Complete Eastern Brisshal Newbie training

[Fina Drago]

While their meeting was somewhat brief in the tavern of Honeyhome, Fina and Cleo were bound to become a close acquaintances. If only because of Vina. The bard was nowhere to be found, however. Today would be purely between the cat and her new friend, or at least she hoped that their relationship would end as such. Through their mutual comrade, the two of them were scheduled to meet just outside of the aforementioned city. The purpose of this meeting was to grow a bit stronger by having a go at practice combat. Indeed not a bad idea in a killer game.

Fina arrived first, noting that there was not a single soul in the small clearing. Houses of the city were plenty visible to the side and the site chosen was seemingly often used for camps or celebrations, given the prepared fire pit and carved logs that could be used instead of benches. No monsters would be spawning this close to a safe zone, so it was a pretty secure location for some training. The only thing it lacked was actual training dummies… which made the lynx wonder if she could actually construct some with her own mastery. It could be worth a shot as she waited for Cleo to arrive, which meant that she probably did not have much time for trial and error.

 

[Cleo Looker]

Cleo had definitely been shocked to find that she shared acquaintance with Vina with somebody, though it was a pleasant surprise at the very least. This would make it a bit easier to grow her list of sources, if she could manage to get along with Fina, though Vina seemed quite convinced that they would get along perfectly fine so she saw no reason to doubt that. The idea had been floated for the two of them to train and practice together, for what reason she wasn't too certain but she was never going to say no to the chance to get some actual safe practice in.

She wasn't used to being the last one to arrive though, even if most people would say that second out of two people wasn't exactly anything to worry about, she'd always been quite a timely person, so seeing Fina standing in a small clearing with a firepit and carved logs made her briefly wonder if she had perhaps managed to miss the time they'd set, though a brief check ensured that she was in fact on time and that Fina had arrived early.

Hello Fina. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long?

She stepped towards the catgirl, stopping a few feet away, something of a comfortable distance between new acquaintances, her hands held behind her back since her outfit lacked pockets for her to stuff them in. Her bright red lance was slung over her back, the tip glinting whenever it caught the sunlight.

It might be a good idea to go over our Masteries, to see what we can practice with? I myself use Piercing Weapons, Ranged Weapons and Arcanamancy.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Hearing the voice behind her, Fina's ears twitched a few times as the girl turned around with a welcoming smile. "Heya! Not long at all!" So much for having enough time to practice her creative skills on her own. She didn't manage to make as much as a giant stick in the mud they could take a few swings at. Oh well, she was sure they'd work to figure something out a bit later on. For the time being, the conversation was very quickly shifted to the topic of masteries. Cleo sure was an efficient one, huh?

"Masteries… well, I started with Arcanamancy. It allows me to make just about anything I can imagine with mana, make it solid, then chuck it at others or use it in other ways. I figured making various weapons on the fly was nice, so I added slash and crush masteries to that base. Apparently, I already practiced them enough that the game allowed me to add pierce ones as well." Though she didn't quite feel like she did that much. Perhaps the game was just generous in unlocking the fourth sloth.

To showcase her abilities a bit, Fina started creating a few items that would float around her body. A sword, fork, spoon, slightly lop-sided gear… all manner of junk that soon shattered into pieces when she stopped wasting mana on it all.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Well at the very least she hadn't been keeping the other girl there for long, which meant that she didn't have much to feel bad when it came to being the second person to arrive. It was going to be quite an awkward day, probably, considering that the person they had in common, Vina, was absent, but they'd just have to find a way to make it work somehow. It wouldn't be that hard, considering they both seemed like mature adults. And hey, they even had Arcanamancy and Pierce weapons in common, so those were things that they could actually practice together, though it seemed that they used those abilities in different ways.

Pretty clever, being able to create different weapons and objects to suit your needs when you need them. I mainly focus on creating copies of my spear and using them as thrown weapons.

To demonstrate, she flexed her fingers, two copies of the spear that was slung over her back appearing, one in each hand. She gave both a twirl, before letting them dissipate into energy and float off with the wind. This did give them a decent amount to work on together, though. This probably would turn out to be quite the productive afternoon after all.

