Private Hylands Ascent Getting Ore Galore with Mi Amore

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus stood at the entrance to a dark and dreary cave looking rather annoyed. Just a week or so ago he'd walked straight into hell and gunned down a horde of demonic bugs. They'd incurred some losses, some more than others. Some people had become UI locked, some suffered their final deaths, and some had come close to the brink, staring death in the eye only to back down at the last minute.

Some had been lucky. Some hadn't.

Brutus had given it everything he had, one hundred and ten percent and it still wasn't enough. Two of his comrades had lost their lives, he'd lost his canon, his best friend- no, the woman he cared about the most in this world had almost been lost to it. Even then, had not another brave soul laid their lives down they would have lost and hell would have broken loose.

Now he needed to make sure he would be ready for anything that would come again.

Here he was, at the mouth of a mine rumored to have an overabundance of ore if you were willing to risk the threat of elementals and creatures of the deep. Here he would find the metal he would need to forge himself a weapon to slay anything that crossed his path. Now all he needed was @Toko

He'd invited her for aid, and for companionship. To build a canon, but also to forge something greater. Hopefully this would be a fruitful day.

 

[Toko]

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.

Perhaps they had all gotten overconfident with the system, the time spent slaying goblins and orcs luring them into a false sense of security as they continued to hone in their masteries and skills. When the Explorer League had appeared with a request for aid Toko hadn’t thought twice about signing up to help, and through most of the mission the Lepus had felt quite confident in the skills of herself and that of her friends to clear it successfully all the way to the end.

Reality has been vastly different, however, and in the final moments many friends would lose their first death to the Kurungaar mother—and she would’ve been among them too had it not been for the unexpected kindness Jin had shown her. Toko had thought Brutus would’ve been angry at her for being so reckless in the final moments, though a scolding never did seem to arrive… or maybe she had simply been too deafened by the ringing in her ears that seemed to last for ages when he’d done so, though thankfully Lucy had taken care of the Lepus ears shortly afterwards.

"Where did you… hear about… this place, Brutus?"

Amidst huffs and puffs the hare finally managed to catch up with the brute of a Felis, taking a moment to catch her breath before red eyes looked over the area they had walked into. This was a far cry from the lands of Astorea and Falderen that Toko was used to, but of course she would say yes when her bestest friend had asked for the rabbit’s help to mine some special items towards his new cannon.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He would turn down to the rabbit, giving her a warm smile. The Cinnamon Bunn was all ears and ready to roll on the way here. Brutus had behaved on the trip, minding the buttons on his shirt, watching his hands, keeping his eyebrows in check, the whole nine yards. "I did a bit of research through the grapevine, couple of backroom blogs with info about the game. A couple of people who offered help at the end of the Raid on the demonic bug MILF. Various sources have all led me here."

This whole, actually being in love with someone was a delicate game.

He wanted so desperately to tease her constantly, to send her hare heart aflutter with just the mildest of comments. To send her skin alight with the briefest of touches. To send words skittering right out of her mouth with a simple waggle of his eyebrows. But she was beginning to hate him for it, and now any form of affection he showed her was going to be classified as him bullying her.

"Either way," he would light a small ball of flame in his hand, illuminating the mouth of the cave as they stepped in. "Stay close enough to be able to yank my tail at the first sign of trouble."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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.

"Eeeeh, there's actually stuff about the game on the internet after all?"

That piece of knowledge surprised Toko, whenever she had tried to Google anything regarding TerraSphere she'd come up empty handed back in the real world... then again she mostly stuck to the safe parts of the internet, so that alone could probably explain why Nao couldn't find much about it to begin with.

"Wait... what's a bug MILF?"

That was certainly a term the Lepus hadn't come across before, her head tilting slightly to the side as she gave Brutus an inquisitive look. For the most part the ascent to this point had been alright—an arduous walk for sure with the many obstacles the natural paths presented, but enjoyable overall... even if it was a bit weird that the Felis hadn't tried to tease her about anything so far during the day.

