On the northern coastline of Europe, in the Netherlands, there is a place where dream and reality seem to blend into a dangerous blurred line. The Netherlands were always known for their flowers, and the fields of them that seemed to stretch forever, but the flowers that have now taken hold here are quite different. The fields' spans are still as large, but the flowers themselves emit a chemical with their pollen that is known to numb the body and trick the mind, causing hallucinations if exposed to the pollen for too long. These fields are very common in the area, and due to the fact that it seems to effect the physical forms of the A.I. Cores, it helps to deter them from entering the premises, though there are still some who venture into the areas. There are small villages in bulk that are set up around the flower fields, though far enough away from them to save themselves from the effects, and they manage to get by quite well, despite the danger of the plants, and not having any solidified defenses from the cores that might attack.
Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:51 pm
Dal'Mori Cestrol Menne
The sight that greeted him was breathtaking on a level he had only ever seen once before in his life time. The colors blended and swayed together in a very hypnotic fashion, causing him to fall victim to their spell before they were even in range of the deceptively dangerous flowers, his eyes locked onto the constantly shifting tides of petals blending together into one continuous kaleidoscope of beauty. He breathed in deeply, and though they were far enough away to be outside the effective range of the toxins, he could still smell their sweet aroma, painting the air with scents like it was a masterpiece in the works.
He rescinded his previous thought, this was the most beautiful place he had ever seen/been.
As a soft breeze blew through the area Dal'Mori tilted his head back and closed his eyes, imagining for just the briefest of moments he was back home, and that constant breeze was blowing over him. It was easy, in that moment, to pretend that nothing was wrong. That nothing had changed. That in just a few moments he would be able to turn around and head back to the village, where all the smiles and laughter was.
Then Akio's voice broke through the fog of nostalgia, and grounded him firmly in the realm of reality. He held nothing against the man, they were here to do a job after all, so it was for the best he got broken out of his reverie. When he was told to be nice, the warriors face became devoid of emotion as he stared at Akio, like he was actually offended by that statement, before turning and heading towards a different section of the town they had come too.
He spent a while within the confines of the town, intent on finding out something before heading out. It might not be much, but every bit of information counts. After speaking to several people, which turned out to be a lot more difficult than he had ever imagined, he found a crippled elderly fellow, who smelled of something most foul. As the gentleman drank something that also smelled as foul, he told the warrior that he had been one of the few survivors who called for the mission, fearing these creatures might wander too close to their encampment. He couldn't accurately describe them, explaining that he'd been heavily under the influence of the flowers by that point, but he could outright say there was three of them.
Dal'Mori thanked the man by paying for him to lose himself in the depths of whatever that horrid smelling beverage was, before heading off. It took him a little bit to find Kawaguchi, given that they didn't specify their meeting position before splitting up, but that was no problem. A little lacking in the professional approach, but ultimately negligible due to the fact that they were still in the confines of the town. Walking up behind the other Baiter, he began speaking; "I was only able to find a number of enemies. There are three."
He explained that he wasn't able to find anything else, because the individual who supplied him with the information was the only one his gut told him had seen battle, even if he was running from it, and said individual had explicitly informed him that he was suffering the effects of the toxins. It wasn't much to go off of, or even enough to really do anything with, but it was something. If they didn't find a group of three, their job wasn't done. That was about all that information told them. They didn't even have a direction to head in.
However, there was no reason not to go. They had a mission to do, and a time frame within which they needed to do it. There was no clear definition of how long it would take until they started to feel the effects of the flowers/fauna, their sweet aroma permeating every bit of air now that they were even closer to them. Nor did they have any idea of how long it would take until it truly effected them, so they had to make sure they did this fast. This meant that Dal'Mori would immediately start with his spear, there was no room for playing around with his new weapons in this place. It might be a low ranked area, but the dangers were out of this world. I mean, how hard would it be to fight an enemy you can't even recognize? Or worse, see?
Ever since becoming a Baiter, the warrior has found that he quite prefers positions in the front of the battle, having taken a back burner for a long time due to his ability to land fatal hits with minimal effort and back off before they could even do anything to him. So, when they finally decided it was time to go, Dal'Mori decided to ask. If Akio wanted to take the front position, he would allow the man to have it. There were always more missions, always something else to do. "Would you like for me to take point? Or would you rather have it?"
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 160 Health: 1820/1820 Control Limit: 1280
One Man Army - Level 5 - While fighting without summoning an A.I. Core, you gain an additional +25 to all stats. However, if you do summon an A.I. core, you will receive a -50 to all stats instead.
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Brotherhood Of Explosives Vice Captain
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Ominous Noodles Crew
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Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:02 pm
The Lucid Pastures were absolutely beautiful. The way the colors moved, the way the the wind flowed through the flora, melding all the colors together. It was all so vibrant, the colors all sticking out on their own, yet somehow were still able to sustain a harmony that he would have never seen anywhere else. Taking in a deep breath through the nose, he closed his eyes, letting the crisp air flow through his veins. He was reminded of his own home in Sapporo, the cold, northern town in Hokkaido. There was no snow beneath his feet, but the cold air was all too perfect of a reminder. Kimiko would have loved it there.
Unfortunately, he didn’t quite find any working information around the village. Most anyone knew, they simply existed. It was like the chupacabra of AI’s, only existing in the stories of stories. While this was frustrating, it wasn’t like he could blame any one of them. It seemed like most people wanted very little to do with these AI’s, or even the tale of them. So, with no information to work from, Akio simply waited for his partner to come back as he stood on the edge of the village, looking out on the pastures beyond. Unfortunately, when Dal did come back, he knew little more than Akio did, relaying that there was only three enemies. It wasn’t a bad number, but that wasn’t what bothered him. The fact that there were no accurate accounts of the damned things was mildly infuriating, but they could still prepare with those limited numbers. “You found out much more than I did, at least.” Already, the gears in Akio’s mind were turning. Three enemies, one for each of them plus one. Dal was already much stronger than he was, with a higher amount of agility and strength. It would perhaps be better for him to take the extra creature while Akio took out the third, while Dal took on two and perhaps took out one, before they ganged up on the third. It was going to be something to be thought about more later, once he finally was able to gauge the enemies for what they were.
