Monster Hunting (A-rank Midgame Grind)

Hmh... it had taken a while to find this island, shockingly. Mura had been here before, for it was where he lost his katana. And it was also here where he had his, uh, first date with Mythica... it was a strange day, indeed.

... Wait, was he late? The fuck?

MG WC: 50

"Ahh, Aphi, c'mon, it's not that bad, right?" She waved her hands, trying to get the feline's attention. "Don't be sad!" It was easy enough to say that to her bond mate, but Seika could practically feel the anger and irritation radiating off of her bond mate even without their magical link. It was just, like... an aura around her, or something. Bad vibes! Shaking her head in dismay, the mage tried once again to steal the focus of the feline, who, at this moment, seemed to only have her eyes set on being grumpy for the rest of their trip.

"Aphi, tell you what! Let's get hot cocoa once we get to the island?" While she couldn't make any promises that there would be elk, there had to be some kind of sweet, chocolatey drink. It was a universal type of thing. And if it didn't exist, then she could try to... make it or something with dirt from the ground. Since they were both brown, it should probably work. The only thing was, Seika honestly couldn't be positive that such a concoction would taste as good as normal hot chocolate. She had eaten dirt before, and while it wasn't too bad, there could potentially be some weird stuff in it. For example, little spiders. Those were not good at all to ingest, because they could do strange things. Plus, when there were living creatures involved, it wasn't good to put them in your system! Because they were alive!

Unfortunately, it seemed like her bond mate was not interested in her attempted bribe of hot chocolate. The girl had kind of expected that, but it was still disappointing. She needed a new strategy. Or... she could try convincing the feline using food again, but she had to choose a better option! Thinking rapidly, Seika blurted out, "I'm sure they have elk," only to realize belatedly that no, she could not promise that. But in the end, if there were no elk, she could just create some, right?

338 Words

There were people hanging around in the forest but unfortunately for them, they had no real answer for the bunny girl and her rage filled summon. Both Rengar and Miranda were filled with such hatred and due to the bond that they had with each other, the feeling was amplified, a constant link that travelled back and forth. They fed on each other’s anger which made them more aggressive. There was no reasoning with them and neither gave the slightest damn about those who they killed. To make matters worse, every single one of them would scream the same thing. That the reason that all of the mages had come was to kill off the wildlife. For them to say such things so casually was horrific to the bunny girl and she used her emotion magic in order to make them suffer as much as possible. Rengar did what she did best and got stuck in with her claws, ripping her foes asunder and loving every moment of it.

They didn’t know where they were going and it didn’t honestly matter as their job was all so clear. Extermination of all the humans. Miranda had always despised them, ever since her mother Medeia had first spoken of them. The witch had spoken of how humanity had ruined the earth, killing the animals and ruining the environment. They took but never gave anything back and that was what drove Miranda so strongly. She couldn’t heal the damage that humanity had caused but she could at least strike, in defence of her fellow animals. It was all she could and the water bunny would continue to do so for as long as she was breathing.She wasn’t powerful enough yet to deal as much damage as she wished to but in time, she would be.

(303 Words)

Her breathing was heavy, her thoughts scattered as she sprinted along the path. Yet, the usually stoic woman’s expression was anything but today, instead she wore the look of someone who truly had no idea what to do. Kalama had been so sure, so confident that she was finally overcoming her emotional boundaries and that she would be able to function in a group but the moment that she caught sight of them all, that confidence had disappeared in a moment. The sight of so many people that she did not know had brought a sense of panic that felt like a monstrous punch to her stomach. Her anxiety had skyrocketed to such a high degree that she had leapt off of the boat before it had even reached land and just ran. The worst part? The sense of self loathing that accompanied it for having become overcome so easily. Some warrior she was. She could fight monsters without batting an eyelid but a simple social interaction drove her to almost insanity. Oh, how she hated herself at that moment.

