"Easy there, lad." The masked man talked down. "We've quite a few things to do before such a venture could be taken."
The boy's shoulders fell slightly hearing that, but the determined look in his one eye was still unshakable, and unmistakable. Seeing this look upon the boy's face, the masked man looks towards the boy's planned destination, and elaborates on his statement.
"Such beasts as the one you saw plague the ruins, chief among them, a large monstrosity that dwarfs all of the others." The masked man saw the boy shiver, giving the man the idea that he may have had an encounter with the beast already. "If you are to make the journey up there, then learning the art of self defence is imperative." The masked man started walking towards the front of the house, making sure to stay away from the obsidian plants.
"Come." He simply said as the boy followed suit.
Upon getting to the front of the man's wooden shelter, the boy simply stood there as the masked man retreated into the shelter, signaling the young boy to stay where he is for now.
To the boy, it didn't really matter what he had to do to reach the surface. Knowing that the monstrosity he encountered in the ruins was most likely the biggest obstacle in getting out of here, and had a feeling that it's not the type to choose flight over fight when threatened. If learning the art of combat at the hands of his savior was what he needed to do, then he sees little reason for his fear to impede his newfound determination. Besides, in the world he's come from, it will be something of a necessity for him.
...Or so he's been told.
The boy was brought out of his thoughts by the masked man coming out of the shelter, a worn knife in hand.
"It pains me that someone so young must learn the art of combat," The masked man said, a regretful look in his lime green eyes. "But I fear that such creatures cannot be reasoned any other way."
The masked man held out the knife in front of the boy, who promptly took it off the white armoured man's hand.
"Right then," The masked man said, a green lance materializing out of nothing within the man's hand. "Let us begin!"
-Battle Start-
*The masked man looks at you with a formidable stance.
The boy was suddenly taken aback, as the entire aesthetic of where he stood completely changed before his eyes. The entire terrain of the area changes into a green wireframe look, against a black background, all things that were there before; the shelter, the blackened tree, and even the floor, are only evidenced to the young boy by the faint outline around where they once stood.
In front of him, he was met with four different boxes, all having respective words written within them; Fight, Act, Item, and Spare. The young boy can only fathom an idea on what they all meant within this context. Above the following was a yellow bar, with a number display saying 20/20 to the bar's right, and to the left displayed a name, or so the boy assumed, it was all blurred, making it rather illegible to his eyes.
"Go on then." The masked man said, still within the same pose as he was before, only with a lime green heart now in front of him. "Strike me!"
The boy was rather hesitant at this request, but did as he was asked, knowing he was gonna have to continue this session somehow.
Putting a hand towards the Fight box, he gripped his rusty dagger tightly, and lunged as fast as he could towards the .
*You slashed at the Masked Man.
Before he could hit the man however, he materialized a lime green spear, causing a clunk from the collision of two metal objects.
*The Masked Man blocked your attack: -0HP
"Good, you seem to have the basics of striking already." The masked man dwelled before changing his stance once more, this time more offensive.
"However, one cannot survive on offense alone. You must now understand the art of defense."
Before the boy knew it, things shifted once more. The lime green heart disappearing, now was replaced by a red heart, hovering right in front of the boy.
"Now, the best defence you can do, is not getting hit at all." The masked man explained before eyeing the red heart in front of him. "This is known as you're soul. Your soul is your very being, and losing is prime to losing your own will to live."
The young boy stared blankly, not quite sure what to make of the information given to him. Noticing this, the masked man tried a different attack in terms of wording.
"Essentially, the best defence is to not get hit at all." The masked man said, thankfully getting an understanding nod from the boy, prompting the man to continue on, "Now then, prepare yourself!"
As the masked man changed into a throwing stance, the boy made a hasty lunge to the right, his soul following his movements. Doing so proved to be the right move, as he had soon seen a spear flying in the direction the boy was once in.
"Hmm… Seems you are quick to catch onto such things." The masked man thought aloud, "Perhaps something more dangersome is in order."
And just like that, the hearts switched places again, and the previously absent hud is now back as well.
*The Masked Man's planning his next move.
Becoming curious of the other options shown, the boy maneuvered his hand towards the ACT option, and viewed the options there. The following options were present:
*Check *Talk
The boy led his hand over the Check option, wondering what that meant.
