RedMageCole

Automated Movement Lysander Icicle Shower Axe Knight B Shin Iron Longbow Mage B and canto to E25 "I don't doubt it'll get harder than this— stay as focused as you can, Scarlet." Lysander continues his work— this time using a set of ice shards that pierce the Knight's armor much easier than the wind spells that were being used earlier. A well-placed shot was not necessary, as the icicles were enough to cause the Knight to fall down. Unfortunately for Shin, his momentum has slowed down and the Mage is able to predict where his arrows will land and gets out of the way. The Mage gets a bit cocky and ends up getting hit by Shin's second arrow, but they're still standing. EXP: (36/100) Stats

Automated Movement Lizaveta to L23 Lysander to F23, Icicle Shower Axe Knight A Shin to C24, Training Bow Mage A, Canto to E24 Lucy holds Kane to M25 Arthur recovers 15 HP! Arthur is at full HP! Lysander rushes forward alongside Shin— the Knight moved forward to impede Shin's progress. However, that brief moment of movement was all Lysander needed— with one clean opening that he could see, just the slightest bit of exposed neck through the Knight's helmet, he sent a barrage of icicles that pierced their neck straight through. The Knight didn't even have a chance to scream out for help. With no one to stop him, Shin rode in with his mind more focused than usual. He unloads an arrow into one of the backline Mages, and as time seemed to slow around him as he rode in, fired another arrow. He didn't escape unscathed as the mage managed to hit him with a gust of wind, but the second arrow made its mark to seal Shin's job. EXP: (29/100) Stats

Mim takes aim from the forest— the Knight's slow and clunky armor leaves him unable to dodge the volley of Mim's shots, especially when she manages to land an arrow that hits a soft spot in his armor that seems to just push right through him. As the Knight is doubling over in pain, Mim takes advantage of this and nails him in the shoulder. Fey recovers 10 HP! EXP: (19/100) Stats

Automated Movement Shin to G23, equip Silver Longbow Arthur moves again! Enemy Phase Lance Knight A to O22 Axe Knight B to E22 Axe Knight A to D23 Lance Knight B to P23 Nomad C to P22, canto to R21 Nomad D to P22, canto to R22 Shaman A to P22 Shaman B to Q22 Nomad B to D22, canto to B21 Nomad A to D22, canto to B22 Mage A to C22, equip Arcwind Mage B to D22 As the knights began to turn the corner, they looked alarmed. "Hey, what the hell!?" "Intruders!" The knights hurried in, armor clanking as they both rush in to attack Fey and Arthur from the sides in a synchronized attack. Fey manages to swiftly dodge the hit; Arthur would have gotten hit with an axe had Justine not made a very subtle yet effective impression on the knight just in time for him to get distracted and miss completely, cursing himself. Alerted, the rest of the troop moves in with Arthur and Fey bracing themselves for further attack. As the second Knights on each side move in to hold the line, the pair of Nomads both move in on Fey with a yell, both firing arrows as they perform their hit and run tactics. The first Nomad does a pathetic job of doing anything as he yells in fear of the axe and retreats too early— at least getting out of there in time. The second Nomad that charges in does manage to nab Fey with one arrow, but gets hit back for his troubles. The two dark mages come out of hiding to try and finish Fey off with their cursed magic. Their technique is very sloppy, however, and Fey is able to effortlessly counterattack them for their troubles. Arthur is not alone in also taking Fey's punishment as hoofbeats signal the horsemen riding in. However, Arthur quickly masters his new Warding tome and all of the arrows that get sent his way are completely deflected by his shield. As the second Nomad rides away, Arthur gets pissy as usual— ranting after the second Nomad for wasting his shield with some stupid stray arrow of theirs. In the middle of Arthur's rant, the two Mages run up and prepare their magic. One blasts him with a double-shot of wind, slicing through his shield though giving him a chance to dodge the second. The other Mage hurls a fireball— Arthur is able to dodge albeit with some stumbling on his part making him miss his own spell, and causing his coat to subsequently get set on fire for his troubles. Arthur goes back to angrily yelling as he tries to pat his coat out. TURN 2 Player Phase Siegmund's eyebrows furrowed, pressing a hand to his forehead in frustration. "...Something seems to be wrong... but I can't quite pinpoint what it is..." EXP: (17/100) Stats

"Good. I will ask you to tend to the soldiers once more before we move back to the castle for reinforcements— for now, take a moment's rest."

