The sudden burst of confidence that radiated off of the previously terrified man, made Ilya's devilish smirk toy across her lips once more. "You said it.." Ilya started to take a step to the right, before she realized they had forgotten one thing, with a couple of taps on her palm menu she drew up an interface, she selected Zelrius's character and sent him a party invitation. "Accept it." Without looking to see if he had or not she listened to his order of her. "Move around the right side there, see if you can use the rocks to get up. Target the jointy parts in the legs. See if we can't disable him." "I will do as you say, Zelly. You do what you need to do, and I can go for what I need to do. I will aim for the legs, and I will disable them." Ilya's voice no longer held the sweet innocence that it had prior to his step of determination and boldness. She now help a voice of angelic evilness (if such a thing exists). Her eyes faintly grew their red tinted glow as the smirk grew more prominent on her face. Right before she went bounding off towards the rocks, she turned to face Zelrius again. She nodded her head as she stared at his face. He seems.. Like a king. Ilya turned away and raced towards the rocks, her legs digging into the earth and pulling her upwards. At this moment she used her own abilities. She had formed a skill based on her own mastery, 'body combat'. This skill would use the power in her legs to increase her own speed. It used minimum energy and if paired up with another skill she could use them to wreck havoc. She took a gander as she continued to speed forward. Her legs bended ever so slightly as she shifted down from her speed into a large leap. She jumped quite high in the air, as she landed on the top of the rocks. Using the muscles that being a Felis, on top of choosing the mastery of body combat gave her, she scaled the rock quite quickly, getting into her position. Her red eyes scaled the area around her. She had quite a bit of room to work with. If she had positioned herself properly she could propel her body through the air, numerous amounts of time.. She could kick off the crab after smashing down on the leg joints and get back to any rock surrounding her.. If I could control the earth.. I could make this even more to my advantage.. She tried to convey to Zelrius that if they got the crab to be right in front of the rock she was on now, that it would be to their benefit. However, she was unsure on whether or not he understood. Shrugging it off, knowing that if he understood he would understand, if not then oh well. Her eyes now looked to see how far up she was on the crab. About five feet taller than the crab.. Gives me plenty of room to work with. In fact, Ilya had gone so far as to be on one of the rocks surrounding the cove. The cove being quite taller than the crab, giving Ilya even more room to work with. Perfect positioning. Good choice, Zelrius. His own strategy seemed to make Ilya's grown dislike of the man lessen a bit.

All of this strategy seemed to make Ilya think of her own life. Trying to come up with the best way to get people out of her business quickly and effectively. While in her real body, her own politics were her battlefield. In this game, the battlefield was more enjoyable. If only real life were like this.. Instead it is filled with tea meetings and lengthy, boring conversations. Ilya groaned inwardly before she shook herself out of her own thoughts. With an ever growing evil smirk playing across her face she knew for a fact that she would dominate this battlefield just like she did every other battlefield in not only real life, but every other game she ever played. Besides she had a confident young man to aid her. Not that she needed the help, mentally. I have yet to know how skilled he is in entirety. Perhaps this will be the proper test. It was her very first true battle. Her very first player she met in this world, and it was worth it. Perhaps, me and him will really become friends.. He had time on his side to prove himself as someone good enough to be her friend. His own hesitation to even speak with her, made her dislike him as a person, but perhaps he would be able to prove her second impressions wrong. Only time would tell...

 

He slowly made his way around the bend of the Cove, circling slowly, making a wide crescent path around the Crab. Just as he had planned, Ilya had charged forth and on the rocks. For a moment, both of them stopped and exchanged glances, as he saw her positioning. The golden haired man wasn't sure exactly what she was trying to get at it, but he tried to formulate a general idea. Her attack had drawn his attention, which prompted Zelrius now to move forth both weapons in hand, following a similar move pattern that his Feline Ally just had. Up one rock, and then up another, lodging his cutlasses between the connecting part of the massive leg closest to him. Between the two segments was little more than a pale green, almost white, meat, holding the various parts of its body together. In this case; the ligaments that kept the pointy 'foot' attached to the bending joint of the same limb. With both his blades stabbed firmly in there, the man pulled downward with his weight, now doing a prying motion, trying to create a gap in the shell. Just as planned, the iron cutlass of his held for just a moment, making a terrifying bend in the metal of the blade, but not quite snapping. With this, he unlodged the Outlaw's Cutlass, now jabbing into the crevice he had created to tear away at the meat.