But there were other tactics to be aware of in a battle, so he held out on formulating a plan. The area in which they battled was one of them. This place, while gorgeous, was known to create strange hallucinations if anyone remained in the area for too long. That could pose a problem for them later on. If they were mid battle, and that pollen took over their mind, it would pose a very dangerous problem as they fought, causing them to miss their attacks, or worse, get hit because they weren’t able to see it coming. That wasn’t something that Akio wanted to happen. But, unfortunately, there was hardly a thing they could do about it. So, instead, they would have had to work around the handicap.
Dal then asked if Akio wanted to take point, he thought about it. He ran a few scenarios in his head, judging whether or not it would be best to take on that responsibility. Akio was fast, but Dal was faster AND stronger. Over all, he was a much better warrior than Akio likely ever would be. If Akio took point, leading the battle from the front lines, it was likely that he would have died much faster than if Dal took point. Akio was good with hanging back and offering back up with his sword, and sometimes in strategy. A leader from the back row, if you will. So, Akio shook his head to answer Dal’s question. “No, you should take point.” Akio said, looking out at the pastures, thinking about the battle ahead. “It would be more beneficial for you to lead, considering your experience and ability.”
Akio still pondered the idea of battle, though, thinking about how it would work to attack while under the influence. He thought back to his days of long nights and inebriated minds, hoping it wasn’t going to be a similar feeling. Looking back, he remembered the feeling of the world spinning around him and the floor becoming waves of grain that flowed through his fingers. Everything was fuzzy, from his eyesight to sensory, to his memory. It was a lump of fuzz, and overstimulation, his senses heightened to its peak. It wasn’t a feeling Akio ever wanted to go back to, even if for moment. It was like he could feel everything, and see much more. Hopefully, Akio thought, the feelings would be different enough that he didn’t have to worry. Besides… he still wanted information about those damned flowers.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 163 Health: 1500/1500 Control Limit: 736
Acupuncturist - Level 6 - Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -12 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight
Shards of Myself
Brotherhood Of Explosives rolled 1 100-sided dice:
52Total: 52 (1-100)
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 7:38 pm
Dal'Mori Cestrol Menne
Without second thoughts or any objections, Dal'Mori nodded his agreement to the choice and set off. Immediately there was a noticeable shift around the man, going from a pseudo-relaxed state, to what one might only be able to describe as hyper-aware. His body readied itself, not too tense, but not too loose either, and his head was constantly on a swivel, eyes shifting towards every bit of motion that seemed out of place. There were very obvious upsides to this state of being, this sense of awareness, it severely reduced their chances of being caught unaware. However, there was a nagging feeling in the back of the warrior’s mind.
This was a place of illusions and misdirection. What would stop them from wandering off? What would keep them together? How would they know it was the other if they were under the effects of this toxin? Truly someone, somewhere was no thinking when they agreed that this was an area for the new Baiters. Suddenly he was glad Kawaguchi was with him. The man had an indisputable knowledge of the magic of this place, he could easily take these poisons and find some form of cure, or some way to combat the effects. Right?
By the time the town they came from was out of sight, these thoughts had worked themselves into enough of a tizzy that the warrior paused in his forward march to turn around and look at his current partner in the upcoming battle. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, he didn't want to simply reiterate whatever the other man might be thinking, given that he was clearly the more educated of the two, so it stood to reason the man had already figured the dangers of the area same as he had. Finally, he spoke in a quieter tone, the reason obviously being to keep their position under wraps, to not give them the opportunity for an ambush.
"We need a vocal means of recognizing each other. Some phrase or something that only we know." He stated in a calm and even tone, despite the twisting feeling in his gut. Even though he was facing the general direction of Kawaguchi, his eyes were not on the man at all, not in any kind of disrespectful fashion, they were simply keeping watch on the surrounding area. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was not going to be a walk in the park. It was absolutely crucial they get in and get done, right now. For, once they started hallucinating, how would they get back?
Some motion to the right of them caused his head to snap in that direction, his eyes narrowed as he attempted to pick out what was hiding over there. A few seconds later he convinced himself that it was nothing, not because that was what he actually felt, but because they didn't have the time for him to go and investigate something that was willing to run from them.
He turned on his heel and started off again, gesturing to Akio that they should move and talk as he waited for the man's opinion on what they should use as their verbal means of confirming it is in fact them. They had no means of knowing what they would see, so it could be entirely possible they would see some illusion based version of the other. Splitting up would be fatal in this place.
Honestly, a lot of things would be fatal in this place. He really hoped they found the enemies soon.
This place was starting to make Dal'Mori nervous. This was a tremendous feat. A cursory glance made it seem like a wonderful place to go. Cool, beautiful, and in need of his skill set. All top marks. However, now that he was here, facing the vast unknown that were these plants and what they could do, he realized he might have been a little overly hasty in his choice to come here. He quietly slipped his Bo spear from his back, and placed it over his shoulder with one hand, this way it would be right there and ready at a moment’s notice. It was becoming more and more apparent that the warrior was nervous, for his head was now moving faster than it had when he started, and though the other could not see them, his eyes were darting around to every shadow and every sound.
As an afterthought, he realized, if they kept moving at the current pace the warrior was setting, then Kawaguchi would not get the time he needed to inspect the flowers and fauna. With a short grunt of displeasure at the thought, he offered to slow down, recognizing that this knowledge that Kawaguchi was seeking could be more beneficial than even he could imagine, after all he had no true knowledge of things like this, always leaving them to the healer of the village.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 160 Health: 1820/1820 Control Limit: 1280
One Man Army - Level 5 - While fighting without summoning an A.I. Core, you gain an additional +25 to all stats. However, if you do summon an A.I. core, you will receive a -50 to all stats instead.
