Many people have asked about the pairing. I think this is the time where I morph into a full-fledged troll and write confusing or cryptic messages. Hopefully people will still care to read.
Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Kensho are my favorite seiyuu.
No one gets any promises.
Midorima has the most beautiful eyelashes.
Omg chapter 205.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. It'd be terrible if I did. I don't even know the rules of basketball ;-;
Chapter 5: Trio & Class (2)
After forming their three-man (techincally two men and one woman) party, the trio proceeded to train in a different map area. In it resided the strongest monsters on the island, bear-like creatures the creators had named "Kube".
Momoi, who had furiously studied up on the online forums even before she and Aomine had started playing the game, had reasoned it'd be easier and quicker for them to level there instead of staying where they were.
The Kube had high HP and attack power but low tolerance for magic attacks, like one would typically expect from a strength-based monster in the game. The peach-haired woman had surmised that the most appropriate route of action would be for Aomine to tank while she and Kuroko would attack from the side and back.
Before the Mage had joined their party, the pair had been planning to train on the Kanoree because, having higher magic capability meant they had only a small amount of physical defense.
It was only a few minutes into their Kube grinding and Kuroko couldn't help but be impressed by the duo's prowess.
Momoi was a Rogue, and though the bluenette knew that they were the fastest class in the game, he was still slightly surprised by the level of mastery she had moving that quickly while slashing at monsters and quickly jumping out of range without so much as a scratch. Her dagger handling was quite impressive, as she could locate the bear creature's weak points and strike with a great precision one wouldn't expect at this level. Of course, she had studied where they were beforehand, but that's not the point.
Aomine, on the other hand, was an even more overwhelming than she was.
Not only was he as powerful as the game dictated a Warrior should be, but he was also unbelievably fast. At the current moment, his speed was almost on par with Momoi's. His sword handling was quite erratic, but even with all his unnecessary and exaggerated movements, it was still difficult for the monsters to hit him. Kuroko had noted that he had no specific fighting style, he would just hack and stab or parry; whatever he wanted to do, just going along with the flow of his weapon.
By no means, however, was Kuroko any sort of burden to them.
He just didn't give himself much credit for his work.
Perhaps it was his years of experience with the art of human observation, but he somehow could work very much in sync with the other two.
The spells he cast never hit or even hindered them in the slightest; a rhythm formed between their attacks, so friendly fire wasn't apparent in their endeavors. Surprisingly to himself, Kuroko was also a pretty great support Mage–it almost rivaled how he was when on the offensive.
When he wasn't casting an offensive spell, he'd be perfectly healing and buffing the other two in near-perfect intervals.
Though it seemed strange to him, his healing spells were just about as potent as his attacks. He hadn't known this before since he hadn't felt much of a need to use them when he could just one-hit K.O. the monsters he'd hunted.
Being able to heal and buff gave him a slight sense of accomplishment, seeing as he was able to help in more ways than one.
The next half-hour or so passed as the three adventurers hunted.
Now, at the current moment, Aomine was level seventeen while Kuroko was fifteen. And Momoi? Fourteen–though she wasn't too far from the next level. Earlier, the Elf and the pinkette had both told the Fighter that he should have gone to the next island himself to get a class change. Despite their urging, however, he insisted on staying and overseeing their training.
The party's female had told him it wasn't a good choice, though the tan man didn't care too much about it.
Kiseki World Online's skill point system worked the following way: skills or spells only required one skill point for their basic forms. The main ways to make your skill more powerful are continual use, getting an elemental attribute (Skills could also be upgraded using elements, though that required another skill point), and the most generic method, leveling up.
Of course, it got harder to level as the game progressed, so Aomine was doing himself no favors by staying with the other two.
Kuroko supposed he was just that kind of person, like that character in a shoujo manga who gives up their umbrella for the abandoned kitten. It usually was the gruffer ones, after all.
The Elf shook off the thought though–he was getting distracted and the three were still fighting.
Aomine had switched to a weaker weapon so as to let Momoi level more quickly, but even the lightest attacks would still bring the Kube down a few hundred points. Kuroko himself was working mostly on healing and buffing, only attacking when he wanted to distract the monster so that the pinkette could have an easier time delivering a finishing blow.
The peach-haired woman turned the knife in her hand and dug it deep into the monster's flank, then she swiftly jumped high into the air when it turned to paw at her.
[-354 HP, Kube: {839/4000}]
The beast, no longer being able to locate her, turned to Aomine who was standing nearby.
He decided to just lay off weapons completely and shifted around to lead the monster into range for Momoi's next attack.
