Plans and The Enemy

With your training done, you set off to find out what happened last night. It took you a while, having to ask many people to get the complete picture, but what you find confuses you.

Someone had tried to steal supplies and flee the town. From what you gathered, the culprit heard about the Grimm nest nearby and was terrified. They had snuck into the food storehouse and stolen 2 weeks worth of rations and produce. He had almost escaped, everyone of importance was at the emergency meeting. The only reason they had been caught, was a passing guard that

happened to be...relieving himself in the nearby bushes. Needless to say, the guard wasn't very happy to have someone jump over the town wall and land right where he was, "Doing My Bussines" as he so generously explained to you.

The very idea that a lone person would even attempt to leave the town at this time baffles you. They didn't even have their so-called "Aura" unlocked, it was suicide! No doubt they would have been ambushed by Grimm after an hours walk.

Due to the effect that negative emotion has on Grimm, it was decided to keep the culprit unconscious until the current crisis was resolved.

Thinking on Hazle's decision, you feel Hazel had made the right choice. If she had allowed the thief to remain conscious it would only attract the nearby grim. You are certain that is the last thing anyone wants. It was a perfectly logical decision and you're sure you would have taken the same course of action.

======

When Slate came to inform you of your assignment, you were ready. After a quick briefing on the main goal of this mission, you were once again introduced to "Brick"

"Damn it, do I really have to go out with the forest savage?" Why does he still think you're a forest savage? you're even wearing "Proper" clothing now.

"Yes Brick, now don't be rude! Or I'll be revoking your alcohol privileges for the week" Hazel sure can be quite...commanding when she wants to be.

"Damn it! Fine!" He glares at you, and you can just make out a whispered

"If I get eaten by cannibalistic forest savages, I'm going to haunt you till the day you die, Hazel."

"What was that?" It seems like Hazel might have heard him too.

"Nothing!!" Brick's reply is quick and a bit squeaky.

"Yeah, I thought so, Brick." Hazel's blank face does nothing to convince you that she didn't hear that.

With your preparations complete, you and Brick head off towards the Grimm nest.

You wonder if you should keep quiet and try to be as stealthy as possible, or maybe you should try to find out why Brick is so aggravated by your presence.

While you lead Brick towards the nest, your curiosity gets the better of you. You bluntly ask him why he is so ill at ease around you.

He simply looks at you for a second, then he shakes his head and sighs.

"What does it matter, we have a job to do. Let's stop talking and get it done" The edge in his voice almost persuades you to drop the subject.

Yet, you continue onward. You point out that you've never done anything to provoke him. You've also never wronged him, as far as you know, and you quickly apologize in case you have.

You want to know why he doesn't like being around you.

"There doesn't Have to be a reason!" He snaps back at you, catching you off guard.

"Why does there need to be a reason?! Can't I just not like you because I don't know you!?" He continues his rant, getting louder and louder.

"Every time I see you talk to other people, it's as if you're just imitating those around you. It's like you've never held a proper conversation before! It creeps me out!"

"You just up and come out of the forest and make me feel so-" He suddenly stops

"No, nevermind. I don't like you because you're so frigging creepy and I don't know you. Maybe I'd be able to get used to it, but definitely not in the week you'll be staying here."

those words left a confusing stinging feeling in your chest.

He continues on, ignorant of your inner thoughts

"I barely know you, but I won't let my personal feelings get in the way of the mission. Let's go, we've wasted enough time talking."

Feeling a bit.....sad? You continue on and eventually arrive at the vantage point you last viewed the Grimm nest from.

You notice Brick take out a small notebook and begin to write down details on the number and type of Grimm.

You silently continue to watch the hoard. The very large and dangerous Grimm is still sleeping, though it seems to be facing towards your vantage point now.

As Brick tells you that he's done writing his notes, you turn around and look towards the nest one last time.

Your muscles tense. The Unknown Grimm is staring at you.

"Hey what's-" Whatever Brick was going to whisper dies in his throat.

The Grimm rears back and Roars!!.

"SHIT! RUN!!" The fear in Brick's voice is a good indication that running is the optimal course of action at this point in time.

As both of you start to run, a giant ball of light flashed by, far to your left. What follows is an explosion that shreds all the trees in its path. You can feel some of the shrapnel glide by your face.

From what you could see, it appears that the Grimm might be able to launch balls of lightning that explode on contact.

