She paused and looked over at Val curiously. "Do you have to say those words to use the magic? Or are you just doing that for dramatic effect?" She asked seriously. She walked over to the dead bear and planted her foot on the carcass, planting her spear in the ground dramatically. Of course, the bear wasn't exactly a flat surface, and neither was the ground, and in essence she was standing on one foot on uneven ground. It wasn't her fault when she tumbled over onto the ground for the second time that day. Still, it had looked pretty cool while it had lasted, or so she imagined. She got to her feet, a broad grin forming on her face. "That was a fun fight. We make a good team." She acknowledged, turning to face him and brushing her hair back behind her ear. "This berserk thing doesnt seem all that special. Its probably just because i havent leveled it up yet though. After i got hit i felt a bit stronger, and i was definitely a bit faster, but not by much." She explained. "Still, i dont know how strong it will get if my health goes down to ten percent or something." She walked over to him and punched his shoulder. "So, do we get any rewards, or was that purely for fun?" She asked him. She hoped that they would get some money or something. She wasn't a fan of this starting spear. It felt clumsy, and she wasn't sure if it was because it was low quality, her skill level, or a combination of both of those factors.
Valther nodded enthusiastically towards Manta. "Yeah, spellcasting requires either incantations or drawings in the air. Incantations are far easier since it leaves your hands free and it's quicker, as long as you remember the words, but physical casting is silent up until the spell is cast, so it's better for sneak attacks, or if you can't speak for whatever reason," he explained carefully, making sure not to leave any confusing details. Val snorted loudly when the bear's half-corpse toppled over, dragging Manta with it, and she fell to the ground once more. "God, and I thought I was uncoordinated," he teased her and extended a hand out in case she needed a hand up. "Yeah, we do. It's always good to have all bases covered; you with raw physical damage and agility, and me with a mixture of close and long range magic and a quick physical approach," he agreed with a wide grin, his hands on his hips confidently. "Give it a few days and we'll be taking on field bosses like nothing, right?" he mused, not entirely serious but certainly enjoying flirting with the idea of it. "Mm, I'm sure it will do a lot more at higher ranks and lower health. At Beginner level it should only be made to give you a minor strength buff anyway, a failsafe in case you get too low," he clarified. Valther chuckled as Manta playfully punched his arm and he nodded. "Yeah, you should have received some Mastery Points from that, which you can use to level up your masteries as you like, and some gold. Take a look for yourself." Valther raised his palm towards his face and opened up his mastery menu, where his total unspent Mastery Points sat at the top of the screen. "You can put those into whatever you like." @Manta.
Manta accepted his hand and got up with his help. Maybe she would eventually be able to do something dramatic without falling over. She frowned. "Why does it have to be a fail safe? I dont know. It'd be so much cooler to get super injured and all of a sudden your zooming around and breaking things with your bare hands." She paused. "Well, thats probably what its like at max level. It'd be busted if it were like that at zero." She swiped open her own menu and examined the different options for a few moments. It took her a little while to find the masteries menu, but she eventually did. There wasn't much there except the three masteries that she had chosen. She poked at the menu, pulling up the options, and then looked at her available mastery points. She shut her menu and looked over to Ash. "I dont know what to spend them on, so i think ill save them for a later time. I just need to think about what i want to main. The spear seems like the best choice, but i like the idea of berserk. I probably wont invest in Battle Shout at all." She said the last part with a joking smile. "I chose it because i want to be able to shout and knock people over, but its not something i can really rely on by itself in a fight." She explained. "Ill hold onto my points unless you plan to go fight one of those field bosses right now. In which case we're probably fucked anyway, but i would need to be as prepared as possible." She let the arm that was holding her spear drop to her side. "Have you ever died in this game?" She asked. She just wanted to make sure that this game wasn't an SAO situation in terms of death.
