Megitsune

Taka may as well have been poking a sleeping, starved bear with how angry the girl before him became at the dismal of her apology. Steam may as well have been coming out of her ears, and the slight growl in her restrained tone wasn't helping hide how much she was fuming. "Oi, when someone apologizes to you for their wrong doing, you're not supposed to reject it!" The girl released the tension in her balled up fist and took a deep breath to calm herself of the disrespect she felt. It was fine (for the moment) though. This guy was a complete stranger who only just learned about his fate in a digital purgatory. Memories of her moments, alone and afraid, in the Square of Beginnings after Kayaba's speech flooded back to remind her to actually have empathy for two seconds. Ugh, not her strong suit, caring about others.

"Look- we're all doing our best to survive in this hell. Denying it is pointless." Megitsune wanted to through-line herself into the current conversation again. Her attention would turn to Wulfrin's words. "Like I said, learn. This guy seems to know what he's doing..."

She debated with herself momentarily to head back to the shop but perhaps it was time she get back in the field. New information and loot could be useful. "And, I guess I could come a long and look for some chests or something. Too bad I didn't bring any keys with me." Megitsune would then turn to start heading out. "I don't like waiting though, come along or don't."

Megitsune watched the player break down, to which she dropped the smile she had. To be fair, she had no idea that this player didn't understand the rules that everyone in Aincrad were currently operating under and that he had only just arrived with them. The weaker of the three, she assumed, would ask them how long its been since they had been trapped. At this point the fox girl had lost count of the days. Did it really even matter?

"Including him? Did Kayaba not teleport him to the square on day one or has he seriously not tried to log out after two or three years of being trapped?" Megitsune had only come to the monument to make sure that clumsy Red didn't get himself killed somehow. Now it was turning into a consolation party for some random person who was acting like it was his first day on the job and he had been yelled at by a customer. Chiaki sighed, rolled her eyes and looked between the entire group. "If you are truly scared of what you might encounter here in Aincrad, the first thing you need to do is learn. Study the players who are better than you, read up on common strategies available at every single broker on every floor and always travel with a group."

The girl would open her menu, scoffed at the missing login/logout button that this conversation had reminded her should have existed, and removed some things from her inventory, mostly books at a glance. She would set them next to Taka. "The player manual, as well as hand picked-information from a information broker and merchant herself, free of charge. It has statistics on mobs or bosses and information like floor maps, important farming locations and possibly strong drops for unique gear. If you wanna survive, you have study your fears and make them fear you." Consoling was clearly not in Chiaki's dictionary. It wasn't something that came simply to her, so she did the best she could by offering knowledge that could perhaps make him calm down at least. But one more thing remained, something she really regretted having to do but realized in this situation a prank was in poor taste. "Also... I- ugh, I apologize for scaring you." Pivoting from that immediately, she would give him a stern look. "If you find useful gear, you bring it to me for evaluation and we'll get you some strong uniques that will keep you alive, if you choose to fight that is."

The group of three were the majority around the monument as only two others accompanied them not far from their conversation. An extremely short, toothpick of a woman with a scythe on her back looks upon the wall mysteriously. Mourning a friend? Rival? A guild-mate? Nothing that she would ever reveal. The one with her was monster of a familiar in size, probably the biggest someone could find likely. It had snow-white fur and multiple tails. Every so often, blue fire would puff from its nostrils.

A red and white mask shaped like in the likeness of a fox hung over her face and soon her eyes would meet to them. “Better learn how to use it to the best of your capabilities.” A shrill, seemingly callous voice would mention from behind its masks. “‘Ere the horrors of this death game bring you to your knees and rip hope from your chest as if it was your heart.”

A pause would fall, complete silence filling the air for a moment. “Or maybe, it will just be your heart!” 

Poof!!

The girl would disappear with a puff of smoke, leaving behind a stuffed doll in her likeness behind. She would end up on the other side of the group. “Hahaha! Nanchatte! I’m kidding of course. If you are staying within your level range with good gear checked or made by a respected player then you’ll be fine for sure.” Her tone had dropped all seriousness and had shifted to something more playful and soft.

