The crimson-haired warrior found himself once again having someone to fight and he was excited for this one. It had been someone he had fought long ago when he was rather super weak. Not that he was much stronger now outside of the blessings his gear gave him, but he was a threat on the battlefield. His current Training plan for becoming strong was also becoming more effective with the more fights he was doing. He was excited to see the battlefield that day. Sometimes it was regular, sometimes it would be magically changed allowing for a lovely shift in the battle strategies he would have to devise. He just hoped none of his battles would even turn into an underwater one.

The arena was an amazing tribute to the natural and raw power of the jungle. Set within a huge 50-meter-wide sphere, the walls of the arena were great towers of stone and glass, allowing all the spectators of the Country of Seven to look and see what was happening inside the arena. The walls were not simple they were adorned with masterful carvings of ancient runes and symbols, telling the story of the creation of the arena and the duels of legend that occurred there.

The jungle theme within was no-lose work, meant to place the feeling of immersion and challenge upon the combatants. Towering trees, gigantic in their might, soared to the very zenith of the sphere, their canopy refugee to a mass of leaves and vines. The trees occupied no direct order the position was taken up by other trees, thus allowing cover and difficulties to move within. Their roots wound over the ground, a natural barrier and trip hazards that caused the combatants to move with caution and forethought.

The floor of the arena was thick and rich, black earth broken by patches of underbrush and bracken. Ferns, mosses, and other such jungle algae carpeted the ground, enforcing the wild and untamed feel. At the very center of the arena flowed a wide, meandering river, meandering and cool. The river added a barrier that cleaved the arena into two halves, with only a few natural points in the form of fallen logs and stepping stones. The sound of the river's gentle flowing brought a calm, yet deceptively eerie feel to the otherwise land of intensity.

Along with the boulders and large rocks lining the riverbanks, creating large chokepoints for the first fighters to claim, the water itself was deep and fast in many places. It would serve as a real hindrance to those attempting to pass between the water and the latter flowing cold, not to mention the potential to get stuck in one of the deeper pockets of water. However, it also offered some promise for creative thinking: one could imagine ambushes from under the surface or the use of the current to pull unlucky opponents into the river.

The canopy was dense enough to allow only shafts of sunlight to penetrate through, illuminating the arena in a dappled pattern of light and shadow. This natural lighting fostered many pockets of visibility and darkness, which combatants could expose themselves to or hide within, depending on their strategy. The air would be pungent with the heady scent of moist earth and foliage.

Despite that vibrant and green setting, there was still no wildlife within the chamber. The silence truly was eerie as the only other sounds besides the river and the crowd were the fighters preparing. The lack of animals also made sure the focus would be solely on the fighters, the two moving shells, and, most importantly, the strategies.

The spectators from high above the arena in the Country of Seven watched, pressing their faces to the transparent sections of the great wall. They could see every move, every strike, every tactical decision made by the combatants. The acoustics of the arena were such that the roar and cheer of the crowd echoed through, filling it with electricity that made fighters thrive in the energy.

More so than a typical battleground, this jungle-themed arena was a living, breathing entity that tested the limits of its combatants' skill, endurance, and wit. It was a place where only the strongest and the most adaptable could hope to triumph. Knuckles could only wonder what sort of danger this would cause for him.

He had never fought in a jungle nor had seen a jungle before, perhaps his lack of blades would make it a hard time to traverse this area, but he would do his best. Knuckles stepped into the jungle after the announcer had introduced him and his opponent.

WC 779

Emboldened with the spirit of her great soul Ikanbi of the sands had entered the arena to try her hand at some of the opponents there, though, secretly she was searching for a new mentor. Things with the guild had changed a great deal while she had been away in Desierto on business with her family and the guild as a whole had, well, changed into something she didn't entirely recognize anymore. Still, there was a lot of honor in being a Rune Knight and its concepts were not misaligned with her own, but she couldn't help but feel that the Collective had been more of a better fit.

Nevertheless Ikanbi had soared into the Arena and made her way towards the entrance, stepping out into the Jungle and admiring how they had managed the habitat as such. Surely there were some wild bugs and plants her she could snip samples of for her lab. She gazed around with her all-seeing eyes and tried to take in a view of her supposed opponent. She had to figure they were likely stronger than she was, she had sacrificed a great deal at Talaz Lagar, but she would know just exactly what she was sup against when she saw them. How could she not? Her machia eyes would tell her the truth, nothing more.

She jumped up easily into the trees with an effort that was entirely effortless, her knees barely bending at all as the combination of her God Soul and her prosthetics carried her a swift twelve feet high with no exertion to speak of. She traveled to the next tree, her eyes scanning about the incredibly thick jungle foliage.

