Ruler

With Shatter in her arsenal, Ruler would be able to deal even more damage than before. Though, she wondered if the use of the skill was worthwhile compared to just using her go-to attacks. Nevertheless, she always would have it available now in case she felt like she needed to use it. Nari would comment that she didn't feel like she had done much at all in terms of the battle but that didn't bother the king too much. The company was nice without a doubt.

"No need to worry. I'm sure we'll see each other again and you'll be lifting all the weight through a quest." Ruler would say with a smile, accepting the friend request that Nari had sent her. Having a tank on call could be nice considering she wasn't very tough all on her own. If that Monkey King had hit her, she probably wouldn't have lasted very long at all. "Thank you for coming along and helping me."

The golden blonde stood defiant upon her foe. Nian had indeed removed another one of it's heads from the equation while also dodging one of its own attacks. With it's focus set entirely on the her ally, Ruler was free to charge her strongest attack. Caliburn's blaze illuminated the red tunnels, shining with absolute brilliance. The shifting sound of metal on metal echoed with each step she took, charging forward with her shining blade. With another fateful leap, the king had split the neck of her opposing foe. The hell-pup would fade in and out for a moment before exploding into a mist of nothingness. Reduced completely to data to be returned to the Cardinal.

Her blade would slowly lose it's luminance as Ruler sheathed it at her side. Looking over at Nian, she would give her a smile. "Not bad. We make a pretty good team. I almost ran out of energy there, so I'm glad we got to meet." 

BD: 3+5+1 = 9
Hit! 20x17 = 340!!

-20EN

Once her skill came of cooldown, Ruler was ready. Her blade was beaming with energy she could hardly control. The feeling in the air was electric for her, focus locked completely on her opponent. Entranced by a dance of life and death, she would raise her blade above her head. The energy she had collected from her previous attacks forming into something terrifying. "Caliburn! Render thy judgement upon my foes for they dared to challenge thee!" She would say before swinging the blade forwards her enemy.

The unleashed energy was like a tear in space. Light engulfed the forest for a moment and whisked away the life of the Monkey King like a torrent of wind destroying everything in it's path. When it all cleared, Ruler fixed her posture and took a deep breath. It was now that she likely looked extremely melodramatic having basically done all the damage herself, yet asked for her help. "Ahem. Sorry, I got a little carried away. I sincerely apologize if I wasted your time for longer than you wished."

Sewallus uses Howl. +5 hate

2+5 = 7
(17x20)-60 = 280

-20 en

Monkey King is defeated!

Just Ruler was starting to get comfortable, the ground shook slightly slowly getting heavier with every step. Alicia would ready her blade once more planning to send it to hell with a single swipe. Quickly, she would notice that each head had it's own health bar. Going for an area attack would be difficult without getting eaten so she would instead opt to carve the heads off one by one.

Alicia wasted no time getting into the the thick of the fight. Her boots stomped against the ground, not allowing the Cerberus any time to take stock of his situation. Before it could even growl at it's intruders, Caliburn had dismembered one of the heads. The giant dog's head would crash into the ground with an insane thump as Ruler landed behind it. "Hades' guard has as much bite as a pup, I see." The next head would hardly see what happened if Nian couldn't finish off the remaining two.

3+5 = 8
17x15 = 255

-15 en

"Then end it quick I shall!" Caliburn's radiant glow shimmered brightly as she prepared her follow up attack. The shining brilliance would rush forward, a streak of blesses light beaming past Nari and impaling the target that threatened them. With one more quick motion, she would remove her blade and send a slash straight through her target's chest. The kingly knight would notice her randomly activated sword art would gleam on her HUD.

"The next attack shall send even Yggdrassil toppling. Prepare thyself he would call himself king!" The Ruler would taunt moving behind Nari for protection, just in case. She would simply have to wait for her attack to come off cooldown and send the Monkey King to hell. This would be the first time that Ruler had the chance to unleash this powerful attack. There was a first time for everything but her hair stood on end in anticipation.