The heat was getting to her already. Megitsune adjusted her revealing outfit to shake out some of the musty hot air that was causing her to sweat, along with the mask she wore to hide her face. Good thing she decided to leave Ameterasu at home, she might have melted from the sheer heat of the floor. The quicker she got this stupid quest done, the better.

Quickly she would find the broker who was supposed to be offering the quest to which she paid little interest in. “Are you the one that accepted the quest to kill the Guardian?” Megitsune's eyes rolled, the thing that could be seen from her mask. "Yes, now get on with it before I curse you with misdirection. I'm dying here." The fox groaned, adjusting her clothes again.

"Wonderful, there is a monster along this quest that drops a lumpy sum of Col. In exchange for the information, you simply need to kill the boss and share the Col with me. You can keep whatever else you collect as far I'm concerned." This broker was extra sketchy. Typically a broker would just ask for the Col upfront to avoid loot and scooting from those he employed, she would know she was an information broker herself.

"Whatever, sure man. Anything to get the hell off this floor as soon as possible." She would start heading out, uncaring for the broker. "Out to the west! Hey, you need an escort don't you?"

"No, leave me alone."

Megitsune | HP: 460/460 | EN: 64/64 | DMG: 18 | MIT:83 | ACC:4 | TAUNT | EVA:3 | BH:14 | BLD: 36  | PARA | LD:1                                                                                                                            

Current Level: 23
Current SP: 65
Link to SP Tracking: [link]
Item Upgrades:

The call of the beast caught the fox off guard. Raidou was managing extremely well just by himself, thankfully. The rusty plays made by Megitsune would surely bite her in the ass if this was anyone other than the Red Wanderer. Even with all her enhancements to aid her in battle, she continues to miss the wolf. The crescent red of her blade soared through the air to meet nothing but that. The wolf was too aware of her position so she would need to step out and try to go completely incognito.

When she had the moment to strike, she would take it rather than just attempting to slice the beast off cool down. Lingering shadow's wove a quiet blanket around her, slowly repositioning to force the wolf to lose it's focus on her. Once it wavered for even a second, she would tear it half with her steel talon.

The battle was coming to a climax with only the alpha wolf remaining. With a single strike, not only had Raidou taken control of it's attacking pattern, but also did more damage than she could possibly match. Needless to say, she was pretty impressed. The Red Wander was such a confused spirit when she first met him, but it looks like her words really spurred him into something special. Not to mention how she was ever so slightly jealous that he could out-damage her when he was a tank.

Any damage was damage right now, though. The red sickle of the death bringing illuminated the misty moonlit night for only a second before it plunged into the earth just next to the wolves form. Had she really become this rusty in just a few months of exile? Quickly, the fox removed the weapon from the dirt and returned to the darkened mist where she belonged.

Megitsune | HP: 460/460 | EN: 30/46 -1+1 | DMG: 11 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2
The Red Wanderer | HP:1765/1765 | EN:105/160 | DMG:23 | MIT:141 | EVA:6 | ACC:5 | BH:88

(0,3) Blood Bane: 948/1250 | DMG: 250 | MIT: 75 | ACC: 3

<< Fenrir Fang >> : Blood Bane bites the player with the highest hate with magnificent force. Deals 200 Mitigatable DMG and Leaves a 2 Turn Bleed of 36 DMG on a attack roll of 9-10.
<< Call to Hunt >> : Blood Bane creates a howl that rips through the battlefield and invigorates itself and its allies.  Raises all enemies DMG and MIT by 25 for 2 turns on a CD rolls of 10-12. Has a cool down of 2 turns, does not stack.
<< Feast of Blood >> : Blood Bane consumes enemy blood, healing itself. Blood Bane heals itself by 25% of the Damage it deals to its foes after mitigation. If Blood Bane attacks someone under the effects of Bleed, then it heals itself for an extra 200 HP.

Normally the Kitsune wouldn't have a problem tracking her targets through the dark mist of night, yet somehow she was still having an exceedingly difficult time find the last remaining wolf. It had to be the leader of the pack, much more dangerous than any of the canine's they finished already. Finally, she would lay eyes on the enemy before it caught a glimpse of her. Raidou's skills would keep it busy enough for her to attack from behind without failure.

