Buzzing Heavenly Carmellia

Paks stalked to the chaos gate, her stride short and concise. Entering in another set of keywords, the Adept-Rogue closed her eyes as the golden bands surrounded her. For a moment the tension leaked from her face, allowing the childish avatar to show through. And then her eyes were open and the heavy scowl back in place and anyone who dared call her a child was going to get a face full of her tessen. Luckily the dungeon she had brought herself to was mercifully empty of all other occupants, as far as Paks could tell right now.

It was a forest dungeon, resembling a temperate forest which was heavily wooded with a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. The canopy was so thick that only a muted greenish light could filter through, casting dappling shadows and patterns across everything. It was hot, air caught beneath the trees without enough free space to be blown away. A dirt path lay in front of her, twining forward indefinitely. Old discarded tree branches and leaf matter littered the road, creating a carpet of tree remnants. It was damp enough that nothing crunched underfoot as Paks stalked down the path, neck tense and angrily scanning her surroundings with quick flicks of her eyes.

The chirping of birds was nearby, along with a pleasant hum from some sort of insect. The crinkling sound of leaves being brushed past, or other natural movements as small animals went about their business was a constant companion. For a few minutes Paks walked silently along the dirt trail, each step stiff legged and controlled. She was angry. Still. And the anger was incentive enough for the purple haired player to test her skills against a dungeon, and hopefully raise her experience. She needed to gain levels, and fast.

Growing tenser as time went on, Paks finally picked up her pace. She should have seen a monster by now. It had been several minutes of just walking, and while she enjoyed the forest biome, something she had never seen in real life living as she did in the clustered city, this was getting ridiculous. As she raced around a bend in the track, a brilliant golden glow popped up, pressing her to stumble to a halt. The shining portal suddenly shattered, revealing the long awaited monster.

It was some type of bird, almost resembling a baby chicken although the odd pieces of shell stuck to it seemed strange. Paks lowered a hand slowly, gripping her tessen easily before lunging forward towards the bird. In a whirl of flashing metal, she slashed at it before twirling around behind it and coming to a stop in a defensive position. The chick cried out in pain, before flapping at her, small form zipping forward to beat at her with it's wings. Paks unfurled one fan, holding it in front of her to ward off the attack while she snaked the other around to cut at the monsters flank.

A few more carefully calculated attacks later and the chick shattered, HP depleted. Paks took a quick breath, glancing down at her experience meter. The bar moved forward. Not enough. She moved forward, heading further down the path.

Wet leaf matter squelched underfoot while Paks avoided the worst of the tree branches. The debris littering the ground got thicker as she went on, and further into the stages of decay. A damp sweet scent was prevalent, growing to an almost sickening level as she walked further. The hum of insects increased too, a dull thrum reverberating through her head. Paks ducked under an overhanging branch, reaching a hand up to push the springy branch back before it could get caught in her hair.

A bright glow caught her attention as another golden magic circle rotated slowly a few paces away. Last time she hadn't had the chance to look at the design of the circle, but now it seemed that it wouldn't activate until she had gotten closer, so Paks took the chance to rake her eyes over the pretty configuration. It was some type of design, almost see through. Paks appreciated the graphics in this game, as even something so simple as a portal was made into a beautiful sight.

The short player took a step forward, breaking the near silent calm. At her second step, the array shattered to reveal another monster. This one was huge, and the first thing Paks noticed was the large mushroom cap that apparently functioned as part of it's body. The strange designs on the cap were not all that far off from those poisonous mushrooms she had learned about once in the real world, and that alone had her a bit wary. An onion, with the mushroom cap attached to the tip of the onion stalk, functioned as the bottom of this creature. Two thin legs sticking out from beneath it, and a pair of bright eyes blinking bulbously at her. The worst part though, was the set of large teeth that formed a macabre smile across the creatures face.

While she was looking it over, the Onion Mash wasn't so patient. Jumping forward, it opened that freakish mouth wide and attempted to come down on her head. Startled, Paks was glad that she had the forethought not to sheath her tessen and instead kept them in hand the whole time. Swishing, she unfurled one with a flick of the wrist before slipping off to the side lightly, just far enough that the onion creature would miss by an inch or so. Angling her tessen so that it would meet the sharp edges of them instead of her head, Paks winced almost before the onion impacted with it's full force.

It made a small screeching sound, as if it was in pain, before the Onion Mash disintegrated before her eyes. Sighing softly, she shook out her tessen and checked their edges. She didn't want any onion residue ruining the weapons. After wiping them with an errant sleeve, she was satisfied.

