He could barely hear the green-haired girl's words over the pained roaring of the beast, but he was pretty sure he understood her when the blade of his sword began to emanate with a dim light. He gave a nod without turning to face her, instead focusing on the monster that appeared as if it might be about to spring something on them. The beast had certainly begun acting a little strange since Solaria's last attack. Right on cue, the ape-like monstrosity leapt forward, bringing all four of its limbs together to crash hard into the spot where Balmung was standing. "Was standing" being the key, as he had read its movements better than even he had anticipated and jumped out of the way, tucking and twisting in the air with the help of his aeromancy to land facing the beast. The maneuver gave him the opportunity he needed, the beast stunned from the force of its own landing. He barreled in right away, his sword low and to the side, the tip nearly dragging along the ground as he bounded towards the oversized gorilla. His form became cat-like as he got in close, crouching and arching his back in a way that seemed as if he might spring into the air at a second's notice. He did just so, pushing off against the ground with all his might, using his aeromancy to lighten his weight as he felt his feet leave the ground. From his position, he had a clear shot at the beast's throat. The mane that protected much of its head and neck did not sprout underneath of its chin. He remembered that Solaria had mentioned something about a weak spot. He was unsure that this was it, but he felt it was a vulnerable area nevertheless. He spiralled in the air, unleashing a strike that carved its way through the beast's flesh from its collarbone to its jaw. As the blade made contact with the monster, the dim light began to glow brighter, shining dazzlingly until the blade had cut itself free from contact. With a quick glance as he began to lose altitude, Balmung saw that Kurzodd's health meter was not as low as he would have liked. Before he even gave the idea much thought, he moved his sword in a series of slight movements that overexaggerated the follow through of his swing. Trailing Strike He felt the system's presence begin to stir in the air around him. An energy began building, tension growing in the open space between himself and the great beast. Quickly, a blinding sheen of white energy sliced through the air, following the trail of his blade's arcing strike, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. As Balmung touched down, his foe fell to its knees. A sliver of health remained on the beast's meter, his attacks proving just shy of enough to do away with the enemy. He knew it would be a moment before he could act again. He hoped that Solaria would seize the opportunity.
Though it was a short moment, she had a second to study not just the beast but the other swordsman's movements- and, based on where she saw him focusing his energy to attack, she felt fairly certain he had his eye on something useful. Impulses didn't just happen on a spur of the moment, Solaria would remind herself. Sometimes, they came from instances of ideas from focusing on a problem. This focus was the weak point, and it looked like the throat, based on Balmung's attacks, could count as one. The beast was wildly aggravated. With such low HP, Solaria could sense the danger thickening in the air around it, its dark heart growing faster as it became even more feral in appearance. Death was, after all, a mixed package in this world. Solaria, too, would struggle when near death. Anyone in their right mind would, whether it was permanent or not. Then again, did this creature have a mind? Shaking off her thoughts, she realized that the creature was beginning to prepare to charge at her. She knew it was too risky to rush in even for her. Instead of getting close, she used her sword to help her aim, chanting for a bolt of light magic to run along the sword's length and straight at Kurzodd's throat. She watched it pierce through the monstrosity's trachea, blood seeping as it fell lifeless to the ground. "It's finally over..." She managed to sputter with a gasp. She felt the fatigue in her knees in body- she'd used a fair amount of magic and sword skills in this battle, more than she cared to admit she did. She was feeling a bit tired when mixing this with her training regimen she'd been so proud to take part in a while before. "How're your stats looking, Balmung? I'm kind of tired, but I have some medicine I can use instead for your wounds. I only have stamina and health potions with me that I made at the shop today... I almost regret not keeping some less supportive drugs with me after this." A mild laugh left her as she fell to her butt, the giggles remaining despite a wince from falling flat on hard ground. "I'm beat... Time to rest. Why don't you sit with me? You worked hard too, you know. I gotta say, I'm ore than just a little impressed. Got any formal training, or was it all just instinctual talent?"