Dal’Mori didn’t fight him when he decided that Dal would be the better point. He felt grateful for this, as there were other things he was more interested in than the fight. Like he had said before, he sought knowledge above all things, and this place had a wonderful plethora of it. Dal did have an air about him that changed due to him being point, and Akio couldn’t say that he was unimpressed. He was never going to be that kind of warrior, and he had come to accept that, knowing he had his own talents to bring to the battlefield. As Dal walked, he looked around the pasture, taking in the coloration of the flowers and various other forms of plants in the area, as well as the fauna. The animals that lived in the area held colors that were of similar vibrancy to the fauna, the rabbits of bright blues and greens, some even branching into beautiful violet colors.
Akio had a cool little gadget, one that would allow him to scan various items as he saw fit, then store the information it found in about a terabyte of memory. This gadget was, actually, his glasses. With a mere few blinks, the computer screen turned on, projecting all the information he needed. Currently, they were moving too fast for him to be able to stop and properly scan anything, but he was able to to a general scan on the area. So far, there wasn’t much in the area that could actually pose a threat to them, but there were creatures hiding in the bushes nearby. A snake of some sort, a few rabbits, a fox. Nothing major, nothing that would pose an imminent threat to them. But then suddenly, Dal stopped walking, causing Akio to do the same. Something seemed to worry him, but Akio took the moment to stoop and pick a flower, finally able to properly scan the thing.
While it scanned, Akio looked over to Dal’Mori, watching his body language. Now, Dal was a very hard person to read, so he didn’t pick up on the undertones of fear that the taller man was feeling. However, when he spoke up about wanting a verbal queue to recognise each other, while at the same time refusing to make eye contact, he could tell that the man was uncomfortable with the situation they found themselves in. But, no, the man was right in his suggestion. They would need a verbal queue to be able to identify each other when relying on sight wasn’t viable. So, Akio thought for a moment, giving the glasses a good long while to analyze the flower, thinking of good possible phrases that they could use. It took him a moment to think of one, going through a few possible ones in his head before saying an idea out loud. “Actually, I’d propose a question to be answered. Something simple.” Akio said, his voice remaining as quiet as Dal’s, eyes reading the information given to him about the flowers on his glasses. “The question being ‘what is the gender of the Holo-Trainer back at HQ,’ the answer being something you already know.”
A sound caught them off guard, causing the both of them to snap their heads to the right to see what the sound was. However, soon after this, Dal motioned for them to continue forward, walking on at a brisk pace. Akio tried to keep up with him, but remained slightly behind the man as he came up with an idea. If he had the flowers scanned, he could possibly tell exactly how long it would take for the toxins to take hold of them. So, naturally, Akio took a scan of Dal’Mori’s body, setting up a full-body scan that would take a good few seconds to complete. This would take inventory of the man’s body mass index, weight, muscle mass, blood flow, height, and a few stats to go with it. Analyzing his body, figuring out just how fast his blood flow went and how fast his heart beat at a calm moment, he would be able to determine how long it would take for the toxins to begin working on them. He did, however, also notice that the warrior’s heart beat sped up, almost as if the man was nervous or gripped with some sort of fear. It was interesting to see, but Akio quickly shut off the scan to preserve a little bit of privacy, though soon after, Dal slowed down to give Akio much more time to be able to run calculations.
Akio was able to catch up easily with Dal, but now he was curious to Dal’s feelings. The man never really showed them, so it was hard to determine if he really did have them. Clearly, though, after viewing the mans heart for an extended period of time. The man was scared, or nervous, but wasn’t letting that feeling dictate how he went about the mission. Impressive, really, knowing that sometimes when Akio was scared, he’d panic, which was never really all that good. Though Akio didn’t know the exact cause of this nervousness was, he jogged forward to match Dal’s speed and relay the information he had learned. “The hallucinogens should take about a half hour of exposure to begin affecting either of us, but the hallucinations might take over an hour to actually affect us to a major extent.” Hopefully, that would help in calming Dal’s nerves, though he wasn’t much able to tell if that would be the case. Dal never showed his emotions very well, and due to his family showing all their emotions on their face, it made him very difficult to read. Frustrating, yes, but he could at least try.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 163 Health: 1500/1500 Control Limit: 736
Acupuncturist - Level 6 - Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -12 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight
The Vault Buster kept low in the grass, attempting to stalk the two men that walked through the pastures. One was clearly in control of the situation, the other seeming to be the kind to gather information before hopping into a battle. The AI’s steps fell quietly, the creature careful to not to snap any twigs, or to rustle grass unnecessarily. It wanted to pounce, to smash these beings with its strong fists… But no, it had to wait for the right time, to wait before it could do it.
Unfortunately, it made a wrong move, causing the two men to look in its direction. Once again, it stooped low, keeping out of sight. The two were now on edge, now aware that something was following them… Bugger. But the two men continued on, walking faster than the time before. Good, they didn’t know where it was. It would remain this way until it wanted to be found. For the time being, however… It would wait to pounce, wait to tear down its foes to finally be able to break them limb from limb.
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Vault Buster
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 107 Health: 1206/1206
Skill: 50 Strength: 84 Defense: 80
Tactical Advantage:Power House: Your blows are devastating, leaving foes shaken and weak. Every time you deal damage to a foe, they lose 2 Defense for the duration of the fight.
Initiative
The Turbine Beetle, however, was okay with being patient. It crept up close to the shorter one, getting a good look at what he was doing. It seemed the man was analyzing something, perhaps the person he was with, perhaps the surrounding area. Either way, it was gathering information to make the fight easier on their end. And either way, that wasn’t going to bode well for them. But whatever it was analyzing, they didn’t seem to notice either of these AI’s just yet. Good.