Her anxiety attack was rather unexpectedly interrupted as a plume of flame suddenly came towards her, striking her with such force that she was knocked off of her feet and into a nearby tree. Dazed, confused and unable to think straight, the blonde haired woman’s eyes would blearily look up at her attacker and boy, he was a large one. A lizard of some kind who stood at at least twice her height. Eyes blood red and fuelled with anger, it would unleash a second blast of flame that Kalama could only clumsily roll out of the way of. Her focus was gone and as she clumsily clambered to her feet, her body language was anything but confident. The creature could not have picked a better time to strike.

(310 Words)

Whatever the deal was with this group, it hadn’t been what she thought. A mesh of personalities that normally wouldn’t be so bad came with a couple of bad apples and others who seemed to really REALLY not leave personal matters at home. As the seemingly over dressed girl had randomly burst out, it didn’t pass much time by before someone came up behind her swiftly. The sound of cuffs reached the god slayer sears and her attention came right to them. Even her hearing wasn’t keen enough to really tell what he was saying to her, however she seemed to be quite a bit worried about what was going on. ”If you two are gonna continue that, get a room.” She retorted, implying the couple were playing much more mature games in the middle of a very dangerous area. With that, the auburn haired girl managed to try and begin flailing about almost in an attempt to break her cuffs. ”Yeah, no. I’m not staying around exhibitionists.”

Hands up, Lehanna turned her back and walked right off passed the pair of degenerates and headed off on her own. The place couldn’t be THAT dangerous that she needed to worry about it. With that said, she would add a small insult to injury with a small hair flick and then placing her hands in the blazer pockets of her top. Walking past the docks, she paid no mind to anyone or anything going on along the area until she would make her way to an area down the way, seeing smoke and the scent of volcanic ash drawing her in. Because where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And where there’s fire, there’s free food!~ Well, not that it was her main worry, however the brunette was more over looking to get the job rolling whether she do it on her own or with anyone who happened to tag along for whatever reason.

321 words

So... where did she go? She could have sworn that she had planned to meet up with Kalama when they arrived. Something about her having unrealistically long naps must have made her want to head off on her own, but what could have made her suddenly vanish. Maybe she waited on the island and Aoi actually had been here by herself. Shaking her head of the idea, the cursed brunette walked along the area trying to figure out where it was that she’d disappeared to. Whatever it was that had been the case, maybe someone else had seen her and would be able to help her out with being able to find her. Then again, Kal wasn’t the most social butterfly, so perhaps a crowd of people hadn’t been the first place to check for her. If she could barely make it through their introduction into the guild so to think a group would probably get her either frightened to death or by best luck she would he able to just ignore them and wait nearby before her.

Perhaps she decided to trail off into the forest. Otherwise, maybe Aoi could just get a little target practice in mind for her bow. Moving further in, she could smell something burning. Rushing down the way she could see through the trees a large creature. As she grabbed hold of the bow, a sharp sense went through her mind and caused her to lose for us for a moment. Shaking it off, she grabbed hold of the string of the bow and pulled back, forming and arrow of dark energies. She released the arrow and then another in a rapid succession after the initial, striking it twice in the chest. Though her attack merely seemed to make the creature stagger. Rushing ahead, the guild officer skid to a stop once she got into the bit of a clearing made by the fire. ”Y’all are really bad at waitin’, ya know that?” She taunted once her mouthguard was pulled out of her mouth, grabbing hold of her bow in preparation for another attack. ”Ready to do this?”

354 words

She was a gruesome little thing. She almost seemed like a shadowy beast herself, or maybe an undead. In a sense, that's exactly what she was. While her thoughts were groggy but still her own, her body moved on its own looking for carnage, not unlike a zombie. Her footsteps were unsteady. They hadn't been used in nearly a century, and while they would have been mere bones if she'd been the normal kind of dead, they were merely atrophied instead. All her muscles were shriveled from lack of use. Elle was far from a healthy weight, let alone possessing the strength to fight these large monsters Aberneel insisted she 'cut her teeth' on. Still, his command spurred her onward and she killed things her size or smaller in a crude, primitive manner. Her metal arms, while stronger than anything else on her body, were nothing more than clubs. Fine motor skill was out of the question.