*The Masked Man- Rather imposing, yet he gives off a rather warm vibe in spite of that. Though he seems far more capable then he lets on, he only throughs spears in your general direction.
ATK: 70
DEF: 60
HP: 50
After reading through it, the hud disappeared once again, and the boy's red souls showed up once more.
"Here it comes!" The masked man said, getting the boy's attention. "Prepare Yourself!"
As the masked man had said before, he upped the ante of his attacks, now throwing three times as many spears, one after the other in general direction of the boy depending on where he is, spatially. The boy responded similarly to the previous attack, moving left and right to dodge the incoming makeshift projectiles. Only this time however, the last of the three spears ended up slightly scratching the boy's soul as he was lunging, giving a slight bit of pain towards the boy.
"Do not be dismayed at the mistake, lad." The masked man said, eyes showing regret at seeing the boy show hurt. "That is why armor is a necessity in battle. Not everyone can simply predict an opponent's move, let alone successfully dodge it."
As the interface switches places again, the boy took notice of the bar on top. It was now half yellow, and half red, with the number beside it showing 10/20. The boy could only assume that the number reaching zero would mean his end.
"Have a bit of that fruit I gave you earlier." The masked man suggested, "It is for this very purpose that I gather such things."
*The masked man awaits your next move.
Going towards the item box, he is met with the black apple he had saved earlier. Selecting it, he somehow finds it appearing in front of him. Deciding that it was beyond explanation at this point, he took it and promptly ate it, a satisfactory noise playing out as he did so.
Upon finishing it, he finds that the bar is now filled, and the number is back to being 20/20.
"Very good." The masked man said, getting back into his attack stance. "Now, bare in mind, you are not limited to sideways movement in battle. Be sure to make liberal use the battle space given to you."
The boy, in response to the information given to him, begins wandering around the so-called, "Battle Space", and finds that he is capable of moving backwards, as well as forwards. It seems that he should be much more mobile than he has been this far.
"I see you are now familiar with the area, now let us try that attack again."
Now more prepared to respond, the boy dodged the attacks with much more finesse this time, backing up and now moving diagonally upwards to dodge the flying spears.
"Excellent. I believe we have covered all of our bases." The masked man said, the world and hud screens finally flashing back to their normal colors and shapes.
"This should be sufficient enough for you to live a few years longer." The masked man said, his green spear disappearing from his hands. "However, do not get careless. For even with such pointers being basic knowledge, combat is about trying to perceive the opponent, and trying to deny them the same privilege. Pay great attention to the moves of the enemies, and most importantly, learn as much as you can about them."
Once getting out all the info he could on the matter, the masked man turned towards the town, as the boy looked as well.
"Now then, let us put those skills to proper use now. If we are to trek up towards the surface, then we very well need as much supplies as we can get our hands on. Head into that town over there. It should contain what we need for such a perilous journey."
Upon hearing the task at hand, the boy gave a shiver at the thought of running into such monsters once more. Even if he did have more of a way to defend himself now, the idea of his life being on the line intimidated him.
Seeing this small gesture of fear within the boy, the masked man knelt down to the boy's level of height, placed a hand on his shoulder and looked the boy in the eye with a gentle expression.
"I hate asking something like this to a young child, but if we are to survive down here, let alone migrate above this place, then facing such fears becomes prudent."
The masked man stood up before continuing.
"Do you still wish to go along with the trip?"
Not even needing the time to dwell on the question, the boy nods, determination filling up his face once more.
"Very well." The masked man said, "Feel free to come back here if you are in need of healing. Rest does the body well, after all. Otherwise good luck, and may the gods be with you."
With those words being said, the masked man heads inside. But not before giving the boy one more glance, as if to be sure if he has any lingering fears on the matter.
On the inside, the boy was admittedly still just as intimidated from the prospect, but as the man had consoled him, he can't help but recall a certain phrase that has always stuck with him.
"Fear is for the weak."
Knowing he has only one way to go, the boy slowly heads for the ruined town, unsure of what was in store for him, or what lied ahead. Besides the chills he has from the task at hand wasn't exactly what he was shivering it about.
The boy felt like he was being watched...