So, it continued to stalk farther and farther, until they were so far away from the villages that they couldn’t call for help. Silly humans…. They were no match the AI’s forces. They may be able to fight one on one, but there were three of them. Three against two was unmatchable, and they were strong. Very strong… If the Turbine Beetle could smile, it would have. This was going to be wonderful. Absolutely wonderful…
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Turbine Beetle
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 154 Health: 1400/1400
Skill: 108 Strength: 100 Defense: 100
Tactical Advantage:Actupuncturist: Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -2 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight.
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Ominous Noodles Crew
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Brotherhood Of Explosives rolled 1 100-sided dice:
81Total: 81 (1-100)
Brotherhood Of Explosives Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 8:14 pm
Initiative/Turn 1
It floated along, barely above the ground, easily keeping itself silent. Currently it was looking at its two colleges. Before they had entered into this amazing place, filled with wondrous sights and fascinating colors, they had been terrible, ugly beasts. They decided to join alongside the beautiful Illusionist, finding its glorious green glow so enticing and pretty they simply could not stay away. However, once they entered into this place, they had changed. The Illusionist wasn't sure if it was because of the toxins interfering with their code, or if it was because the world around them was so pretty it simply could not allow such ugly creatures to exist in it. Either way, they seemed much more visually appealing now, and that's what mattered.
Apparently his two little tag-alongs found some more people walking about in the pastures. The Illusionist scoffed at their stupidity. Hadn't it made it perfectly clear it wanted no people out in its lands? Hadn't it even let some of the stupid little bastards survive to spread the message? And now, now there were two more! Walking around like they owned the place! They had better hope they weren't ugly, or the Illusionist would be very displeased.
Very, very displeased.
It took it a few moments to reach the area his two little minions had mentioned, and the sight that greeted him was something out of a fairy tale. Two perfect men were walking down the path. The tall one, a walking warrior Adonis. The short one, a gorgeous scientist type. The Illusionist could have salivated over them if it was given the chance. They were beautiful! They would make perfect additions to its little minion crew!
Ignoring the fact that its two counter parts were trying to stay stealthy, it floated right out into the open, stopping right in front of the two, staring at them with its glowing white eyes. "Oh, but you two are beautiful." It said in a quite obviously female voice. She ran her hands down the front of her body, causing the green under her hands to pulse slightly brighter for a brief moment or two. "You two wouldn't consider joining me would you? I wouldn't have to kill you for entering into my fields. Besides, us pretty types have to stick together." She asked with the closest thing to a smile that her face was capable of, trying to look as enticing as was possible. She truly believed she was pretty.
Deciding that she wanted a closer look at the tall, long haired one, the Illusionist started calling forth her ability. She turned her gaze towards the one she wanted, while waving in her two buddies to distract the one with the amazing hair cut. She had really struck oil here! The Illusionist lifted a finger to her eye, and jutted her hips out a little bit, as if attempting to be seductive. She figured what she was about to do made her irresistible, and that the only reason people attacked her was because they were just so lost to their primal lust they didn't know what to actually do with themselves.
Suddenly, from her eye, came a little green heart, which shot towards the warrior at remarkable speeds, homing into his location regardless of how he tried to dodge it. The end result would be that the warrior would be overcome by an unquenchable lust, and come right at the Illusionist, allowing her to have her... Fun.
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Illusionist
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 165 Health: 523/523
Skill: 142 Strength: 81 Defense: 107
Tactical Advantage:Taunt: You are skilled at drawing the attention of enemies, defusing pressure from your allies in combat. During combat, you may use your offensive turn to target and taunt a foe. This enemy will have to attack you during its next turn, and you will receive a +5% Defense chance.
Akio had a strange feeling he was being watched. It started about when he was scanning Dal’Mori, and he only continued to feel this way as time went on. He did another scan of the area, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any moment. This time, the scan actually picked up something. Three AI’s; two to the right, and one directly behind them. Akio stopped, spinning around and readying his sword, keeping a careful watch out for the enemies that were apparently stalking them. However, something interesting to note, was that one was not simply just following them. It was what was classified as an Illusionist, which seemed… Odd, to say the least. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he looked around for the other two, eyes scanning the area in front of them without the aid of his glasses.
But the Illusionist was being distracting. Not particularly for the reason it wanted, but more because everything that came out of the things mouth made Akio want to fall to his knees in laughter. The Illusionist was trying to pull something, and that something was absolutely ridiculous. It called them both beautiful, even. And while he was absolutely flattered that this AI called him beautiful, and it was actually correct of course, both of them were indeed gorgeous people, but that it actually believed that they were all beautiful and wanted both him and Dal’Mori to be on the same team as it. That was hilarious. He almost wanted to laugh in its face. Them? Join the AI’s team? That was absolutely a ridiculous, even perhaps stupid to think as such. “You’re joking, right?” He asked when the Illusionist was done with it’s speech. His tone had a hint of amusement in his voice, with a touch of a smirk on his face.
He almost laughed, too, but then the Illusionist winked at Dal’Mori, which caused a strange glowing heart to fly at him at a great speed. It seemed so enthralled with itself, believing that it was the epitome of absolute beauty. God, was that a laugh! Akio scoffed, looking over to to his partner and said, “Good luck with that.” before he drew his sword, giving his attention to the two other creatures that were stalking in the bushes. It seemed as though he would be left alone with these two, rather than just one… That was fine. If Akio were to get better, he would need to be challenged, and that was exactly what this was. Slowly, his sword became engulfed in lightning, the sparks slowly making their way down from his hand to the very tip. He wasn’t quite sure which to go for first, so he decided on the Vault Buster, launching himself forward in a swift strike, leaving a good amount of sparks in his wake.