Usually she'd be at around heart attack number three by this time of the day.

"Haaai," A nod was given as the Lepus stepped closer to the giant, her red eyes looking around the entrance of the cavern even as they adjusted to the new light source provided by Brutus. "So... what kind of monsters do you think we'll come across in this place, Brutus?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"You have to know where to look and what you're looking for. A lot of people have been calling this came things like "AquaCube" or "FlamingPyramid" for their blogs. Some get a little more obtuse and put things in a cypher. You have to get the code via word of mouth, truly an ass kicking and a half."

Brutus' eye would twitch slightly as he realized his mistake. He would have to think quickly, and would quickly reply. "Malicious Insect Looking for a Fight." Ah yes, what an absurd thing that would keep her from calling anything a MILF ever, perfect plan.

"If we're lucky, not bugs." The giant would quip, leading them into the darkness. "But knowing our luck, big ole honkin bugs and probably earth elementals, lizards of some size or variety perhaps." He would offer, his tail instinctively swishing to tap the Hare in a practiced motion. It was much like how a blind man used his cane to feel out the area around them, but he used it to detect if his charge was where they needed to be.

"Deep down further in there's some Magical Iron or something that if smelted right makes a very sturdy steel that can handle exceptionally high temperatures."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Ah, no wonder I'd never find things then... I would've never thought of looking information about the game under AquaCube and stuff like that."

She had absolutely no clue about the cypher thing that Brutus mentioned, but not wanting to show just how ignorant she was of the topic the Lepus chose to stay quiet instead. "Eeeh, is that so? Man, the internet has acronyms for everything..." Yup, that's totally what MILF stand for on the internet... no way this could ever go wrong, none at all.

The tap of his tail against her leg caused the rabbit to squeak in surprise for a moment, having been more engrossed in actually looking around the cavern as they stepped in further, but by the third time Brutus had done so it seemed like Toko had become accustomed to the occasional taps as they walked further into the system of tunnels and caverns that were the Torim Caverns.

"Oh, that definitely sounds like the right iron for your new cannon then! I still can't believe you melted the last one..."

Seriously, just how hot could those flames actually get?

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"You and the others were in danger." He would reply shaking his head. "Like I said, instincts kicked in and I gave it my all to defend those I-" he would turn and look back her, eyes locking with hers before he would immediately break their locked gazes and blush.

"-Lcare about. My friends and family are the source of my passion and my flame. How hot a flame could I possibly have if something happened to you? It simply couldn't keep up with the Dahlgren style." Tap tap tap went his tail gently against the Lepus as the walked deeper in.

"And it's exactly why I picked this cave. Also, the highlands are allegedly the ancestral home for beastfolk in this world and it would be good for the two of us to visit our roots so to speak." He would smile a bit, their steps echoing in the cavern. His eyes would settle on a cluster of crystaline metal jutting from the wall, but then his arm would shoot upwards causing the Lepus to halt. On the roof was a large earthen snake, something akin to the pokemon Onyx, but this one being made of jade and baring emerald fangs. The creature would "hiss" at them, its voice being a rumble of stone on stone as it crashed down at them from above.

"Shit,"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Badump...!

She listened as Brutus gave his explanation to how he managed the arduous task of melting away his last cannon, a blush spreading on her cheeks when their gazes locked for a few moments before they both broke it to look at different parts of the cavern. "U-Uun... you're right. I don't know how I'd react if you or any other of my friends suddenly died in front of me." Worse still, the thought of her magic going out of control downright scared the Lepus... especially if it meant losing control of her Astramancy.

The continuous tap tap tap of his tail brought an unexpected comfort as they continued to venture deeper into the cavern, before Toko's ears perked up as Brutus mentioned some Hyland lore that she hadn't been aware of. "This place is the root for beastfolk...?" There was little time to ponder that thought further however, the sudden hand that Brutus stretched out blocking Toko's path as the Lepus abruptly stopped.