10+4= 14 [Major Critical hit!]
(19x15)-60 = 225
-15 EN

Sewallus Misses!

As expected, her company would soon follow. The woman would come in and clean up the injured that she had weakened. "Ah, thank you." Ruler would say simply as she ruthlessly tore apart their competition. Getting ready to follow up, Alicia would sniff out a flank coming up behind her. As if the hounds were even quiet enough to pull off such a feat. With one quick motion, just as the dog jumped to maul her down, Caliburn would carve through the ground beneath her tearing stone from it's resting place and straight through the enemy that dared thinking that it could challenge her in a fair fight. it's body would split in half and fall to the ground behind her attack and dissipate into the ether of coding.

"Beasts like these deserve no mercy." The king would say before looking to see how Nian was handling her query. Of course, without much trouble. It was clear that neither really needed the other's help but this would have taken her longer if she'd tried to solo it.

Nian continued to be displeased with every word Alicia could manage to get out to her. To be honest, staying on the good side of others with something she strived for but it seemed impossible with her current company. Therefore, the golden queen would take this mutuality at it's face value. They were traveling to simply lighten the load some, not necessarily to make friends with one another. As Nian stopped outside the lair of the beast to check her gear, Ruler would forge on.

It wasn't about leading or following to her. She just wanted it done. The moment she stepped inside, the minions of the hell demon would jump out at her in a surprise attack. "Scum, attacking from the shadows. Be purged by the holy blade of selection." Alicia would bellow as her sword glimmered a wonderous golden aura. The light of the blade would sunder forward with a wide swing, cutting most of their health bars to single digit percentages. One of them split in half completely, leaving nothing but digital dust in it's wake. "Hm, not quite enough. No matter. Come, meet your end." She would taunt.

To be frank, Alicia was surprised more than anything. As she barked back, seemingly insulted by the simple mention of her name, Nian would metaphorically spit back. She would claim herself to the title of divinity. Though, in her mind, Ruler would fell more of the regal king and Nian came off more like a vicious tyrant. Perhaps Caliburn denied her.

"Chi?" Ruler would question. "I'm not familiar with a name like that. Unfortunately, my name cannot be changed in game. I apologize if it imposed on you. I am perfectly capable of leading myself, you needn't worry yourself with my safety or anything." The golden blonde would mention as they continued along. Hopefully soon they would reach the lair of the beast. She was starting to wish that small talk never came up and the two remained quiet for most, if not all, the walk there. It seemed like every single word she said offended Nian.

As they continued on their way, lonely souls of two different colours striding the same path, Ruler would stay as quiet as possible. Normally, she would try to be polite and make some small talk but it was already made clear to her that Nian was not one for the idle chit-chat she was used to.

Her theory was obviously true as the red-clad noble was just as silent herself. By now she would have shared her name in an attempt to make the scene less tense but the other woman would speak before she had the courage to start talking again. "Claymore. I can fight with both area-wide attacks or straight damage. My build focused on keeping my attacks hitting and when I do miss, making me even more accurate to ensure that I don't miss twice. Caliburn will see my enemies in dust." Despite her awkward way of talking before, Ruler was now more focused. The sword of selection grasped in her hand as she walked through the desolate landscape. Watching for anything trying to catch them off guard whilst en route to the lair of Hade's hound.

"You may call me Ruler, by the way- Uh, if it pleases you."

The search for the Monkey King was seeming all but lost. Anyone who knew this quest - she only did because of the information from Raidou - The Monkey King would find them. Sure enough, he did. Through the greenery he would emerge with the log of a tree, slamming the wood into the dirt with sheer force the other could only wish to accomplish. Ruler would drift back along with Nari, making sure to stick close to her. "I'm with you!" The girl would say in response to her tank companion.

The moment Nari charged in, Ruler was right on her heels. Her golden blade shimmered, lighting their arena with a blazing aura of righteousness. "Fall upon my sword!" A Flurry of a combo would unleash, several slashes leaving red gashes of coding along the enemies body. The health bar would gleam in response, lowering almost 25% of the bosses health in an instant. "Caliburn will scorch your existence!"

