In a large patch of grass in the middle of large hills that overlook a waterfall that gently carries water to it's destination, lays a white haired teen. His clothing consists of an armoured surcoat that has
scale-like plating covering the chest to the thighs but continues to trail down to the ankles providing protection to vulnerable tendons. The shoulders are also plated with steel that continues in segments and ends at leather finger less gloves. The outfit is outlined in green and has extra padding over the chest with a scarf for extra neck protection. The youth on the grass has two swords sheathed on his back and an elaborate medallion that's shaped like a wolf's head attached to his neck by a chain.
Reima "Ugggh, my head..." he messages his temples as he looks around, his slit pupils contract at the sudden change in lighting. Squinting at the sun blaring down at him, Reima looks around and sees pleasant foliage of oak trees and short grass, he stands up and washes his face in the perfectly clear stream. Birds cheep and twitter as they play around the trees surrounding him and small animals scurry from here to there like there is no danger nearby.
Reima "Man, this place is a paradise..." He walks up one of the hills and spies a perilous drop followed by an endless forest with a huge sprawling city behind it, he spots the huge tower in the distance and gapes at the monstrous size of it... Even this many miles away it still fills the horizon like a stairway to heaven. "Beautiful."
He slips back down the hill to his previous resting place and makes sure all of his possessions are still with him. Sword? Check, Armour? Check, Potions? Check. He checks his travelling pack for his distillation equipment and herbs he preserved before he left, still where he left them.
Reima is still unsure as to what world he had ended up in but decides nothing can come from waiting around, he hefts his pack onto his back and starts down the almost untrodden path. The path is enclosed by small rocky inclines that snakes around until it stops before a village of some sort?
The buildings are made of some sort of sand stone but still have wooden doors. Two weirdly placed human sized statues stand either side of the entrance further inside, Reima vaguely remembers someplace like this before... He just can't place his finger on it. He continues walking and the village buildings start becoming more damaged and desolate... He spots a figure in-front of a building.
Reima "Hey! Are you alright?"
The figure turns around revealing it's masked face, the mask has a single eye hole that has cracks spreading across it. The figure doesn't verbally respond but instead gets into a weird stance...
It's only then Reima recognises where he is, Absolver. The failed game that had so much potential but lacked enough content to keep it's player base... Reima was one of the people that pre-ordered the game and collected almost every item, and while he doesn't admit it he mostly kept playing to find all cosmetic items to fashion his Character with... His flashbacks of his past life while playing the game are interrupted as the masked individual does a right roundhouse kick to Reima's face and lands it directly on his cheek.
While the speed was around an athletic humans level, the technique was comparable to the martial masters of earth.
Reima quickly retreats as his attacker continues to perform a flurry of blows. While his armour protects against bladed weapons and stabs well, it doesn't hold up against impact damage for the extra weight he has to carry to be useful...
After blocking a right jab to his face and the following left round house punch, Reima's arms feel like they're gonna bruise later... He tries a straight kick to the masked persons hip and pirouettes to perform a back-fist to it's masked face. It's head is thrown back from the impact but it continues as if the pain means nothing to it. It jumps at Reima and tries to do a flying punch to his face but is met a low powered Aard sign that causes it to fall on it's head, Reima follows it up by stomping on it's skull with enough force to crush cinder blocks. The attack connects but instead of it's head being fractured or even crushed, the persons body begins to fade away.... Yellow triangles and squares fold over each other in a mesmerising display as they fade into the air...
Reima "Man, if my guess is right then I'm only in the tutorial area... And these guys can fuck me up." He clicks his neck and back to release the tension from his recent fight.
Reima "But, if there is a place to learn combat techniques... Then this is it."
So, I decided to post a "taster" chapter of the Absolver arc... Hopefully I can get the fight scenes right, the only problem I can foresee is people without knowledge of martial arts finding the techniques and moves somewhat confusing... For things like hip-throws and jab's it's pretty easy to imagine but, half shoulder throws, leg locks and fancy kicks like the 360 tornado kick is gonna be difficult.
Heres kinda what Reima's current armour looks like... https://www.gosunoob.com/witcher-3/mastercrafted-bear-ursine-gear/
As always, if there is anything I missed please let me know.