}
in Beginner Floors
Posted · Edited by Ronnel
"I actually kinda came out here looking for Nepents, but I hadn't heard about variants of them." He coughed and rubbed his head before listening to her. Truth be told it wasn't necessarily a terrible trade. He frowned slightly though. That name was… Familiar for some reason. He chewed his lip as he tried to remember where from.
Wait. Mari. His eyes snapped to the orange gem for a moment. "Ah." The Pink Pker. Her name was on the Monument several times from what he'd seen, tied always to player deaths. A lump formed in the back of his throat. But - she hadn't attacked him out of hand. If she was as ruthless as people liked to claim she was, then wouldn't he already be dead? He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.
"You, ah haven't been eating well I take it then?" To give him time to think he tried to prompt her to talk about herself a little bit while he mulled the offer over.