2 Years later.
It has been 2 whole years since Issei Hyoudou was brought into the Himejima house hold and the child has grown to the age of 8 alongside his friends Akeno and Vali. Issei being the growing boy he is stated to develop a crush on Akeno about a year ago, but so did Vali which naturally causes the boys to fight from time to time. most of the time ending with Vali winning since Issei was just a human boy with a non-combat styled Sacred Gear. but during his growth he DID however gain a few things.
The skill: Power Punch. Has been acquired.
The ability to focus all of your strength into a single punch. The higher the LVL the less time it takes to charge and more power can be put behind said punch. Scales with STR and AGI stats.
LVL 4/10 (30%)
cost 10 STA
The skill Power Kick. Has been acquired.
The ability to focus all of your strength into a single kick. The higher the LVL the less time is needed to charge this skill as well as more power can be placed behind it. Scales with STR and AGI stats.
LVL 2/10 (13%)
cost 15 STA
The skill Power Barrage. Has been acquired.
The ability to focus your punches and kicks into a myriad of strikes, going into a combo. Has a high stagger chance as well as increases potency of attacks by 15% the higher the combo for the barrage goes. Scales with STR and AGI stats.
LVL 2/10(78%)
cost 30 STA to start. 5 STA to maintain per hit.
The proficiency skill: Hand to Hand Combat. Has been acquired
The ability to as humans say. "throw hands" at other living beings for the body in on itself is a weapon of destruction.
LVL 1/10
Grants a 5% buff to all Hand to Hand skills.
Aura burst.
The ability to make your aura explode outward and push back enemies, however using this move will cause you to reveal your position to everyone around you. Scales with aura and INT stats.
Cost: 10 aura to use. 5 aura to maintain per minute.
LVL 4/10 (78%)
Dragon Shot
A compressed ball of aura that while looking meager and weak, it's actually a surprisingly powerful attack. scales with aura and STR stats.
costs 25 aura per shot.
LVL 5/10 (48%)
Aura suppression
An ability that surpresses your aura and life force, making it harder for beings to detect you. the higher the level, the harder it becomes to spot you.
LVL 4/10 (89%)
you can currently hide from high tier low class beings. this ability is passive.
Proficiency skill Aura Manipulation unlocked.
Being proficient in the art of manipulating one's own aura is essential for dragons, otherwise it will run amuck and destroy everything around them. the higher ones proficiency with this skill, the easier and less costly each of your moves will be.
LVL 3/10 (10%)
Currently only a 5% buff is given to each aura attack skill.
Scan
LVL 6/10
allows you to read the stats and health of those you use this skill on. the higher the LVL the more info you receive.
cost 1 STA to use.
This is handy for the boy. it is clear that it's not enough to beat Vali. It is also clear that he failed one of the additional objectives due to lack of a third proficiency skill. That wasn't the only problem he had run into though.
Issei Hyoudou.
Age 8
LVL 2
HP: 350
STA 250
AURA- 300
STR 30
CON 30
DEX 30
ACC 30
AGI 30
INT 30
ARC 30
CHA 30
All of his stats are maxed out at 30 for whatever reason. As if his body can't handle anymore power due to his age and low level. Maybe leveling up will allow him to gain more strength.
"Hey Ise, how was your training with daddy?" Akeno asked as she walked up to a sweating Issei, he had gained some muscle on his small body, but not enough to cause any damage to him in the long run. Issei looked over to her with a warm yet tired smile on his face.
"Yeah Aki. it's going alright. Still not gaining anymore strength unlike you and Vali though, guess it's just a downside to being human after all." He says with a downcast tone, he then brightens his smile and laughs. "But Baraqiel said he's gonna teach me how to use a sword when he gets back from his mission. so I'm excited to finally be able to use that knife I made when we first started training together. So you KNOW I can't wait for him to get home." He says which causes Akeno to giggle at his antics with a light blush on her face.
"Ufufufu I see. So long as your careful and don't push yourself too far then all should be good Ise." She says with a warm smile before taking his hand and helps him up. "Now come on! Momma said it's almost time for lunch. You know we can't keep her waiting." She says as she begins to run along towards their house with Issei hot on her tail.
