Kane

Kane grinned as he side-stepped the strike at his tendon. His opponent was very clever, talking to distract him while aiming at a vital target like that. However, having just been run through several times, Kane didn't know how much more that having his Achilles Heel injured would do. He gracefully took a few steps back, nodding his head respectfully to Daeron. "You have me at a disadvantage, friend. Your skills are also quite impressive!"

His blade glowed with an amber blaze, and he dashed forward rapidly, arcing his blade in an attempt to cleave his opponent's head with his war sword!

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(5+1=6)

Kane wasn't able to take his opponent's head off, but then again he wasn't really trying to. Daeron pulled his head back out of the blade's path, but its immense length made it possible for him to leave a long, digital line across his upper chest area instead.

Daeron [17/23] - HP must hit 12 to lose

Kane [13/19] - HP must hit 9 to lose

Added a poll! Thanks Shanok!

The jungle cat was sitting on its haunches now, crouching in the way that cats do when they're asking themselves questions about life. Its eyes never left Kane's, and a light pink tongue slipped out from between its lips, licking its lips in apparent hunger.

The creature was a midnight-dark black cat. It was bigger than a normal cat, more like the size of a lynx, or a similar small jungle cat. However, the most notable difference between this eldritch creature and its real-world analogues was how it seemed to be made of living shadow. As it moved towards Kane, its outline blurred and moved in strange patterns, its tail swishing ponderously between the ferns. He could only tell that it was made of solid matter by the way that the plants were moved out of the way by its tail, and by the small, twitching pink nose. It came up to his knee in height, and it seemed to be more curious than anything in his presence.

Visible in the teeming darkness of the shade covered plants, a pair of golden, slitted eyes appeared, peeking out from behind a tree. In the shade of the jungle floor, it appeared to be just a pair of floating golden eyes, until they started moving towards Kane.

A pair of eyes was watching Kane. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up as he somehow felt the creature's eyes on him. He turned and drew his blade, looking to pinpoint the source of his discomfort. "Come out, beastie! Show yourself!" He peered through the ferns, trying to get a better look at whatever was rustling the foliage behind him.

Kane rotated his left shoulder reflexively. In the real world, he'd suffered a stress injury to his shoulder ligament, and he'd been holding his sword in a certain way for years when he'd done western martial arts back at his college Historical Combat club. In Aincrad, the memory of the injury was the only pain left, but it was still odd to feel his shoulder flex normally.

"I kinda was expecting a little more from it honestly. Well until that last part of the fight really."

Kane smiled genuinely, running a hand through his dark blonde hair as he thought about the fight. Huh. I guess that just means we're getting stronger. Might have to take aim at bigger beasties next time!"

Kane grinned as the creature dissolved into a legion of pixellated crystals, pleased that the battle had been won. Planting his great-sword in the ground, he leaned on it as he closed his eyes, concentrating on regaining his HP by <>. "Pheww, well that was fun. Big blue won't be chowing down on any more innocent people."

He finished healing, and returned the war blade to the hook on his harness. Wiping the dust from his gauntlets, he cracked his neck, enjoying the feeling of being at full hit points again.

Kane grit his teeth hard as he drew a bead on the monstrous Blue Tiger, trying to keep the frenzied creature between himself and Miaki. They'd be able to take this thing down eventually, but he'd rather do it quickly to avoid any more damage! Charging his hand with emerald light, Kane used a <> technique as he blocked the beast's latest attempt to gouge him. Using his blade's width as a shield against the snapping jaws, Kane drew back his hand, intending to strike the beast's throat.

(1 Turn Cooldown)

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It wasn't enough to harm the beast, however, and Kane withdrew his hand, pushing the field boss away, and assuming a defensive stance.

Kane: 16/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 4/28

The Blue Tiger was enraged, its fangs bared as it looked from Kane to Miaki, then back again. It would have been wise for the immense feline monster to weigh its options, but no benevolent creator had given it the ability to think rationally in the state of frenzy it was experiencing.

It streaked towards Kane, ready to maul him in its blind fury!

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Its claws slashed through Kane's unprotected leg as he tried to jump backwards, grunting as crimson pixels dripped from his wound. It wasn't debilitating, but the phantom pain troubled him as his hit points dipped.