"Ch-Chotto—" There had been an initial look of confusion on her face, having missed the sight of the large emerald serpent curled above them on the stalactites in the ceiling... that is until it came crashing down in front of the pair."Eeeh...?! Is that thing made of emeralds?!"

The rabbit quickly tapped into her Nature magic—bark slowly generating to cover her forearms, shins and knuckles—before Toko switched over to Geomancy in order to add an extra level of protection—and power— to her fists and kicks.

"... what are the odds of gem snake here thinking we're today's main course?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

The odds were 100%

The creature lunged downwards at the two, falling from the cavernous roof like a rockslide. Brutus would give Toko a shove to move her to the left whilst he went right, the creature's fangs smashing into the stone where they had once been between them. "It might be jade!" Brutus howled back in reply to her rather innocuous question. "But that's not the point." He would don his knuckle dusters, lunging forward to bring down a ruinous strike, using his hands like a hammer.

CRACK

The creature's stony flesh cracked and buckled. It would hiss its gravely hiss at him, wheeling about to lunge around at him with lightning speed, but he would use his own Pyromancy to propel him backwards out of the reach of the strike. He would hiss and shoot a bolt of two of flame at the creature, trying to keep its attention off the rabbit.

"I've got his attention if you want to sucker punch him!"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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The small nudge on her back got the hare moving just as the gem snake came crashing down in their direction, her legs quickly carrying her towards the left of the creature as Brutus took the opposite direction. "Oh wait... you're right! It is jade, such a pretty color too—eeek!" She barely managed to duck under a swing of the snake's tail, feeling the wind from the movement buffet her before the hare got back on her feet.

Shimatta... that was too close!

This was certainly nothing like the goblins, wolves and occasional orc hag that Toko had fought before... though a part of the Lepus couldn't help but get excited at the new challenge being presented. After all if they had managed to engage a demonic Kurungaar, and lived, then surely one overly grown jade snake wouldn't be too much issue... right?

"On it!!!"

As the Felis quickly aggro'ed the snake in his direction Toko smashed her fists together, the Lepus taking a moment to concentrate and gather some of the cosmic energy available into her fists. Once she spotted an opening the rabbit rushed forth, leaping onto the body of the snake before Toko began making her way up higher. "Aiiiyah!" A small leap was taken for a better position, before the Lepus allowed her right fist to smack straight down into the snake's head.

CRAAACK!

A sickening sound echoed around the cave as her fist connected with the snake, a massive crack splitting the jaded surface before the erratic movements of the monster caused Toko to stumble. "Ottotto...!" With that Toko opted to kick off the snake for the time being, the Lepus' hands softening the landing impact before she flipped to land on her feet.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Maybe we can make you a nice pair of earrings out of him for you when we're done." Brutus would muse as the fight raged on. While the creature was fairly large, it wasn't very nimble so he doubted either of them was going to have much trouble with it.

As the snake whirled to face the rabbit, Brutus dashed forward with a burst of flame, bringing his fist upwards in a fiery uppercut socking the snake in the jaw with a crack and sending it careening upwards into the air alongside him as he jet upwards. He would twist and spin, sending his foot spinning through the air as a roundhouse kick with a shockwave of flame behind it. The Lion would backflip off the creature and land to the ground in a light burst of sparks as the snake would flail to the ground, landing with a loud crash.

"Finish it off bun!" He would yell, ready to follow up her strike if need be.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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At the mention of earrings the Lepus couldn't help but raise a hand to softly touch the amethyst earring on her right ear, a find the Lepus had come across her earlier days of playing while exploring various shops with Ru Ning, but there was little time to think on the matter when the snake finally began picking itself back up from the ground... it seemed Toko's hit hadn't been strong enough to finish it in one go.

Brutus was already moving into action before the jade serpent had a chance to strike at Toko, the combination of fiery punches and kicks knocking the gem creature on its side as it struggled to right itself back on. "Hai!" The rabbit herself didn't need much of a nudge, already sprinting towards the snake just as Brutus words reached her ears.