Ignoring the following explosions, you and Brick run as fast as your legs allow. Only after running nonstop for twenty minutes do you notice that Brick had in fact been keeping up with you.

He must be a very good runner, or maybe he's had his aura unlocked.

Brick suddenly stops, prompting you to follow his lead. He looks at you and says.

"Huff...gahh... this, this is bad. We can only hope..that they won't follow us too far. I suggest we split up, I've seen you use that sword, you'll probably be fine. I Need to get these notes back to town, I'll move faster alone."

A howl can be heard not too far from your location.

"Damn! they're fast."

"Alright, so, you good with this plan? We split ways and meet up in town after we've lost our...friends"

Brick's words earlier had stung. You knew that he had the right to feel this way, but it still hurt. You really didn't like the feeling one bit,

but you wouldn't let it affect you. You would continue to move forward, experiencing all the world had. Whether it was good or bad didn't matter, you were finally alive, so you would enjoy it as much as possible. Though you wondered if it had been your or Brick's negative emotions that had alerted the Grimm.

In the end, it didn't matter who attracted the Grimm, what mattered was getting Brick to Spring's End. With these thoughts, you explained your plan.

You could see the beginning of a snarl forming on Brick's face, only to be abruptly replaced with a very sharp look.

"Fine.....go play the hero. I'll do my job, and you go do that" He said as he ran off towards the town.

Once he was a good distance away, you enacted your plan. You know the Grimm are drawn towards negative emotions, so you gave them just that. You thought back on your time alone, how all you could do was wait and watch as the world slowly developed. How you could do nothing but watch and hope that one day you would get a chance at life. And finally, you thought about how the Grimm wanted to take that chance away from you. It filled you with anger. You would crush these Grimm, you wouldn't allow them to take your happiness away.

And so, the howls grew closer. With scarlet eyes seeking blood, they came. From the trees, 10 beowolves appeared and charged at you.

You were ready, though.

And The World Slowed

You dashed towards them, scattering earth and stone as you neared. Only now, as you were right next to them, did you notice that these beasts had more bone adorning their bodies than the one you first fought.

With your time domain, you could accelerate your sword to devastating speeds. Truly, if there was anyone watching, they would only be able to describe your sword as a black blur.

And so, 7 fell to the ground, leaving only their legs and dust behind. The other 3 manage to evade your horizontal slash, but you manage to take an arm from the one that was just a bit too slow.

Having realised the potential threat you posed, the remaining 3 howl. They must be calling for reinforcements, you think.

Perfect, let them call for help. You're sure this will only help Brick's get to town safer.

Not soon after you think that, 15 beowolves rush out of the woods to join their brothers.

With a greater number than before, they charge once more. It won't do them any good, you think.

With your time domain, dodging couldn't be any easier. You wade through their attacks, not a single one of them managing to so much as touch you And so, having worked your way towards the centre of their formation, you sweep your blade around you in a circle. Once more, the wind screeches at the unnatural speed of your sword, 10 more join the dead.

You notice the remaining 8 getting ready to call for reinforcements.

You decide to let them call for help, after all, it will only benefit Brick.

As you wait, you look towards the now darkening skies, it seems like it will be raining soon.

And so, you wait.

With raindrops cascading over the forest, the Grimm appear. They surround you, but even in numbers, a weakling is a weakling still.

The grip on your sword tightens. They will come to you, and you shall scatter their remains throughout this clearing.

With renewd forces, they charge.

Using numbers to their advantage, and claws seeking blood, they corner you.

Thankfully, most of their hits are shallow and are almost instantly healed.

This, once more, puts you in an opportune position to strike. You'd think they'd learn not to allow you to reach their center.

You swing wildly, slicing Grimm and raindrops alike. Your sword feels no resistance as it cuts through the bone plating adorning the Grimm.The ones at the front are cut in half, the ones behind lose their heads. You continue swinging, in what could only be described as a savage dance of death. Anything withing the range of your sword is instantly crushed and cut. Soon enough, all that surrounds you is a quickly dispersing cloud of dust. It seems like 4 managed to anticipate your counterattack and retreated just in time. You notice that these ones, compared to the others, have significantly more white, protruding bones. Something to think about perhaps?

With desperation, they howl once again.

Only around 20 come this time. Thinking back on it, most of the beowolf forces you saw at the nest should already be dead. This must be the remaining few.