His first attack was a swift upward slash, coming from the right to the left. He went for the things legs, hoping to be able to take it down, giving it less of a chance to do anything to him in return. Akio then spun, changing the momentum swiftly into another attack. This time, it was an attack to the things face, slashing at it with his sparking sword. Akio moved fast, giving as little time as possible between each attack, coming at it as fast as lightning. He slashed at the beast again, hoping to slash it across the shoulder, this time. Then, Akio added a flair to his attack, spinning his sword around his hand before adjusting his grip for a stab. Finally, Akio spun again and slashed at the things face one final time. Clearly, he was much faster than this AI, as it simply continued to let Akio make attacks on it. Five slashes. That’s how many attacks Akio managed to get in before the Vault Buster could do anything.
He hoped to kill this thing off fast, murdering it without a second thought so that he could move on to the next target. It was currently three against two, them out numbered by a single target. None have attacked just yet, so he was unable to gauge the power levels properly against his own. It was frustrating, yes, but he still had plenty of time to check one thing or another. Plenty of time to read the enemies and make the proper judgements he needed to. All he needed to do was keep a proper head on his shoulders, and not panic. Easy, right? Take on two of these AI’s at the same time. He could do this. Yes, he could totally do this.
Attacking the Vault Buster x5
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 163 Health: 1500/1500 Control Limit: 736
Acupuncturist - Level 6 - Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -12 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight
Shards of Myself
Ominous Noodles Crew
Dramatic Fatcat
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Brotherhood Of Explosives Vice Captain
Mind-boggling Trickster
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:21 pm
Dal'Mori Cestrol Menne
Turn 1
The surprise of how sound a suggestion that was caused Dal'Mori's eyes to focus on the man before him for a brief moment, before going back to wandering the area looking for danger. It was a very good suggestion. He would have preferred some form of whistled sequence, something he was used too, but this was just as good, perhaps even better. Only they would know the answer to this question as far as he was aware, being they were the only ones there when it happened. He nodded in acceptance of this suggestion. It was simple, and it worked.
As they continued onward into the depths of what was easily one of the most mysterious places the seasoned warrior had ever been, his nerves continued to try their best to get the best of him. He could feel it in his chest, his heartbeat has sped up to an uncomfortable pace, thrumming through his chest almost loud enough for him to hear it. He didn't like this place as much as he thought he would, but perhaps that was because they were about to head into combat against an opponent that could easily just wait until they were under the influence of these flowers, and then pick them off as they fought imaginary beasts.
It was about then that Akio spoke up, informing him that they had around a half hour before the effects really started, and an hour after that before they even truly had to deal with the major effects. Immediately he sought out the knowledge Skon'li imparted on him during his time with her. That was base, without any influence from outside sources. Depending on how the toxins worked, there could be any number of things that could cause the effects to take place faster. To start, if the poison got on his skin, or in a wound, that would naturally speed things up. Or the fact that they were about to be in a fight, the speed at which their blood would be pumping would also decrease the time it took to take effect. He guessed that so long as he didn't take any damage and/or didn't fall into the flowers, it would take about two-thirds of that time period in combat.
Still, forty minutes was plenty of time to work with.
Things appeared to just fall into place shortly thereafter though, for barely a few feet into their continued movement, they were interrupted by the appearance of what they had come to fight. The only one he could see right off the bat was this floating one, the one that was glowing green and bald. It waltzed out like it owned the place, completely confident in itself and its grasp on the situation.
Unbelievably the creature commented on their apparent good looks, and asked them to join. The fact that it had enough guts to actually say something like that surprised the anger right out of Dal'Mori's mind, who would have ordinarily been gravely offended should one of these abominations have said something like that to him. Instead, he found himself agreeing with his brother in arms. The thing had to be joking.
As he watched the attack speeding towards him, he made sure to return the well wishes of combat. "Honor and knowledge to you." He spoke this words, and then immediately was off, his body suddenly tearing through the soft ground at crazy speeds as he tried to avoid the attack coming for him. It was relentless, and needless to say eventually he slipped up and it landed.
"You're a failure." The voice echoed into his mind, and immediately his attention was completely on the Illusionist. Or rather, the space where the Illusionist was, because he was no longer seeing the floating bald core. In its place he saw instead, himself staring right back at him with his own forest green eyes, which were empty of emotion. "You couldn't save anyone then, and you can't save anyone now."
The words did the job, driving a spike deep into his heart, his eyes wide. No one could say for sure what it was, but something went wrong. He had every desire to plant his weapon in the enemy, yes, but they did not manage to draw out the enraged response they were looking for with this attack. Maybe it was the fact that he went into this expecting to hallucinate during the fight, and had seen the core before they used this ability. Maybe it was because he was slowly coming under the influence of other toxins. Maybe it was because there was someone else directly here, causing his urges to protect to swell up within him.
No matter the reason, he looked at the Illusionist, pointed his weapon and said in a low growl, reaching bass level tones. "I will save them all, even if I have to destroy you in the process." Despite the fact that he knew it wasn't real, he couldn't help the real emotions that came through because of this sight. Fear that it was right, anger at the fact that he was scared of such a thing, worry that he might never be strong enough for what he wanted. All bad things to be feeling in a fight, and it helped, if only a little bit, to respond in some fashion.
He wasted no more time by fighting the urge to attack. Whether he desired to honestly attack himself, or wanted the Illusionist to stop, he wasn't sure, but he thrust himself towards the thing with a ferocious vigor with only one thought in mind.
Destroy it.
His weapon spun into a flurry of motion, moving so fast it was simply impossible to follow with the average eye. He then began his assault, which involved several chaotically placed swipes in the direction of the enemy, though none of them were intended to hit, only to direct. The goal was to push the enemy into the perfect position, and once they were there he would thrust the business end of his spear right towards their chest, aiming for the heart of the man he just saw.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 160 Health: 1820/1820 Control Limit: 1280
One Man Army - Level 5 - While fighting without summoning an A.I. Core, you gain an additional +25 to all stats. However, if you do summon an A.I. core, you will receive a -50 to all stats instead.