As expected, the meat didn't disconnect with that single move, but it definitely caught the attention of the crab as it roared in pain and swatted at him with the sides of its giant pincers. The swordsman took this as an opportunity, abandoning his iron cutlass, and pushing off from the 'knee' part of the leg and backward, an attempt to avoid the oncoming hit. It was successful, mostly anyway. Just as he got out of the way of the hit, the sweeping attack caught the end of his legs, throwing his balance off and sending him face first into the dirt. It was clear now, to Zelrius, that he needed to invest in mobility when given the chance, given the fact that he wasn't nearly as agile or nimble as the crimson Felis on the rock. Still, he was out of the direct line of attack for a moment, and still had the attention of Mudeflester. Swinging his legs around his body, he used that momentum to get to a crouching position from his laying down one, and then stood from that crouch. He was currently spun around at the moment, but the man knew he needed to act fast, the popping of the leggs with each movement from the crab signaling that it wasn't wasting time.

Now Zelrius made his tactical move, running away and around to the face of the rock, hoping that Ilya would know what to do with that positioning. Another thought pierced his mind as he remembered a scene from which he glanced at his menu when they were sitting at the beach. Rather than check this position, Zelrius tried a daring move. Once the Crab was in position, he spun around quickly, holding the Outlaw's cutlass in his left hand, though with it held over his head and back. And just like that he threw it through the air, the blade whirling and eventually bouncing off the crab. Just as planned, the TerraSphere prompt came up.


You have MASTERED Slashing!

Now the real fun begins. He told himself with a smirk forming on his face.

 

The movements of the crab seemed slow when compared with the movements of the blonde that was attacking. The gleaming metal blades shone in the moonlight as Ilya waited for an opening. Just as I thought, he did not understand my hint.. Ilya shook off the discontent that filled her at the thought. It's as if.. He is trying to show off.. Ilya just rolled her narrowed eyes as she waited for her chance. It was not long before the crab was in the right spot and wide open. Does not seem as if he has noticed me. She nodded her head slightly, as Zelrius fixed the hit he had taken, the fast-paced nose dive into the dirt that Ilya's pupils had not let out of her sight. He was now facing away from the crab. It was the opening she had needed, the crab was heading forwards towards Zelrius. She braced her own muscles, her eyes concentrated on her target. The right back leg of the crab. She launched forward, her position in that of a hungry predator. Her arms reaching out and her legs points backwards, she had leaped just as a fierce lioness would. As she neared quite quickly, she pulled her fist backwards. The energy that fizzed on Ilya's gauntlets and fists radiated so brightly that it could be seen by the naked eye. The only thoughts that seemed to register in the seemingly innocent mind of Ilya were but a mere six words.. "I am finally.. Armed and ready" Ilya felt stronger than she had in a long time. Her thoughts came to pure excitement as her fist made contact to the join the crab's leg. Ilya turned as her fist made contact, using her legs to push her back towards a different rock. She reached out and latched her hands onto the rock. She stood to her feet on the top, watching as the crab's leg buckled beneath him. Falling backwards to the ground before standing back up, as if the punch had done nothing. Ilya's eyes narrowed further as her eyes glinted with annoyance. Her legs stayed on the rock for only a few seconds before she launched off again, this time swinging her leg around and kicking the crabs leg. Seems my simple attacks without power do nothing.. Time to kick it up a step. This time, Ilya used her hands to swing around the crab leg, thanking her inner kitty for her quick reflexes. It was at this time that a sword could be seen flying towards the crab before rebounded off heading towards Ilya. The gleaming sword being flown into her direction caused her to curse under her breath. She could do nothing as she headed towards the rock, the sword seemingly following her. She reached the rock and began the quickly ascend, hoping the sword would hit the rock below her. To her own favor, she had somehow managed to dodge the path of the sword from plunging into her leg, just barely. However, the hiss that split through her partially opened lips sounded as it grazed against her leg. Blood prickling up from the clean slice that it had endued. Ilya's right hand flew to her leg to cover it as the sharp pain centered around the open wound. Ilya grimaced as she determinedly kept climbing. This time her narrowed eyes went out to Zelrius, as her own voice could be heard above the popping. She let out a furious shout, "Be more careful, idiot! You got your own partner. You are supposed to be attacking the crab, not me!" Ilya was annoyed even more by the golden haired man, her gaze finding its way to the crab. Her mobility had decreased, yet Ilya knew she had to keep going. She opened her inventory, while the crab had its attention back on Zelrius after the failed sword throw. She pulled out a glass of water and dumped the whole contents onto her cut. She hissed through gritted teeth as it trickled down her leg, carrying the blood to the floor. Ilya shook her head, Focus.. She used her left leg to push herself off the rock, this time launching at a somewhat slower pace, Forget about the pain.. Forget about the cut.. It somehow had reminded Ilya of cutting her finger on a kitchen knife when peeling potatoes. Her tail lashed as she punched her too fists together, starting one of her more powerful attacks. Her fists took on a glowing blue and lightning appeared to crackle about on her fists and gauntlets, Just an illusion... I need to actually let it be lightning.. If only.. Ilya moved her right fist back as she neared the crab's second to left back leg this time. She punched her fist forward as she made contact with the joint. Her left fist followed as she entered into another skill. Her energy slowly decreasing as she attacked. One fist after another, one of her most powerful attacks. I've got this.. I have to put in more effort! Ilya punched for as long as the air she had gained let her, before she started to fall towards the ground. She had done quite a bit of damage now, as the shell surrounding the joint cracked before the leg fell off completely. Ilya continued to fall until she hit the ground. Her back arching as she coughed blood out of her mouth. I cannot stop now! Ilya ignored the pain as she slowly yet determinedly stood to her feet. I have to do this.. My whole dreams and aspirations depend on this.. After all, my effort is only effort when it begins to hurt.. I have to keep going. With her thoughts it brought Ilya to attention of the crab facing her. It's pincers opening and closing as its scream echoed into her soul. She stumbled slightly as she moved backwards. I need to get to higher ground.. She started to climb up the rock, hissing as the pain increased. Keep pushing harder.. Her eyes glazed over as she continued to climb, despite the pain rocking through her body. Keep going.. Her movements had slowed down ever so slightly, yet she still determinedly climbed higher and higher until she stood at the top of the rock. Her body now facing the ground below as she could see the whole battlefield. If her abilities had not gained the approval of Zelrius, she for sure thought her determined attitude might. She would not stop at anything until she finished what she had set out to do.