Now, where was her opponent?


wc285

With all the large trees and overgrown plant life Knuckles felt as if this was going to be an annoyance of a fight. Now it felt they were changing the arena to unfavorable places to make him have a harder time in his fights so he would be at a disadvantage. Even though he made no sounds as he moved in his armor the sound of the terrain could not be helped. Ah well, he did not know what his foe had in store if they used magic or not but the Daemon was getting annoyed so Knuckles simply grabbed his hammer and started to beat down the metal faces of his hammer onto the trees in front of him Snapping them and sending them down crashing in front of him. He was going to clear this jungle one way or another.

The trees made a loud cracking noise as they would snap and then break falling to the ground. A thud would be heard and felt. Knuckles looked around and scanned the area to see if that would draw them out. Knuckles would keep pushing forward repeating to process, could he have flown? Sure, but he did not wish to waste the mana if he did not need to, perhaps if he called a storm down that would help flush them out further.

WC 224

She heard him before he saw him, how could she not? It sounded like an elephant was trudging through the jungle and wildly thrashing about. Trees snapping and falling left, right, up, down, and sideways. She gazed in the direction of the violent sounds and made her way closer, jumping to the next tree limb, then the next, then the next, and finally she had eyes on her opponent. She was surprised, then, to see that it was in fact the great Knuckles Shi, someone she had bumped into once long ago during her travels.

He would make a great mentor indeed, if she were to survive this encounter with him. Her Machia eye scanned him and her heart began to beat rapidly with nervousness and anxiety. "Oh...Oh shit." She muttered under her breath. He was way stronger than she had realized, way, way stronger. Perfect. This would be a good test then, she concluded. "Hail, Knuckles, long time no see!" Ikanbi shouted from the treetops as she
sailed through the air and casually landeda few feet away from him. "Let's get this party started," She had said with a grin before sticking her arms up in a defensive stance. She flexed the fingers of her etherium prosthetic for a moment. She was still getting used to her new arm.

wc285+220=505

Amid all this, he could hear a voice that didn't belong. "Hail, Knuckles, long time no see!" It was a face he'd rather thought never to see again. Just over a foot shorter than him and less than half his weight, Ikanbi had changed just as much as her an Ethereum prosthetic arm now took the place of the real one she'd been born as she launched out of the treetops and landed lightly a few feet away from him.

Knuckles nodded and squinted his eyes as he measured up his opponent. "Let's get this party started," she yelled, her arms going up into a defensive stance. Knuckles could only smile at just how spirited she was about it.

"Indeed, it's been too long," he replied, voice steady and confident. "Let's see how much we've both grown."

With that, Knuckles was moving forward, swinging his hammer. The clash of their powers would echo through the jungle a testament to their strength and adaptability. This fight was not only of winning but to prove to their selves how far they had come and how much further they could go. The jungle was their arena, the crowd their witness, and the fight their proving ground.

Knuckles smiled as he twirled his hammers and charged forward toward Ikanbi, he was looking to test her to see if she had grown as much as he had over the years since they had last seen one another. With his main hand Knuckles swung the hammer aiming straight for her arms in a cross guard to break through it, the damage would be physical and not magical like his other one would do. That one was his mage killer hammer, but for now, it would be okay to test the waters with this attack alone.

FTRP Stats posting thing

stats/gear:

Battle Log:

She listened to the young warrior and was delighted that he seemed as excited as she was, how much they had both grown indeed. She wondered to herself just what exactly he would do, it would likely be detrimental to her if he went terribly onto the offensive. She would have to play this fight very carefully, one false step and she would be done for, she could tell that just from the data her eyes collected by gazing upon him. She was, after all, awestruck by his strength. He would truly be a formidable opponent, and likely would make a great and wise mentor for her one day.

Knuckles Shi lunged towards Ikanbi and she torqued her legs in a rotational jump and effortlessly lifted off the ground and jumped over his head in order to avoid his thunderous hammer blow judging the timing of it very carefully. She began landing behind him as her body spun around counter clockwise in an attempt to elbow him in the back of the head with her left arm, the etherium one, repositioning herself to face towards his back as her feet connected with the ground once again and she prepared for his counterattack.



attempting left elbow to the back of the head for 1c damage
wc 505+202= 707


Ikanbi's Statistics

Strength: 21
Speed: 26
Constitution: 1
Endurance: 6
Intelligence: 16
Mana: 800
Off-hand: Estherium Prosthetic
Relic: Collar of Restraint
Modification: Machine Heart
Legs: Reinforced Tendon Prosthetic

Knuckles watched as the woman leaped over him, the daemon kept his eyes on her as she went over him though his attack had him too committed to turn in time to prevent the attack on the back of his clown helm. Knuckles did not budge much, the attack was rather nothing. Knuckles stood up and turned towards Ikani. " I see you have been slacking. You need proper tutelage. Perhaps this will stand to be a great lesson for you my friend. Never anger the bull.