As she stepped in to take a strike at the wolf, it dodged her attack so effortlessly it was laughable in her position. Without a moment to waste, it jumped on her before she could escape back into the shadows. The only thing that saved her from getting torn apart was the metal shaft of her weapon pressed against the neck of the beast. The saliva dripping from it's mouth stained her clothing. "Red! Help me out here!"

The fox disappeared into the cascade of shade. Her scythe, the harbinger of death, ready to taste the flesh of it's next victim. The claw of her weapon shinned in the darkness as she approached the stunned targets laying helplessly on the ground. They couldn't even try to evade the sly fox. Even with the pack advantage, these dogs were nothing but pups compared to her.

The red seething light tore through the darkness and mist of the forest. The unmoving canines could do nothing but watch as her scythe tore their game models into shreds. Yet somehow, the leader of the group was too agile to get a clear hit on. It was even able to evade her all-seeing eyes.

"Careful Red, the leader is something else. I've already lost track of him. Best we deal with these three first then focus on the boss when he's alone." Fox mentioned before disappearing back into the shadows.

The verbiage that Raidou used when he spoke always confused the girl. He was a mystery all in his own that even a Yokai like her struggled to understand. Though she still could understand what he was saying, it took a few seconds to process. He almost seemed like he was part of a program in the game or something.

"I'm glad to hear it. I haven't been the best guild member or friend, but I think that can change. The reflection I've been doing since I left and meeting you here has made me realize that I can't stand being alone anymore. How has the hard headed idiot cook been? Haven't talked with him in awhile." Opening her menu, she checked to see if he was still on her friends list and not been removed from his. Thankfully he was still there.

Just as she was closing out her menu, she noticed her energy was back to full. "Alright Red, I'm good now. Let's get back to it."

The fox watched quietly as Red put an end to an enemy charging straight for her. She was actually pretty surprised when it crumbled over dead. "You've gotten much stronger, Red." The girl says as combat came to a close. "If there's more we need to look for, we should wait a moment while I recover my energy. You know how these Area of Effects eat away at the energy. I wont last much longer if we jump into another fight right off the back."

Megitsune would step over to a tree and take a quick seat leaning against the bark. "I feel it all coming back to me now. Who would have known that the wander would set the yokai back on her path? I will gladly rejoin Firm Anima as long as you'll have me. I feel like I lost a part of myself when I left. I've learned from that mistake though."

The fox moved nimbly through the battle. Everything was coming back to her the longer the battle went on. The familiarity of wielding a weapon and cutting her way down the path she wanted. The path ahead of them was a long one to be sure, but as long as she was able to keep living the way she wanted to, she would get out of this game.

The scythe she'd grown so accustomed to was beginning to shake off the rust that covered it for so long, metaphorically. A bright red blur slashed through the wolves, leaving her devastating marks behind. The first one felt the fury of a foxes fangs, and the second simply couldn't handle them at all. It exploded into particles on contact. With the occurrence of her critical hit, the wolf seemed to want to dual the fox now but everyone knew that wolves were only strong in a pack.

The battle was going down as expected. Red was doing his usual thing of being pretty much impossible to pin down and hit while she stalked her pray in the shadows. The nostalgia she felt as she crept around the brush and darkness was uncanny. The movements were like that of riding a bike, something someone could never really forget no matter how little they practiced with it.

As she turned heel to make her comeback in the battle, she noticed the fluctuation in Raidou's voice. Something that he was holding back. Hiding the desire of  a person was difficult from someone like her. Even if she wasn't continuing her moniker of Yokai Kitsune, she would still be able to see the struggle he was having. Saving such things for later, the fox would focus on the present. Her axe sliced through the competition with ease, missing only one target again. Not bad for just getting back to it.

The Fox snickered at his remark. Her a 'little' yokai? Perhaps if all you took into stock was size, but not this yokai. Once Red had given his explanation on what they were up against, she would disappear into the misty darkness. The wolves would surround the tank, menacing growls signified they my have found their next meal. If only they'd realized the absolute shit they'd just gotten themselves into.