 

Zelrius bounced from one rock to the next, keeping his focus on his sword, though noticing too late that the path it had taken after bounding from the shelled crab was not exactly ideal. He watched for a moment as Ilya tried to dodge it and to her avail, it looked like she would. So he took his thoughts away from her and at the sword lodged in the leg of the Crab still. He hadn't looked to see if she had fully dodged the sword, but with how she had been moving so far, the golden haired man was actually semi confident in her ability to step out of the way of it. With that in mind he bound up and back to the knee he had tore at. The crab wasn't acting like a true boss monster, atleast, not like the Megalomass had been. The Megalomass had pretended as though there were grids and a 'zone' with specific aggro and several abilities to hit multiple targets for varying degrees of damage. On the flip side, Ol Muddy here could only swing, kick, or snap at the pair, and his attention was always bouncing back and forth as they traded who did the damage last. It was clear that it wasn't based off of who did more damage; Zelrius' gear and stats far out ranking his Kitty battlemate, or maybe not. To be honest, the golden haired man still had no idea how strong she was in terms of the game, only that she could hit pretty often. Maybe it was based off of most damage, and Zelrius just sucked at the game? That's what he told himself anyway. One thing was clear to him though; This more than likely wasn't a boss. It didn't have the mechanics or actions that of a Boss monster, and it certainly wasn't forward thinking like actual beings were. No, it more felt like... Just a giant crab? Nothing was particularly special about it, other than one thing Zelrius didn't pay much mind to before.

It resembled the crabs from Druuk more closely than the ones from this area. The ones from Druuk had the long legs and the actual face, rather than the antenna eyes that the ones from this area held. In fact, some of them over there were bigger. Not quite Mudeflester big, but certainly bigger. He thought about it a bit, but was cut short by his proximity to his goal; the Iron cutlass lodged in the leg. Quickly, Zelrius got on and yanked it out, cutting where he could, but the Iron sword was little to no use. The tendon he had cut didn't seem that damaged anymore, in fact, it appeared his leg was still in full working order. With a hop backward, Zelrius began to assess the situation again. He hadn't heard what Ilya had said earlier, but he did see the wound along her leg now, and the slightly impaired movement. That was unfortunate for a few reasons, the main one being; He didn't know if she had any healing magic, and he certainly didn't. She had punched Shell away, letting a leg fall. For a moment, the golden haired man questioned his assessment, though shortly thereafter, a leg began to slowly regrow. It was no where near usable, and probably wouldn't be for a very long time, but that still wasn't good. He saw no reliable way to break the shelling from the crab, and even less of a way to do damage quickly enough where it wouldn't just get regenerated. Slowly, it began to make more sense to him why no one had been able to deal with Ol Muddy. He wasn't particularly powerful or intelligent, just ridiculously resistant, and even more regenerative than any one could anticipate. And while the pair could probably eventually kill him, the man's energy bar was already drained by the time they got here, between the boat ride, the things he had done earlier that day, the fight with the crabs on the beach, and now this fight. He had no idea the current time of day, but it kept getting later, and the sleep meter was nearly empty on his half.