Balmung watched as the bolt of glimmering light forced its way through the monster's neck and out the other side. A hole was carved clean through it, like something you might see in a comic book. The impressively detailed particle effects lingered for a moment around the monster's wound, before the oversized ape collapsed to the ground. The last of its health had finally been done away with. He allowed a sigh of relief to escape from his lungs. Honestly, it would have been harder to hold it in after seeing the threat finally brought down. He gave himself a moment to celebrate, a smile working its way across his lips as he sheathed his sword in a rather flashier than necessary manner. Balmung abided the words of the girl and came to sit by her. To hear that she was impressed with his fighting served to swell his ego a bit. He had not been overly confident when the beast first appeared, but to know that he had made a good decision in attacking the soft skin of its neck did him good for building some trust in his abilities. And hearing it from someone that was obviously so much above him in terms of skill was just too flattering. Balmung "Just need a quick rest." He was happy to sit and revel in the victory with Solaria. To know that together they were able to handle a fearsome foe like Kurzodd, it gave him hope that he was on the right path to progressing himself in this world. He knew that Solaria's superior abilities had done most of the work, but he didn't let the fact escape him that he had somehow delivered a pretty decent strike to the creature's weak spot himself. He let that thought linger in his mind for a while, not wanting to forget the sense of pride that it gave him. When girl asked him some questions about any formal training, he thought it over for a minute. He had always been interested in swordsmanship. Even when he was younger he used to get lost in fantasy novels and movies when the scenes would be about two skilled warriors trading blows with their noble blades. Though he sometimes found it embarrassing, it had always been an obsession of his to be able to learn to wield a sword with skill and confidence. Balmung "No training. Watched some videos. Guess I picked something up. Mostly heat of the moment. Just kind of acted." He noticed for the first time that he was now speaking with Solaria like he did others that he had come to know. It was true that Balmung would never be a social butterfly, but it did relieve some of his worries to know that the girl was no longer having any strange effects on him. The thoughts that had made him so nervous around him before now seemed to light-years away, having been completely forgotten.
Even now, it simply amazed her when she watched the sparkles of light that fell like embers, turning into nothingness in a blink of an eye. It was hard to ignore the strength she felt when she was able to cause such a beautifully deadly shimmer- and in reality, still fairly hard for the girl to even believe she'd done. I wonder if Aylen used to feel like this when we fought together... She was always the one with the light magic to heal, not me. Realizing that silently thinking to herself might make her seem a bit awkward, she opted to let the ideas go for now. She could ask later, when she was eating dinner or something else. Now was the time to focus on the success of herself and Balmung- and to better know the swordsman as he answered her inquiries easily. "Wait, so you did all that from pure instinct?" Even Solaria wouldn't be able to pull that off with impulses alone! She'd always loved swords, and her fighting style had been forged in their own world because of it, before she'd even started playing with the idea of a virtual reality. Back then, her fights were all simply clicks of the mouse and keystrokes. Here, she could feel her movements and how they impacted her body like the real world. Surely, he felt it too. "I started taking kendo when I was around twelve or thirteen. When I train here, it's kind of similar to training at home for me. I love samurai flicks and general movies about swordsmen, so when I was little, I started trying to mimic it. I was never able to do it instinctively from memory, though. It may be muscle memory for me now, but... What you have... What would that even be called? Raw talent? An eidetic memory of some sort?" Staring at the man with pure wonder, she took time to realize she was doing so, meaning she was being unintentionally rude. Slightly embarrassed, she curled into a ball, knees to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them, resting her cheek on her knees to keep herself looking at him. "For someone with no training, you're amazing. Make sure to keep working hard from here on out. You'll definitely be better than me in no time.... Meaning I better work hard to keep you from that, too." A giggle left her lips as she rested her eyes with a smile. Friendly competition never hurt anyone, especially among friends. She was glad to have another ally she could look at as a potential future rival, to keep her giving her all. "What else did you pick for masteries, anyway? I know swordsmanship... But what else?"
