The member 'Aegis' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 66

Tomoe rocketed towards the fearful kobolds, many of which still being too disturbed by the previous sight to raise their guards. The Joyan dashed upon the first group of warriors before him like a merciless assassin, cutting into the throat of the closest one with the sword in his hand. That was enough to get the other five warrior kobolds nearby back to reality, but it was too late. A whirlwind of fifteen rotating swords flashed towards them at breakneck speed, cutting three of them into ribbons in an instant. The fourth warrior, who was farthest away, surprised Tomoe. Rather than simply succumbing like his allies, the kobold had reacted just quickly enough to block with his own sword and be pushed backwards, away from the whirlwind's force. The sword cracked and chipped, but the kobold stayed strong with a vengeful gaze towards the 'human' who had eradicated his friends. By blocking, he had acknowledged death all the same. Two swords were destroyed while clashing against the kobold's own, and such a thing brought a puff of arrogance to the beastman's ego.

Twelve levitating blades remained, and a thirteenth in Tomoe's hand. His armory was still alive and well with the quickly dwindling kobold forces and slowing reinforcements, but that didn't excuse the fact that he would be forced to play more cautiously as time went on. The strengthening spells were still being maintained, and Tomoe was glad for that. He felt the heat start to cause sweat to pour from his brow, but he was much less tired than normal due to less burden being placed on his own ability. He couldn't really trust on others to help keep him alive, especially not the kids who still needed to learn the ways of the world. He could, however, trust in their desire to not die. That was enough to keep Tomoe fighting without staying too conscious of what was going on elsewhere in the arena. Strategy was never his cup of tea in the first place, and that wouldn't start being the case now. He only ever knew one strategy: the act of moving forward.

"Alright, let's kick it up a notch! I'm tired of this goddamn heat, so let's push further on and get outta here!", Tomoe boomed in a commanding tone without looking back.

He didn't meet eyes with his comrades for even a moment, still firmly fixed on the enemies before him, but his words echoed throughout the arena to reach the ears of those he wanted to speak to.

More archers arrived, alongside the last of the kobold mages. Taking out that shaman would cut off their supply of strengthening magic, and that was certainly a top priority. Perhaps Tomoe did know another strategy: remove the vulnerable supporting types from a battle first.

Advancing towards the ranged combatants, he was stopped and intercepted by the remaining kobold warrior he was unable to finish off earlier. Tomoe blocked the warrior's strike with a stray Caelum sword, which broke on impact, while stepping back himself. Two arrows were unleashed towards him, and two more Caelum blades found themselves jumping in the way to take the projectiles before also being broken.

Nine remaining blades levitated around Tomoe, the tenth firmly gripped in his hand still. His armory was decreasing, but he wasn't worried yet. They hadn't yet forced him to use the most treasured weapon in his armory, so all was still well for the moment. It was to be expected that soldiers would die in battle, and Caelum functioned well as its own platoon ready to be killed without hesitation.

---

WC: 2,000/2,000

Stats:

Equipment:

Mana/Spells:

The member 'Tomoe Tanaka' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 73

It was getting noisy, because the arrows would not pierce through. The Nakizo mask sullied and looked down upon them, creating the face of doubt and laughter. At least, this was how Masami perceived the appearance of the mask he formed out of flames, because then Masami would have already changed his position by the time it breaks. Other than Tomoe's Caelum swords, Masami has seen something more swift – these arrows are nothing compared to the burning of a whole structure using magic. The dead warrior kobolds' flesh being consumed by the fire, its scent reminisce Masami's memories; therefore, the boy dashed at the exact moment the mask finally received enough damage for it to disperse. He nodded over the lich's statement despite unsure whether he was referring to the boy, a thin layer of flames consumed Masami, just like how it consumed the dead warrior kobolds so that they may not rot here and smell. Masami knew well enough to burn the corpses before they start to tell the next town that they died.