"Hiyaaah!"

The gem on her earring glowed once more as the rabbit amassed magic from her surroundings, her leg sweeping low against the ground in a fluid motion before striking towards the monster... although it looked to be too far for the Lepus to make actual physical contact with the creature. There was a pause, and for a moment anyone would've thought Toko had maybe missed, before sudden shards of rocks and crystals erupted from the ground.

"Whoa...!"

They followed the same path her foot had traced moments before, the sharp edges impaling the head of the snake in various points and breaking through its jade surface... before finally the monster's movements ceased in its entirety. A few careful steps were taken back as Toko surveyed the end result, the rabbit clearly surprised by the sudden appearance of so many crystals of varying colors in her magic.

"... I guess the soil around here is rich in minerals, huh?"

It certainly had a lot more than anything she'd ever seen in Eastern Brisshal.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"You think?" Brutus would ask raising an eyebrow. "The Mine where we're hunting special magical iron is rich in minerals? You think that's a pretty safe bet?" He would waggle his eyebrows at her, investigating her work.

"This is uh...Geomancy right?" He would look over the rocks. "How did you..." he would pause. "Have you still not gotten a hold over you magic yet?" He would squint at her through cracks in the jade snake. He would tear a chunk loose and scan it over, yup, that was pure Jade. This whole creature was probably worth a fortune in raw materials that he could use for all sorts of neat side projects.

Split 50/50 with the Cinnamon Bun of course.

"We really need to get you some practice like...controlling your magic so you don't accidentally stab by my eye out with a metal spear or something." He would chuckle and hold up some jade. "Also, fuck the earrings, we could get you a whole set of bling off this bad boy."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Ah, right, the caverns that contained a lot of magical iron and various other minerals and riches. You know, the mines with the rich special iron deposits they'd be using to craft Brutus' new cannon. Those mines... "U-Urusai na..." There was a pout to her lips as the Lepus looked away, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks upon realizing how stupid her earlier statement had been.

"Y-Yeah, that's my Geomancy...?" There was a perplexed look to the Lepus at the inquiry, before the flush deepend some more as Toko stuck her tongue out to Brutus. "Iie, I can control it just fine...!"

Her arms crossed against her chest now in a defensive posture, the pout only increasing. "I was just trying to copy the way you do pyromancy..." It had seemed like a very fluid and cool concept, one that Toko had thought would fit her style too... she had just forgotten about the fact that this soil was very very rich in minerals and crystals.

"I-I'm not going to stab your eye out with a metal spear! Geomancy can't even control metal in the first place... baaakah!"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would grin slightly as the Lepus began to blush. He hadn't meant to get her all flustered, but now that she was here...well, he could enjoy the moment. "I do suppose I like the style, taking your power and trying to use it to mimic someone super cool and handsome." He would smirk as he wheeled around the spire and wrapped an arm around the Lepus' shoulders. "Imitation is the highest and most sincere form of flattery, speaking of." He would give the mineral spike an appreciative poke.

"That is some good handiwork I wonder if I could...' he paused, opening some UIs and thumbing around. "Annnnd...changed." He would turn to her and smirk. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to be putting myself under your care and teaching once again." He would ruffle her hair and give a quick mini stomp causing a small bit of stone to pop out of the floor.

"Now then, lets get on with our lovely little spelunking date and get everything I need for a canon and we can give you enough jewelry to shine like a discoball!"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She could feel the sudden doki doki in her chest as the Felis came close, his arm wrapping around the Lepus' shoulders as she was pulled closer. The blush on her face deeped, both from the embarrassment she felt at being caught imitating his magic, but also the extreme and unexpected closeness they currently shared.

