[PP-F01] The First Few Lessons for the Weak

[Bael 1]

Bael's boots crunched through the tall grass, still damp with morning dew. Each step left a faint shimmer of light as the system registered his movement. The air here was different, less the metallic tang of blood, more the sweetness of open fields. The memory of his last kill flickered through his vision, a soft ding echoing somewhere in his HUD before he dismissed it. The boars had scattered long ago, their squeals fading into the trees, leaving the field eerily quiet.

He slung his greataxe over his shoulder, its edge still humming faintly from the kill. His gaze drifted lazily across the horizon until movement caught his eye, a flash of green and the soft gleam of a player's name hovering in the air. There, seated upon a jutting rock like some woodland sovereign, was Arsine. The woman of green.

"Ah," Bael murmured under his breath, a grin forming at the edge of his lips. "The poison girl."

He didn't bother to conceal his approach. The heavy rhythm of his steps pressed into the earth, the sound of armor creaking and steel dragging against leather echoing faintly in the quiet morning. The kind of sound that turned a peaceful moment into tension before the storm.

"You know," Bael said as he stopped several paces behind her, voice carrying easily across the breeze, "Talking to yourself in an open field like this.." His eyes drifted toward the horizon, then back to her. "Someone might think you’re inviting company."

He paused, studying her posture, the way her fingers lingered around those clawed gauntlets. "Or maybe," he continued, his tone dropping lower, "You're testing fate."

The greataxe shifted off his shoulder, its head sinking into the soil with a dull thud. His eyes glinted faintly in the sunlight, black, deep, and unblinking, as they landed on the bag in her hand. "So," he drawled, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, "Are they just truffles?"

The question hung in the air, half jest, half accusation. Bael's voice carried amusement, but beneath it was a current of curiosity. Was she really just playing with food.. or something more lethal?

He chuckled quietly, the sound low and rough. "You really do find the strangest ways to keep yourself entertained, don't you, Arsine?"

* * *

WC: 378

[Arsine 0]

Post Action Fight Boar
ID:256962   Basic Attack--> Boar Pup
BD: 9 CRITICAL  9+1=10 Damage


"You know...."

She waited for him to finish, not bothering to turn around, instead she looked at the truffles. They were considered a delicacy. Was there not some kind of unspoken rule to not feed them to pigs? or was that only truffle pigs. "Good Morning, Sleeping Beast." She said calmly, tossing the truffle up in the air and catching it. "Is gift, from quest NPC. I believe these are...tranquilizer truffles. I was wondering if they would work on people. How strong they were. The biology of boar and human is very similar."

She dropped the bag to the floor. "Perhaps I shall taste. On the final one." Her eyes shifted to the boar, still not once looking back at Bael. He seemed harmless enough for now. She smiled softly. "After all, it is as you say. I find the strangest ways to keep myself entertained."

Arsine took a deep breath, shifting the center of gravity with a slide of her foot, a pause as she watched the boar - it paid her little mind as it waddled closer, closer still… Then she pounced - literally, almost as though she were a cat, and latched herself to the boar, it screamed and squealed, trying to buck her off but Arsine held tight as she drew its head back with a hard yank and drew her claws across its neck. It slumped down then burst into a sea of digital fractals, leaving behind only a set of tusks. Duty done, she took the time to dust herself off, removing blades of grass and dirt from her legs.

“Is me being here a problem?” She asked, turning her gaze to Bael. “If it bothers you, perhaps you should not linger in a common hunting area.” A pause.

“Unless that is your intention, sleeping beast.”


WC: 302
Arsine | HP: 320/320 | EN: 50/50 | DMG: 9 | ACC + 2  | LD +3 
BOAR PUP HP: 0/5 | DMG: 3

Edited 6 hours ago by Arsine

[Bael 1]

Bael watched as she moved, graceful, deliberate, the truffle catching the morning light before it dropped neatly back into her hand. The words "Sleeping Beast" slipped from her lips, and for a brief moment, he couldn't tell if she was mocking him or acknowledging him. Maybe both.