Valther sighed and scratched the back of his head, ruffling his violet locks. "I said at beginner level... it would be pretty broken if you could go on a bloodthirsty rampage at Terra's equivalent of level one," he clarified and folded his arms. "That's something you'll be able to do at much higher Berserk levels, don't worry about that. Add to the fact it gets better the less health you're on, it won't take long for you to be a whirlwind of primal rage," he added with a wide grin. "I look forward to seeing that show." Val watched as Manta browsed through her menus and masteries; obviously, since she had only just started and helped to kill her first mob, there would be little there for her to use. Nonetheless, she could at least try and plan her future judging by what she gained from the encounter. "I'd suggest Battle Shout would be interesting to invest in. You'd be able to buff allies and yourself, weaken enemies and possibly knock them away at higher ranks. You'd only know by trying it yourself... or finding someone else who knows of course," he explained and chuckled to himself. "But your spear will definitely be one of your main investments. Make sure to throw points in an armor type as well," he warned her, making sure she knew that her three masteries weren't the entire world. Valther nodded and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That is true, but it would make for a good support skill. Beating the shit out of something until it submits is hardly a reliable tactic, especially if you're just whaling on a tower shield," he explained calmly, tapping his fingers against his elbow idly. "You need something to get around that shield, so I'd suggest throw some points in Shout at some point, even if it's just for a few ranks," he suggested. "I have no plan on fighting a field boss today, my friend, I'm hardly confident enough to try poking one with a fireball." Valther chuckled softly, before blinking at Manta's question. "Died..? No, I haven't. And... I've never asked someone else who has. But don't worry, it's nothing like the SAO incident if you're worried about that," he reassured her and placed a hand against the top of her head, ruffling her hair. @Manta.
She let out a quiet evil laugh as his description of her in the future being "a whirlwind of primal rage". Now that was what she was talking about. Now that she thought about it a spear was a pretty defensive weapon, designed to safely poke at your enemies. Unless you could spear someone into the ground so you could beat on them. Or you could use it more like a bludgeon. She paused in her thinking. She hadn't realized that she had such a violent side, but maybe that stemmed from her not really ever being able to take out her emotions physically in the real world. "So basically just thrown mastery points at everything you can. Ill get the spear first, then berserk. You make a good point about the shouts, but i can always get you to do something if they have a shield." Manta paused for a moment, really starting to get into character now. "I could throw you at them." she mused thoughtfully before giving him a wink to let him know that she was joking. Mostly. "I plan to have a more acrobatic offensive style, using the spear to mix up my movement options. I see a lot of kicking in my future." She really liked the idea of using her spear as a pivot point to increase the strength of her kicks and break through her opponents defenses. She frowned, slightly disappointed that he wasn't planning to take on a field boss, but at the same time relieved. "I dont want to know what happens when you die in this game, at least not by experiencing it." She stated, looking down and blushing as he ruffled her hair.
Val's expression grew concerned from the evil laugh Manta released. What on earth went on in that girl's head? Val shivered with worry for a moment, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Val smacked a palm against the side of his head and scratched in slight irritation, groaning as Manta suggested she could throw him at a shield. "First of all, I'm hardly heavy enough to deal any real damage, and second of all, I'm not always going to be there with you," he sighed and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She'd changed quick just from his description of her future. "If I'm there with you why not just have me melt the shield instead of wasting your energy on throwing me like a doll?" he suggested meekly, trying to deter her from using such a brutal method. Valther scratched his chin thoughtfully and nodded. "That's certainly a way you could go, but I remember seeing a Martial Arts mastery when I was choosing, I feel like for that to happen you'd need to pick that mastery up when you can get another," he clarified with a grin. "Until then, you'll be relying solely on your spear, maybe a bit of hand-to-hand in dire situations," he explained with a simper. "Yeah, neither do I. But y'know, if I ever die I'll let you know first," he jested and chuckled quietly. Caressing the hilt of his blade, Valther thought about what their next plan should be. "Hmm... what do you wanna do? Beat the crap out of another mob? Beat the crap out of each other? Find something to eat in town, maybe spend some of our hard-earned cash?" he suggested and shrugged, passing the decision over to his partner. @Manta.
