OP-F1) Jacob's seventh birthday

[Zeri 0]

Zeri looked at Mari as she left. Jacob seemed disappointed as no one wanted his cake which made Zeri feel a little guilty for some reason. "I'll eat some cake with you if you don't mind." Zeri said grabbing his slice of cake he had earlier and started to eat it. Then he said something about finding his mother. "I agree with you finding your mother, but you're still a kid and you need someone to keep an eye on you...and I wouldn't mind doing that till we can find your mother." Zeri said to Jacob very nervously.

[Azide 0]

With a few parting words of advice and another rare moment of tenderness, Mari moved to part ways with the group, and he watched as the pink-haired woman took her leave. "She seems to have a soft spot for kids," he noted. It almost seemed too obvious an observation to make; after all, who wasn't going to play nice with kids? "But it's still something." Perhaps she projected that affection from another's memory- or perhaps the two simply shared history together. He couldn't know for sure, but he could always piece it together another time.

He considered himself about as far away from the emotional type as one could get, and yet the boy's solemn declaration made stirred something inside of him. Here was a boy who could've been no older than eight- forced to waste away in this god forsaken game, and ready to fend for himself, no less. Even for one who'd had little experience with children, he recognized how wrong this all was.

Azide placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "I'll be honest- I never thought our guild would have such a young member. But now we do, and I'd be a fool to pretend as if you were just as old as the rest of us." From his coat pocket, he pulled out a small green handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of the boy's lip, splotching the cloth with frosting and bits of cake. "I'll help you search for your mother, Jacob. No kid should have to do that sort of thing by himself- not when they're a part of Square One."

[Jacob 0]

Jacob smiled. Zeri and Azide began to talk to him about helping him find his mother. He appreciated their offer to help but he was going to do his destiny by himself. His goal at the moment could only be completed by him. Jacob pulled out his blade and looked at the others. Who wants to have a friendly duel? Jacob had wanted one for a long time. Also he wanted to show the others what he was capable of. He would not be treated second class. They had underestimated him.

[Zeri 0]

Not too long after Zeri had offered to help, Azide jumped in saying he was offering his help as well. "If we care about nothing else, we care about these kids!" Zeri had said, then Jacob suddenly pulled out his blade, declaring a challenge. Zeri finished the cake, stood up and stretched, then he pulle out his own blade. Then he looked at Jacob and said, "Look, I know how you feel. You want to prove to us that even though that you're young, you can handle yourself just fine. But the main point is that you're still a kid. There might be some things you won't be able to do by yourself and me and Azide just want to make sure you stay safe till you find your mother. Don't you think it would hurt your mother when she finds out that her son is gone and no one had decided to watch over him? But if you want a fight, I'll give to you."

[Rusty 0]

Rusty concluded that he should get going. The birthday was nice and he congradulated Jacob, so he decided that there was no need for him to prolong this stay anymore longer than he needed to. Getting up from his seat from the grass, Rusty looked at the sky. It was getting a bit dark, but still a bit sunny. "Bye Jacob, and bye to the both of you." he said to the rest of the group before making his way back to the town. Today was a somewhat nice day. 

[Azide 0]

He saw that Jacob was smiling, and mentally patted himself on that back for his efforts. "This probably means the kid will accept our help," he concluded. Perhaps he was better at this whole kids thing than he gave himself credit for. "Maybe I should've gone into education..." As the thought trailed off, he shook his head. Nah, too far.

But in the meantime, he felt fairly confident that this boy would fit right in with their entourage. If anything, he seemed relatively low maintenance, after all. He was somewhat taken aback when Jacob asked the remaining players if they wished to duel, and scratched his head. "I'm afraid I wouldn't feel comfortable engaging in combat against someone of your... stature, Jacob." He felt somewhat relieved when Zeri volunteered for the task.

As the fourth member of their remaining group began to take his leave, Azide dipped his head in a slight bow. "It was nice meeting you today," he said. "The name's Azide, by the way!" he added, as the youth walked off.