Of course the damned Illusionist would come in and ruin things for them. The Vault Buster and the Turbine Beetle were perfectly fine sneaking through the bushes, and when they called her over to see what had beautifully invaded their territory, they had to have expected that she would do this. Still, it was mildly aggravating. The Vault Buster revealed itself, huffing and puffing that it’s position was given away. It was mad, understandably so, that it now had to deal with these damned humans, all while the stupid Illusionist tried to flirt with the tall man with the long hair. She had to know that humans didn’t find AI’s attractive in the slightest, right? She had to know that she wasn’t even attractive, not even to AI’s.
It kept that thought to itself, though, knowing that she would not have taken kindly to any of this. She was, however, was thankfully focusing on the one she had taken the most fancy to, the warrior. So, the Vault Buster and the Turbine Beetle were now tasked with attacking the scientist guy. This would work out just fine. Those scientist types never really did know how to fight, right? Well, he thought that way until the man’s sword engulfed itself in lightning and came at it faster it could even think. Suddenly, the AI wasn’t feeling too confident as it watched the man jet forward, making slashing attempts to multiple parts of its body. The first few attacks that went to its shoulders and legs missed, the Vault buster able to successfully move with enough speed that it was able to dodge these attacks.
However, the Vault buster then took the electrified sword to its face. It was then staggered for a moment, doing its best to recover from the attack when the sword met the things shoulder. The Vault Buster shook, feeling the electricity shutter through its body. This was going south faster than the Titanic. It felt itself getting weaker, feeling the electricity flowing through its body from that sword. That, the Vault Buster knew, was not something that the human just got. Out of pure anger, the AI struck out, causing the sword that was now coming at it in another attack to be knocked away with a decent amount of ease. It wasn’t going to let this human get the better of it. No way, no how. So, the Vault Buster launched its attack at the man with the scars on his face, the man who appeared to be only a scientist, but was clearly so much more. It attempted a punch with one of its stronger arms to the man’s chest, attempting to throw him off his balance in order to allow the Turbine Beetle to get its attack in as well. Whatever it took, they had to take this guy down.
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Vault Buster
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 107 Health: 586/1206
Skill: 50 Strength: 84 [60] Defense: 80
Tactical Advantage:Power House: Your blows are devastating, leaving foes shaken and weak. Every time you deal damage to a foe, they lose 2 Defense for the duration of the fight.
Turn 1
The Turbine Beetle hid in the bushes, unlike the big clumsy oaf that was the Vault Buster. It waited patiently for the opportune moment to attack. It was, however, surprised at the humans prowess. The guy looked like a scientist, but was obviously much more than that. It watched as the man engulfed his seemingly average sword in lightning, a feat which it had seen no human do until now. That, clearly, was the ability of its AI. So, the Turbine Beetle let the Vault Buster do as it pleased, sinking lower to keep attention away from the thing. The human was clearly strong, and clearly very fast. Still, that was no match for the ability of the AI that was lurking and waiting for its turn.
So it watched as it’s partner got hit twice, wounds opening over the things face and shoulders as it stumbled back in pain. The Vault Buster wasn’t going to last very long, that much was certain. But, where the Vault Buster lacked ability, it was incredibly skilled at distractions. The thing punched at the guy’s chest, and whether or not this would lead to the man taking damage or not, it was now its turn to do what it needed to do. The turbine beetle jumped, finally able to launch its attack against this human that thought he was oh so much better than them. It struck at it with its pointed feet, trying its best to slash out at him with all its might.
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Turbine Beetle
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 154 Health: 1400/1400
Skill: 108 Strength: 100 Defense: 100
Tactical Advantage:Actupuncturist: Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -2 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight.
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71Total: 71 (1-100)
The Illusionist lifted its perfectly sculpted eyebrow to watch the interesting scene before it. They had turned down her offer without thought, upsetting but not unforeseen, sometimes people could only see the beauty when it's about to be taken from them. What a shame. Such magnificent specimens would make excellent arm candy for one as fine as she. Alas, it was not to be, for they were stubborn and obviously blind if they had not fallen for her at first sight.
The tall hunk took off at an impressive pace, the floating core was only barely able to keep her eyes locked onto his frame, watching closely. Every movement was like a choreographed dance, the man never missing a step, until finally her attack landed. She decided to take that moment to turn and look at the other stunningly attractive being in the field there, only to find him making her Vault Buster look like a fool with his own swift assault.
Well now, she couldn't have that now could she? If she couldn't have these two, she would make sure she kept the other two.
"Uh uh, sweety, your eyes should be on me." She called out, before placing her fingers on her lips and blowing out another of those homing styled attacks, but this time in the form of a pair of kissing lips. Just like the first one, it would home in on and eventually land on her opponent, thought she imagined this one might be a lot easier, his attention wasn't immediately on her, meaning he'd have to turn and register what was going on before he could react. Hopefully that would be enough time for the ability to land.
Suddenly there was a blade swiping right in front of her face, causing her to jump back as if startled by it. Her head snapped to where the man had been, realizing that apparently he also suffered the same thing everyone else did when she hit them with her lust ability. She was thoroughly convinced she was so stunningly attractive, that the primal lust within whomever she struck with her ability over took their brain and they wanted nothing more than to dominate her. Unfortunately for them, she was not one to be dominated, she was the dominant, so she would not simply lay down and allow this.
As the attacks came flying at her rapidly, from various directions, she remained calm as she dodged each one, until finally she had had enough, and reached her hand out, quick as lightning, stopping the spinning of the weapon with that gesture, and as such stopping the attack. She couldn't pull it from his hands, meaning apparently he was stronger, but that was fine. She liked it when they were big and strong. "Naughty, Naughty." She 'teased' him with a smile and a finger wag.
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Illusionist
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 165 Health: 523/523
Skill: 142 Strength: 81 Defense: 107
Tactical Advantage:Taunt: You are skilled at drawing the attention of enemies, defusing pressure from your allies in combat. During combat, you may use your offensive turn to target and taunt a foe. This enemy will have to attack you during its next turn, and you will receive a +5% Defense chance.