"H-HEY! WAIT FOR ME AKI!" Issei shouts as he runs along. As he's running however he notices someone walking up the shrine steps out of the corner of his eye which causes him to stop. "H-hey wait. who is that?" He points over to the robed men which causes Akeno to pause in her movements before tilting her head to the side. "I-I don't know. We should go tell mamma that we have guests." She says before resuming her way to the house, but at a faster cadence this time, she seems worried.
Issei on the other hand decides to go up to the robed men and greet them. "Hiya. Welcome to the Himajima shrine! I'm Issei Hyoudou, what brings you along this way mister?" He asks with a warm smile and a tilt to his head. This catches the robed men off guard as to what this boy is doing here. One of them speaks up
"Y-yes, is Shuri Himejima here? We would like to have a word with her and it shouldn't be a conversation meant for kids." The man asks and states with a soft tone as to not scare the child, while one of the men behind him speaks up in a growl. "What's an outsider doing here? first the rumors that Shuri is brainwashed by a fallen and now this boy living here. what is she doing?!" he says to one of his female companions.
Issei frowns at this and backs away a few steps before running off, feeling something is a miss and not wanting to be on the wrong end of it. He runs off into the shrine house and bumps into Shuri with Akeno behind her. "Oof! O-OH! Ms. Shuri! Something doesn't feel right about those men outside. They seem scary!" He says with tears in his eyes as Shuri gives him a soft head pat and smiles warmly to him.
"it will be alright Issei, Akeno. I'm sure they just want to talk to me about something..." She says as she goes to the door.
'At least I hope so. please don't be here to put my family in danger. I don't want to fight anyone.' She thinks as she opens the door while Akeno hugs Issei as he stands in front of her to hide her from the bad men. the man up front speaks up.
"Ah Shuri, it's lovely to see you again. I hope this dear cousin has been living well." He says as he bows to her slightly as Shuri looks behind him at the men with bows on their backs and one holding a warding paper to set up a barrier around the shrine to block out anyone from getting in.
"Y-yes cousins. I've been well. My family and I have just been living here to the best of our ability and keeping the shrine afloat." She says with a bit of nervousness in her tone as she moves slightly to the right, using her body to hide the kids. This however catches the crass man's attention as he sees Akeno. "So it's true! You have been fraternizing with fallen angels! Don't you know how disgusting and evil those beings are?!" He shouts out as he draws his bow and growls when Shuri slams the door.
"Well that escalated quickly. Akeno Issei you have to go! there is a secret passage in the back of my room's mirror. Use that to escape and-" Suddenly an arrow shoots out through the door with fire on it, lighting the hallway ablaze as Akeno screams while issei hugs her.
Issei summons his gear and takes hold of Akeno's hand as he runs off. "Come on Aki we gotta go! All we have to do is... hide." as he says this he slows to a stop before looking down at his hands... it's happening again. his family is being torn apart once again. Tck, how disgraceful to run away like a coward.
'Even if I can't do much, I have to do something! I have my sacred gear to help! I can fight!' He clenches his geared fist and looks at Akeno. "Akeno. Do you want to run? I don't think those men wanna be nice to any of us." He says as he then looks back over to where they ran from. the fire grows bigger as it goes on and on.
Akeno pauses with tears going down her face as she looks to the direction of where her mother is and then back to Issei with a nod. "I... I want to run, but I don't wanna leave Mother alone with those men either. I... I want to help her!" She says with determination in her eyes and grasps hold of the boys hand tightly before using some lightning in her free hand, the sparks of electricity dance along her fingertips.
Issei smiles as he hears this and turns towards where Akeno is facing and starts to run to help Shuri. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go save Ms. Shuri!!" He says with a leader-like tone in his voice as the rub into the burning hallway once again.
Scene break, In front of the Himejima household.
"Argh! Damn this woman! Guess she isn't part of the main household for nothing. These burns hurt!" The leader of the Himejima task force says with a groan as he pats away flames off of his robes as another gets back on his feet. The snarky one along with another man pushing Shuri back with a mixture of magic and arrows, she looks worse for wear and exhausted, having fought with four men for what seems like thirty minutes, Shuri breathing heavily along with the men in front of her.
"Ufufufu. I didn't want to hurt you since we're family, but you're aiming your arrows and magic at my child and son in law. That neither I or my husband will forgive!" She says as she throws another talisman as an arrow is shot at her, causing an explosion to occur, knocking the two men and herself back a few feet.
