Author's Notes: None! Hehe, disclaimer is still on the first page, and I'm going to assume that I still only have 3 reviews ( Which is fine, since it's not been very long. Also thank you, AHL and Weener1 and Acharon. :D)
I love you! All, readery people!
I still intend to review other people's stories (though I must say, there aren't many that I could offer much advice on out of what I've read). And, once more, I still love you peoples who read my stuff! 3 Now then, onto the story!
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Part Two: Path of the Guardian
A loud explosion sounded through the decorated wooden halls of the enormous, monster infested castle. Shards of metal and various mechanical parts sprayed from the point of origin, embedding themselves in the woodwork and another nearby mechanical warrior. There was a loud clang and a crunch as a fist erupted from the smoke, crashing into the thick metal hide of the robotic fighter and leaving a deep indentation. Another lightning fast strike slammed into the same spot, tearing a hole in the armor that protected the fragile insides of the clockwork beast. The hand withdrew from its target clutching a thick mass of wires, and the robot crumpled to the ground, defeated.
"No no no! I have to get it on the first strike!" Kagyura yelled to no one, sinking to her knees. She waved her hand about to relieve the pain of punching solid metal as she sank to her knees. "If I can't even beat these guys with one hit, how can I expect to stand up against another one of those killers?" she whispered to herself, almost in tears. "I can't be caught helpless like that again..."
Three weeks had passed since she had joined The World, and Kagura had already surpassed most players in commitment. She spent as much time as she could training herself, and was rarely seen for more than a few minutes in town before heading back out to fight again. She had become stronger, there was no doubt about it, but she never thought she was strong enough. That would all change on this day.
A small beeping sound toned in Kagyura's ear, a message appearing before her eyes. She glared at the letter, not in the mood to talk to Tomo or one of her few friends on The World, but reluctantly read it.
"Heya, Kagura! This is Akako from school! Heh, I finally got this game, it's pretty awesome! Oh, hey, meet me at Delta Burning Forbidden Berzerker, alright? I wanna quest with you!" Kagura smiled softly and closed the message. "I guess I should take a break anyway. Hmhm, I wonder what kind of character she made..." she wondered aloud as she started towards the exit portal.
After a few minutes of getting back to town, saving, and teleporting away again, she arrived in Burning Forbidden Berzerker, a rather un-notable desert area with a few cacti and a single nearby dune. Sitting atop the dune was a girl taller than Kagyura, her short bleach-blonde hair covering one of her yellow cat eyes. A pair of mahogany colored cat ears poked up from a white, pointy hat atop her head, and she wore similarly blank white robes with a hole for her mahogany tail. Kagyura raced toward the cat-girl, waving and shouting for her. "Hey, Akako! Down here!" The girl turned her head towards her visitor and gave her a bright smile, waving back.
"Heya Kagur... ahem, Kagyura! Good to see ya!"
"Good to see you, too... ehem... Moonray? I'm surprised that wasn't taken..." Kagyura gave her friend a soft smile. "But I like it, in any case".
"Thanks! Hehe, you're a Grappler? We'll make a great team when I get stronger! I'm a healer". Moonray gave her friend a thumbs up as she presented her healing staff, a white wooden rod with a large ivory dove at the top, wings spread. "Cool staff, yeah?"
"Hell yeah!" Kagyura grinned at the cat, then took a quick look around. Her eyes locked on something down the dune, and she charged past the girl in white roes toward her target, yelling behind her "Let's see how good those healing skills are!" Just as she reached the bottom of the hill, Kagyura leaped into the air, clasping her hands together and bringing them crashing down onto the back of a saber toothed lion with a loud crack. The lion let out a loud, pained roar as it collapsed, drawing the attention of its two allies. They both spun around and snarled at Kagyura, then charged at her, roaring and snarling in proper lion fashion. The fighter dodged the first, but was caught off guard by the second, who managed to sink his large teeth into, then through her arm with a sickening "shhhlurt!"
She gritted her teeth and began to beat the lion mercilessly as it tried to remove its teeth from her arm. She began to pant as the pain became more and more intense, the blood flowing freely from her wounds. She noticed that the saber teeth had almost ripped completely through her arm, causing her to become a bit nauseous. She growled at the now unconscious lion, pulling back hard and ripping her arm free from its mouth. It had nearly been torn into three pieces, and hung limp and dead by her side, still gouting blood. "Ugh... g... guess this place i.. is higher level than I t... thought..." she murmured, stumbling backwards and barely dodging another charge from the third beast.