I'm thinking we can practice our Arcanamancy together. I have a decent amount of practice using it. How about we take turns attacking each other and using Arcanamancy to defend?

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

"Ahah, it's nothing special." The girl let out a bit of an awkward laugh at the praise, or what seemed to be a praise. Just as Cleo pointed out, Arcanamancy was a trait they shared. Even if they used it differently, both of them could still do precisely the same that the other person could, with a bit of effort. Using her weapons at range was actually something that Fina did think about but was a tad unsure of just how limited that would be with Arcanamancy alone.

That aside, there was a suggestion as to how they could proceed already. "A-attacking each other, huh…" It was a sensible suggestion, really. The only point of concern was that the lynx hadn't really tried developing her abilities in a defensive-kinda way. Surely neither of them could just… one-shot the other if an attack happened to go through those defenses, right? No, scratch that, even if they didn't die, the idea of having a spear go through her sent shivers down the girl's spine.

"Um… I don't want to say that I dislike the idea or anything, but… how to say… we don't have anyone around with healing powers in case of an accident." Hopefully, pointing that out would help the other woman see the potential dangers.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

The girl seemed to be a bit awkward with praise, which was something that Cleo noted away for later. It was probably going to be possible to build something of a good rapport with this girl by utilizing praise, so long as she didn't lay things on too thickly. Either way, it was always good to begin constructing some kind of psychological profile of a contact as early as possible, to help make sure that future interactions went well and that she could continue to get the most use out of the girl. Plus, if she was Vina's friend, then this was probably another good person who might be a boon for helping keep other players safe.

And she raised some good points about her idea being dangerous, ones that Cleo hadn't quite thought of but now that they'd been raised, they made a lot of sense. It had the older woman blushing, scratching her cheek slightly in embarrassment. Such a rookie mistake...

Ah yeah, you might be right about that. Getting my hands on some healing powers would be a good plan, for future reference.

She placed a finger on her chin in thought. So certain had Cleo been that she'd been onto something with her idea, she wasn't quite willing to give up on it and, after a moment or two, snapped her fingers and perked up with a small grin.

New idea. How about we erect a static defense, like a barrier or a wall, then we take turns attacking it? It'll help us practice both building stronger defenses and attacking against a strong defense, so it's like training two abilities at once. Plus, we can set up the defense, then walk a safe distance away, so there should be no chance of either of us getting hurt.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Fina could only nod along as the realization of danger was carried over to Cleo. Thankfully for the both of them, it didn't take long before her new acquaintance managed to figure something out. It was actually kind of endearing, watching the other woman's cheerful gesture as an idea took root and grew into its entirety. Perhaps the almost child-like glee that one would rarely display in the physical world, where keeping up appearances came before anything else?

Either way, the new idea was far more reasonable. "Yeah, that should work. I was actually curious if I could create something akin to a training dummy. My arcanamancy rank isn't very high, so it'll probably not be all that durable, though." Scratching the back of her head, the feline looked around as her ears twitched and tail danced from side to side. "Maybe we could add in some natural materials to reinforce the whole thing…" Thinking aloud, the slitted eyes ran across the scenery surrounding them. Sure, the houses on one side were not much helpful. But there was the edge of a forest on the other side, which would offer plenty of sticks or even whole tree trunks if their weapons proved strong enough to cut them down.

"What do you think? I get that the point would be training both offense and defense simultaneously, but seeing how all of my masteries are focused on defense safe for arcanamancy itself, the game would probably not let me make anything too sturdy no matter how much I would try."

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

She hadn't noticed how much more animated she became when she logged into the game, when she took on the role of Cleo Looker, rather than being Sarah Aern. It was like it was almost a subconscious thing. Not a change in her personality, but something that bubbled to the surface that she never let rise in reality? Like she was the character from the movies she'd always watched, rather than merely being inspired by those characters and trying to emulate them. It was a weird feeling, or at least, it would have been if Cleo had ever noticed or been made aware of it, but she remained ignorant, instead nodding along as Fina spoke.