"Tck, what an annoying skill level. To think she can deflect arrows, no wonder she was labeled as the priestess of fire." The head guard said annoyed as he fires a talisman at the downed Shuri, only for it to be deflected by a sudden yet strange energy, which was accompanied by a shout.
"DRAGON SHOT!"
Suddenly Issei was Infront of Shuri as the smoke of the colliding powers exploded against one another while Akeno helps her mother to her feet. "Come on mother! We need to leave! It's not safe here for anyone!" Akeno says worriedly as she gets Shuri to her feet. Said woman looking at the children in annoyance that they disobeyed her... But also happy to see them none the less, Shuri then sees Issei draw his weapon that he crafted all when he first started training with Baraqiel and points it at the guards.
"Alright let's do this. SCAN!" says Issei as the stats of each guard appear before his eyes.
Himejima Guardsman x4
LVL 18
HP: 550/748
Guardsman of the main house of the Himajima clan. loyal to the headmaster and main family, they really don't wanna do this, but wish to keep the clan line clean and pure of any dark forces, including fallen angels.
Issei then turns his attention over to the head guard and scans him as well.
Head guardsman (Tatsu'oo)
LVL 30
HP: 1296/1700
The leader and fourth in command of the main houses guardsman. Well versed in magic and hand to hand combat, he is ordered to kill the fallen angel cadre and his daughter for tainting the bloodline of the clan.
This causes Issei to frown, he's only a level 2 while Akeno is a level 13 at the moment, and while Shuri is level 43 she can't take care of all of them at the same time. Which means Issei has to turn this into a stalling match until Baraqiel arrives. Hopefully that is sooner rather than later.
"Ah crap! Maybe coming back here wasn't the best choice." he murmurs as he raises his knife into position to strike while having the CRPG gauntlet as a shield in his right arm before charging at the weaker men, specifically the ones with bows. As they would be the most annoying since it will take some time for each talisman that the men threw to become active. Akeno charges her lightning in her hands and fires a bolt at the man directly in front of Issei as he prepares a swing, surprising the man and singing his robes.
"Take this!"
Slice.
While the man was distracted, Issei used his knife to slash at the man and cut the bowstring, causing it to snap near the man's face and the string to lash up and CRACK across his cheek and eye, making him howl in pain. "ARRGH! FUCK!" He shouts as he drops the broken bow and holds onto his face in pain.
Issei flinches and grimaces in pain at seeing that happen and goes to apologize before remembering where he was, and dodging an arrow BARELY with a light cut on his cheek. The feeling it gave off when he dodged it felt like his instincts kicking in and his body moved on its own.
You have unlocked the Danger Sense skill.
This is a passive skill.
LVL max
This skill allows the user to sense incoming danger and allows them to react accordingly.
"Huh, neat!" Issei says as he then gets struck by a fire talisman from one of the guards knocking him away a few dozen meters and making hit the fencing of the shrine.
"ISSEI!" Both Shuri and Akeno shout as Akeno rushes over to him and attempts to reach him, only to be shot at by an arrow which narrowly misses. as Issei lies on the ground a bit scuffed up and burnt, but otherwise fine due to the guard not putting his all into it since Issei is just a human boy.
Issei slowly gets up with the help of Akeno as the two magic casters prepare to launch fire talismans at the children while Shuri is groaning in pain due to the battle taking a toll on her. She shouts out to the children.
"Go on without me kids! I'll be fine! Just get out of here and away from this place. please!" She cries out as she dodges another attack as she starts to get winded. The injuries she has sustained and the length of the fight finally getting to her, although the disabling of one of the archers did help her out.
"N-No! We're not leaving you here aunty Shuri! You don't have to face them alone!" Issei shouts as he dodged a fire talisman that goes over the edge of the railing as Akeno fires a small bolt of lightning at the guard that threw the magic paper, along with Issei who barely deflects an arrow coming at her.
"He is right mother! I refuse to let you take this alone! even if we leave their still going to come after us! We will defend our home alongside you!"
As Akeno shouts this out 3 talismans land on the ground while issei notices this, he manages to cut one of them before covering Akeno with his body and the papers explode. causing them to fly off the side of the railing and down the side of the steep mountain, with Issei hitting his head on a stone on the way down.
"Gargh..."
"AKENO! ISSEI!"