7+4 = 11 [Hit!]
(12x17)-60 = 144

-12 en

What Ruler expected from Nian's reaction... well, actually it was nothing like she expected. The red-clad woman seemed to have little use for idle chit-chat. Her responses were sharp and short. When Nian called her 'commoner', Ruler seemed confused and embarrassed at the same time. Was being in someone's way really that much of a problem for them that she had to degrade her existence without even knowing a single thing about her?

Nevertheless, Alicia would shake it off. Once she saw how strong the glowing knight was in battle, her tone would change... hopefully. "Uh, right. A simple mistake that I apologize deeply for. I should have paid more attention to where I was standing." The golden blonde would repeat her apology to show sincerity.

Soon, the duo would come upon the quest giver, an injured broker. The man would reveal to them the location of the Cerberus's lair to where they could now challenge it. "We'll send it back to Hades with it's tail between it's legs." Ruler would comment, looking to her new friend(?). "After you. I wouldn't want to get in your way again."

Lost in her own thought, Alicia wouldn't even notice the other person trying to get around her. Being the ditz that she is, when the other woman practically pushed her out of the way, Ruler's face would go red. "M-My apologies!" She would say simply watching the other woman stomped off in the direction that she was going herself. If Raidou's information was right it was in this direction. Were they heading to the same quest?

If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was getting on anyone's bad side. She understood she could not make everyone happy but that didn't mean she couldn't try to make up for mistakes. Increasing her pace, Ruler would wave her down. "Uhm, excuse me ma'am. You're heading in the direction of the Cerberus quest right? Would you like to team up and take it down together? We could easily handle it on our own I'm sure but it will take less time if we take it down together." Ruler hoped she could at least make up for her slight indecency by giving the girl a hand.

The moment the blonde stepped on to floor nine, she gasped at the change in air pressure. The heat was instantly unbearable. She could only imagine what it would feel like to wear a full suit of armor up here. Thankfully, her acquisition of the survival skill would kick in and make it little more bearable. Thankfully for her, there was only a single quest on this floor to finish at her level so she would be in and out in no time.

Spending a moment to look over Raidou's accumulated notes on the cerberus she would take a look around town. There's was supposed to be a quest giver NPC around here somewhere that was wounded. Once she found them, she could head to the Cerberus's lair and send it back to Hades. The woman would don her armor along with Caliburn, a golden glow shimmering from her gear as she searched for aforementioned quest giver.

Ruler would shake her head when Nari attempted to counter her point. "I apologize but my worry is well founded. One chance is all we have and I will not squander it." The blonde would remark. As the edge of the safe zone would come into view, she would open her menu and retrieve the simple notes she took on Raidou's finding of this particular quest. While Raidou's were extensive, she couldn't just take the information out of Firm Anima's library. Despite some minor changes, the quest seemed to be the same. However, she was unaware about the addition of more NPCs related to the quest. Therefore she would have to rely on Nari's experience with the quest to lead her.

Once they arrived in town, she would talk a man to accept the quest formally, allowing Ruler to also accept said quest. Afterwards, the tank would tell her that they needed to speak with a man named Sewallus. An odd name if she'd ever heard one, even for a fantasy world. On their way there, Ruler would realize something. "Oh- I'm sorry, I forgot to answer your question. I was so lost in my own thoughts. The extra skills don't mean so much to me. I was simply searching for doable quests within my level. Shatter is the skill that reduces enemy defenses right? Might be pretty helpful for me then."

Soon they would arrive at the barracks where Alicia would take the mantle of socialite this time around. They would have a short conversation regarding the Monkey King before she would accept them into their group. The quest would then update them to the direction of the Monkey King. "Right, everyone's here. Shall we show this Monkey King who is stronger?"