A bolt from the darkness pierced the night. A red, familiar glare contrasting against the bright moon. Dark slashes tore into the wolves from behind, a flanking maneuver she was sure her guild-master would remember fondly. Though she had pulled aggro, she knew his ways. There' wouldn't be any danger to her, soon they wouldn't even be able to look straight at anything other than red. Just after her attack, the Fox stalked back into the shadows, sly to hunt the wolves around her.

The memories surged. Fox had met her friend Red-Coat here on that very quest. This really was an awakening call for her, wasn't it? The stab in the gut she needed to get the adrenaline flowing again.

"Every time we meet, we're finding new ways to maim dogs. That can't be a good sign." The girl attempted to joke, resting the massive scythe to her shoulder. "If you will have me, I could use the jump start again. If I don't get this, it'll be the end of my soul."

Megitsune walked next to Raidou, following him through the forest, thinking on how things have turned out. She needed to be out there if only to save herself from a plunge deep into the depths of her own turmoil. "What's the difficulty like? Not that numbers ever mattered to me, and that I don't trust you, just wondering how cautious I should be."

The words felt nice to hear, even if she already knew the answer to her question. There was worry in her mind that others may not have the same opinion as Raidou about her returning to the guild hall as she was. This exile and loneliness had taught her enough to know that having friends was a gift that should be cherished.

"Great. Whether or not I find that end, perhaps I can still help this place come to an end. My motivation is very little, but still even a small ember can start a fire with a little bit of care." She was mostly speaking to herself out loud now. "Anyway, what are you doing out here? This is a weird spot to have found you, I feel. Still trying to seize your 'means to an end' as I recall you calling it before. The power you need to make this game end?"

Megitsune's eyes were set forward. There wasn't an NPC they really had to speak to get the quest started, they only needed to approach the location the boss spawned in to begin. When Asmura caught up to the fox, she simply looked down that the the girl with her beating red eyes through her mask.

"No, there's no one we need talk to begin. I have yet to do the quest, so it's beneficial for me to join you. I can make sure that you don't get yourself killed and gain experience at the same time. I can tell you're pretty low level and I'd like to assume you're below the double digit levels." The fox said as the made there way out of the boundaries of the safe zone. If Asmura was as weak as she thought, she would be doing practically all the work in this case. That was fine by her. She wasn't going to let someone die on a quest no matter how weak they were, but that didn't mean she would baby them.

A few deep breaths calmed the woman enough to bring her sense back together. With that weight built upon her finally released, she felt as though she could breath easily now. A past her buried in the deepest recesses of her mind.

"The wound, it is deep. Though, now with this ordeal, I think I can finally remove myself from this exile. I have changed a lot since the last time we spoke, Raidou, but I hope there is still a place for me in Firm Anima. A lost, worthless soul who most likely doesn't deserve the companionship of old friends but so dearly wants to be forgiven." Megitsune summoned the dusty battleaxe to her back and soon the girls familiar reappeared from fire next to her side. "I once guided you on a path that you found reason and purpose from. I beg you to help me find that sense within myself again."

Another wave of silence washed over the two as Raidou spoke. His words seemed much like hers to him when she saw the lifelessness in his own eyes many a time ago. His words weighed more than a truck on her mind. She felt as though she had nothing to say to him despite the words meaning to relieve her pain.

"I see... That snow is buried deep then. I have no idea what the worth of a sharp blade even is in these times. It only led me astray, to a pointless path with no end or horizon in sight. Quite ironic for what I once branded myself as." The girl said looking back down to the mask in her hands, Worn and chipped paint over a cracked exterior. A face she once wore to hide from the troubles around her.

"This visage is nothing but a shell to hide me. I once thought it helped me see the way, yet it was more proficient as a blindfold." Her grip tightened on the porcelain with every word until she tossed the mask into the distance, landing behind Raidou, somehow not splintering into pieces. "A pox on that era of my life."

This was unexpected. Of all of those in Aincrad still walking, she found him to be last person that she would find here. From when the fox once knew him, she was a blood-thirsty child without nothing but a path shrouded in fog to guide her.