Shuri shouts out as she knocks away an arrow and runs over to the burnt and crumbled space where the kids once stood... She collapses to her knees, and begins to sob for a moment. As the guards begin to encircle her with weapons drawn, Shuri's hair begins to rise up into the air as magic aura BURSTS from her body. Her children were taken from her and home destroyed while her husband was out on a mission. She slowly stands up and turns towards the now cautious guards.
"You... you will not get away with this... Oh my baby girl. once this is all over I will find you. All we wanted was to live peacefully and help Issei grow strong... To be a family who loves each other dearly. You DARE harm my children! Mark my words as Shuri Himajima! You will not leave this place alive!!" She shouts out as she charges at the guards with talismans in hand and rage in her eyes, ready to settle this, then to find her children.
Scene break ???
"Herrrmm.. ooow my head."
"Issei!"
After what seems like an hour or two. Issei opens his eyes to find akeno hovering over him before giving him a big hug, holding him tight and not wanting to let go at all. Issei however taps on her shoulders gasping for air. "A-Akeno! I c-cant breathe!" Suddenly his status hub shows up before the two children.
HP- 100/350
STA- 150/250
AURA- 250/300
"O-Oh! Sorry Issei! I didn't mean to hurt you." Akeno says quite embarrassedly as she lets go of the boy, giving him a chance to rub his head, finding it to be bleeding with blood covering his right eye, making it hard to see out of it even after he wipes the red fluid off of it. "Ow... anyway, where are we? I don't remember ever seeing this place in my time living with you guys." He asks as he tries to stand up, only to wabble and nearly fall over if not for the assistance of Akeno hoisting up with her own budding body.
"Easy Issei! When you're only human, you can survive these kinds of falls easily. Heck even I got hurt a little bit." She says as she points down to a bruise on her ankle, she must have landed on it funny. "A-and to answer your question. I'm not entirely sure, we're probably under the shrine since we fell into that hole, see?" She says as she points upward to the ceiling of the cave, showing a mostly covered up hole that they most likely fell through in order to get down here. The hole is too small now for even one of them to pass through.
Issei frowns at this as his sight is a bit blurry at the moment, likely with a concussion as he looks around to get his bearings of their surroundings. seeing that it's a rather large cave system under the shrine they find themselves in. "Well. that sticks, can't believe we have to deal with this, if only those men hadn't showed up. things would have been fine then!" He says as he clenches his fist and summons his gear as he swings and pounds on the wall, causing an echo. suddenly a new screen appears, it's a quest.
Escape the Underground
Objective: Escape the dungeon with your friend Akeno and make your way to the surface.
Reward for completion: 1000 exp, new random item.
Dungeon found. Caves of the Himejima Shrine.
Dungeon level: 5
continue into the darkness?
Y/N?
"Huh. Alright then guess this is a thing now."
"You're telling me, your Sacred Gear is weird Ise."
Both exchange a glance to one another before pressing Y in the options menu, causing the screen to shine before closing and leaving the children in the dark. "Hrrm, wish it could keep us with some light." Issei pouts as he and Akeno walk forward in the dark, hoping to find a torch to use or maybe a lantern. Akeno laughs at this. "Aww don't feel bad Ise, fallen angels can see in the dark a fair amount, not enough to where everything is clear but I can be a good guide in here." She points out, although there seems to be some hesitation in her tone as she speaks that Issei doesn't pick up on due to the throbbing in his head.
After what feels like five minutes of walking they enter a large room that is covered in spider webs and large cocoons, some of which are as large as the kids themselves which unnerves both Issei and Akeno. "G-geez, I didn't think you guys had such a big spider problem Akeno." Issei says with a small quiver in his voice, trying to save face as he does so. It's clear that he's not a fan of spiders, and quite frankly neither is Akeno. "M-Me either, I didn't even know this p-place was down here. what if they got into the shrine?!" She says in small amounts of horror imagining giant spiders sneaking in her room late at night and crawling on her, causing her to shiver in disgust.
Suddenly Issei felt a tingle go down his spine as he pushed Akeno aside a few feet and dives away in another direction.
THUMP "SKIII!"
Suddenly before them was a massive tarantula that was about a foot tall with red rings going down its legs and four massive beady eyes.
Tunnel Tarantula.