As if time didn't even move when Masami dashed, he had reached the group of archers. One play had Masami struck himself with his own katana in the theater, two years ago – until now, Masami remembered how fresh his wound was, as if he actually died. Charging into many archers at once, Masami felt as if dying this way wasn't anything compared to how he died in the scripts. As if it even calculated when he would die, anyway. Thus, the boy had already placed his mask in front by then, breathing into it. He had to retrieve one thread from Rinni in order to do this, because then he wouldn't be able to brush them all at once. 'Man, this' pretty tiring.' internally, he chuckled by himself, feeling as if he had already ran out of oxygen to breathe. When he remembered how one-hundred actors charged at him for a scripted kill, Masami realized how breaking out of a real scenario such as this was, in fact, possible.

They immediately dispersed into ashes, and Masami was too tired to even bother with whatever smell it excreted. With their skin pulled away from their bones because of the fire, Masami was sure that he indeed has some sort of power dwelling in him. Once again, his eyes slowly turning into a sanguine-like, blood of color, the Joyan only had to say the single word but then he still chose to fight alone without it. The thumping of hearts, he wouldn't be able to handle it again if he ever keeps the stress inside. He has felt better ever since that time in the cold mountains, but Masami's body felt like it didn't change one bit... at the moment, at least.

'Learn how to wait.' as if ordering himself, he continued to use his own body to counter attacks; he had used his own legs to pull himself up to sit on the enemy's own shoulders, just so the boy could twist their necks. Just like that, its' head separated from its own body, and Masami blew through his pinky to attack the one from behind him, right after he dropped down safely on his feet, letting the headless body fall by itself because of their weak structure – it was probably why they were chosen to become archers instead of the warriors. Masami started to wonder why these archers weren't using their own arrows to stab Masami as they still continued their attempt to shoot him... in melee. How idiotic; once again, after exterminating all of them (although they weren't too many in the first place), he was once again alone.

He turned to check on the others, then exaggeratedly shrugged so that they may see. "Well, I'm done here!" he amplified his voice so that the rest may hear, expecting something big to happen. Usually, after the minions have been killed, their big boss or whatever leader they call, would eventually appear. At least, that was how the yakuza usually worked in Joya, if Masami recalls correctly. Someone just has to say the right words so that they may be called.

Used Spells (-151 MP):

Masami's Statistics:

The member 'Masami' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 70

The Lich was fast for his size and easily moved to protect her and Masami with his magic. She was fine with her dodge, and Masami seemed to do well with that flame mask he summoned... but she was still impressed with the lich. Maybe in a safer setting away from fire and kobolds, she'd get a chance to talk and learn more about this mysterious creature. But for now, they had to survive this! It had to be almost over, right? There couldn't be THAT many left!

Rinni's mana was almost completed drained when Aegis asked her to handle the remaining archers. She was grateful when Masami jumped in with his magic to help, for she wasn't sure how many arrows she could conjure. She drew back her bow, breathing heavily from exhaustion plus the intense heat. Sweat was dripping off her skin. Well, here goes nothing. She fired her arrow at a kobold archer, finishing him off. She tried to prepare another arrow, but it fizzled as she hadn't the strength to do it.

She charged toward the closest archer and stabbed him in the head with her dagger, she then kicked a warrior kobold away and stabbed another warrior in the chest. All the while she was doing this, she looked at the three males with her. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, guys! Please tell me there's an exit somewhere!" She grunted as she stabbed another kobold between each word.

This was getting exhausting, and the only thing potentially keeping her going was the endurance buff from Masami. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't last much longer. Unfortunately, he canceled the buff, leaving her with only strength to rely on. That was enough though, as she was now forced into melee combat. With her bow returned to the Pocket Dimension, she relied full on her strength and speed to attack. She rushed through the Kobolds as fast as she could, stabbing them with her Arcing Dagger. She couldn't help notice how high the lava was at this point as she moved to higher grounds.

"Tomoe!" She cried out to her Guildmaster, praying he sees a way out for them soon. If not, they'd have to change their guild name to Deep Fried Guard!