"Likewise." Her regal bearing not skipping a beat despite her awkward moments. The moment they left the safe area, Ruler would draw Caliburn from it's holster. The radiant sword of selection would glisten against the mystical lighting of the floor ambiance. "Ah, then our builds will compliment each other extremely well. Leave it up to me to leave the competition in pieces." The blonde would remark as she kept an eye out for an malicious mobs. Her eyes were stern and full of purpose, almost as if she was looking out for something more than just enemies.

"I don't know if you feel the same but whenever I leave a safe zone, it's hard to not be nervous. You're a tank so you have more time to escape any bad encounters. If I miss one attack, it could be fatal for me... That's why I've built myself to not miss anything. That's my only saving grace, I guess. Well- Besides having someone protect me, which I appreciate more than you can imagine." The girl would say with a soft smile. 

Ruler would feel even more awkward as the girl requested she not be paid for her efforts. “Th-That’s very gracious of you. It feels like I’m taking advantage of your kindness.” The regal blonde would respond, returning her handshake. “You may call me Ali- uh, I mean, Ruler.”

Opening up her menu, Ruler would send a party invite to the other woman and don her own armor and sword. Despite it’s heavy plate appearance, the armor was very light. The sword itself glowed with an amazing radiance that seemed to blind anything that looked at it for too long.

”My specialty is direct damage. Caliburn here will carve a path through anything that blocks out way including that Monkey King.” She would say confidently fixing her armor to get more comfortable and giving the other girl a smile. “Lead the way, if you would.”

It seemed like Alicia would have to sit this quest out for now. She would much rather play it safe thanks to Raidou’s notes. Just as she was about to pack up and leave, however, the answer basically fell into her lap. Almost too literally to be honest. Another player would accidentally barrel into her. Ruler would catch her carefully to make sure that she didn’t fall to the ground at least.

They would start to profusely apologize for the accident. Ruler waved it off with a slight blush and a smile. “Don’t worry about it. We all get lost in thought sometimes or just have a few accidents.” The regal looking woman would respond.

Apparently, it had taken a moment for the girl to register what Ruler had said aloud. “Oh. Was I speaking my mind without realizing it again? Jeez, that’s embarrassing…” The blonde would awkwardly paw at her hair trying to hide her shame. “B-But yes, Im looking for a tank capable of withstanding the Monkey King. He would tear me to shreds alone. He also has an are of attack effect that I won’t last long against so I might have to find a higher level player.” Inspecting the girl’s armor for a moment, the novice smith could at least see good work in it. “You seem like you fit the bill, unfortunately I have no Col to pay you for your efforts…”

The air of the forest was different from that of Firm Anima's locale. Grotesquely large trees formed a mystical forest compared to Floor 24's rustic and beautiful shrubbery. Alicia took a deep breath, donning her armor for the first time in awhile. Her memory was a little hazy after the clearing of Floor 25 despite the fact that she wasn't anywhere near it when it happened but there was a constant that she would never forget: One of her cherished friends was still out here fighting for his life. They may have lost one of their best friends but she would sure that the two of them would fight through this hell together. She needed only to find him.

In order to do that, however, the blonde must get stronger. Knowing her friends, they would not sit around like cowards and wait for death to come to them. They were probably a much higher level than her. If she wanted to narrow her search, the perfect way she could do it was to level herself up. Alicia would look down at the notes from the Firm Anima library, procured by Raidou himself. The man was a catalog of information unending and she was thankful him in that. Otherwise she would be totally unaware how outclassed she was against this boss. With a sigh, the girl would lean against a tree in Ellesmera and remark to herself: "Guess I'll have to pay a tank to cover me... I'd rather just work alone but I don't have the survivability for this..."

Current Level: 18
Current SP: 47
Link to SP Tracking: [link]
Item Upgrades:

Alicia fixed her hair disturbed from the battle now that everything was all said and done. Sliding the her weapon back into its sheathe on her back, Ruler let out a sigh and a light smile. "Don't worry about it. I am not expecting everyone to help me just because my level falls much shorter from theirs. I will need to figure out a way to survive on my own, or I will never be able to help others with their own struggles."