LVL 4
"EWWW EW EW EW EW EW EWWWW!!!!" Akeno shouts out as she fires a bolt of lightning at it, narrowly missing it as it just jumps to the side and turns it's attention towards her. scuttling it's feet along the ground and smacking it's front two down on the dirt and rock of the cave floor as if saying "COME AT ME BITCH!"
Issei seeing this stands up (wobbly) onto his feet as he grabs hold of his dagger and shouts out as he runs forward towards the spider. "Alright. Here we go! Let's kill this thing Akeno!" before slashing at the spider, cutting off one of its legs as it goes to block, but underestimated the strength of the small child. This causes it to leak out blood onto the ground ask it screeches out in pain and anger as it rushes Issei, only to be intercepted by Akeno with a light speak thrown at it, blocking its path to the wounded boy.
"Y-Your right! We have to keep going so we can get back to mother and help her out with the bad men!" She shouts out and readies a ball of lightning as Issei back pedals a few feet away from the giant spider as it slashes at another leg that it was using to swat at the boy. After a few moments however. Akeno fires her lightning ball at the spider, electrocuting it and leaving a char on the exoskeleton of its body before Issei pumped up and SLAMMED his dagger into the head of the giant arachnid, killing it finally.
You have killed x1 Tunnel Tarantula.
shared exp gained: 45
you have gained a skill.
One-handed sword mastery (novice)
LVL 1/10
The ability to wield a sword with ease and dexterity. The sword is known as the most renowned weapon in the world aside from the human body itself. While normally you would be getting a dagger skill due to your weapon, it's longer than your arm at the moment due to your small body. allowing you to gain this skill instead.
While the screen disappears with Issei happy he has gained a new skill, Akeno holds onto his arm as she shivers while looking at the giant spider in disgust. "Ise, while I'm happy that you have gained a new ability, can we perhaps celebrate AWAY from the giant dead spider? I mean who knows if more will show up." She says, mildly freaking herself out at the prospect of seeing even more of these giant spiders.
Issei nods and begins to walk alongside Akeno, her keeping a magic circle going while the boy keeps his iron dagger drawn, keeping alert for anymore creatures that may come out and attack. Along the way they stumble upon a moldy old chest with the lock rusted shut. "Ooooh free loot!" Issei shouts out as he breaks formation and rushes to the box excitedly.
"Issei wait!" Akeno shouts out as she tries to reach for the boy, but barely misses his collar as he makes it to the chest, tugging at the lock and trying to get it open as he does so. "Nngh come on you! OPEN!" He eventually resorts to smashing the pommel of his dagger into the lock, snapping it open and breaking the lock entirely as he does so. Issei goes to open it before Akeno grabs hold of his hand.
"Issei just hold on a sec, we have no idea what's down here, for all you know this could be filled with God knows what, or explode!" She says , making a good point as she finds a large root and breaks it off before handing it to Issei. "Here, if your so insistent in opening this thing the least you can do is open it with this so you have some distance away from it." She says as Issei looks at her a bit confused, but nods and does as he's told. Due to his injuries he has some trouble carrying the giant root but gets it's propped up against the lid of the chest and opens it. Exposing it's contents to the world. What lays within is a skeleton with some basic 'ruined' armour with a small buckler shield in the corner along with a health potion.
Wooden buckler shield.
condition: 42/50
10 to defense.
A wooden shield fashioned in the form of a buckler, these small and light shields are mainly used for parrying attacks and defending against small melee strikes. due to the fact that this particular buckler is made out of wood. it is of course weak to fire based attacks. (or ya know, fire in general.)
minor (expired) health potion
heals 50 HP
Tastes like Cherry Fanta with a hint of mold. Use wisely. Normally these would heal you for more than 50 points. But this bottle is expired, so its effects are limited.
"Ew seriously?! that sounds disgusting." Issei says as he opens the bottle and smells it, nearly throwing up as he does so before corking the damned concoction and putting it away in an inventory slot before equipping the shield. "But this will come in handy, shame it's not made of metal or something Right Aki?"
Issei says to Akeno who nods but then points out. "Maybe it's for the best, I mainly use lightning magic so holding metal around me probably isn't the best idea." She says as she looks at the corpse, shivers in disgust and slight fear of seeing a dead body since she's never seen a dead body before, and promptly closes the chest before walking further down the path. "A-anyway let's get going, I don't wanna be anywhere near that thing."