With only a nod of understanding to Ferdiad, Kane returned to the group, still mulling over the choice. Arthur looked at him quite curiously and Lucy did her best to avoid eye contact with anyone. "...We're going to Fort Andromeda." Arthur simply shrugged. ————— A light snowfall surrounded the area, which provided optimal cover as the group was able to hurry up to the front door. There were no guards around it, but it seemed a patrol route would be coming this way quite quickly. "We have a few options here. We can kick down the door and go in guns blazing— not my style, but if the rest of you think that's what we should do then that's what we should do. Otherwise, we have the option of a pincer attack at the side doors, or focusing all of our forces down one side of the building. Each choice has its pros and cons— but let's all make our decision quickly." Meanwhile, within the fortress... "I'm just sayin', what if we get attacked!? Like, right now by Perusian—" "You are forgetting my dark magic, Karl. The second any Perusian idiots take so much as a breath within this fortress, they will fall under my eyes of death. Killing them then would be a cinch for Ivan and the rest of the guards. For now, we focus on making sure that the rest of the troops are healed." Soldiers were being tended to by Godiva in the barracks upstairs. At that time, Godiva was finished and able to head downstairs upon Siegmund's request. "Those soldiers will be in your debt. However, if you wish to walk away, I will allow you to house here for a while and focus on healing, then put in a good word for your uncle that you worked honestly once this war is over." "What the heck, boss!?" "You're just gonna let that noble chick walk all over ya!? You're better than—" "I'm sorry, I was under the impression that I was appointed General, foolish as that decision may have been. But please go ahead and tell me about how I am better enough to force a noblewoman to kill when there is no desire. When you've killed as much as I, you know better than anyone else to not force someone to kill if they do not have the stomach for it. I've killed over fifty today— how many have the two of you killed combined, today? Go on, I'm waiting. Aleksandr? Karl?" "..." "..." "Exactly what I thought. Now get back on patrol." TURN 1 Player Phase Objective: Defeat the boss! EXP: (0/100) Stats

Kane only could nod slowly in response. "Unfortunately, it is the truth... If you wished to confirm for yourself, I'm certain Pestilence would not have any qualms with doing so in order to prove herself." Kane listened further to Ferdiad, and nodded. "With Death how he is, and learning Famine's true identity as a serial poisoner around Perus, plus War's unwavering loyalty— I can assure you that none of us will attempt to stop you. We will not accept any further defects from them."

Siegmund noted Godiva's troubled expression. However, he said nothing in response— this was war and it was a reality she would have to accept. ————— Kane allowed himself to be excused for a moment. Reluctance spread across his face for a moment— he was still having some difficulty with this decision, but this matter had to be attended to now. Arthur gave a little shrug as he went away. He listened— that pondering and troubled expression not leaving him throughout Ferdiad's questioning. "I understand your concerns— however, Pestilence has given us one critical piece of information. The Icons of Sin work with Perus; not just with Perus, but the very King himself despite many not even knowing the King exists. Pestilence showed it to us— she has a broken form of Perus's Mark, and insists that Death has the true Mark and is the true Prince of Perus. Considering this war, there is an exceedingly likely chance that we will run into the Icons of Sin; especially if we go to the castle. As you say, Death could be sinking his poisoned arrows into another king. However, I am absolutely certain that that next king will be Ruslan. Death is not the type to wait— we might even meet with him tonight. As for Pestilence... She has advocated for her brother's crimes, but her role in the Icons is admittedly unclear. At the very least... if we run into the Icons of Sin, we can see how willing she is to go against her own brother." ————— "..." Lucy certainly picked up a few things from her brother, and stealth was one of those things. However, while she was definitely able to keep herself hidden from Kane and Ferdiad, it was clear to the group as she crawled out of the woods that she had been peeping. "...I... needed a... moment." She was good at stealth, but not good at lying. The pain on her face was evident, even past her cloak.

As you all watch the man with absolutely no connection to any snake women whatsoever absolutely destroy everyone, you all get to ruminate on your friendships! Available Supports Shin x Baldur (B) Arthur x Justine (B) Lucy x Mim (B) Arthur x Mim (B) Baldur x Lucy (C) Baldur x Mim (C) Fey x Mim (C) Kane x Lizaveta (C) (Reminder that you have a maximum of two C supports and one B support; GMPCs do not count towards this total and can be accepted without limit.)