"Tranquilizer truffles, huh?" he echoed, stepping closer until the distance between them was filled with the faint scent of metal and grass. He crouched near the bag she had dropped, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah," he said, fingers brushing against one of the small confections. "I want to see the effects of these.. things."

He lifted a truffle between his fingers, inspecting it like some strange artifact. The scent was deceptively sweet, like honey and earth mixed together. "You really think they'd work on a player?" he asked, tilting his head up to look at her, the faintest glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "Seems like a risky way to test your curiosity."

When Arsine pounced on the boar, Bael stood, his expression unreadable. The creature's scream filled the field before it dissolved into a shower of light, leaving behind only those ivory tusks glinting in the grass. For a long moment, he said nothing. Just watched. The efficiency of it. The elegance, even.

As she brushed the dirt from her legs and finally turned to him, her question came, measured, calm, edged. "Is me being here a problem?"

Bael’s lips twitched into that familiar, wolfish grin. "No," he said simply, rolling a shoulder as he straightened. "If it were, you'd already know."

Then came her next remark, sharp and teasing. "Unless that is your intention, sleeping beast."

He scoffed softly, the sound low in his throat. "I just wanted to see what each floor had to offer." His gaze drifted across the quiet plains, the empty horizon, the scattered boars. "But I guess.." He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head with a faint smirk. "There isn't much here on the first floor."

He looked back at her, something lingering behind the dark calm of his expression, part challenge, part curiosity. "Unless you count the occasional poison girl."

* * * 

WC: 362

[Arsine 0]

Post Action Fight Boar
ID:256969   Basic Attack--> Boar Pup
BD: 5+2=7  HIT 9 Damage

 

The second boar…much like the first one it didn’t seem to pay her any mind, barely even acknowledged the death of its companion. Though…she supposed the AI for the very first monsters one would face wouldn’t be that…advanced. “Look at it.” Arsine said as she crouched in front of the boar. “Maybe I am too high level? It does not care.” She waved her hand in front of its face and it snorted and turned around, shoving its nose into the ground to munch on whatever it had found. “Is this how you see people? You called it complacent, yes?”

A quick motion, a jerk of her hand up and under its neck, claws imbedding deep into its flesh. Then with a sickening Crunch found the boar pup gurgled and fell flat to the ground. Arsine pulled her hand away and stared at it, stain free. Naught but the remnants of red pixels danced around it.  But… everything had felt so real, she swore she could have felt the blood, the sinue, the heat of flesh. “Huh…”

 "I want to see the effects of these.. things."

Arsine glanced up at him from over her shoulder. “Then eat.” She gestured toward the sack. “Is only risky if present company makes it so.” Arsine said as she pushed against her knees to stand. She couldn’t see the expressions he made beneath the cowl, or even be fully certain his eyes were on her.

A tilt of her head as she tried to figure out what his intentions were this time, he seemed amused. Stance relaxed. He didn’t look like he was about to lash out at her. “I tell you-” Arsine said as she shifted her attention to another boar. She needed three sets of tusks in total to complete the fetch quest.

“After last boar. I will eat. You will too? Then we shall see just how these little decadent delicacies affect a player.”

A small smile. “After all, this poison girl has strange ways to entertain herself.”

WC: 337

 

Arsine | HP: 320/320 | EN: 50/50 | DMG: 9 | ACC + 2  | LD +3 
BOAR PUP HP: 0/5 | DMG: 3

Edited 2 hours ago by Arsine

[Bael 1]

Bael's grin spread slow, deliberate, at her suggestion. "Take one together, huh?" His voice carried that deep rumble of amusement, edged with something darker. "Sounds fun."

The idea of testing poison beside a stranger would’ve been absurd to most, but to Bael, it was almost poetic. A dangerous curiosity. Two people dancing around the line that separated control from chaos. His head tilted slightly as he watched her, his hood casting a shadow across his face. Beneath it, his eyes followed the way she moved, methodical, detached, and yet alive in a way most players weren't.

He sat down, the heavy greataxe thudding softly against the ground beside him, its edge catching a shard of sunlight. His fingers drummed against his knee as she stalked the field. "I like you, poison girl," he said, letting the words slip out with a faint exhale through his nose. "More entertaining than these people."