[Jacob 0]

ID:14300 LD:16

Jacob held his blade and looked at Zeri. He went to the menu and challenged him to a half health duel. Jacob waited him to press the blue circle. He put up the stats of the item he was about to use. Jacob smirked. He wouldn't be underestimated again. He looked at his guild leader and said, "Watch!" Jacob stopped smirking and looked back to Zeri.

Jacobs items

Frost Flame +2 damage Freeze on BD 8,9, &10

25/2=12.5 round down 12

Jacob 12/12

Zeri ?/?

[Zeri 0]

"I guess we are doing this." Zeri said as he watched Jacob went into his menu and sent him a duel request. He accepted it and took his claymore out and, "I guess this duel will decide if I gonna take care of you till you find your mother, am I right?" Then Zeri looked at his blade, then Jacob's blade and said, "Let the best swordsman win. I let you have the first move." Zeri said while he prepared himself for the duel.

ID: 14307 LD:6

Weapon; Claymore of Amarok; Bleed and Paralysis on 9 or 10 BD roll. Base dmg 2

Armor: Curiass of Immortality; +1 damage migitation

HP: 12

[Jacob 0]

Your HP is six

14310 BD:8

Jacob watched as Zeri accepted his duel. Jacob watcged him pull out his blade and then let him attack first. Jacob was disgusted at thay and watch the clock countdown. Jacob moved as flash when thw clock hit zero. Jacob swung his blade hitting Zeri. Zeri was on the ground unable to move. Jacob laughed and looked at the frozen man.

Jacob 12/12

Zeri 2/6 Frozen next turn

[Zeri 0]

Zeri watched as the countdown hit zero, signaling the beginning of the match. Zeri tried to keep his eye on Jacob, but he was too fast for him. The next thing Zeri knew, he was on the ground frozen. Zeri couldn't do anything till he thaws out. Zeri hoped that this wouldn't happen again and he could dish out some damage of his own, wanting the effects of his blade to kick in so he could even the playing field. But until that time comes, he couldn't do a single thing.

[Mari 1]

- GM INTERVENTION -

.

1) do not tell people the wrong HP: it is calculated at level x 2 + 3 Zeri would have 13 HP

3)please take into account Damage mitigation

[Jacob 0]

Ooc i know you are just doing your job but this is a half health duel. So i halved both of our health and rounded down. I did it to my health too. I also did five minus one is four

14223 BD 1

Jacob grabbed his blade and attacked Zeri who was starting to be able to move again. Jacob looked at Zeri and said, "Get up Zeri i want you to show me what youve got before I win or lose."Jacob watched as the paralysis stopped its work and Zeri was able to move. Jacob was ready.

[Zeri 0]

Getting up after the effects went away, Zeri said to Jacob, "Why didn't you just finish me already." Zeri knew the only way he stood a chance was his effects of Amarok to kick in. "Alright here I go." He charged at Jacob with everything he had and swung his sword at Jacob, making him stumble a little. Then Zeri noticed that none of the effects of his blad had work. He put his sword up and said, "Damn, I screwed up the only chance I had...Go ahead Jacob, just finish me already... I guess I couldn't keep my promise. " Zeri knew he had lost the duel and couldn't keep the promise he had made to himself, So he waited for Jacob to land the final hit, which would end the fight.

ID: 14325 BD: 7

Jacob: [10/12 HP] (2 base)

Zeri: [2/6 HP]

[Azide 0]

"Wow," thought Azide, scratching his chin, "that kid sure is a feisty one." He grinned and threw out a pair of thumbs-ups- one to each of the two participants. As their health bars appeared above them, he could glean that Jacob actually had the advantage in the health department. He nodded as Jacob asked him to watch, and the boy's brazen child-like confidence was undeniably heart-warming.