Issei, seeing where she's coming from promptly follows her down the way and takes hold of her hand with his free one, surprising Akeno and causing her to blush. "Well I'm here with ya Aki! You don't have to be scared so long as I'm here." He says with a cheeky and childish smile as Akeno chuckles and laughs a bit, a little relieved to have him here. "Ufufufu you always know how to cheer me up Ise. how is your head?" She asks as she looks at the dried bloody spot on his head.
"It really hurts and is giving me a throbbing headache, but other then that I should be good so long as I don't take another hit like that." He says as he wipes some left over blood from his eyes before shrugging, making it easier for him to see. Not by much due to the nature of his injury, but it still helped.
As they made their way down the path they ran into a few more spiders, these harder to deal with due to the number of them and the worsening condition of both Issei and Akeno (mainly Issei due to his bleeding head) but managing to get it done.
You have slain 3x Tunnel Tarantulas
shared exp gained. 135 exp.
congratulations! you have leveled up!
LVL 2 LVL 3.
HP: 350 to 460
STA: 250 to 325
Aura: 300 to 325
STR 30 to 37
CON 30 to 36
DEX 30 to 36
ACC 30 to 31
AGI 30 to 32
INT 30 to 31
ARC 30 to 32
CHA 30 to 31
Player health has been restored.
Suddenly Issei feels a warmth come from his chest as he starts to shine like a star, blinding Akeno a bit before the light dies out as quickly as it came, revealing a completely healed Issei Hyoudou. He checks himself out for a few moments, patting at his arms and legs and head, even the dried blood has vanished from his forehead.
" Oh wow I'm all healed up! this sacred gear is super handy huh Aki?" he says as he checks out his body and then looks over to Akeno, who stares at him in amazement. She then speaks as she walks up to him and pokes his cheek and sides. "Very cool! It just healed you right up! and you look stronger too, your muscles are kinda firm now!" She says as she squeezes Issei's budding biceps, causing Issei to blush.
"Ara ara. I bet you could pick up me and Vali with ease now. Why not give it a try when this is all over." Akeno says with a playful wink before walking forward. Knowing full well that she's flustered the boy but also that they're on a time crunch. "Anyway let's get moving Issei, we have to go save mother!"
Issei shakes his head for a moment as he tries to get the red from his face, clearly flustered and not knowing why Akeno did that. Issei runs to catch up to his best friend so he wasn't alone in this damp dark place. "H-Hey! Wait for me Akeno!" He shouts out which echos throughout the cave which reaches a few different monsters.
As they begin making their way through the cave something skitters and scampers along the floor and jumps at Issei without warning, but due to his danger sense and now revitalized body he deflected it with ease and even knocked it back a few feet. he takes a good look at it before realizing that the two of them are surrounded.
Giant Rat x5
LVL 6
These rats travel in packs much like wolves to hunt for prey, ranging from small mice and rabbits to even the tunnel tarantula and small children.
"W-whoa ok these are gonna be tough. Careful Akeno, these things eat those giant spiders for breakfast!" He shouts out as he rushes at the fat that jumped at him and does a downward slash which the rat takes a sidestep to before nipping at Issei for his exposed swung arm, only for the boy to bash the small creature in the face with his shield.
"EAT THIS!" Akeno shouts out as she flies up into the air with her wings, keeping away from the ceiling as she does so and fires a bolt of lightning down at two of the rats, frying one of them and lighting it ablaze which freaks out the other and lightly burns it due to the grease and oils on their fur. "Ara? They burn rather easily do they?" She giggles as lightning flashes between her hands and she closes her eyes, harnessing her magic once more and trying to save what little she has left before firing another orb of lightning like she fired at the archer from her home. She seems to be enjoying herself.
(Let it be known that Akeno's sadistic side was awakened on this day against a fucking rat.)
Issei upon seeing this side of Akeno doesn't know how to feel. Instead deciding to focus on the now 3 giant rats before himself as another jumps at him, Issei however thinks quickly and with his head and poses his shield against his dagger with the blade tip facing outward. The rat lands on the shield with the knife stabbing into the lung of the large rodent, causing it to cough up blood onto the shorts of the boy which he finds disgusting, "Ew!" And subsequently throws the rat off of him into another rat which was going to bite at his ankle. Knocking the beast away and focusing for too long on the knocked down rat, another starts to claw and jump on his back, digging it's claws into his back and skin as it begins digging and biting at him before he smashed the back of his head onto the snout of the beast, breaking it and causing the rat to fall off of him.