Paks moved forward again, only to encounter another monster portal a few feet ahead. This turned out to be another Onion Mash, as did the next one and the next. Fully fed up with screaming onions, Paks slipped through the thick tree growth and moved purposefully forward.

Ducking a particularly tenacious tree limb, Paks managed to avoid all of the well placed twigs and claw shaped branches which reached for her hair or loose clothing in what she would swear was an attempt to hold her back. Luckily, she was short enough that stooping down allowed her to bypass the limbs altogether at the cost of an uncomfortable procession. Straightening with a low sigh once she had cleared the reach of the tree, Paks twisted around to glance back. That particular tree seemed to take on the appearance of a hunched over form, with a thick tree trunk and large branching limbs which seemed to curl inward reminiscent of clawed hands. It was a rather disturbing effect, made worse by the fact that this was the first time Paks had glanced back, and thus the first time she had seen the disappearance of the path.

That is, the fact that the trees seemed to close in behind her, forming a veritable wall of dark grasping foliage where an open trail should have been. Crouching, she tried to peer through the thickly growing undergrowth, to perhaps catch any remnants of the path that the trees had evidently grown over. Whenever she managed to hold a root back, or brush a low hanging branch out of the way, the greenery seemed to move on it's own to quickly cover up her view. Snarling quietly, Paks began slashing at it with her tessen, intent on cutting through to see the ground.

After a few minutes of quiet work, the limbs seemed to hiss where she had hacked through them, retracting to reveal a plot of soil. Paks blinked, poking a finger into the moist earth. No matter how she stared at it, it was simply ground. Lacking any resemblance to the path she had followed thus far. Pulling her hand back she watched as the roots quickly regrew, enveloping the small patch she had managed to clear out.

Springing to her feet, Paks backpedaled a few feet, vermilion eyes watching intently as the trees slowly bulged. Moving as if they had a life of their own. After a few seconds, in plain sight, the flora inched forward until it covered the few feet she had taken. A barricade of living plants. Paks blinked again, shifting her arms so as to loosen the muscles in her shoulders. That was certainly... strange. And it meant she couldn't turn back. Which basically came down to the fact that she had to finish this dungeon if she wanted to leave.

Was that supposed to be added incentive? She scoffed lightly, spinning on her heel and stalking forward, totally ignoring the plants that grew behind her to form a thick impregnable barrier. Brushing the dirt off her clothes as well as she could, Paks lowered her hands so that they were resting at her sides. If she had to beat this whole dungeon to get out, then she would have to be careful about things. And not take any risks, or lose health unduly. One mistake could cause her failure. To slip-up now, would be irreversible. A fanged smile bloomed on her face at the thought of such a challenge.

Sliding around a tangle of bright green plants which gave off a nose wrinkling scent with their sticky leaves, Paks moved forward. Up ahead she could see the brilliance of another monster portal, the magic circle casting a bright light over everything. The light seemed enough to keep the plants back, although Paks herself had to hurry as they grew more bold in their ventures.

Stepping out where the glow could reach her, Paks craned her neck to see if she could spot anything behind the monster portal. Unluckily the lack of lighting coupled with the bright light directly in front of her seemed to nix any plans of scouting. Grumbling under her breath, the short player stepped forward so that she was fully in the light. As if on key, the magical array shattered to reveal another creature.

This one was huge, and rather daunting. Part of a tree? Paks stared at it perplexed. The monster took on the form of a tree stump... Sort of. It was so big around, that it would have taken at least three people to form the girth with their arms fully outstretched. Greyish bark coated the bottom half of the stump, while strange feetlike protrusions acted as legs. She wasn't sure if they were originally roots, or just some sort of bark growth. The stump itself appeared to be in a state of growth, with a few twigs and branches growing up out of the cut top, even an errant leaf was attached to one of the twigs. The face looked something like what one would find on a jack-o-lantern, with dark carved ridges and even the impression of a nose. Other than the fact that it seemed to move, frowning deeply at her.

Paks inched back, shifting her back foot to the side. Slowly, so as not to provoke a reaction out of the monster before she was ready, she sheathed her tessen. One hand slipped behind her back, to clutch the end of her war fan, while the other darted over her shoulder to press the clip which would release the large fan from it's holster.

As the heavy weight fell from her back and settled into her other hand, Paks deftly twisted her arm and upper torso, swinging the fan out in front of her while simultaneously unfurling it. Hebi no Hanarabi was rather heavy, and she quickly gripped the end with her free hand. Tilting the fan off to the side, Paks eyed the Crumple Tree carefully. It had yet to move, seeming to favor watching her instead.