The idea of a training dummy was about as close to her idea as could be. The felis did seem to be pretty down on herself though, when she mentioned that her creations wouldn't be durable and that she wouldn't quite be able to make anything too sturdy. Cleo shook her head, reaching out to place a hand on Fina's shoulder and squeeze it gently, a small, confident grin on her face.

It's alright. I think both of us are pretty offense oriented, with our focus on different weapon types and then Arcanamancy to supplement it. This training is more about finding ways to augment a skill we're both lacking in.

She squeezed the shoulder again, before letting go.

And for the record, I think adding natural materials to reinforce it would be an excellent idea. Though it might be hard to achieve confidently without something like Geomancy or Nature Magic to help compound the natural elements with the Arcanamancy. Or at least, that's what I've heard a few more experienced players say here and there, when I've bothered to listen into their conversations.

With that said, she took a few steps away, before thrusting her hands out in front of her, wispy crimson energy beginning to coalesce around her, before snaking off of her body and slowly, layer by layer, forming a replication of a modern brick wall. Cleo grinned, wiping her forehead when the wall was standing, taking a few steps away from it before she turned to face Fina with a grin and a nod.

Okay then, why don't you show me what kind of damage you can do? I'm not an expert by any means, but I think it should be as strong as an actual wooden wall.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

The hand suddenly hitting her shoulder did manage to make Fina jump a tiny bit. Not too much, but it was a gesture that quickly put her into an alerted state. Was it because she just wasn't used to physical contact of any kind? She couldn't even recall the last time she as much as shook hands with another person in the physical world, so that was probably it. Even here in the game, people kept a respectful distance away. For the most part, anyhow. Vina seemed to be the one exception, with her dance lessons and all.

"R-right. Though I don't really know where my limitations lie at the moment." So far, she really did just use the mastery to forge weapons that she could use to smack things around. Defense was, thankfully, not necessary so far. As her shoulder was let go, the feline would take a few steps to the side as she listened to Cleo's explanation regarding their impromptu plan. Well, as long as they had something to attack, there really shouldn't be that much of an issue. As far as she observed, skills in this game improved with usage, so even if the target was a bit shoddy, it shouldn't matter as long as their Arcanamancy was used to some extent.

Watching the wall manifest, the girl also noted just how different it looked from her own abilities. Was it because the skills took a lot from one's mind? Either way, just as was suggested, Fina would position herself in front of the wall and manifest a weapon of her own. A giant double-sided war-ax that was nearly the same size as the girl herself. She didn't seem to have any trouble wielding it despite its size and weight, though.

Planting her feet firmly in the grass, she prepared for an overhead swing and did just that. Though the attack itself appeared to be… on the weaker side. At the very least, the sharpness of the weapon and its weight helped along as the blade made contact with the wall.

Rolls

Heavy Attack
1d100 (28) + 10 + 5 + 20 = 63
63 damage
Fina cannot move this cycle
Slash Weapons | Fina Drago | 414C1

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Watching the girl manifest an almost comically oversized war-axe, Cleo took another few steps away as she watched the girl wielding it, moderately impressed that there seemed to be no difficulty in holding it or wielding it, as the girl planted herself firmly and prepared for an overhead swing, manifested weapon glinting as the light caught it, before it swung downwards. The swing was...weaker than she felt the girl could actually achieve, the weapon was at least a high enough quality to carve a thick line through the manifested brick wall, cleaving through it with a supernatural ease, which was fitting, considering that the weapon was actually of a supernatural nature.

She'd also noticed the way that Fina jumped when she'd touched the girl's shoulder, filing that information away for later. In her experience, people that were so jumpy even around friendly company usually had a few issues, though she didn't quite want to sink into thoughts of some kind of traumatic, abusive past just yet. It was just as likely, if not more so, that Fina was just a shy person and that it was pretty rare for her to get that close to another person. So instead, she settled for humming, stepping forward to admire the groove that had been cut into her wall.

Well, the swing could have been a little more impressive, but the weapon itself seems pretty wondrous. You must have practiced being able to make powerful weapons quite a lot.