Akio could hear the agitation in Dal’Mori’s voice just after the Illusionist blew its kiss at him, but he chose to leave the whole ordeal alone. Why would a kiss agitate him so much? Was he uncomfortable with someone hitting on him? It was something to talk about later. He needed to focus on taking down this Vault buster, seeing as it was the weakest. It would be the easiest to take out, and he would rather not have to deal with the possibility of being flanked longer than he had to. When two of his attacks went through and did a massive amount of damage, Akio was rather happy. It was good progress, and the battle had only just begun. The AI seemed stunned, really hurting from his attacks. The last attack was an easy dodge, however, and the Vault Buster managed sneak in an attack to Akio’s chest. However, he only had to take a few steps back to be able to dodge the AI’s punch. But when Akio stepped back to dodge the attack, a Turbine Beetle hopped out of the tall fauna of where it was hiding, coming at him with a great amount of speed. It jumped at him, coming at him with it’s sharp feet aimed directly at him. Akio almost didn’t see it coming, but managed to duck in time for the Turbine Beetle to fly over his head and land in the tall grass nearby.
The Turbine Beetle disappeared in the grass once again, vanishing like it did before the attack. Akio paused, gripping his sword as he looked around, deciding if he wanted to look for that damned Turbine Beetle, or if he should continue on the Vault Buster. It was an easy choice, the Vault Buster was already injured, and was barely able to take any kind of attack from the man. So, Akio moved to make an attack when he felt something hit the back of his head. Spinning around to see what it was that had happened, he immediately locked eyes with someone he hadn’t seen in a good two years. A friend from years that he now only wanted to forget.
She wore baggy overalls and a simple white T-Shirt. The woman was rather plain but she wasn’t bad looking, with long black hair, and Asian features, much like Akio. She was a friend of hers, her best friend. Mirai. Tears streamed down the woman’s round features, her eyes puffy and red from crying for an extended period of time. “How did this happen, Kawa-Kun?” the woman asked. She sounded so lost, like her entire life had been pulled out from under her. “How could you kill her like that? We thought you loved her.” The tears continued to stream down Mirai’s face as Akio gripped his sword, watching the person he once called his friend tell him the very thing he had been thinking for the past two years.
Unable to help it, his hands shook and he clenched his jaw, fury building up inside of him. “I didn’t…” He had to force the words through clenched teeth, “I didn’t kill her…” His voice had grown deep and rough, anger tinting his voice. He didn’t believe his words, but he didn’t want to accept that he did, either. Dal may have been able to suppress his anger, but that ability escaped Akio. He had been suppressing his feelings for a long time now, ignoring their prominence in his mind. As much as he wanted to suppress the anger, as much as he wanted to put everything behind him… He was still somehow unable to.
The anger exploded in him, causing Akio to dash forward, ready to attack the damned AI with all he had. No matter how many hits it took, he would take this thing down. His sword would come down on the AI’s face, just to shut it up. It would feel the spark of the of his lightning, and it would die a horrible death. He didn’t want to feel the anger anymore, didn’t want to live like that. Maybe if he killed this Ai, he would feel better. Maybe he wouldn’t feel like a liar when he said he didn’t kill her. Just… Maybe.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 163 Health: 1500/1500 Control Limit: 736
Acupuncturist - Level 6 - Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -12 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight
Shards of Myself
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Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 12:55 pm
Dal'Mori Cestrol Menne
Turn 2
Swipe, slash, jab. "Weak."
Twist, pivot, stab. "Pathetic."
The last strike, thrust forward with insane accuracy. "Useless."
The words each came at him like a full on sword, cutting into his heart like a blade on fire. The last one even more so, for it happened when he missed with his actual attack. Each of these insults were things he had called himself, and now here he was quite literally calling himself these names. He wasn't sure he could take it, listening to his own voice, his own face, calling him everything he'd been thinking about himself ever since that horrid event.
Even now, as the illusion peeled away and that stupid bald creature was left in its place, those words rang through his head, bouncing around in a horrible cacophony of sound, turning into a raging typhoon of destructive thoughts. Worse yet, they were working. Watching the warrior one could easily spot he was starting to get sloppy as these infectious thoughts reached the forefront of his mind, plaguing his every action, bringing in an idea of inferiority, once foreign to this mental territory.
This fact did not mean he was not a proficient fighter. Oh no. The man trained so hard and so often he could fight even while unconscious. It just meant he was nowhere near as pristine as normal.
He took a moment when he realized he was no longer pressed with a desire to attack this creature. Did he still desire its destruction? Of course he did, but now it was not fogging his mind. He took a few deep breaths to attempt to calm his raging thoughts, his eyes locked onto the form of his chosen opponent. He noticed too late that she was going to attempt something towards Kawaguchi, and though he attempted to call out, he imagined his words fell on deaf ears. Nothing but what he was hearing made it through to his attention.
He watched his teammate closely, making note of what happened. Apparently this thing caused them to see something that would enrage them, forcing them to desire to attack it. Apparently it was very confident in its abilities, or it was very stupid. Either way, that ability allowed it to control the battlefield, and it was dangerous. It had to be destroyed.
Though he would never admit it, there was a part of him that wanted to do this because this thing instilled doubt into his mind, using his own face to do it.
This decided, he rushed forward, his footfalls as textbook as possible, before planting the end of his staff into the ground, using it as a means of propelling himself into the air, then as a means of directing himself towards the center of the Illusionist's mass. There wouldn't be a lot of surface damage, but the sheer force of impact would, without a doubt, ring some internal bells.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 160 Health: 1820/1820 Control Limit: 1280
One Man Army - Level 5 - While fighting without summoning an A.I. Core, you gain an additional +25 to all stats. However, if you do summon an A.I. core, you will receive a -50 to all stats instead.