His gaze drifted toward the empty plains. In the distance, a few low-level players were clumsily sparring with the same kind of boars, laughing, shouting, utterly oblivious to the conversation happening just beyond their sight. "They come out here, kill a few pigs, and think they've conquered the world," he muttered, almost to himself. "No fear, no hunger. Just.. going through the motions."

Bael leaned back on one arm, watching Arsine draw her claws again. He could see the sharp gleam of their silver edges as she approached her next target. She was calm, almost too calm, like she was dissecting the fight rather than living it. And yet, that calm fascinated him.

"Let's see if your poisons can do more than lull a boar to sleep," he said quietly, his tone teasing but not cruel. "Maybe they'll wake something else instead."

A faint breeze rolled through the plains, carrying the scent of metal and grass between them. Bael's grin softened into something that might almost pass for genuine. "Finish your hunt, Arsine," he said, the rare use of her name hanging oddly gentle in the air. "Then we'll see just how deep your curiosities go."

* * *

WC: 347

[Arsine 0]

Post Action Fight Boar
ID:256976   Basic Attack--> Boar Pup
BD: 4+2=6  HIT 9 Damage

Entertaining? Arsine paused at his words, shooting him a confused look. She didn't think she was doing anything too out of the ordinary. Not enough for the man to like her. He talked about how others had no fear, no hunger, going through the motions. But..wasn't that exactly what she was doing? How did she differ from others.

“Perhaps…not many come here due to…the simplicity…of the creatures.” Arsine sized up the last boar, then lifted up her leg and gave it a firm kick to its side. It squealed and rolled over, its legs dangling helplessly in the air as it struggled to right itself back up again. “The players who wish to fight are all higher. Those who do not- stay in the cities.”

“Your…comrades from yesterday… celebrated victories against these beasts no?” Arsine asked. She watched the boar, drool dripping from its maw, its eyes reddening. It seemed her taunting made it angry. “Maybe, I just do not like this battle system. But I do not feel the need to…celebrate.” Why would she, it felt boring. "I, as you say. Am doing nothing but going through the motions."
 

A single languid step toward the boar and this time, two fingers tore into its underbelly, dragging a thin red line across the exposed flesh. From neck to tail. A final anguished oink before it fell limp, and exploded into a sea of red. Arsine picked up the last boar tusk and put it away.

"Now.." She picked up the bag of truffles at his feet and pulled two out, passing one to him then carelessly plopping one into her mouth. She winced at the taste, bitter. Earthy. Definitely not meant for human consumption. Not at all like the truffles on expensive menus. She coughed as she covered her mouth. "Not..." A yawn as she found herself stumbling slightly, before she found herself completely collapsing Arsine carefully sat herself in the grass, opposite Bael. Her eyelids were heavy, a wave of drowsiness washing over her.c "Not...very tasty." She muttered before slumping forward, in a light sleep.

WC:346

Arsine | HP: 320/320 | EN: 50/50 | DMG: 9 | ACC + 2  | LD +3 
BOAR PUP HP: 0/5 | DMG: 3

Edited 1 hour ago by Arsine

[Bael 1]

Bael's eyes had been closed, his expression unreadable, until her words stirred something in him.

"Comrades?" he repeated, voice low and roughened with disdain. His eyes opened, crimson glinting faintly under the hood. "Those fools were not worthy of being anything like that to me." A slow exhale followed as his gaze trailed over the empty plains. "They celebrated small victories against beasts that could barely fight back. Laughing, pretending they were strong."

He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. "The only victory I chase for is on the battlefield against someone else," he muttered. "Someone who can bleed, who can break, who can fight back." His tone dipped lower, laced with something that wasn't quite anger, but close. "I haven't found anyone worthy."

His attention drifted back to Arsine, watching the fluid precision of her movements. She fought like someone testing the world rather than conquering it, clinical, detached, efficient. Even her kills seemed like experiments. He found it.. strangely compelling.