It certainly was a pretty nice sight to see. The detective placed a finger on her chin in thought, glancing at the large axe, then at Fina, then at the wall, trying to piece together some kind of lesson, or perhaps a hint or tip to help the girl improve. It had certainly been effective against the wall, though, she noted as some of the spectral bricks crumbled and wobbled. She focused, pushing more energy out to seal the gouge and the cracks, restoring the wall to full strength again.

Maybe try stepping into your next swing for extra force? Planting yourself like that is a good way to generate extra power, yes, but there are times where you'll want to be more mobile, even if it might leave you a little bit more open to counterattack. The more momentum you have, the more the incoming strike will hurt, as it gathers force.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

The fact that Fina's attack wasn't able to achieve what she hoped for was a tad disappointing, but then again, she knew she kind of sucked at this game. Perhaps this outcome was to be expected. She let out a sigh and took several steps back as she watched Cleo go ahead and repair the magical brick wall back to its original state with ease. If she could do something like that, she could probably also output much more damage than the feline. Would she even be able to create a barrier capable of withstanding that?

There was little point in thinking about that for now. It was still her turn, after all. "Momentum, huh…" Repeating after the other girl, she thought about what she could do to achieve that. Sure, she could have gone ahead and taken another swing from a running start, but that would probably not end well in actual combat. Her body might have been athletic, but she wasn't able to utilize that quite yet.

Getting an idea, she would gesture for Cleo to step aside as she took several more steps back and readied herself. Arcanamancy was an interesting mastery, not only allowing her to create objects out of mana but to also control them mid-air to some degree. Perhaps that was something she could utilize.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to put all of her strength into the following motion and went for it. Starting as a regular horizontal strike that would cleave anything in front of her in half, she let go of the weapon before it was even halfway through the motion. Given enough momentum, it started spinning almost like a boomerang as the arched trajectory made it collide with the wall at full force before the weapon continued on its path and returned back to the girl who, only barely, managed to catch it without cutting herself in half as well.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Her eyes remained fixed on Fina's adorable features, hoping that the girl would be taking her criticisms constructively, rather than be hard on herself or doubt her abilities. Fighting without the help of the Action Assist system was hard, especially for people who had either never been trained in how to fight people or whom had never been in an actual fight before. There were people that lived their entire lives without ever even having to throw a single punch, after all. She'd become a cop and a detective precisely because she wanted people to be able to live without needing to protect themselves.

All she could do was flash Fina a smile and hope that the girl would shine brightly with a bit of encouragement.

At the gesture to step aside, Cleo took a few steps away from her construct, though she remained close enough that her focus on it wasn't disrupted, watching as Fina seemingly let go of her weapon mid strike, the agent preparing to dodge what she had first thought to be an accidental release of the weapon. Instead, she found it spinning through the air like a boomerang, cutting deep into her arcane brick wall like a buzz saw, before returning to Fina's hand.

She watched as the wall shuddered and shook, before the top half, above the line that had been cut into it, toppled over, the wall collapsing into a pile of arcane bricks that Cleo decided to just let evaporate into magical energy, choosing to turn and flash a grin to Fina.

Now that was pretty impressive. Good instincts, to use the fact that you're using magic to add the kind of momentum that can't be achieved by simply swinging the axe using raw brute strength. Just gotta perfect catching it and you have the basis for a good fighting style, there.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

It seemed that the attack actually did something decent this time around. But speaking of catching the weapon again as Cleo decided to compliment Fina, the momentum proved itself a bit too much for a girl who was not prepared for how difficult that could be. Not only was the weapon extremely heavy, and the girl could only wield it thanks to the stats of her avatar, but there was an added power behind it as well.

While she managed to grasp the weapon's handle, the force transfer sent her balance into the shadow realm, and her entire body tilted backward right after. Losing her footing, Fina soon found herself on the ground, landing on her behind with her hands and the ax's handle in her lap. "Ueh…" There was no injury, but the impact sure did remind her that this game wasn't afraid to emulate pain, even if the limiter helped.

"Er… thanks… I guess it's your turn now. Though I'm not sure if I can make anything good for you. I've only ever practiced creating basic items and weapons."