"Wonder if you could do what...?" There was a pause as she turned to look up at the giant with a questioning look, watching his other hand flitting through the air at nothing... apparently playing with some settings in his UI? "... changed what? Brutus, what are you talking about"

He then ruffled her hair, causing the Lepus' words to stop, before stomping on the ground and causing a small mound of stone and dirt to pop out in return. "W-Wait, did you just...?!" He's switched out a mastery just like that, on what seemed like nothing but a whim and without a second thought...?

"H-Hai...?"

Well, a part of her supposed that could be useful for their current mining goal of the day...

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He would try to flex the new magical muscle he had just implanted into his body. It was like...he could feel the tremble of the earth. The slight vibrations of the Lepus as she would take steps alerted him to his position. This new tremorsense paired with his hypersense mastery would help bring his alertness to their surroundings to the next level.

He would turn to the Lepus and grin. "My other mastery was kinda lame, and what it did was shit another one already covered. This one will get more flavor and more value I think." He would walk over to the ore vein/crystal and withdraw a pickaxe. He would raise it up over his head, and bring it down with his full force.

CLANG.

The sound of the blow would ring out through the cavern, causing his ears to ring a little bit. "Mind your ears hun, this is about to get loud." He would raise his pickaxe up again, bringing it down once more.

CLANG.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She was unaware of how much his senses had now deepened after the new mastery, an eyebrow arched slightly as she watched him get his bearings on the new Geomancy powers now flowing through his frame. "Which one did you switch out for it then?" It was then she realized that perhaps Toko wasn't fully aware of Brutus' full skill set... aside from pyromancy, the now missing huge ass cannon, and his insane senses Toko wasn't fully aware of the full loadout, but then again some masteries blended in so well that it was easy to forget they were an option.

"It wasn't range... right?"

Yeah, no way he'd let go of that... he loved his cannon too much.

CLAAANG!

The sudden noise caused the Lepus to jump slightly in surprise, her ears folding downwards before she glared at the Felis. Why was he using a pickaxe for the ore vein when there were other, less noisy, options available? He could very well crack the shit out of that vein with his knuckle dusters... or even melt it away and let it cool in earthen molds for easier storage?

"Urusai... why a pickaxe?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"My Masteries in order of presentation are Pyromancy, Ranged Weapons, Crush Weapons, Geomancy, and Hyper senses." He would count them off on his fingers. "I took off Tank Arts and tossed it to the curve, I was using it to try and protect people, but Hyersense was letting me do the same things mechanically."

He would turn to her, pausing from his strikes and raising an eyebrow at her. "Ah yes, I will trade away the mastery that lets me use my canon while we're working to reforge my canon." He would give her a smile.

"And why not a pick-axe? Is that not how you should mine ore? Has the ancient classic minecraft taught you nothing? When you're mining diamonds n shit you need to get a pickaxe." He would realize her ears were trembling, frowing as he would walk over and gently rub them.

"Ah Gomenesai Toko." He would mumble. "How would you prefer I take care of this without blasting out your eardrums?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Ah, I see... that makes sense, I never realized you had Guards Art as part of your repertoire."

She would stick her tongue out at Brutus as he teased the rabbit about her earlier comment, though the faint smile on her lips showed she wasn't actually upset at the Felis. However as the pickaxe fell onto the ore, causing the noise to resonate and reverberate all around the cavern, Toko would wince in response before her hands raised to cover her ears.

He noticed, perceptive as the Felis was, before Brutus stopped his mining as he chose to close the distance between them. Toko's hands would move away from her ears as he reached for them, carefully rubbing them in a gentle manner that helped ease some of her discomfort... before a soft purr escaped the hare in response, that felt really nice.

"I dunno... melt it or something."

There was a childish whine to her words as she spoke with a pout, and while a part of Toko was aware that perhaps that idea wasn't as feasible in reality as her mind wanted to make it sound she would still prefer anything else instead of enduring the constant clang clang the tip of the pickaxe would produce every time it would hit the ore.

She'd had enough loud noises to last her a while after the aftermath of the Shanuke...

@Brutus Dahlgren