"Darnit, Kagyura! I'm only level one, how do you expect me to take care of something like that?!" the cat cleric called from behind the the battered warrior. There was a green flash as the clergy cat waved her staff, a wave of healing energy washing over Kagyura and stopping her bleeding, though her arm was still useless. She pulled her remaining fist back, letting loose a powerful punch to the final lion's face as it jumped at her. The bone shattered under her blow, sending the beast tumbling away in a bloody mess.
"Ehe... hey, Moonray... heal me up, eh?" Kagyura slurred as she stumbled backwards and fell on her bottom. The cat of the cloth sighed and placed her hands on her tan partner's arm, channeling all of her healing energy into it until only two scratches remained, though . "Ah... thanks. I feel a lot better!" Kagyura complimented, jumping to her feet. Her cat friend nodded a bit and gave her a quick smile, and the two began to chatter excitedly about the battle.
"Hey! Both of you, get on the ground!" came a loud, masculine voice. Kagyura turned her head to see who had called to them. A few feet away stood a tall, muscular man with a tan darker than Kagyura's and a thick, curly black beard. He was topless, his many muscles shinning in the desert sun, and he wore baggy white pants that closed around his ankles. At his side, gripped by his enormous fingers, was an ebony scythe with a serrated edge. He grinned at the two girls menacingly, picking the scythe up and pointing it towards them. "On the ground. Now".
Kagyura simply grinned at the man, cracking her knuckles. "I assume you're a player killer? Well, I'm not just gonna lie down for you, especially not with one of my friends on the line".
"You asked for it, Girlie! I was considering just taking some of your items, but now I'm gonna haveta kill you both!" The man chuckled and hoisted up his scythe, swinging it with all of his might and creating a powerful gust that knocked Moonray off her feet and caused Kagyura to stumble.
"Damn, he's tough" the warrior woman though, her arms raised in front of her to block any debris that may have flown at her. She lower her arms a little, only to raise them again as the scythe's edge sliced the air. It buried itself into her gauntlet, ripping the thick leather in half as it pulled away. As the man recovered from his attack, Kagyura charged up to him and landed a punch right to his gut.
"You think that hurts!?" the man shouted, laughing at the girl's futile attempts to harm him. He lifted his leg and kicked the grappler away and onto the ground before swinging his scythe down at her. She barely managed to roll out of the way as the blade ripped through the sand.
"Shit shit shit!" Her mind raced as the scythe lifted again, drew back and swung at her horizontally. She dove to the ground and felt the blade swing overhead, cutting off some of her hair. "How can I beat this guy? I can't even dent him!" she thought as the blade narrowly missed her again. Her opponent had managed to lodge his scythe in the ground, and she took the opportunity to attempt another attack. She kneed the bearded man in the stomach, then brought down her fists onto the back of his neck before he could react. There was a low "oof" from him, but no other visible effects.
"God damn..." she muttered as she backed away, forced to retreat as the man recovered his weapon. He swung at her again, a wide arcing slice that allowed her plenty of preparation time. She moved towards him, just out of the blade's reach, and forced her hands forward as the shaft of the enormous scythe came near. She felt the force of the blow rock her body like an earthquake, nearly throwing her off her feet, but she managed to hold herself as well as she could have hoped. The shaft cracked and split at the force of her return blow, the over sized blade flying onward and away.
Kagyura turned her head toward her attacker, grinning wickedly, then quickly turned the rest of herself towards him, fists ready. She landed a hard uppercut onto his jaw, knocking him onto his back, then calmly walked towards him, stomping on his chest before kneeling over him. She smirked at him as she drew her fist back, whispering menacingly "I call this the Armor Piercer... lets see if it works on muscle and bone...". A loud crack filled the air as the black clad boxer thrust her fist into his chest with all her strength, hitting him harder than anything she had before. She followed it up with an equally powerful blow to the same spot that shattered the protective bone underneath. Her fist ripped through his sun darkened skin, through his thick, hard as steel muscles, and past the shattered remains of his bone. She opened her hand, gripped the source of his life tightly, then pulled back, tearing out the beating organ and sending a fountain of blood from the hole in the man's chest, covering the crazed fighter and staining the desert sand a beautiful red.
Kagyura crushed her prize in her hand, licked the blood from her lips, and spit it in the dieing man's face. "Don't fuck with me again, don't fuck with my friends again, you piece of shit" she growled at him. Moonray stared at her friend, a mixture of amazement and horror shown on her face. "F... f... fuck, Kagyura! How... what... that was incredible! And disgusting! You're one of the most fucked up baddasses I've seen! You're like... if Chuck Norris mixed with the Punisher and Geoffrey Dahmer!" Kagyura laughed nervously and gazed at the body. "I... I never knew that side of me existed... I... I..." she frowned deeply as she thought about it. "I don't like it..."