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Ah, well the catch hadn't been the cleanest thing in the world, seeing that Fina had been taken off of her feet and onto her rump, but Cleo was honestly just pleased that she hadn't watched the girl lose a hand, or suddenly gain an axe blade embedded into her skull. She wasn't looking forward to having to train any kind of healing skills, so it was best to try to avoid that kind of accident. The girl had let off quite the adorable sound as she'd been taken off of her feet though, Cleo had to admit, as she wandered over with a small smile.

She reached a hand down to help pull Fina back to her feet, smile remaining on her face as she looked down at the large, heavy axe.

And, if you're going to be using that kind of technique, I think you can afford to use smaller, lighter weapons, since most of the force will be coming from you using magic to rotate and launch them.

Her hand clasping gently around Fina's hand, she pulled, hefting the girl to her feet, before giving Fina's sides a quick pat down to shake the girl free of dust and dirt.

Don't worry about making anything good. Arcanamancy is inherently a very defensive Mastery. As long as you keep the structure simple, like I did with the brick wall, I think you'll find that it ends up just as durable as you'd hope.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Trying to put the weapon aside, a helping hand found its way to the feline. After glancing at it for a few moments, the girl would take it and try to get back on her feet without stumbling around too much. While there was no real damage, she was slightly shaken by just how sudden the fall was. Although she was soon to be shaken even more by something entirely different.

"I suppose so. I can just make several weapons and use whichever one is most appropriate, I gues--" As Cleo went in to try and get some of that dirt and dust off of Fina, the poor girl nearly wholly froze. Feeling a bit of an electric shock traveling up her spine, a shiver soon followed as she just wasn't used to any physical contact from another person in areas more delicate and intimate than her hands. Even then, she rarely shook any hands with people.

"I-er-um-aight!" Quickly stepping aside and letting the giant ax dematerialize, Fina would turn her back toward Cleo as she tried to calm herself and conjure up something for the other girl. Though, given her current mental disturbance, it didn't end particularly well(?). "Ah-" What she ended up forming was just a giant person-sized cube. It would have been untextured, too, but it seemed that just about everything the girl made using Arcanamancy ended up looking like it was formed from countless gems of blue and purple colors. "Um… g-go ahead, I guess?" Saying that, she stepped to the side as she looked back at Cleo.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Trained, sharp eyes noticed the subtle shudders that wracked Fina's body, though for the life of her, Cleo couldn't figure out what was causing it. It wasn't cold, unless for some reason Fina was used to way hotter climates than this one, nor had Fina's impact been harsh enough to have done any sort of damage or really have much of an effect on her nerves enough to causing any kind of shakes or shivers. That was going to be something that she would have to figure out later, if she had a chance. After all, there could be myriad reasons for it.

Yeah. You're pretty uniquely capable of creating for yourself a different weapon for different occasions, so you can basically always switch to something appropriate to what you need at the time.

It almost made Cleo feel bad, that she'd chosen to focus so heavily on spear combat, both up close and throwing. Still, that choice to specialize would grant her far more capabilities than somebody who only generally attempted to use the same weapon. It was the whole 'jack of all trades' situation, one that seemed to be quite apt the more time she spent researching this game and how combat, magic and skills worked within it.

And then Fina created a person sized cube, looking like it had been made of multiple different blue and purple gems. It had Cleo grinning, nodding as Fina stepped to the side and told her to go ahead, giving her room to do whatever it was that she needed to do. Red eyes narrowed, focusing in on the target as she considered what she would do.

That was when a spear, identical in every way to the spear slung over her back, appeared in her right hand, fingers curling around it as it became real all of a sudden. She ducked low, one hand pressed to the floor, fingers splayed out, whilst she raised her other hand, a flick of her wrist twirling the spear in her hand, tip pointed at the wall.

And then, she raised from her crouched position, pushing off with her hand and feet into a sprint. The sprint was then immediately halted, her feet planting to the floor as her upper body continued with the momentum, leaning forward as she thrust her right hand out, releasing the spear and watching as it soared through the air, before stabbing into the cube, tip penetrating, before it hung, sticking out of the construct like an oversized dart.