Up above, the pinkette let gravity turn her back towards the ground, now executing a move Kuroko had now seen from her multiple times since they'd started training.
In the Rogue class, there was a skill called Burst which gave the user a quick and explosive speed boost. Most people didn't use it like this, but it worked rather effectively.
Momoi flew down fast and hard, bringing her dagger into the flesh of the beast's neck.
The creature fell, and the woman pulled her dagger out mid-fall, executing a graceful flip before a perfect landing.
{+225 Experience, [+20 Party Bonus]}
{Obtained: Kube Claw, Kube Pelt, 277 ladomi} *
{Momoi has leveled up!: level 15}
She wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled brightly at the other two, as if she hadn't just drove her knife into a ferocious beast's neck. "Shall we move on?"
By this time though, the taller man was already strolling toward one of the the map's exit.
"Dai-chan, you jerk!", she yelled out, even though she was already starting to trail behind him.
In the course of the next few minutes, the trio boarded the ship that would to this world's third island, Aforia.
According to Momoi, Aforia was comprised of four large cities, each corresponding to a different, basic character class. Besides that, there was also a town in the middle of the island that most players used as a checkpoint for their travels.
The three members of the party decided that they'd all go to their respective cities separately, so as to have time to meet up again later.
Speaking of time, Kuroko checked it. 12:46 P.M.
He'd been playing for about four hours, even if to him it felt shorter than that. He supposed that's what virtual reality does to you; it seemed like it could become an addiction–like coffee or cigarettes.
"Hey Tetsu, what class are you gonna be?"
The sky-haired man took a second to process what the other said, and another to think about how to answer the question. He turned his vision towards the planks that formed the ship's deck.
"I am not sure", he replied honestly. "Do you know what you want to be?"
The tan-skinned man grinned and said proudly, "I'm gonna become a Paladin! They're pretty kickass. Plus, out of the Swordsmen type classes, they have the best Magic skills."
"And you, Momoi-san?", the bluenette asked, craning his neck to look at the pick-haired Rogue.
"I was thinking of becoming a Bandit, but I think I'm gonna try a Scout instead. Then I might want to upgrade to a Spy later because they can do some pretty cool things", the woman replied, maneuvering her fingers to open up and connect to the internet forums.
Kuroko thought of his own choices: As a Mage, he had four.
First, there was the Wizard class, also known as the Sorcerers (the more popular title by far). This class focused mostly on strong offensive spells, so they had little defense, buff, or healing skills to learn. Out of the four, they were the most generic.
Next was the Summoner class. As one could probably just by hearing their name, they were a class that summoned creatures to help them–usually to aid in battle, sometimes for traveling long distances. Most Summoners had a tipped balance with a lot more INT than anything else.
Then there were the Clerics, also known as the Healer or Priest class. The Cleric class had healing spells, buffs, and attacks spells that were most effective when of the light element. Like the rest of the Magic-based classes, they were very much sought after due to their great supportive abilities.
Finally, there were the Necromancers. These types made use of "raising the dead" to fight, and were very much like Summoners. Besides that though, they had a multitude of dark element attack spells and de-buffs on their palettes. In comparison to the rest, these had the most balanced stats.
All the last three were allowed to learn the basic Wizard spells, though many chose to keep their specialization and skill points.
After a session of contemplation, it was Aomine's voice that brought him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Tetsu. You're a pretty cool dude, ya know?", he started, grinning. "You should come with me and Satsuki."
I want to join the strongest guild and make it the best! and some,how I think you'd make a pretty good edition to the team." He positioned his back onto the wooden floor and looked up to the vastness of the almost too-blue sky above. "I'm gonna become the strongest Fighter in the game, and I'm not gonna let anything stop me!", he said, determined as he threw a fist up into the air.
Momoi giggled to herself before saying, "that's so cliché, Dai-chan."
The tall man turned over to hide his slightly pinked cheeks.
"… Shut up."
Kuroko's lips curved up just a bit as well, before falling back into their usual place on his face.
"I would like to take you up on that offer", the Mage spoke monotonously, flopping down onto the floor next to the Warrior.
"It sounds nice; I would want to become the best as well."
The female of the group joined the two, her movements mimicking the other two by falling back with a light "thud". She then mumbled something along the lines of, "What is with men and power?".
Nevertheless, she contributed to their little chat. "...Maybe I'll become the best Spy", she joked lightly.
The three lazily continued on about this topic of discussion for the remainder of the boat ride (it was mainly Aomine, but the other two would at least interject every once in a while).