Kane: 16/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 7/28

Trudging through the jungle, Kane waved a hand in front of his face. It was high time he checked his equipment. His <> was still in one piece, having kept him safe from harm for the better part of a month now. His <> were still relatively intact, dented slightly but their strength enhancements still held up. His oversized Two-Handed blade, the <>, hung from the harness on his back, and his six <> throwing daggers were strapped about his leg and sheathed on his belt.

Amazon, the main settlement on the sixth floor. Its NPC inhabitants were female only, and the whole setting felt like an encampment on the edge of the mighty rivers of South America. The deep jungle outside of the village was home to all manner of monster and creature, lurking in the shadows to ambush travelers as they passed.

Luckily, the seventh floor had been unlocked by the front-liners, allowing Players to bypass the jungle on their way up the tower of Aincrad. Still, it served as a place with a wide variety of options for a Player looking to train their skills, and so Kane took it upon himself to do some training in the dark heart of the rainforest.

Kane's cooldown was just about over from his previous technique, and he dashed in towards the Blue Toger, hoping to surround it and put himself in a tactically useful position at its flank. They needed to hamper its movement somehow. "I'm gonna try targeting its legs!" He called out. Hopefully on the next swipe he took at the beast, he could force it to lose some mobility.

Kane: 18/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 9/28

(OOC: Sorry, I misremembered that my attack had a cooldown of 2 posts not 1, I fixed it. Thanks for your patience! ^___^; )

The Blue Tiger was still prowling, dashing left and right in an attempt to throw off the aim of the fighters. It moved like a cerulean blur, sometimes leaping over their heads, sometimes retreating behind a tree and appearing behind a different one...

-FLASH!-

It charged forward out of nowhere, fangs bared as it bore down on Miaki!

(Hit=2 damage)

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Miaki's defense proved too good for the Blue Tiger to match, and its fangs bounced off of his blade with a loud

-Claang!-

Kane: 18/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 9/28

As he shoved the Blue Tiger away, Kane knew that in a few seconds, he'd be able to use another Sword Skill. "It's raging!" he called out, noting the blood red aura around the creature's teeth and claws.

(1 Turn of Cooldown Left)

(OOC: Yeah, you have the correct HP. Thanks!)

The Blue Tiger was flagging, its health severely reduced by the furious salvo of attacks from the duo. As its hit points fell, it suddenly flew into a rage, its teeth and claws glowing red! Lunging forward, it pounced at Kane, trying to slash him with the crimson nails!

(1-4= Miss, 5-6= Hit, 7-8= 2 damage, 9-10= 3 damage. Boss has no cooldown.)

(5-1= Miss)

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The Tiger had almost managed to reach Kane when his cooldown wore off. He parried the monster's charge away by bracing his wide blade against his gauntlet, letting the field boss bounce off of the glowing metal.

Kane: 18/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 9/28

Hey folks,

Now that the 7th floor has been unlocked, there's a place in that area called the Monster Arena. Now, we could all make up how we think this arena works, what it's like, and what rewards we can get from fighting monsters there, but wouldn't it be better if there was a sub-board for it, and pre-defined rewards for beating increasingly difficult waves of monsters/creatures?

My suggestion for the system is this: Run by NPCs, the Monster Arena exists to hone the skills of Players, as well as providing a gambling opportunity. Players can nteract with the Arena in a couple of different ways: First, they can choose to fight in the Arena against predetermined sets of monsters, from level 1 to level 20. When the first person to beat all 20 waves has done so, they unlock waves 21-30, and so on. Each level has a <

> reward. If you beat a wave, you have the chance to cash out, or keep fighting. If you keep fighting, you do so without a break, only using whatever healing items you brought with you into the Arena. Every five waves, a monster will drop a Material or an Item, making it interesting to see what will come next. Occasionally, the monster you fight won't be a wave of small enemies, but a Field Boss, or another similarly strong, single opponent. You are not invulnerable in the Arena; your HP will drop like in real life, but you have the chance to hit the <> key on your console, which ends the match before you're killed. This makes you lose all of the <> and Mats/Items you've earned thus far, though. Greedy players will find they have a harder time surrendering all of their loot, but that might put their lives at risk.

Players can also choose to wager <

> or Items against a competitor's progress. The NPCs who run the Arena are programmed with probability calculators, and know how to run the wagering system well. A Player may be able to bet 25 <> that a competitor will pass the third wave, but he won't be able to wager a rare item on such low stakes. Generally, the more far-fetched the chances of a Player's victory, the better the payout from the Arena NPCs.