"Ah, The Red Wanderer. Though I have not been gone for long, I feel as though it has been years since we've seen each other. I guess some quiet reflection was necessary." Chiyaki shifted her hand to her face, removing the porcelain mask from her visage. Her weak eyes stared cold into the wanderer's. "I have lost my will. Things have changed in my path that have helped me come to realize what a worthless life I was living. Honing the edge of your blade may be commendable, but what does it even lead to in the end?" She asked, approaching him slightly closer as she's realized who she was dealing with. "I have no intention to dying in this game, but my drive to pick up a blade and fight without resolve has been withered away."

Since her quiet self-exile, Megitsune hadn't spoke with many people she once called friends. It had only been a few months, not years, but even still that quiet time of reflection was enough to change her. A teenager lost in her emotions of treating a deathly situation like it was a game was abandoned. All that was left was a shell of a person who felt hardly any reason to continue living. A change so drastic she had altered her appearance enough forget that person she was.

The scene of the darkest floors of Aincrad was dreadful in comparison to ones with sunny brightness like floor one or twenty-four. The former yokai looked down at the grass beneath her feet. A thriving life with in this game, yet still a digital entity only meant to see it's end, much like her own presence within this world of ones and zeros.

Outside the safe zone was slightly dangerous for her were she to get in trouble with some monsters in big packs, but she was hardly scared. However, in her wandering, she came across another soul making the night their own. Most she could make out was red in the darkness. A silence washed over the two before Megitsune spoke. "A wanderer in the mist of darkness. One who shares the soul of my own. I can see the weight of your burdens worn on your shoulders with a glance. What is it you seek here?"

The winding path up the mountain wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't egregiously long and devoid of any kind of life. Everything her seemed still, like nothing on this floor could even make it it's habitat. Interesting to say the least, but boring to look at. There was nothing else to do on this stupid path other than walk and think. That made it seem like it was only going to take even longer.

She had been out of commission for awhile to focus on building up her merchant level so that she could start searching for unique items. With Red's help and the guild as a whole, they would be able to get a bunch of nice gear for all of them to use. Their guild alone would be able to run the front lines in months time if everyone started to grind up. That's not really what was important though. She just wanted cool gear.

The saytr did not stop her. It was clear that she preferred the loner route, and he would only get annoyed if he had to walk next to her up a singular pathed mountain for the next hour. Not to mention he would then have to spend the next hour walking back down it.

Chiaki started her way up the path, she knew for sure that it was going to take some time to get up the mountain. There was a lot of time investment in the quest, so it had better drop a good reward or gift some generous experience for completion. She would go home pretty angry if she walked away with a common consumable buff item like most other quest she had done lately dropped. She already had enough of those stupid things to go around.

Already she had started walking and trees were beginning to shrink below her. This was going to be a long walk.

The saytr raised an eyebrow, sure that he could challenge such a notion, however, it wasn't what he was here for. "Quite charming for someone so young. You simply exude bravado to its fullest." He said, which got nothing from the girl. After clearing his throat, he continued. "Hermes, the Emissary of the Gods would like to speak to you. He has heard of your recent endeavors and would parlay with you."

Parlay. What the hell did that word mean? Possibly something along the lines of swindle. She didn't have time to pull out a dictionary from Red's library just to look up exactly what it meant. "If you will accept the proposal, I will escort you up the mountain path and to his domain. There he will explain why he has called you-"

"You talk too much, I'll find it myself." Chiaki wanted to get this shit done as soon as possible. Enough with this shitty dialogue.

An hour's walk later and sneaking through lines and lines of mobs on her way here, she finally found herself at the base of a mountain that she could only assume was canonically in the game as Mount Olympus. The giant zit of the earth that the gods used to look down on all of their mortal subjects and fool with their daily lives.

In her distraction of absolute awe of the mountain, she nearly missed the approach of a saytr. The moment she was drawn back into the world around her, she immediately drew her weapon off sheer muscle memory. "Ho there young lady." The half man, half goat said, stopping when she saw her draw her weapon. "I am simply here off the request of the gods of the mountain. Hermes, specifically. I am not just a mindless beast wishing to end your life."

"Yours is the one that would be ended." The fox bit back.