Thunder soon joins the rain, and you can see lightning falling from the clouds, not so far from here.

You should finish this soon, you've already more than completed your objective, besides, your starting to feel the effects of your time manipulation.

Dirt gives way once more as you sprint towards their ranks.

Even with the world starting to slow you down, you're still much faster than they are. Your sword traces a path of destruction as it decapitates the first. You follow up by impaling the second, then throwing its

dissolving corpse at the remaining two. Distracted by this, they never see your blade coming as it split them in two.

And so, you stand in the rain, surrounded by mud and the dissipating remains of your kills.

[Combat experience Gained!]

As if signaling somethings arrival, lightning strikes near the trees to your right.

You look and see the leader of the Grimm nest, ​​​​A Beast of Lightning.

Seems like It's found you. Enveloped in lighting, seemingly ready to rend you limb from limb, it waits.

Storm raging in the sky,

You make your choice. You will fight it, gather information and then escape. Any information gained will no doubt be very useful for the coming hunters. True, you won't be able to kill it, not as you are now, but

the information you'll gather should be well worth the defeat you will soon receive.

Once more, you prepare for combat. With Tense muscles and a tight grip, you wait for it to make the first move.

As if judging your choice of action, it takes a step forward and prepares to charge.

Seeing you make no move to flee, it lets out an earthshaking Roar. With piercing eyes, it looks at you and....you blink.

Even with the world slowed as it is, you almost miss it. If you hadn't noticed it at the very last second, both your legs would have been crushed into a fine paste. Instead, the beast's claws sever your tail and take your leg. You've never felt this much pain before, but you won't let it cause your death, not here. You command your body to STOP!! , and so, the feeling fades. With quite a bit of effort, your leg regrows, and you prepare for you counter attack.

You rocket towards its back, but it manages to turn around faster than something of its size should be able to. As if predicting your attack, it twists it's body out of the way. You notice

it's coat of lightning pulse as it performs unnatural steps to the right. None the less, it's just a bit too slow.You adjust your aim, hoping for a quick and decisive blow. Boosting your muscles for a faster and more devastating swing, you aim to behead this monster. You could tell it was shocked by your speed, it must have grown complacent, being the fastest thing in these woods. It desperately tries to swerve it's head to the right. Even with your powers over time, it was just fast enough to dodge a lethal strike. Still, Your sword rends flesh and bone alike, leaving behind a very deep and bloody scar.

From you observations so far, it seems like the lightning enveloping its form is significantly boosting its speed and reflexes. Considering the storm's quick and sudden appearance....you wonder if it had somehow called it into being?

It gives you no time for thoughts such as these, leaping towards you with a vengeance in its eyes.

You try to jump to the right, you would have made it too. Instead of landing with its back to you,it suddenly spins in place and swings its tail towards. The blow hits like a scythe, sweeping your legs from below and launching you up into the sky. As you rise, you notice that both your legs are still on the ground. You can do nothing but watch as you quickly descend towards the beast. It watches as you make your way down....then...it bats you aside with its tail once more, this time towards the trees.

|Everything goes black|

Your eyes quickly open. Everything hurts.

You're covered in blood, you're missing both your legs and you can't feel your left arm, but you're alive, and that's all that matters.

Looking back at the clearing, you can still see it, watching, waiting. Its posture saying, "Is that all?"

You will you body to move!

And so it does just that.

You focus solely on healing your lost limbs, it takes a while, and you're very tired after it, but they come back.

You get up and wrench your sword from the tree it managed to impale itself in.

Your disadvantage will only grow worse and worse in a prolonged fight. So, you decide, you'll give it one last shot, then escape becomes your priority.

You glance at your sword. You've only had it for a day, yet it has served you faithfully, but a tool is a tool in the end.

As lightning showers the forest, you spring into action.

You put all your strength into this one attack. Your muscles tighten and scream in protest as your rear back and swing your arm.

As the sword leaves your hand, the very air explodes. The shockwave left behind by your throw temporarily deafens you and rips off the bark from some of the nearby trees.

You're not looking at the Grimm though. The second the sword left your hand, you had run in the opposite direction. The only signal that you hit anything was a painful screech

coming from behind you and the sound of trees being upturned in a bloodthirsty rage.

You just couldn't help but smile at that.

[Inexperienced Combattant -> Not So Inexperienced Combattant ]

Great Swords (E--) -> Great Swords (E)