She giggled at his reply to her mentioning using him as a projectile. He seemed to think that she was serious. "Its more fun that way." she stated, nodding sagely, pretending that she had been completely serious. She raised an eyebrow when he said that she couldn't be a crazy acrobatic spear wielder. "Berserk is a martial art. So while i might not be as acrobatic as i'd like, i can still kick someone, using my spear as something to balance on while i do that. And it might not be an especially pretty or graceful kick, but using my spear can let me dropkick with more height and force." She explained. She wanted a more acrobatic style of fighting, but it seemed as though she had chosen the wrong masteries for that sort of style. It seemed as though she was going to be going to brute force method. Maybe she should change her spear to a battle axe or something to fit the theme more. She smirked. "So you see, i don't need my spear to bash heads in.I just need mastery points." She continued on to answer his question, throwing her head back and flipping her hair over her shoulder in one movement. "I wouldn't mind fighting another enemy, just for the money and mastery points. But if you'd rather head to a town that's fine with me too. I guess im just indecisive today." She commented. She gripped her spear, wondering once again whether or not she had made the right decision with the weapon. Their didn;t seem to be much synergy between her masteries, unlike what she had previously thought. That was probably how it always was with these games though. You never know what works until you try it, and then you never get to put that knowledge into use until you make a new character.
Valther side and slapped his hand against his forehead; he wasn't going to win this argument with the girl. She was a loose cannon and seemed like she'd do whatever she pleased, whether your answer was yes or no. "No no, I mean a proper hand to hand combat skill... as far as I can tell berserk is intended to be used in combination with your weapon. There's no point in having two hand-to-hand skills if they accomplish the same thing, except one has a high risk to it. If you really want to kick and punch with berserk, I'd suggest taking up the hand-to-hand mastery, whatever it is," he suggested analytically. "You'll only be drop kicking people if you take a beating first, remember. Wouldn't you rather be acrobatic without taking any damage?" he asked with a shrug. "Well, let's find another animal to beat the crap out of. My sword feels like stabbing something..." he mumbled, before unsheathing his blade and making a jabbing motion towards Manta, keeping the tip a safe distance from the girl. He turned and strolled off into the forest, checking behind him to make sure Manta was still following... and wasn't preparing to chuck him at the nearest bear. Val whispered an incantation under his breath and conjured a small orb of flame into his palm. A guttural roar signaled the approach of their second beast for the day. A large, black bear, almost twice the size of the last one, reared up on its hind legs just over the hill from Val. Eyeing off his new opponent, he couldn't help but grin as he turned to look at Manta. "This one big enough for ya?" he asked and nudged her with his elbow. Valther 100 HP MAX HP 100 EN MAX EN Conditions None @Manta.
She frowned. "There aren't enough mastery slots...." She pouted. Maybe she would just go completely melee and skip all of the magic. She didn't really need to worry about her next mastery slot just yet. It was a long way off. She would eventually need to make a decision, but she would worry about that when the time came. She raised her spear, still pouting. "It isn't as much fun to fight without getting hit. It isn't as physical or violent." She raised her spear as he mentioned finding another enemy to fight and how he really wanted to stab something. As he pointed out the new enemy, a bear almost twice the size of the last one, she wrapped her arm around him like she was going to pick him up and throw him, smiling broadly, her eyes twinkling with unvoiced laughter. She backed away a step and gripped her spear tightly, preparing for the fight. She didn't feel as though she was prepared to fight this bear, but at the same time Val was there, so it wasn't like she would be fighting it alone. She just needed to be careful not to take unnecessary hits like in the last fight. She nudged him back. "You start, then ill run in and start poking it." She paused, wondering if she should open her menu and distribute her masteries really quick before they started and then decided against it. She could do it later. She raised her spear and prepared for Val to launch his assault.