Other than when she'd had no choice but to use her powers to protect her town, Elle was a non-violent person. Violence actually churned her stomach and she wondered why her life had ended up comprised almost entirely of it. It'd only been hours since her return, and already her mind was starting to clear enough to be silently horrified. The only good thing was she could bend her prosthetic elbows, though moving her wrists and fingers still proved too much. Strength was slowly returning to her core and legs. Elle still looked like she could use about thirty-four full-course meals, but her blood-stained body was looking more like girl and less like zombie.

Though he was nowhere near, she heard Aberneel's call for her to return as if he'd been right beside her...and though ever fiber of ber being told her to run and escape, her body obediently turned and made straight for the hidden lair entrance.

wc: 315

The high Birch got from absorbing the energy out of foes always set him into a fury. He wasn't sure what about his unfortunate circumstances had ignited this bloodthirst in him, but he was certainly a far cry from the regal, composed Celestial Phoenix he had once been. Now he was beastly, the balance of his magic horribly thrown off so that darkness crept up his arms like flames on an accelerant-soaked branch. The shadows would try to take over his whole body, but somehow he managed to keep his head just above it, as if desperately resisting drowning while also loving the thrill of it.

Melting into the copious snaking shadows of the dark island, he searched for prey. He didn't care who or what it was, as long as it was brimming with life and energy for him to drain. Even better if they writhed, begged, screamed...the stormy hues that peered from the deepest gloom were even sharper and more dangerous than usual. Sadistically searching for the next soul who would fall to him, turning to dust in his palms. It was then he saw it. A magnificent creature showed itself, covered in scales so purple it was nearly indistinguishable from the inky blackness of the shaded forest. More interesting was it the ice it manifested with each lumbering step on its strong, bipedal legs. It was like some giant reptile from days of old, except it had learned to embrace the lack of sun to warm its blood and turned it into its strength.

Ice wasn't a horribly common element. He'd gotten his first taste of it since losing his power from Saraphina, but he couldn't exactly siphon her dry of it, now could he? Every time he came across it, it was just a little hit and didn't satisfy the frigidness of the void of space that he lacked. Surely, this dino behemoth would be a healthy dose. Coming up under the beast, he pulled one of its legs into the shadow to cripple it. He then jumped out of his dark cloak on the other side, swiping at it with his dark claws to try and injure it just enough to keep it still. It was strong, though, and wouldn't be toppled that easily. In a fit of overexcitement and impatience, Birch removed Earthland's gravity from the area they stood, releasing it from the shadow pitfall and watching it float up into the air, confused. It thrashed uselessly...until Birch focused the light of twin suns into a laser of sorts and seared the beasts limbs off. It wouldn't bleed to death, but it'd still be rather loud and energetic while he coiled his claws around its neck and sucked its icy soul right out. Delicious.

wc: 460

Percy did what he did best and observed for the most part, though at some point that went sideways. He'd followed a beefy mage deeper into the forest, watching the strange magic he had. He seemed to work in tandem with another creature. If the man told the small, yeti-like creature to move or attack, he did so without question. Despite the friendly monster's dwarfed size to the man, the man went up against creatures that dwarfed him just as equally! And with a few head butts and ice beams, the duo felled these hostile, gigantic beasts. Percy scribbled notes like crazy, theorizing that their connection and communication must be some form of magic. Perhaps this was something he could acquire? He'd prefer to have all the power come from himself, but he wasn't picky. Magic was magic.

While he was furiously taking notes, he ultimately lost sight of the two. They were nowhere to be seen. No one was, actually. It was dark and he was alone...and there was some pretty heavy breathing at the back of his neck.

wc: 180