With a loud cry, Paks charged forward. Supple arms bringing the sharp edge of the fan to bear on the tree stump with a controlled precision. She managed to strike it three times before the stump attacked back, lumbering towards her with a speed at odds with the large size of the beast. Whacking her with it's branches, Paks stumbled back under the heavy barrage.

Baring her fangs in an open threat, Paks readjusted her grip before lunging forward. Leaning down slightly, she held Hebi no Hanarabi up in front of her for a low pass at the creatures legs, directly where they connected to it's body. The poison in her weapons was beginning to take a toll on the Crumple Tree as it's health sluggishly dropped before she could get in close enough to attack again.

Arms aching lightly, Paks felt her blood throb as it rushed through her body. Adrenaline accompanying the familiar surge. Her fan hit, the solid thunk and sudden resistance a jolt to her system. Pulling back, Paks dropped one hand to one of her tessen and quickly drew the small fan. While she was still in close range, she jammed the sharp edge of her hand fan into the tree stump.

It stumbled back, mouth opening silently to form a grimace of pain as it's health took another dive. In retaliation the huge monster bull rushed her, heavy form connecting with her slim one harshly. Setting her teeth and ignoring the bone jolting force, Paks held her ground without glancing towards her own health meter. There was no point in discouraging herself after all, and it wasn't like the knowledge would change the outcome of this battle.

Releasing her other hand, Paks grabbed her second tessen and took advantage of the monsters close proximity, thrusting her weapon into the joint between another of it's legs. For a moment the Crumple Tree shuddered, double doses of poison working away to deplete the last vestiges of it's HP. A moment later, it's face formed a ghastly rictus before it shattered.

Wearily stepping back, Paks caught her tessen in one hand before they could drop to the ground. Closing her war fan, she slipped the trusty weapon back into it's sheath along her back. Running the back of her hand across her eyes, she blinked blearily and tried to ignore the reoccurring blurriness of her eyes. She'd been at this for a while now. Shaking her head, Paks frowned darkly. She wasn't about to give up now.

Finally glancing at her health bar, she winced. She hadn't wanted to take a potion along, not to mention the outrageous prices of that last merchant she had been to and now it seemed that she should have ponied up her gold.

The trees seemed to grow closer and closer, clawed branches gripping each other until they formed a type of living tunnel under which she was traveling. Because of that, the precarious lighting grew even dimmer, barely allowing Paks to see the roots she maneuvered herself over or the trees she avoided. Soon enough she encountered another monster portal, which in turn produced yet another Onion Mash.

Dodging the customary attempt to eat her head, Paks spun and whacked the onion creature with the butt end of her tessen, the sharp thwack sounding loudly throughout the now nearly silent forest. It bounced back, mouth wide to show off razor sharp teeth. After another few attacks, Paks managed to dodge all of it's widely open bites and land most if not all of her own slashes, the creature shrieked loudly before shattering into nothingness.

Panting, Paks modified her grip on the hand fans. She was lucky. The Onion Mash hadn't damaged her in that altercation. It was annoying that luck was what she was relying on now, and it made her eyes burn. The familiar exhaustion settled into her limbs, as her muscles ached in an altogether tense manner which set her on edge. If her muscles were already this tired, she was hardly in any condition to keep fighting. Blast her stupid decision not to get potions!

It seemed weak somehow, to have to rely on anything other than her skills to complete something. Snarling softly, she moved on. It didn't matter if it was a mistake or not, she didn't have any potions so there was no point beating herself over the head about it, or deliberating the situation in general. Stalking onward, the lighting grew darker still, until it was hard to make out her own hand in front of her face.

Paks trudged on, trying to shake off the exhaustion clinging stubbornly to her mind. It was because of the lack of lighting that she almost stumbled over the small chest set in a circle of dirt amazingly void of all plant life. However other than running into the object and banging her shins up, Paks managed to balance herself before she fell. Kneeling after looking around warily to pop open the chest.

A flash of light caused spots to dance through her eyes, and when she finally blinked them away Paks stared down at the open chest. Floating an inch or so above the bottom was a set of potions as well as some strange sword. She grabbed the items, wondering if perhaps she could sell the sword later, when another flash of light enveloped her.

This time when she had managed to blink away the spots, Paks found herself transported to a totally different place. Instead of the dark trail through the forest, she was now in front of a Chaos Gate outside of a brightly lit forest. Glaring suspiciously back at the forest, Paks grimaced before entering the Chaos Gate. Whatever. She didn't care what had just happened so long as she was out of that creepy forest.

---> Topic End