Zelrius was not only out of ideas and running out of time, his patience was wearing thin. With that in mind he nodded, moving up toward the rock with haste to retrieve his Outlaw's cutlass, and then making his way over to Ilya."Eya-Kitty," He began with the nickname, in order to remain on her good side. "You fight like a bat released from hell, but I don't think we can do this," His voice shook a little, a bit disheartened by his own words. "I..." He trailed off unable to say it, but slowing down near her, still watching Mudeflester now pop over to them, one damaged leg over another, One Step, Two Step... He began to count, wondering how many of those it would take before the massive crab was upon them. "Retreat..." he said, finally, after several attempts and getting closer to Ilya, reassuming the position they had been in before the fight. Though instead of fear in his voice this time, was a hint of sadness; of disappointment.

The good news was, the exit to the Cove was now behind them; Mudeflester was no longer standing in between them, and the pair, with enough haste, could head back to the town and end the fight here. In either hand, Zelrius held the blades, and even though he made it seem like Ilya's choice whether or not she wanted to fight, he was going to stab into her legs and drag her back to town himself if that's what it took.

Now the ball was in her court, keep fighting, or retreat.

 

80 HP

MAX HP

40 EN

MAX EN

It was not very long before the leg that Ilya had punched off regenerated, in that exact moment she understood entirely what this battle entailed. We would need more than just the two of us... Zelrius may be powerful, but I have yet to see... As for my skills, I am just not skilled enough. I can deal damage fast, but it is not as powerful as it could be when I master body combat... Besides.. My energy bar is practically empty... Ilya's eyes narrowed in on her bars, Health is not that bad.. But each attack wastes too much energy. I am only Proficient.. I can do a shit ton of damage, but at the cost of a shit ton of energy... She was glad enough to say, to know that Zelrius had no idea what her energy was at. Each attack chipped away. She had tightened her fist as she launched again at the crab, this time going for his face directly, punching the shit out of it. She knew the giant crab would just regenerate, as she leaped away. Her feet finding their way a couple of meters away from Zelrius.

The compliment that had formed on the lips of Zelrius as he moved to stand in front of her, to hide her from the crab caused the malicious grin on her face to falter and change into an encouraging smile. "You do not fight too bad yourself." Narrowing her eyes she stared at the gigantic monster, "It will just keep regenerating each time we damage it..." Her own trail of words got interrupted by Zelrius. The next thing that he had said left a feeling of dread inside of Ilya. Retreat.. Retreat.. Retreat.. Her mind stumbled over the word before her thoughts continued. I am.. Not good enough.. I will never be good enough.. What were you thinking joining this game, Emilia.. You are an idiot.. No matter how much effort I put in, those around me will just want me to leave, or give up.. I will never be good enough, maybe I am just a stuck up royal "princess" of Boston.. Without a second thought, she turned away from the man who had spoken the word. Her back was turned to the crab, and without hesitation her tail and ears drooped, entering into the state of the easily discouraged. Her mood being crashed down, not knowing how to fix it, she did what she could do best. She ran.

 

Zelrius didn't know how else to put it, and he could tell pretty much instantly that it was a mistake. He felt bad, immediately, as she spun around from both him and Ol Muddy, ears and tail hung low. It was something about that stance with Felii that always pulled at the man's heart strings. They always look so sad when like that, and probably were, and the man couldn't help but think that he was the direct cause of it in most instances. And in this instance, he arguably was. They had gone into the fight with Confidence, and were sure they could beat it, but it didn't seem as so. Mudeflester was stupidly overly tanked up, and to top off all that resilience and health, he also had the pretty little cherry on top of healing more damage than most people could ever hope to achieve by themselves. It made sense now why the NPCs hadn't handled him yet. To the 'Adventurers' as the people from Earth were called by locals, it made perfect sense. It was a game, and the monster had crazy stats and numbers. To the NPCs, it just seemed like some kind of God somewhere had invariably created a horrible creature meant to terrorize them.

And Terrorize them it had, atleast, so far. The monster was nigh unbeatable in Zelrius' and Ilya's current state, though even still the man how no idea how strong or weak she actually was. Yet, his doubts still held firm, not putting much faith into her. Though, her determination in battle reminded the golden haired man a lot of himself, back when he had first started playing. It was the right move, in his mind, to retreat. He only cared that neither of them died. For himself, Zelrius didn't want another one of those invisible hands known as Death Afflictions haunting his every move, playing the scenes in the background, compelling him to do things he wouldn't normally do. And for Ilya, he didn't want the stain of having her die for his ambitions, he wasn't that kind of person, to use people like pawns in his own games. But why not? It was just a game afterall, why not manipulate the people and environment around you in order just to enjoy it?