The monsters spawn inside the Arena, and its walls are unbreakable objects, meaning that an army of monsters won't be able to escape out into the seventh floor.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

After knocking the Blue Tiger out of the way, Kane began concentrating. His sword flashed with a viridian green light as he began building power for one of his more accurate attacks: The <>.

The blade came into position across his back, and Kane brought it crashing down towards the Tiger's torso twice in a figure-8 pattern. At the end of the second strike, He forcefully harnessed his momentum to spin horizontally, bringing the blade crashing towards the beast to complete his salvo.

(Requires at least a 5 to hit, does 2-5 damage. Two turns of cooldown.)

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Kane was able to unleash a salvo of minor cuts on the beast, bringing its health bar down even more. He knew that the beast would soon counterattack, and he prepared to try and dodge.

Kane: 18/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 18/28

The Blue Tiger was circling Kane, about to attack him again, but the appearance of Silverwing distracted it. Snarling, the jungle cat was blindsided by Miaki's <>, tearing into it and causing it to recoil in pain. It leapt at Miaki, reacting out of animal instinct and slashing at him with its vicious claws!

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Kane's cooldown ended just as the Blue Tiger was leaping at Miaki, and he sprinted towards the beast, tackling it out of Miaki's path with a hard shoulder bash. It didn't damage the beast's HP, but it couldn't get a bead on Miaki, instead rolling away from Kane's tackle. "I'll try and keep 'im off ya, recharge!"

Kane wrested his armo free of the creature's fangs, and sank into a defensive stance as the timer for his Sword Skill cooldown expired. The beast that they were fighting was a crafty one, and they would have to be vigorous in their assault if they wanted to stand a chance of ending its threat to travelers.

(Cooldown Over)

Kane was still in the cooldown state from the <>, and so the Blue Tiger yowled loudly turning to attack him. It leapt through the air, pouncing on him and trying to sink its fangs into his sword arm.

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The creature didn't manage to get a good grip on Kane's arm, but its fangs did chomp down on him temporarily, affecting his HP.

Kane: 18/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 20/28

Kane saw Miaki's new katana gleam bright. "You get the coolest toys!" he said with a wide grin, bearing down on the enemy Tiger. His own blade moved in arcs of orange light, slashing at the highly mobile field boss. Charging up a Sword Skill, he unleashed his <> on the monster, hoping to do massive damage.

(1-4= Miss, 5-6= 1 Hit, 7-8= 2 Hits, 9-10= 3 Hits)

(2-Turn Recovery)

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The boss monster dodged the first two attacks, but the signature last slash of the <> was a blurringly fast vertical that clipped it, doing damage.

Kane: 19/19

Miaki : 33/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 22/28

Kane was ready to reply, but the man walked off. He sighed, shaking his head. "Well," he muttered aloud, wondering what sort of monster(s) he'd be facing, "a job is a job is a job." He would meet his new employer on the 7th floor tomorrow, where he'd define his terms of agreement. At least this beat begging.

(OOC: All Players, this is an unofficial business. Think of this post as a "shop".)

Kane grit his teeth again as his opponent's blade pierced him. Fortune was not favoring him in this engagement, and he was grateful for the fact that his life wasn't on the line here. Concentrating on ignoring the phantom pains that sprung from his mind believing he'd been injured, Kane suddenly leapt into the air, the <> skill allowing him to mimic an Olympic high-jumper's height as he brought his blade down, attempting to pierce his opponent from above.

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(5+1=6)

The flared tip of Kane's sword slashed Daeron's arm from shoulder to hand, but didn't run his opponent through. Kane kept his blade high, awaiting his opponent's next move.

Daeron [18/23] - HP must hit 12 to lose

Kane [13/19] - HP must hit 9 to lose

The Blue Tiger snarled as Miaki's <> gouged him deeply. Leaping forward, it became a blur as it struck at Miaki, seeking to slash him with its knife-like claws!

(1-4= Miss, 5-8= Hit, 9-10= Crit)

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The claws raked Miaki's arm, but the wounds seemed shallow. The Tiger growled as Miaki's attack took its toll, seeming to give the beast trouble moving at its maximum capacity.

Kane: 19/19

Miaki : 32/33

Silverwing : 28/28

<>: 23/28