Soon though, they arrived at the port leading to the central town, Medias.
The town was a bit rustic, but that didn't override the cheerfulness of the colorful streamers and decorations hanging and covering just about every building and cart in the vicinity. It was like an village during a major festivity, like the birth of a prince or the winning of a war. Players of all kinds crowded the stone walkways, all going about on their gaming business–whatever it was.
The three made their way toward the town square where they could refill any potion stock they needed or buy new equipment from the game's NPC vendors.
When they finally finished, the three said their farewells and split ways to go to their respective towns–though not before Aomine remembered to send Kuroko a friend request.
He accepted, of course.
The trek to the Magician's town was not a pleasant one, even if there were no monsters or detours on the way. Kuroko had been trudging on the first path for the last twenty-seven minutes (yes, he had been keeping track) and only now was the city in his sight. The distance between towns was much shorter compared to what it'd be like in real life, but since this was a game, it felt a bit too slow.
This was especially true for Mages, unless they were high enough level to be able to get what players had dubbed "travel spells". This category pretty much included things like teleporting, mounting some kind of monster familiar, or having some really good speed buffs.
Too bad for Kuroko. He was only level 15.
In the times the Light Elf hadn't been watching the clock, he'd been thinking about what class he should upgrade to; he also spent some time deliberating whether he should actually get an upgrade or not.
It wasn't required for a player to change their class, but Kuroko was one of the players who felt it'd be better to specialize and be strong in at least one thing.
All-around players weren't all that popular these days, most like because they weren't as useful during a hunt or PVP.
And so, Kuroko had narrowed his choice to either be a Wizard or Cleric. Should he become a Wizard because they were powerful? Or a Cleric because they were one of the best support classes?. The other two choices weren't considered long because the bluenette didn't think they would be too helpful in a party.
He walked into the city, passing the stone arch with its name, Arsajia, carved into it.
Like the last village, Arsajia was also like something you'd see in a well-off, fanciful, medieval town. Instead of brightly colored banners though, most of the buildings had giant, flaring vines and other strange foliage creeping up their sides. Some had artfully designed flowers hanging from them, much like the ones Kuroko had seen on those deer monsters from before.
The blue-haired man briskly maneuvered through the other Mages in the town, eyes on another gigantic class change building, though this one was considerably less extravagant than the last.
Instead of a castle, there was a "Council Hall" for a Mage's level two class change.
When he walked in, all the other players once again disappeared from his vision into their own personal cyberspaces.
It was then that Kuroko found himself in front of the four Mage NPCs.
"Halt! Who goes there? How did you get past the guards!?"
"This again?", the bluenette thought. He was fairly certain those were the exact same words used at castle. If he checked back, he would've known he was right.
"State thy business!", one of the NPCs ordered arrogantly.
{I was sent here by the King of Tolucini. I am here to further increase my knowledge of Magic}*
{I am here to clean the dining hall.}
.
{I was sent here by the King of Tolucini. I am here to further increase my knowledge of Magic}*
{I am here to clean the dining hall.}
.
"Ah! You must be the Kuroko that we've heard so much about!"
"We will gladly help you in your studies, but you must choose a mentor."
.
"Please select the class you would like to become."
.
{Wizard}*
{Summoner}
{Cleric}
{Necromancer}
.
Still rather undecisive, Kuroko opened his inventory and pulled out a single ladomi. Luck did well last time, so who's to say it could go badly now?
On the silver coin, Kuroko dubbed the two sides as either Wizard or Cleric.
He flipped it with his thumb, and watched it sail into the air. The Elf held out the back of his hand to catch it, his other hand ready to clasp down on it when it landed.
He had misjudged the distance of his flip, however, so the Mage proceeded to step forward to try and catch it.
And promptly tripped on the train of his robe.
{-22 HP, Kuroko: 778/800}
The coin clattered on the ground, and Kuroko felt his face heat up a bit (not that his expression changed, he just felt warm). It felt rather embarrassing, even if no one else was around to see it, which he was grateful for. The bluenette stood up, dusted himself off, and then walked toward the fallen piece of currency that had landed a couple feet away.
Tails.
{Wizard}
{Summoner}
{Cleric}*
{Necromancer}
.
{Wizard}
{Summoner}
{Cleric}*
{Necromancer}
.
{Kuroko has become a Cleric!}
I am so bad at transitions. This chapter may have been a bit awkward, so I'm sorry about that. The plot line I wrote somehow changed in the middle of writing~
The next chapter will be in a P.O.V. that's not Kuroko's~
Hope you enjoyed reading~
Feedback is welcome~