That was a thought he had to shake, it was getting rambly and off topic, and he hadn't noticed, but the crimson haired Felis was gone. What was also gone with her, was the popping of the exoskeleton attached to the giant crab, replaced instead by a shadow blocking the moonlight out of view. The swordsman didn't even have to look to know that Ol Muddy was standing right behind him, and he knew he wasn't going to stick around to find out exactly how much damage a direct attack from the creature would do. So now it was his turn to sprint and move out of the way of the pinching claw just in time.

~*~

Sometime after escaping from the Cove, Zelrius searched a bit and eventually found the Felis. He moved slowly to her, his voice soft and calm, trying to be reassuring. "Eya," He started, trying to remain in a soothing tone of voice. "We should head back to the town and rent Inn rooms for the night. You must be exhausted." He didn't know if she was, to be quite honest. But it'd be the perfect opportunity to finally break away from her, though this time, with the thought being to escape his own embarrassment, not wanting to face her and have to explain and deal with his failure much longer.

 

Ilya was not even sure at this point why she was so disappointed, the fact that the crab still remained was proof that no one had defeated it in the past, Is it wrong to want to have slain it? Besides, it had been tormenting the NPCs for a while now, and Ilya always was one to help others, especially since helping others caused her to put in effort and go above and beyond, while she fought for success. My own aspirations are crushed... At her thoughts, Ilya could not help but fall apart on the inside. This feeling.. I cannot describe it. But it is not right.. It feels so... Cold...." Ilya gripped her arms as she crossed them over her chest, almost as if she were giving herself a hug as she kept walking away. The sounds of thudding footsteps pulled her out of the trance, her ears and tail still hung low, and her eyes still staring at the ground. The man was slow, as if he were trying to ease her out of the state she was in.. Yet, to Ilya it made it seem like she were a young kitten, being found by something, and that something did not want her to run away. "Mmm." The noise she made was that of the anime girls she had heard from the anime shows she always saw, the moment when they would just hum in agreement. Rest.. Perhaps that is what I need. Ilya turned her body slightly and started to trudge towards the inn, the pain that she had educed from the battle going unnoticed to her own thoughts and feelings. It was not long before she thought back over how the battle had undergone. I was actually pretty good... In fact, Zelrius himself had been the one to tell her to retreat, I know he still does not like me.. He would rather I just leave.. Without questioning him, she tightened her hands and balled them into fists. I did well, it is not my fault we retreated.. And you know what? I could also have done better. There is always room for improvement. I just need to keep training all of my punches and kicks. I need to go beyond a simple mastery of body combat. I need to unlock the heroic feat. Only then, can I truly be powerful... Only then will I master my other skills.. Ilya felt a change stir inside her as she produced waves of determination, that caused her tail and ears to lift and her eyes to start shining with assertive determination. I will do this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was not long before the two reached the inn back at the town they had been at. She looked at Zelrius and nodded her head. She looked at the innkeeper before ordering two separate rooms, one for her companion and one for her. She paid in full, not allowing Zelrius to pay a single gold piece. At this, she turned to face her companion, "May we meet again, in many different scenarios. May we fight together, and win. May we one day become friends, and one day approve of each other's own ability. May we one day concur that there is something to be gained for each of us from being friends." Ilya gave a low bow to Zelrius before heading to her own room that she had rented for the night. At this point in time it was around two in the morning, Ilya would definitely need rest. Besides, she would need to gain her energy back from all the amounts she had spent. I shall regain energy when I log out. Ilya entered the room before her, it contained a single bed and a nightstand with a candle on it. She smiled before closing and locking the door. She unequipped her weapons and changed into some more comfortable clothes. She looked back at the locked door reading the message that popped up, saying that no one could attack her. She laid down on the stiff yet comfortable bed and closed her eyes slightly. Opening up the menu, she scrolled down to the log out button. Selecting the "log out but keep character online to rest" and watched as the vision turned black as her eyes involuntarily closed, due to the system. When she opened them again, she was inside of her bedroom back at home. She heard a soft purr as the cat beside her nudged her arm. I am back... With an inaudible sigh, Ilya pet Choji (her cat) before standing to her feet, prepared to take on the hurricane of emotions and words that would be spoken to her about the meeting she had not attended, due to playing Terrasphere and meeting Zelrius. Zelrius.. That name leaves a sweet, yet bitter taste on my tongue...

Ilya has logged off of Terrasphere​