Hmm, didn't penetrate as deeply as I'd have liked it to. Still, better than a complete miss.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

There was not much to add from Fina's side, so she simply nodded as she watched Cleo prepare herself for the attack. Yeah, having multiple weapons was nice and all, but it also meant much more effort in recognizing when each one of them would be appropriate. There was a reason why the girl seemed to default back to that giant ax so much. Its size meant it was easier to reach opponents without getting too close, and its weight meant it could hit much harder when used properly. Almost the complete opposite of the spears that her training partner used.

The girl watched as the crimson-clad woman charged forward and threw to spear as if she was a professional athlete. It was impressive, really. And the impact managed to create a crack across the entire height of the cube, going about as deep as the spear itself. Moving a bit closer, Fina observed the weapon sticking out as a bit of sweat ran down her face. 'I'm glad I suggested we do not attack each other directly…' before then actually saying out loud, "That's what he said…" without even really thinking about it.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Cooling down from her little performance, Cleo wandered over to the target too, looking at the way the weapon stuck out of it, slowly breaking apart into energy, crumbling and floating off with the breeze that brushed past everything, cooling both of the women down. She'd done a pretty decent job at driving her weapon into the cube, considering that it had been a throw and not a spear charge, which might have driven it in deeper. She also might have driven it deeper launching it using her magic, maybe spinning it mid-air like a drill, or just adding some extra oomph to her throw.

Though she did hear Fina's little remark underneath her breath, causing the agent to snort as she turned to face Fina, having not expected that kind of comment from the girl. It was the kind of shock that was also amusing. She wasn't against some dirty jokes here and there. She tried not to be a boring, prudish type of person, at the very least.

And so she raised a hand, placing it on Fina's head as if to ruffle her hair, though in the end she ended up more petting the girl's ears than anything else, chuckling as she flashed the girl a wink.

Nice joke. Though I'm not sure you could have taken it if I had penetrated any deeper~

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Fina started narrowing her body back up as the weapon began fading away. No point in staying slightly bent forward if there was no longer necessary if there was nothing to observe. Her body, however, was quickly stopped as the hand landed on her head. Once again, it made her pause and remain in place. Only her golden eyes promptly moved up to look up at Cleo. "Um-" Then she started touching her ears.

If any physical contact prior was a six, this was a solid eight on the sensitivity scale. Her whole body started shivering a tiny bit, with small tears appearing in the corners of her eyes. "U-um… mm… M-miss Looker— ears! Sensitive—!" It was about all she could get out of herself as she tried to move her own hands up and grasp at Cleo's hands. It was not necessarily that this whole situation was terrible in any way. It was more so that this sensation was wholly unlike anything the girl has had ever felt. It might have been that very strangeness that made her a little bit afraid, yet the sensation was a pleasant one.

So here she was… Bianca who was cold and collected, distant and unapproachable… and her avatar, Fina, who was being made into a mess because someone decided to start playing with her ears for the first time ever. And the further joking by Cleo certainly wasn't making her body cool down any, nor making her embarrassment fade any faster.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Well that was a far stronger reaction than she'd been expecting for just a little bit of ear petting, Cleo had to admit. The girl's ears were soft, though. They felt exactly like the real things, like an actual cat's ears felt in the real world. She had to wonder what it felt like for Fina, to be feeling a sensation that was physically impossible for her to feel in the real world? Was that why the raction was so strong? Because the sensation was something that was impossibly foreign to the human brain, being experienced for the first time in a lifetime?

She couldn't help but rub one of the girl's ears between her fingers softly, careful not to grip too hard or accidentally use her nails, marvelling at how real it felt. For her, it was such a real, recognizable sensation that she couldn't help but stop and wonder at it, giving it her full attention for enough time to lose herself in the action.

That was, at least, until she snapped herself out of it, blinking when she realized the kind of state that Fina had been left in and what her touch had been doing to the poor catgirl. She felt like slapping herself or arresting herself. This had to be a kind of harassment! She quickly let go, coughing into her fist.

Uh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to get carried away there. I just meant to give you a pat, your ears are just really soft and cute.

@Fina Drago