[WC 2000/2000]

Stats:

Spells Cast:

The member 'Rinni Faithe' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 40

The member 'Aegis' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 5

Tomoe took note of Aegis' yells of war. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to cut loose like that, and it definitely meant that perhaps the Joyan warrior should start taking things more seriously as well. There was little need to hold back when their lives were on the line. As weak as these foes were, they were still numerous. Quantity often found itself prevailing over quality when it came to combat, and this was no exception if he was to keep holding back.

Yet still, the heat from the rising lava caused him to let out the first sigh of fatigue. The disadvantage to still possessing flesh was... well, the fact that he still possessed flesh. His skin which held pores, and the various internal organs within him: these things meant he would tire eventually. Unlike the magically constructed mysteries of lichdom or even the supernatural stamina of his own former vampirism, Tomoe was still very much a human. That meant he would need to quicken his pace. Even so, he didn't feel the urge to reach for the sword on his back. Not yet, if even at all for this encounter. He needed to conserve his mana, after all.

"Keep pressing on, then! We should be close if we just go past where they're guarding their back line!", Tomoe shouted out, believing that the simplest possibility could very well be the correct one.

Without another moment of thought, Tomoe dashed forward into the kobold warrior who had blocked his advance earlier, kicking him straight in the chest. At the same time as the kick sent the beastman backwards, four Caelum swords maneuvered behind him with their tips pointed towards the creature's spine. Physics would handle the rest, with the kobold unintentionally impaling himself after being kicked backwards and stumbling into the waiting swords.

Meanwhile, more archers would fire towards Tomoe, forcing him to sacrifice another two Caelum swords to block the arrows while dodging the rest. Once the impaling swords had finished their work with the dead warrior, they moved back to Tomoe. Seven swords in the air, another in hand.

Pushing forward with vigor, Tomoe made fast work of the next row of kobold archers with barely a movement of his own arms, letting the flying steel around him do the work for him. He did take two more arrows to his armor, however, showing without words that his efficiency as a fighter was decreasing with the heat and constant waves of enemies preventing respite.

"Next platform! Let's see if there's an exit up there, yeah?", Tomoe shouted as he broke out into a sprint for higher elevation to escape the rising lava below.

---

WC: 2,000/2,000

Stats:

Equipment:

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The member 'Tomoe Tanaka' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 10

Exits... they wouldn't come to Masami's mind if Rinni didn't mention it, but she was correct. There should have been an exit somewhere around here, unless they actually have to break out? Masami was certain of their success in breaking out if that was the case, overestimating the outcome if everyone manages to unite magical abilities. That would be cool to watch, too. 'Huh, I assumed we had to kill them all first...' Masami thought when he turned to answer Rinni, but instead speaking to himself rather than speaking his thoughts out loud – rather, he stopped himself from doing so. That thought felt silly and off... and dangerous, and funny, because it would be Masami saying it. The blond thought that if Tomoe mentioned something about killing everyone, everyone would be scared; if it was Masami to say such thing, he would have gathered pitiful thoughts from everyone. He tilted his head instead, approaching the lich after being commanded to follow. Now that Rinni had the choice of being carried, it was only now that Masami realized how tired she was. As a boy, too, he slightly blamed himself for letting the lady grow weary.

When Tomoe sprinted away, Masami looked closely at Rinni. "Look here." he mentioned as if an order, trying to catch the girl's attention. He created a triangle using two hands, using the middle space as scope. This is supposed to be enough to reach Rinni; when he closed the triangle, the magic circle dispersed into threads that reached the lady, then instantly vanishing upon contact. It was supposed to make her less tired, at least as much as Masami hoped it would. "That was tiring," Masami sighed, quickly sitting down for a small moment, "but it's fine, really." he didn't wanna mention anything about self-sacrifice, assuming people would either think of him as being a masochist or an egoist. The moment he stood up, he started to lag behind once more.