Chapter 5 Bloodied Fortress Andromeda The numbers of Virtuous begin to wane as tensions in the world increase to a boiling point. With the civil unrest in Ulux due to their king being missing, Tabitha and Cecily both accompanied the dancer Emelia back to their homeland to help with the kingdom's reconstruction; all three of them hoping to make it a better place for everyone in the otherwise-hopeless kingdom. Reiko, on the other hand, fled to Ria to gather information about her father's sword. With the advent of war, there is no telling how Reiko is doing... all the group could do was pray for her safety. On a diplomatic ship bound for Ria, Virtuous acted as a stowaway. There, Kane prepared to take the group to a nearby fortress to witness the battle firsthand... The group split off from Albert and the rest of the diplomatic convoy early on to go their separate ways, and Simeon and Sid also made sure to split off to find a decent campsite in the forest. The sounds of shouting and clashing of metal were heard well before the actual battle came into view as the party trudged through the icy wastelands of Ria. On Kane's signal, everyone was able to find a vantage point in the forests to hide out and see the battle over the river. Kane was able to speak over the battle without much worry about interruption. "Here's my plan— there is a small fort just by the border known as 'Fort Andromeda'. Apparently, that is where the topmost soldiers of Ria will be residing during this battle... However, in the nighttime, they will be returning back to the castle. Obviously if that happens, combined with the guards already in the castle combined with the King and Queen who are no pushovers when it comes to combat, we're practically jumping into a suicide mission. Here... It will be exceedingly difficult, but we will be fine. However... a lot of our success depends on Perus's success in this battle." The battle continued to clash— Ria's side was led by a man clad from head to toe in heavy armor, attacks bouncing off of him like they were nothing. "Har, har, har! Come, you stupid Perusian dogs! I vill tear you asunder like the scrawny manchildren you are!" The heavily armored man whipped out a spear, blazing with a magical inferno, and hurled it into the fray. It looked similar to a comet as it barreled through the front line warriors, and equally so as it came right back into the man's hand before he let out another hearty laugh. "Hm... Sergeant Ivan Ivanovich is in the fray? I could have sworn he'd have retired by now, the man is somewhat of a legend in Rian military... Hmph." "Legendary or not, this battle might actually go in our favor." Kane had a bit of confidence as he overlooked the battle; though Ivan was tearing through his opponents, they began to take advantage of his heavy armor versus their horses to maneuver around him and take on the easier folks. "Though I detest Perus, they clearly have the upper hand... Why does Ria's military not have many horseback riders...?" "...You're about to find out... You better have a lot of confidence in us getting to that fort." "Oh? You charge past me, cowards!? Typical Perusian tactics! Vell then, I look forward to seeing how you take on the general himself! Gwahahahaha! Someone tell that noble girl to get back and vatch the fun!" The soldiers parted a small line in their defenses. From the vantage point, Virtuous could see a single man approaching through the line, a woman on horseback with a staff right behind him. "Coventry, get back to the fortress and make preparations to treat the wounded. This battle is over." The man silently came to the front, as he drew his sword. It was impossibly large— a sword made for crushing amplified to an unreasonably large size. And yet, the man seemed to have little difficulty with controlling it. Even from above, the man radiated the aura of a killer. "Ruslan's lapdog. I wish that was all I could say about him, but he's not favored by Ruslan for no reason... General Siegmund Richter, the man who spills the blood of his enemies and doesn't leave a single drop himself." "On my command, I will destroy you swiftly... BELLEROPHON!" In an instant, Siegmund threw his sword into the air with a burst of dark energy coming off of it that seemed to black out the daylight that only had a few more hours left to live in the day. With a single swing, the chained sword smashed itself into the ground, a burst of dark magic and an earthquake stumbled the footing and cleaved through the front of the Perusian army. With a single jerk of his wrist, the blade flew into the air and dared to hit his own Rian army— yet it was only a single swiping motion that changed its trajectory completely to bowl over the Perusian army without any mercy. Screams pierced the air as the mounted units were completely torn asunder, unable to dodge the blade's sweeping motion like some of the more fortunate foot soldiers were able to. The dark magic began to wane, as Siegmund pulled his sword back to his hand and dug the tip of the blade into the ground. In a moment, a man with another large sword came to the forefront of the Perusian army. "You are a fiend of dark magic, thinking that you can just cut down my men like that! Now you face Gideon, hero and champion of Perus! Your cursed sword won't—" "You Perusians only know one thing, and that is how to run your mouths. You only face me now that half of your army is wiped out? You're pathetic." Before Gideon could have a chance to retort, his sword seemed to be moving of its own accord, the same time as Siegmund's free hand glowed with another dark energy. "Wh-whuh!? My sword-!? Hey! What the hell is-" "Begone." With Gideon completely unable to do anything, a spike of dark energy emerged from Siegmund's hand, piercing him through the chest. He coughed up a great deal of blood, holding there and shaking, unable to do anything... and Siegmund allowed him to stay there until he went completely limp— only then did he retract the spike. That was enough to call a retreat from the Perusian army. "Hmph... They kill as much as they please, but then they turn tail at the very last second... that is what differentiates them from us." Siegmund turned to his men, beginning to walk back the way he came. "We make our way to Andromeda and tend to our wounds. We'll return to the castle before nightfall— His Majesty would like to know the results of our first battle." "Bwahahaha! And they say this man doesn't know how to fight compared to me! The new generation is truly a sight to behold!" The clanging of armor was all that could be heard as the Rian army dispersed. Kane looked significantly more frustrated, and Lucy was quite literally quaking in her boots. "Well? You still want to storm that fortress?" "..." Kane still looked like he wanted to say yes, but a lump was getting stuck in his throat. Godiva may post!