Val sighed and scratched his head in slight irritation. "I'm sure there's a way to get more. Or to replace masteries. Or something. All MMOs these days have a respec system of some kind, I doubt this is any different," he explained, hoping Manta would eventually get what she wanted, mostly so that he didn't have to keep explaining the difference a true martial arts skill would make. "I swear, you say some strange things," Val muttered and blinked at Manta's comment. "But to each their own, I guess." His eyes glued to the bear, he squeaked loudly in bewilderment when Manta wrapped her arm around him, her grip tight as if she was ready to sling him into the maw of the beast. He skittered away and frowned at her. "Jeez, trying to give me a heart attack are ya?" he groaned, pouting at her like a child. "You're someone I've gotta keep an eye on..." he grumbled and returned to her side, facing the bear once more as Manta prepared her spear. "Yeah, gotcha. You just do the stabby-stabby stuff," he agreed and rushed ahead, whispering another incantation, the same as before, and strengthening the orb of flame floating in his palm. The beast faced Val's charge head-on, ready to tackle him to the earth and maul his weak, human flesh. Extending his palm out, he aimed the globe at the bear's open jaw as it grumbled and roared. The sphere of flame shot out and filled the monster's mouth with flames, the blaze rising up around its snout and obscuring its vision simultaneously. Planting his foot into the earth to halt his run, Val swung his blade from his right hip all the way to his left shoulder in a swift diagonal motion, slashing into the thick hide of the bear's chest as it pawed at its face in a wild attempt to clear away the burning fur. One wild swipe slammed down into Val's shoulder, and his right knee collapsed in order to take the weight. Wincing, he ducked back a safe distance and slung his hand out, shouting another incantation. A trio of ice daggers took form in the air around his palm and rocketed into the bear's chest, forcing it to stumble backwards as it fought to see. Backing up beside Manta, Val planted the tip of his sword into the ground and looked at her. "Your turn, give him a good few shanks with the spear," he encouraged and beckoned for her to move forward. Valther 88 HP MAX HP 76 EN MAX EN Conditions Resting - Regenerating stamina.
She smiled at him. "I'm not looking to change my masteries, i just feel like they don't work very well together. I'm perfectly fine having them." She raised her spear and gave him a nod. She had planned to do a coordinated attack with him, but he had already rushed in and started his own attack. She supposed that he planned to have them switch in and out in order to conserve energy. Perhaps he expected a much longer fight than the last one. She waited until he was done frying and slicing at the bear before stepping in front of him confidently. She wanted to feel that pain and adrenaline rush again. She imagined that she could get used to this sort of violent and bestial fighting. She raised her spear up in front of her. She couldn't afford to activate her berserk on purpose again. It would end up happening anyway, in all likelyhood. This was a much stronger enemy, and she could tell that she couldn't give any quarter. She slammed the butt of her spear into the bears singed face and twirled around to stab the pointy end of the weapon into the bears side. Her movements felt a lot more fluid than before, probably a combination of her not having berserk activated and also having started to understand how to wield the spear. Of course, the enormous bear wasn't about to just stand there and take it. It reared up and spun around, one of it's clawed paws slashing into her shoulder with more force than she had expected, knocking her over. She got to her feet carefully, wincing, but not too injured to rejoin the fight. "I think this one'll last a bit longer than he last one." She called out to Val. 75 HP MAX HP 80 EN MAX EN
Val smiled as Manta struck the bear with a surprisingly fluid combo from her spear, resorting to her own strength instead of her Berserk Mastery, chipping down the bear's health slightly. His gleeful expression rapidly switched to shock as Manta took a swipe from the bear, and he extended his left arm out, wrapping it across her shoulders and shepherding her behind him. Ripping the tip of his blade from the grass, he held it up, aligning the tip with the bear's chest. Rushing forward, Valther released a wild battlecry, which the bear matched with one twice as fierce, but Val was not deterred. Even as the bear reared up on its hind legs to swipe at the spellblade again, Val thrust his sword forwards and plunged it into the beast's abdomen, blood quickly beginning to pool around the sharp edges. Aiming his palm towards the bear's face, he cried "Rupti sunt!" and a coil of flame swirled into being in his palm, before exploding outwards as a shotgun-style blast of searing flames, striking the animal across its chin, neck and chest, singing the fur and hide of the beast. Attempting to yank the blade out of the bear's abdomen, the sword would not budge. "Oh, fuck..." he cursed, before yelping as the bear turned suddenly, launching Valther away as he could not release the blade in time. Skittering across the grass, he eased up onto his knees, groaning and panting as he stared at their enemy; the blade still impaled into its body, it turned to face Manta. "Careful Manta! He's angry, and I don't think you'll like him when he's angry!" he cried out, attempting to stand, but collapsing and wheezing suddenly, clutching his ribs; he must have broken something when he landed, and that 'something' was painful, and interfered with his breathing. Valther 75 HP MAX HP 68 EN MAX EN Conditions Disarmed - Must resort to hand-to-hand combat or magic. Broken Rib - Interfering with breathing; stamina consumption increased. @Manta.