HP: 400/460
Issei clicks his tongue in annoyance as he jumps away from the rats to gain distance, using Power Kick to jump a large distance away from the rats as he fires a dragon shot at the downed rat with a broken nose. causing it to explode and makes the cave rock and shake a bit from the vibrations, causing a few rocks to fall from the ceiling which forces Akeno to dodge, duck, weave and dodge around the falling rocks. "Issei watch it! you can't fire off explosions in here you'll make the place fall on top of us!" She shouts in worry and a bit of annoyance.
"Eheheh, sorry Aki, didn't mean to!" He says as he sees a rat trying to jump at Akeno, missing by a foot but slapping her back with its tail, knocking a few feathers off of her wing as it does so. This pisses off Issei as Akeno yelps in slight pain and charges at the rat in a rage and slashes horizontally at the beast, cutting its eyes and blinding it as it hisses and skees as it starts to slash its claws around randomly and roll on the ground. one of its claws nick Issei's ankle before he stabs down at it, impaling it's chest and killing it instantly before hearing a snap! Looking down he realizes that his dagger had broken into the chest of the beast. Issei pouts as he was really liking that dagger before he tossed it to the side and summons his CRPG gauntlet. Before he could do anything however, a notice appeared in front of his face.
Your skill One handed sword master (novice) has leveled up!
LVL 1/10 to LVL 2/10
Issei, annoyed that the screen decided to show up at a REALLY inconvenient time shakes his head and charges at one of the remaining two rats while growling in frustration for having to fight these things with his hands. Issei goes to punch one of the rats but barely misses due to his decreased speed with the gauntlet on his arm. The rat goes to bite the gauntleted arm, but breaks one of its teeth as it bites down on the supremely hard and durable metal. Issei laughs at this.
'Moron! not even Baraqiel's spears could pierce this thing! What makes you think your teeth will?!' He thinks in amusement as he Power Punches the rat right between the eyes causing a loud CRACK to be heard as it screeches and cries out in pain before back pedalling a few feet away, only for Issei to be on it and wailing on it, delivering heavy blows and another Power Punch right to the side of its temple, killing it as blood scatters across the flood from its mouth and nose.
You skill Power Punch has leveled up.
LVL 4/10 LVL 5/10
you have reached the halfway point to mastering this skill and by achieving this the skill has grown.
This skill now has elements and aura mixed in with it to make the attack even stronger. Elemental power punches cause debuffs such as burning or paralysis. Mixing Aura in with the attack makes the attack 2x-5x stronger. Depending on how much aura you pour into it.
aura cost for reinforcement: 5-25.
"Phew, I'm getting stronger by the second! Can't wait to show Baraqiel this!" Issei says in excitement as he then hears a surge of electricity shoot past him and covers his eyes as a bolt of lightning flashes past him, nearly blinding him for a few moments as he then turns around, spotting a dead rat on the ground. "O-Oh! Right, thanks Akeno! You really saved my bacon there." Issei says in light embarrassment that he forgot there was another rat mid fight. that could have really hurt him. Akeno scoffs playfully.
"Ufufufu, well maybe you be a bit more careful Ise, after all there were five men attacking mother, what if one of them gets the drop on you when we return." She says as she takes his hand and begins to run again, hopping over a dead rat as she does so. "Come on we're wasting time!"
As they make their way through the cave, going further and further the screen for exp finally shows up.
You have slain 5x Giant Rats.
You have gained a shared exp of 218 exp.
Issei, seeing this wipes the screen away from his face and looks at Akeno. "You know if we had just found this place instead of falling into it, I'd actually be happy to clear this cave entirely to gain some levels and catch up to you and Vali." He says, making a minor good point as he's running. Akeno laughs and shakes her head.
"You don't have to be the strongest and do it all by yourself Issei, you're gonna have me to always be there to help you out." She says as she takes hold of his hand as they run, causing Issei to blush heavily and Akeno laughs a bit as she gives a playful wink.
Scene break: Himajima Shrine.