The warrior kobolds continue to have such displeasing appearances, sadistic smiles. At least, this is what they appeared like to Masami when he turned back, still walking. 'Somehow, I feel like the exit is close.' thought Masami, but he wasn't wrong. Only one turn left and then they'll be able to leave, then hopefully they immediately receive their rewards for this dungeon afterwards. Anyway, Masami's eyes tried to look for the farthest, which was supposed to be Tomoe but he saw someone—something? Something else... a warrior kobold in a slightly different appearance. It was on top, holding some sort of staff and clothed way differently than the rest. It was either a wizard kobold or a shaman kobold; Joya didn't have those types of clothing which was why Masami didn't entirely know. Thus, he pointed at it, stretching his arm a little bit.

"Hey, what's that?" he amplified his voice so that his team may hear, his eyes still connected to that kobold. Could it be that it's in-charge of the rising of lava...? Doesn't it know that its own fellows will burn too? Odd, some sort of screwed up sacrifice, that was. When it raised its' staff, Masami's eyes widened, sensing a magical attack from... above? The ground slightly shook, but it might get worse. Meteorites, targeting Masami's team. "It really had to be when—!" almost getting hit by a burning meteorite, Masami rolled to the side, still looking at that kobold at the type. At the moment, Masami has no idea how to reach it from that height.

Used Spells (-242 MP):

Masami's Statistics:

The member 'Masami' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 27

Her worst fears on this mission were coming true all around her. She could already imagine what the guys were thinking. Tomoe, being Tomoe, was trying to protect the 'children' most likely worrying for the safety of Masami and Rinni simply based on their ages alone. Obviously, he trusted the large Lich to protect them, because, why not?

As for the Lich himself, he clearly also viewed them as children and made his concerns quite clear as he had dove into the thick of things a moment ago in order to protect them. Not that she didn't appreciate his aid, but she was going annoyed at everyone seeing her as a defenseless child when she was so much more than that. Especially nowadays, thinks as they were.

Even Masami had taken the initiative to keep Rinni safe, despite her being the one trying to protect him. God, how the tables had turned when the boy insistently yanked her from harm's way and used his magic to buff her. He could have used his magic on Aegis or even Tomoe who was doing the most of the work, but no, he chose Rinni. The helpless little girl that she was. At least, that's what she had assumed the boys/men viewed her as at this point. Why did she have to be the only girl in this mission?

Her thoughts were further confirmed when Aegis, realizing her exhaustion after she stupidly overexerted her mana usage, took the initiative to hoist the small teen onto his back. She let out a small squeal, her phobia of heights setting in as she clutched onto the Lich's armor, shutting her eyes to not look down. He ordered her to hold on tight, a request she honestly did not need as she already was doing just that. Masami followed as the Lich took off pushing through the Kobolds, and the boy proceeded to do some sort of magic to again help Rinni. She opened one eye to look at him, noticing the concern on his face. The same concern a boy gives to a lady in distress.

She couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

"I'm fine. You don't need to fuss over me just because I'm a girl. I just... overused my mana. That's all." She spoke loudly, to be heard above the noise of the dungeon. But still, even as she protested to the apparent coddling, she had to admit it was nice to be off her feet a while. She had been fighting so hard, and she really wasn't used to it. Especially in these conditions. It was so hot in here. She could barely breathe.

"You can put me down, sir. I... I can run." Run and fight her way through with a dagger? She wouldn't last long like that, to be honest. It was mostly pride and stubbornness making her talk this way to the Lich and to Masami. She felt like she was a burden to the group.

She didn't like that. Not at all.

[WC 2000/2000]

Stats:

The member 'Aegis' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 5

Tomoe reacted instantly to the kobold thrown his way just after vanquishing the mage he had drawn close to with a throat slice with the sword in his hand. He turned and positioned his blades just in time to skewer the last kobold mage Aegis had thrown Tomoe's way, all seven flying blades piercing right through the shaman's robes and into his flesh. Before the shaman could even fully hit the ground, Tomoe lunged forth at the mage bleeding from multiple orifices and, after a simultaneous removal of all the telekinetic blades, kicked the reddened kobold into the lava pits below. Pure terror was in his eyes in his final moments - that kobold wasn't looking up at heroes doing what was right, but at demons.