"Just play nice!" he called out. Soon enough, the duel began, and right off the bat, Jacob managed to land a stunning blow against Zeri. In a shorter duel like this, every hit and miss counted; paralysis was more or less the sort of thing that costed victories. "Has Jacob already ended this?" he wondered. For such a young kid, he was a valiant force.

And then there was Zeri- how long had it been since the first time the boy had called him boss? Not too long ago, and yet here he was- warming up to Square One's youngest member. He was putting up a good fight, and no matter the result, perhaps they would both learn from the experience.

[Jacob 0]

ID 14330 BD:8

Jacob watched as Zeri made his attack hitting Jacob causing him to stumble back. Jacob smiled attacked again not listening to Zeri. Jacob's de collided with Zeri and his health went past half. Jacob smiled as his bame lit up indicating the winner. Jacob sheathed his sword. "Good Job!"

Jacob 23/25

Zeri 5/13

[Zeri 0]

Zeri closed his eyes as Jacob made the final attack, which put Zeri at the halfway mark, losing the duel. Zeri then took out his weapon, look at it for a moment, then sheathed it. Then he looked at Jacob for a quick second, Zeri had wanted to say something but changed his mind. Then without even saying a goodbye, Zeri made his way back to town, passing by Azide without looking at him or saying anything to him as well. Zeri was wondering about his resolve to protect people. "A pathetic person like me doesn't deserve to have a resolve. Does a person without a resolve even deserve to live." Zeri said as he headed into town wondering what he should do now.

[Azide 0]

With a final, spirited slash, the duel was carried to its conclusion. The metal of Jacob's blade stopped as it embedded itself into Zeri's side, before being withdrawn. Azide moved forward in a bid to congratulate the two for a job well done, but before he could even reach them, Zeri had apparently committed to leave the area as quickly as possible. As the boy passed him, their gazes crossed and he shot his guildmate a look of puzzlement. "Zeri," he began; his eyes trailed after the fleeing boy. "Don't take this to heart- it was a friendly challenge, and nothing more."

Regardless of what he said, their friend seemed to have already made up his mind, and continued on. He seemed to be heading in the direction of town, as far as he could tell. "Maybe he just needs a little time to reflect." He shifted his attention back to Jacob and gently ruffled the boy's hair before crouching down, so that their eyes were level. His hand moved to clasp the boy's shoulder. "Well done, sport." He lifted himself from the ground and moved to the picnic blanket. With occasional glances at his remaining guildmate, he began to fold it in the way one might fold their sheets. "Now that the party seems to be dying down, how about we get going to town as well?"

[Jacob 0]

Jacob looked at Azide who was Looking at him. Zeri left after the duel. The party seemed to have died down. Jacob wasn't listening to Azide and he just left. Just left him d Jacob disappeared from sight.

[Azide 0]

He scratched his head as the boy left without a word. "What is it with everyone today?" he wondered. All of these wordless leaves were really quite grating. "Jacob is forgivable- though perhaps his mother could've taught him some better etiquette." Memories flickered in his head, and a picture of fancy silverware flashed in his mind's eye. Unlike most people, he was well aware of how to identify a salad fork from a dinner fork, or the intricacies that differed a soup spoon from its dessert-aligned counterpart. Perhaps he could instill in the kid a bit of the wisdom that been passed onto him.

Zeri, on the other hand, was old enough to know better. "The guy's only a few years younger than me, at most, for god's sake." Sure, he understood the frustration that came with loss. But to act so shamefully against a kid? That was simply setting a bad example.

He picked up the plates and stacked them on top of each other, then sent them to his inventory, along with the folded picnic cloth. Perhaps he'd return this stuff to Mari sometime. But for now? Now would be a good time to head back to town.

Azide exits.

[Jacob 0]

Jacob walked back to the site where Azide had been. Jacob smiled. He pulled out his blade. He stuck it in the ground and went into his inventory and got out the cake. Jacob smiled, playing. "Let there be good cake!" He shouted and he began to east the cake.

"Never raise your blade at another player."