Then she reached for the bag, plucked a truffle from within, and popped it into her mouth with almost reckless calm. Bael arched an eyebrow beneath the cowl, amusement tugging faintly at the corner of his mouth. When she began to sway, her posture softening, he stood and crossed the short distance between them, crouching beside her as she tried to fight the inevitable haze.

"You are quite the character, poison girl," he murmured, voice low and faintly amused. Her head tilted slightly, already slipping toward unconsciousness. For a fleeting second, Bael almost reached to steady her, but stopped himself. The instinct was strange, unnecessary. Instead, he picked up another truffle from the bag and turned it over between his fingers.

"Not something I would be interested in," he said quietly, almost to himself. Yet despite his words, he tossed it into the air and caught it neatly in his mouth. The bitterness hit first, sharp, earthy, clinging to his tongue. He grimaced. "Tch. Disgusting."

He sank down opposite her, resting the greataxe beside him. The edges of his vision softened as the sedative began to hum through his system. Bael glanced at Arsine one last time, her breathing even, peaceful.

"Maybe you'll dream something worth remembering, poison girl," he muttered before his eyes grew heavy and he drifted into a quiet, uneasy sleep.

* * *

WC: 389

[Arsine 0]

Arsine awoke, not 20 minutes later - "Ugh..." She rubbed her eyes, her limbs felt sluggish. Noted. She should not eat the truffles meant to take out a boar that was probably twice her weight. The woman was meant to return the bag to the NPC, but he wouldn't notice a few missing. Right? Arsine smoothed out her hair, emerald eyes shifting over the field till they landed on a sunken figure before her. She snorted. Not expecting him to have eaten one too. "True to your word, sleeping beast."

Into her inventory the woman went and pulled out a number of things. Two antidotes, a thermos of warm Earl Grey tea, sweetened with almond milk and vanilla sugar - and a set of prosciutto and feta sandwiches. It was enough for the two of them, a peace offering for the recent Pker - should his anger boil over. She set them to the side, then downed an antidote. Face scrunching at the bitter taste. Could Alchemists not make them sweeter? Arsine sighed as she sprawled out her legs, stretching them. The boars had been thinned out, and aside from a group of players in the distance, the fields were quiet. Peaceful, serene.

If it were not for a snore.

Arsine laughed. Not expecting the sound to come from the man. "I suppose, it would only be fair for me to aid you." She reached forward. Antidote in one hand, the other clasping his hood, ready to pull it back. She couldn't blindly pour the liquid into a shadowed face after all.

WC: 259

[Bael 1]

Bael stirred before she could even pull the hood back. His hand shot up with surprising precision, catching her wrist mid-motion. The grip wasn't cruel, but it was firm, instinctive. His eyes opened slowly, black and hazy with fatigue. "Poison girl.." his voice came out low, rough at the edges, "…are you trying to poison me?"

He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, and the small glass vial in her hand finally came into focus. Recognition flickered faintly across his face. He exhaled, loosening his hold on her wrist, letting her hand go. "Ah. Antidote." The ghost of a wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "Didn't think these things would actually work on us. Hmph. Maybe I should hold on to a few of those.. just in case."

His words carried that same dry humor, an odd mix of seriousness and faint amusement. When he finally opened his eyes again, he caught sight of the small picnic-like arrangement beside him: the sandwiches, the thermos, even the second vial she’d set down. His brow lifted slightly, expression unreadable. "You came prepared," he muttered, rubbing the side of his neck. "Didn't peg you for the kind to share lunch with someone who nearly gutted you a few hours ago."

He let out a quiet breath, shoulders relaxing a little as the lingering stiffness began to fade from his limbs. Whatever poison had worked through him, it hadn’t left much lasting damage, just that hollow fatigue that seemed to dull his senses. The breeze rolled through the grass again, the faint scent of herbs, truffle, and tea mingling in the air.

Bael's gaze wandered toward Arsine briefly, his expression softer now, though the sharpness behind his eyes remained. "You're full of surprises, poison girl," he said finally, his tone caught somewhere between teasing and gratitude. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to keep me alive."

He leaned his head back again, a faint smirk ghosting his lips. "Don't worry," he added, almost lazily. "I'll make sure the favor doesn't go unpaid."

* * *

WC: 361