"HUFF... huff... seems, you boys are, Ge...Getting tired. Hooo, having... huff, performance issues? ufufu. it's fine, one in three men always have it."
Shuri says, battered, cut up, bruised and surrounded by the two remaining guards left. who look worse for wear, but still in better shape then herself. the head guard props himself up with his sword and the other his bow, searching for any remaining arrow he may have in his quiver, finding two left as he draws one up onto his bowstring. "You... You say that, but you look worse then we do. and I can sense it, your fresh out of magic. you have maybe a spell or two left in you." He says with a grin as he readies his blade and points it at the injuries and exhausted woman, who herself is struggling to stay standing.
BOOM!
Suddenly the ground shakes about a little as some of the brick work cracks and breaks as there's a minor cave in under everyone's feet, the men finding a hard time to get purchase in staying standing while Shuri's remaining strength slips as she fells down onto her face. Battered, bloodied, and nearly beaten she lays there. Exhausted by the entire fight and the potential loss of her children. "Damn! What was that? an earthquake?!" One of the men grumble in annoyance while the other steadies himself and looks to Shuri, who seems to know what that was as she murmur's Issei's name.
"No. it was likely that boy who deflected one of our spells aimed at the traitor here. Guess we failed to kill the two children after all. We're going to have to go back and report a mission failure, especially since that damned cadre fallen isn't here either, but at least we can confirm the death of the traitor by bringing back her head. Surely we will be granted leniency with at least that much." He says as he then looks to his associate in arms and they both nod as they begin walking towards Shuri who is growling in rage while doing her best to get to her feet, but makes it to at least her knees.
"Why? Why won't you leave us alone?! All we wanted to do is live in quiet peace, I would have even given up the Himajima name of it meant I could stay with my family!" Shuri cries out as magic begins to leak off of her in a chaotic and dangerous way, which surprises the two men.
"So you have some fight left in you? it doesn't matter, once we bring back your head a search party will be made for your filthy daughter and the fallen trash. They can run and hide all they want but there's no way they can live a happy life anymo-"
"I WONT LET YOU TOUCH THEM!"
Suddenly flames burst along Shuri's body as a sphere forms around her very being, as if condensing itself into something. This scares the two guards as the back away a little bit. Shuri smiles in a victorious manner as she finally makes it to her feet. "You. Will NEVER touch them! So long as I... so long as Baraqiel draws breathe! you will never touch our children!" She then glares at the head guard with a dark grin. "And you will not leave this place."
This alarms the head guard as he realizes what she's going to do. and turns to run for it as he helps his comrade do the same. But it's far too late.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Scene break: Cave under the shrine.
CRRRRRAAAAAACCCCCCKK
"Uuuh what was that?" Issei asked Akeno as he looks around in confusion as to where that large noise came from, only for Akeno to tap on his shoulder and make him look up. Cracks, Giant spider web like cracks had formed on the sides of the walls and ceiling as the spikes on the ceiling shake and shiver before they began to fall.
"RUN!" Shouts Akeno as she begins to bolt for it at top speed with Issei right behind her, dodging and narrowly missing chunks of the ceiling as they run and cover their heads. soon they make it to a part of the cave where there is a ledge on one side and water to be at the very bottom, Issei gets hit in the head once more.
"ISSEI! NOO!"
(he just can't catch a break xD)
Issei's eyes waver and shake a bit as he trips over his footing as he falls over the ledge, unconscious and bleeding once again from the head. Akeno runs over and reaches out to grab him, but barely misses as his hand as he falls towards his potential doom into the icy dark water below.
"Noo! Issei! I will find you! I promise!" Akeno shouts out as Issei is whisked away by the current of the water and deeper into the cave.
Quest updated.
Escape the Under ground
Objective: Escape the dark cave with your friend Akeno and get back to your aunty Shuri.
status: failed.
failure penalty: Yet to be determined.
To be continued.
AN: HOLY CRAP THIS TOOK AWHILE! but hey I got it out as promised, I think this brings me near 24-25k words. eh doesn't matter, anyway I wanna hear what y'all think of this. It has action in it, something I'm not the very best at I know but DAMN what a way to go out for Shuri huh? I figured I'd let Shuri have a battle instead of just dying so quickly like in the source material. anyway leave a review of what you think! I'd love to see how I can improve and what your opinion is.
fucking, later!