Ruler started to make her way back towards town, expecting that Freyd would follow suit with her. Today was a resourceful day and she could use another day's break from the field. Soon she would be ready to start climbing, but she overwhelming herself now of all times would be the worst thing she could do. "If I have need of a partner for another quest, I will seek you out."

Alicia grinned at Raidou as he made the comment about finishing the elvish king here to stop any resistance in it's tracks. With the commander dead, that would relieve the Treants of attacks, but if they eliminated the king, then this war would just end right here and now.

"The weight of a crown is heavy, but this king has taken his rule too far. Elvish soil or treant soil tastes all the same to dead men." The blonde led the charge towards the king, slashing through any resistance on their way there. Finally they approached the king, who intended to meet them as well as they intended to meet him. Ruler had no words while the king simply spouted some drivel about why their crusade is justified. She didn't care.

When his speech was done, he charged the blonde. She simply turned his blade and knocked it from his hands with little effort sending the blade to the soil. A spinning slash sent the king to the floor. "I could not have finished the quest on my own obviously. Thank you for joining me. I would be honored to join your faction of the Firm Anima guild, if you will have me."

Ruler gripped the blade in her left hand tightly, ready to follow up with an attack of her own in case anything survived: Nothing did. Raidou's weapon seemed to have been touched by Zeus or something. She wondered if the blade given to her by Freyd would be powerful like that. With that in her mind, she'd have to actually get her familiar so that she can use it in the first place.

"Well done. Let's continue then." Ruler says, walked towards the gate of the encampment and slashing her blade with her single hand. The gate doors collapsed into two pieces each. On the other side were some of the remaining elves in the camp that weren't scattering to form against them.

Ruler dashed forward, slammed her elbow into the commander before he could say a word and knocked him to the ground. The minions lashed out to her, dealing basically no damage. "Easily done."

"I have heard of the divisions of your guilds. I always found it somewhat weird that you have subsections within a guild like that, but in retrospect, I see how it works. If that is where you need me, I will glad stand by your side and learn what I need to help this nightmare end. I simply want to help people on my way to fulfilling my own goals." Ruler explains as they continue through the forest. It shouldn't be hard to find the elvish camp with the assistance of the quest marker.

"We must be getting close enough now." Ruler said drawing her sword from her back with her left hand and readying it for a fight. The elves jumped from the bushes pretty much on queue.

"Turn back now. You don't want to mess with our commander. He's the strongest of our tribe." One of them said, taking a slight slash towards Ruler, followed up by the rest of her attacks. She wasn't able to move out of the way of the blows, but it didn't matter if they couldn't breach their armor.

"Then if we destroy him, no one will be able to stand to the Treant's? Good to know. Thanks."

Delilah was still just as beautiful as she remembered it. A quiet little forest town that seemed so far from the troubles of everything. Including the war between the elves and the treants that was apparently uncontrollable to the point that they needed to clean one of them up. It wasn't the best job in her opinion, but she would still get it done.

Waiting for Raidou to teleport behind her she nodded to the man when he made it to the floor and offered him a smile. "I have no idea how you fight, I am just now realizing. What role do you fulfill and what should I do. You are the veteran in this case so I would like a bit of guidance. I normally prefer to fill a bruiser role, tanking when needed and dealing some damage to help everyone else. I hope to be able to tank well enough for the front lines down the line."

Ruler follows suit behind her guild leader as he heads out into the wilds of the twenty-second floor. This floor's forest was beautifully unmatched to any other floor she had seen. It was nice to see the guild's base was here.

"The elves are fine by me. I wholeheartedly agree that they are likely treading sacred grounds for the treants." The blonde mentioned, shouldering her weapon and letting it slip back into the sheathe on her back as the two headed into town. "Though I am sure that this quest would be trivial for someone of my level, I simply enjoy the company of others. Makes the experience so much better, plus it helps them level up as well with the small amount of experience that they gain while helping." She explained as they passed through the safe zone barrier. When they got to the teleporter, Ruler would stand up on it and say: "Floor 3." Whisking her away to her destination.