Arthur was happy to stay with the hug until Mim pushed back, a little smile coming across his face as well. He gave a gentle nod in response to her, more than content with how everything went... until Mim's kiss immediately snapped his gentle smile into a face unable to comprehend how flustered he could possibly get in that moment, freezing up completely. It certainly wasn't the first time Mim had kissed him, but he had forgotten the feeling— it was obvious he didn't mind, though. "..." He managed to come up with the words just before Mim turned and left. "...Th... th-th... thank you..." He didn't stop her— opting to turn around and gently pat himself on the forehead a bunch of times while looking at the ground; an extremely strange ritual that only a male who had no idea what to do after suddenly being kissed would undertake.

Mim's hug was appreciated— and even for a brief moment if Mim gave him enough time, reciprocated. "...Thank you..." Arthur's eyes got a bit watery for a moment, but he managed to hold it back. "...I'm happy to have all of you as my family... I will try not to worry about the future, at least just for now."

"...You're right..." Arthur said with a little understanding sigh, the last of his self-loathing finally giving up and calling it quits. "I... hope that I can keep to that standard. Especially if I do have to take over..."

"...I... hope they don't." Arthur was very obviously stinging himself— Mim's words would comfort him, but he didn't seem to be allowing himself to feel better. "I'm very lucky that I have... better control over my temper than my father, but even then it sometimes slips out still. I don't want to give people a reason to fear me— but I am sometimes afraid of myself. I don't know when I'll next explode at someone for something stupid..."

Arthur sighed a little bit at being reminded of his inevitable fate. "...I do... hate that fact. Even if it is the truth... I don't think I'm ready to leave Virtuous... I've been somewhat... fond of being here, actually. Like I can breathe for once. If I take the throne, then it's back to suffocating... but..." He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. "...You really think they'd be fine with it? I'm no stranger to how Rian people often fear my father more than anything... I do not wish to scare your parents either." There was genuine sadness, even some fear sprinkled in.

Sid's normally bandit-like face was turned into one of genuine pride and accomplishment. He couldn't even think of anything to say, but his face pretty much said it all. "Heh, keep yer enthusiasm like that and ye'll be a fine blacksmith indeed..." ... Arthur was thinking to himself, but was knocked out of it by Mim's tugging, turning his attention to her. "...Yes. I won't deny it will be a... difficult mission, both physically and mentally. But we have to get through it... we need to stop Ruslan's ambition." Arthur rubbed his sleeve. Even though he had been enthusiastic to kill his father before, something was nagging at him. "...I would like to meet your family, though. Even if we don't have time, it can be something to look forward to when we go home after all of this is done... as much as I don't want to go home, I know I can't keep running away from it."

Godiva Coventry's First Class Levels

Godiva Coventry has been selected as the new applicant, congratulations! Trainee Levels + Final Trainee Stats Remaining levels will come after promotion info has been posted!