With that Knuckles lunged forward, he made sure to avoid any of the knocked-over trees and vines around as he pushed off the ground with sheer strength. In less than a second he was upon her since they were so close, and he moved at 20 m/s. He stretched out his right arm to grab her around her throat with his arm and applied his crippling choke to her. It was possible for her to avoid it, however, it seemed he was just that much faster than here even if the relic was not working in his favor he had her beat in speed. That saddened him because he wore heavy armor and heavy items. It seemed she had not progressed at all, or perhaps she had even become weaker than what she was the last time the two met.

Knuckles would whisper in her ear. "Let's play a game of keep away, ready?" Knuckles would squeeze down on her neck as she spoke in a growl. "Go... Knuckles released her and waited for her to take off. His eyes would watch her as he waited to let some distance build between the two of them. He had to admit even to himself this was a bit wrong to do but he needed to try and make her see how vulnerable she currently was. His sadness for her current state turned to anger. How did she regress from what she was before?

Knuckles closed his eyes taking them off her as he let out a sigh and said a silent prayer to Odin to give him patience to deal with Ikanbi. He had to remember not everyone had the same drive and goals when it came to strength, nor did everyone sell themselves to gain power. He had to be reasonable about everything.

stats/gear:

Battle Log:

"Yes, Tutelage, that's why I'm here." Said Ikanbi as her Machia eye continued to analyze Knuckles' stats. He lunged and reached for her, but she effortlessly lifted off of the ground, her knees barely even bent to perform the jump. Almost tauntingly, Ikanbi avoided his choke attempt by instead landing on his arm itself as it reached out into the air. "Ah, yes, keep away...Catch me if you can." She began to deliver a swift kick with her right leg aimed at his head whilst her left leg bent down to jump again, pushing down on his raised arm as she leapt backwards and up onto a tree branch once more. "I'm sure you'll be able to put me in my place one of these days." Ikanbi teased, blowing him a kiss. She would need to be careful, indeed, not to really and truly get killed here. He was much stronger than she was, and she figured there was actually a pretty good chance that he could incapacitate her with a singular blow.



attempted 1 c-rank kick to the head
wc: 707+173=880

Ikanbi's Statistics

Strength: 21
Speed: 26
Constitution: 1
Endurance: 6
Intelligence: 16
Mana: 800
Off-hand: Estherium Prosthetic
Relic: Collar of Restraint
Modification: Machine Heart

There would be no keep-away, there would only be a victory for Knuckles. Knuckles dodged the kick by moving his head in a ducking motion which would lower his arms too, would disrupt their footing on his arm, however, Ikanbi still had to leap in the air, but Knuckles drew tired of the cat and mouse game. "IF you wish to become my student, then stop by Sleeping Calamity. This isn't the place to teach you.  I will leave you with this one lesson. Get some damn armor"

With that Knuckles fed mana into his main hand hammer and threw it at Ikanbi. They could run or jump as fast or as far as they wished and the hammer would find them. Because his Hammer always followed its target till it hit.  Just to add an extra measure of insurance to ensure his victory today, Knuckles lifted his left hammer to the sky feeding mana into the weapon as a storm would brew, and a few seconds later a bolt of Lightning would come down and strike Ikanbi.

After casting both Spells, Knuckles held out his right arm as he recalled the hammer to his hand. With it back in his hand Knuckles waited to see if his opponent was done running away and would face him properly or if she was done once and for all.   If she had more in the tank Knuckles would enter his stance holding both hammers up to his chest and welcoming the fight to go on, if not Knuckles would lift both hammers up into the air and let out a victory roar.

Either way, the arena would let out a deafening cheer with the increased action of the fight. It had been a bit stale for a Knuckles fight, but not every fight could be a ringer. Still, this was still more than two people just sitting around talking.

TWC 2009

stats/gear:

Battle Log:

"I may do just that." Ikanbi had said to him about meeting at Sleeping Calamity. As Ikanbi soared through the air she would have been entirely helpless to try and avoid his ranged attack but as it was she utilized her leg prosthetics in order to double jump and attempt to outmaneuver his thrown hammer, however, it wouldn't do her any good and the hammer curved to meet with her new trajectory and smashed into her prosthetic arm, fortunately it was quite durable and didn't break in just the one hit, however, the momentum of the hit caused her to start spinning through the air and disoriented her quite a bit as she landed somewhat dizzily moments before the lightning came crashing down on her head. This did of course knock her out cold. She regained consciousness sometime later and her first words were, "Ah...bloody mages. I guess I'll have to learn a few spells after all."


Ikanbi took 2S damage and was knocked out.
wc: 880+157=1037