Hahaha! Both of the men were now taunted by the beautiful Illusionist’s ability. The Illusionists ability to weaponize her sexiness and beautiful good looks was absolutely amazing. It always worked, and the Vault Buster always felt bad when it doubted her fantastic prowess as a fighter and strategist. When she taunted the one with the mohawk, and he attacked her in a lustful fury, successfully taking all the heat off the weaker two, the Vault Buster almost cried out of complete joy. Now, both of the enemies they faced were attacking the lovely Illusionist.
The realization hit the AI like a sack of bricks, and was now absolutely terrified for the one it now realized he absolutely loved. This was bad, very bad. Now two enemies ganged up on her beauty, and even though she was the strongest one of the three, it didn’t want her to get hurt. Didn’t want her to die protecting it. It didn’t want her to die at all! So the Vault Buster rushed forward, going for an attack on the one who had most recently attacked him. The one with the mohawk. It wasn’t going to allow the one that was meant to attack it attack her. No, that could NOT, under no circumstances happen. If it was going to die, it was going to die. No. Matter. What. But for whatever the reason, it wasn’t going to let her get hurt. It couldn’t allow that, even if she was meant to taunt. Even if that was her duty as an AI, and as the leader of this group.
So the Vault buster attacked the short one with all it’s might, coming up from behind in hopes of hurting the man at least enough to pull him off of her. It ran forward in its own slightly clumsy way, charging in to land at least one really good punch to the man’s back. It wanted to come out on top in the battle, but more than that, it wanted to make sure it would live another day to see her face. To fight with her. To be with her.
It didn’t matter that it was almost dead. This was its goal.
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Vault Buster
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 107 Health: 586/1206
Skill: 50 Strength: 84 [60] Defense: 80
Tactical Advantage:Power House: Your blows are devastating, leaving foes shaken and weak. Every time you deal damage to a foe, they lose 2 Defense for the duration of the fight.
Turn 1
The Turbine Beetle had a somewhat different idea in mind. So far, it hadn’t been attacked, so it still had a fairly clear head. On one hand, both of the opponents were on the Illusionist, which was good. It meant that neither the Vault Buster, nor the Turbine Beetle were going to be targeted this turn. This was good. Out of all of them, the Illusionist was the strongest. Giving the weaker ones the ability to attack while not having to worry about their health was a strong tactics choice, and the turbine beetle had to appreciate that. While it slinked through the high foliage, it looked for the opportune moment to strike. This time, it would rely on the natural weapons that it was given during construction. It’s sound waves.
It scurried along, able to remain unnoticed due to its small size and small feet. It was trying to be clever about the fight, allowing the Vault Buster to take the brunt of the attention and attacks, and the Illusionist remaining to taunt. As long as the heat remained off it, it would be good. The short man attacked the Illusionist in a heavy fury while the tall one remained calm, or so it would seem. The two, either way, focused their attacks on the Illusionist, and the Vault Buster remained stuck on the shorter man. It had two viable options as an attack. One was to attack the shorter man again. He seemed to have a pretty good ability behind him, and was really fast as well. The second option was to fight the taller man, the one who was going toe to toe with the Illusionist. It wasn’t too hard of a choice, coming to the realization that it would have a better chance with the short man, able to easily go in for an attack while he was distracted.
Bracing itself, it let loose a loud blast of sound towards the shorter human, pinpointing the attack towards the man’s upper back. The attack was designed to rip the muscle apart, tearing the man apart with simple sound waves. When the attack was done, the thing would scurry away again, making sure that it would remain unnoticed for as long as possible.
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Turbine Beetle
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 154 Health: 1400/1400
Skill: 108 Strength: 100 Defense: 100
Tactical Advantage:Actupuncturist: Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -2 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight.
As if taking no heed to the sound of their voices, or the looks in their eyes, or even the intents of their actions, the Illusionist allowed herself to bask in the glorious knowledge that both of these prime specimen’s attention were on her. She allowed herself to giggle, a very airy sound. Of course they were focused solely on her, she was the best looking thing on the battlefield without a shadow of a doubt.
First, the smart, sensual one came forward, all dashingly handsome and what not, attempting to give her a beautiful sparking weapon. He seemed to have a lapse in judgement, given that he was attempting to hand it to her with the blade first, but she could forgive him, his mind was fogged by lust after all. She easily floated to the side of the gift though, wondering if perhaps he could do better. After all, the gorgeous hunk of a man had several pieces of visible art on his body, perhaps he could offer one up to honor her?
Her head shot to the side when she saw the rather extreme amount of motion from the tall, primal warrior. He apparently wanted to be so close to her that he was willing to throw himself at her, quite literally. Given that he was a prime example of what the description 'carved from stone' should be, she couldn't blame him. They would make a beautiful couple together. However, she couldn't decide which one she wanted more at the moment, so she had to also turn aside his desires as she had turned aside the other's gift.
They would both have to do better. Oh! What if they fought each other? That would be an incredible gift! It would also remove the need for her to choose. Now how would she even get them to do that?
She put the idea aside for later. They were both coming for her right now, she wanted to bask in their attention. "Oh boooys! You're going to need to try harder than that." She teased them in what she imagined was a seductive manner, while running her hands down her sides and hips. "Or you'll never get anything good out of this." Deciding she wanted to take a more active role in the fight, she decided she would go for the one who seemed the slowest first, weaken him up a bit while letting the stronger one wear himself out to make himself an easier target.
So, with that thought in mind, the Illusionist formed a handful of bright green daggers, glowing with the same glow that coursed through her body. She carefully took aim, and launched the whole handful in a single scatter shot styled attack towards the shorter of the two men, hoping to inflict some damage, to make it possible for her little consorts to step in better.
Maybe slightly weaker they would be more open to her earlier proposition?
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Illusionist
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 165 Health: 523/523
Skill: 142 Strength: 81 Defense: 107
Tactical Advantage:Taunt: You are skilled at drawing the attention of enemies, defusing pressure from your allies in combat. During combat, you may use your offensive turn to target and taunt a foe. This enemy will have to attack you during its next turn, and you will receive a +5% Defense chance.