Some time passes... "Alright. We've had enough leisure, it's getting late... Come on, I'll cook dinner." ... ————— A week goes by. A week without further incident, until there is a knock on the door just as breakfast is finished. Kane gets as far as unlocking the door before— Albert comes barreling in, panting as hard as he can. "Ria and Perus... They have gone to war!" "Hmph... It was only a matter of time..." "Of fucking course." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Shocked he didn't do it sooner, asshole." "...Brother..." "I apologize, but we cannot allow for further delay— Ria's military might is strong, but no match for Perus— your best and perhaps only chance of obtaining that Relic thing is now before it falls into Perusian hands or worse... However, all of the borders are shut down and heavily fortified, even when Ceda and Perus's borders were once lax. However, Her Majesty has arranged for a ship to pass through the center lake so that you can all get to Ria without interference from Perus. As long as we fly Ceda colors, they will assume we are there for diplomatic relations. You have a plan, yes?... Please tell me you have a-" "Albert, calm down. I have a plan— and it just so happens that the best case scenario involved a skirmish." "You have!? I mean, you have! Good! We'll need to prepare the ship, so please get ready and be there in... er... well, just get there sometime today! Please!" With a salute, Albert hurried back to his horse and rushed off at a blinding speed. Kane put a fist over his mouth, turning to the group. "Well, then... Showtime, everyone. We cannot allow this war to go on for long— Lucy, do you have any idea of why Perus...?" Lucy opened her mouth to speak, shaking. Arthur decided to spare her. "It wouldn't have been Perus that started it— fucking Ruslan's had a hate hard-on for Perus for years. I bet the second Ria fucks off, Perus will also most likely fuck off." Lucy opted to nod, relieved that Arthur interjected for her no matter how crude he may have been. "Alright. Get your bearings, everyone..." "And talk te me if ye need weapons, got a nice batch 'a silver I cooked up—" Just as Simeon came upstairs, so did Sid, excitedly holding a... what looked to be a tree branch with a spearhead on it. "Mim! Mim! I did it, I tell ya! And get this, the old man said I improved the efficiency of a regular iron lance! Here ya go!" "His craftsmanship is the worst I've ever seen, don't even look like an iron lance... but I'm afraid he's right, he managed to somehow improve the accuracy of an iron lance with no drawbacks... other than it looking like the worst thing I've ever seen in me days... Well? Ye gonna give 'er a name or what?" "...Mim...?" "Her as in the weapon, ye dolt." "Oh, uh... how about... uh... Pokedeath?... or... Poking Death?... Uh... We can do Poking Stick maybe?... Cause it kinda looks like a stick kinda?" "...Well, it fits the craftsmanship, I suppose... Mim, feel free to give it a better name if ye'd like, give this boy an actual lesson in namin' weapons." "Hey!" Mim obtained Poking Stick!

A very light sigh escaped Kane as he continued to stare up at the sky. "...Don't I already know that..." Though his words sounded defeated, he still had driving force behind them. "Even so, I cannot allow mistakes to inhibit my motivation. But I have at least been thinking on plans, knowing when to get my limits back in order... I've also been trying to get more sleep, convincing myself that the Icons of Sin aren't tracking Lucy at five in the morning was one battle I won with myself lately."

Arthur listened, and once Justine had finished he finally caught a hold of himself. His eyes at least opened again to face the ocean. "...mh... I'm glad I ran into you. You know how to manage emotions much better than I. I wouldn't even know where to start with my memories..." ——— Lucy was immediately softened up by Mim's words, sinking into the chair. "No one'sh... ever shaid it back to me..." With a little bit more blubbering and tearing up, she seemed to finally doze off.

Arthur listened intently to Justine, though his expression didn't seem to change much as he was lost in thought. In fact, his pain didn't seem to go away. "No... no, you're right. It just gets so difficult, it makes me so angry that things had to turn out the way they did... and then if it weren't for the rest of you, I would have been stuck in prison, I don't even know how I was found out in the first place..." Arthur grumbled, before his grumbling turned into a light sigh. "Sometimes it feels like everything that happened was just a burden rather than a blessing... and then to even think about that thought feels like an insult to her memory."

Lucy was extremely responsive to the feeling of Mim stroking her hair, almost immediately melting under her touch. She laid down in the chair, curling up as she stared up at Mim with her eyes still teary. "M-Mim... I lof you, Mim... y-you're sho nishe... to me..." She did look about ready to doze off, at least, though she'd be waking up with a bad case of frog eyes.

Lucy was slumped over in the chair, hiccuping slightly. She looked at Mim, her eyes beginning to tear up again as she attempted to sloppily dab at her eyes with the handkerchief. "It'sh all my fault... I-I was thirsty and d-drank more than I should have from Baldur'sh iced tea and now I'm gonna die I'm such a horrible person, I-I'm a traitor and selfish- I-I desherve to be drowned in the oshin..." Lucy gave up on wiping away her tears— now they were starting to come out too quickly. ——— Kane gave a quiet sigh in response to Lenore. "Perhaps I should... I have such a tendency to get involved with everything that I..." Kane paused, looking behind him and seeing the... scene involving Lucy. He gave an even deeper sigh as he went back to looking at the sky. "...I'll let Mim handle it... she's better with Lucy than I am..." However, it was clear that he still wanted to go and help.

"Y-you're sho nishe to me..." Lucy's slurred voice came up as she dragged herself into Baldur's chair, not even a fuss about how selfish she was being though some tears remained in her eyes. She took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes... but not her mouth.