Tomoe held no regrets and had no second thoughts about the brutality in which he was dispatching his foes, however; they were beasts that attacked first. Indecent and awful creatures like them needed to be eradicated. The Joyan warrior didn't even stay to watch the kobold submerge into his molten demise, screams echoing throughout the arena.

Instead, the hunter would do what he did best: murder. He would head for the same exit door as Aegis, slaughtering any kobolds he came across along the way with a windmill of weaponry. Even when down to just seven flying swords, it was still adequate for the task of slicing down vermin.

"Let's get the hell outta here already. C'mon!", Tomoe would shout to Masami and Rinni, waiting for them to pass through before going through the door himself.

---

WC: 2,000/2,000

Stats:

Equipment:

Mana/Spells:

- Exit -

The member 'Tomoe Tanaka' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 4

Saying it as if it was an order, Masami was left dumbfounded when he started to have a feeling of leaving himself behind... just so he can rebel, because puberty, like what teenagers do. He was going to go for the exit but now that two of his elders told (or ordered) him to, Masami felt like not doing it, at all. He was no longer feeling any sort of panic because of how they had conquered [most of] the location they got teleported into, thinking that his team truly was no match for the warrior kobolds whose annoying tendencies grew stronger and stronger, thus Masami slightly slowed down, catching his breath. 'Could really use some sushi right now.' the boy thought, taking the flute from the inside pocket of his overcoat then extending it.

He was supposed to play something soothing and ancient, but when he did, it sounded haunted, for some reason. Traditional Joyan music will never get old, how come this flute won't allow Masami to do certain keys? Or was he holding the instrument itself incorrectly? He continued to think through, his body automatically evading an archer kobold attack without Masami's true intention. When he realized how far the lich and Tomoe had gotten, Masami tried to catch up, dashing once and then skipping the next... along with something, a tune he came up with just now after casting a helpful dashing spell. Although he felt the ground quake a little, and snarling and roaring behind, even though Masami was panicking on the inside, he tried not to express this. 'Oh man, just let me play something!' he told himself, not skipping a beat even with an interruption of thought. Masami's eyes automatically followed Tomoe's footsteps and somehow, he felt like speeding up a little.

He was supposed to feel bad for making the girl feel that way, and was going to apologize but... hey, girls are complicated. A part of Masami thought that he'll get stabbed by emotional guilt if Rinni didn't like his apology, thus he started to walk backwards after turning to look at Rinni, squeezing his eyes before he turned around once more, running towards the exit that Tomoe and Aegis, the lich, were going for... without stopping the flute's tunes, of course. Stopping is never an option. Come to think of it, where are the other instruments coming from?

Used Spells (-14 MP):

Masami's Statistics:

The member 'Masami' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 55

Aegis had quickly shot her down on the request to not be treated like a helpless little girl. Instead, she was stuck clinging to his back, exhausted but not willing to admit as much. She closed her eyes and sighed as they made their way toward the Shaman Kobolds, easily dispatched by the Lich and Tomoe.

Rinni wasn't scared of the Lich anymore, at least. More than anything she felt embarrassed and awkward. However, she would think about that later as she allowed herself a breather while riding the large skeletal man's back like a child given a piggyback ride by their father.

Up ahead a door materialized. Aegis made way toward it as Tomoe also exited. Masami was last to leave, as Rinni had a free ride out on the Lich's back. At least this hell was over. Once she got back home, she intended to take a long nap in her dorm room at the Guild Hall.

-Exit-


[WC 2000/2000]

Stats:

The member 'Rinni Faithe' has done the following action : Spin

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'Dice 100' : 28