Retrieving the Package [ Job | Radiant Light]

Job Info:

WC: 385
Total: 385 /4000

Aven's footsteps were light on the ground as they walked, a confidence in his demeanor that manifested in every movement. Radiant Light's first job as a team; it was going to be a glorious endeavor, certainly one he would enjoy. The dynamic between Aven and Nessa may require a bit of work, of course, as it would take a while for them to truly grasp the potential of the other at any given moment in combat, but overall, their ideals coincided so perfectly that it was simply natural for them to band together. On a different, and more confusing note, it was exciting to simply be alone with Nessa, even in a strange place such as the Unknown lands. There was a certain comfort to it, the feeling one would associate to relaxing in a chair at home.

Aven smiled as she spoke up for the first time in a short while. "We'll do great, don't worry. We're strong enough to handle anything this job can throw at us, the world isn't ready for our synergy!" He meant every word, too; though, they'd picked a job rated slightly above what wizards of their particular rank would venture on, Aven knew for a fact they were stronger together than the average C-rank mage. It was only a function of their new arrival to the wizarding scene that they were ranked so low, daring exploits a surefire way to prove their strength. It was a point of contention for Aven in particular, as, in order to make a change in the world as he hoped, he would need an impressive amount of rapport with the Magic Council.

Their current endeavor was one of retrieval, though Aven was not comfortably informed about the nature of their adversaries. It had been hinted that something blocking the shipments to the Neko people, and that raised quite a few red flags for him. Normally, if wild animals attacked a caravan or similar cargo shipment, the cargo would be left behind, perhaps strewn about in a search for food. In this case, however, the goods disappeared, which could only point to some intelligent interference. Bandits, likely; though, of what kind, he could not be certain, and of what strength, he could only guess within the parameters of a mission assigned normally to B-rank wizards. They could at least expect formidable foes, if not equipped with guns and the like. Luckily, they had a good amount of healing magic between them, if he wasn't mistaken, so as long as they prepared adequately and strategically, there wouldn't be any massive firefights to worry about. Above all else, it was important that they take the job steadily and carefully, especially with their teamwork just starting to blossom.

Aven surveyed the area around them. They were traversing the area the cargo was said to have been travelling, so his guard was up, if nothing else. "How sure are we that the culprits aren't still around? As they say, the guilty always return to the scene of the crime."

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Word Count: 508.
Word Count Total: 508/4000.

Aven's eyes scanned the tracks. He'd been paying so much attention to their surroundings, he hadn't noticed them. Having someone else along truly was advantageous, it boosted his confidence knowing he didn't have to shoulder the entire burden of investigation and combat. In a flash, however, a knife skimmed by Nessa's face, lighting a metaphorical fire under Aven as his hunch was realized; six men in all emerged from the forest ahead of them, he thanked their lucky stars the first one had bad aim. Either that, or he was so cocky that he enjoyed the idea of a warning shot.

In a show of bravado, Nessa surged forward, cloaked in light, dispatching the bandit with the sharp tongue. Fitting, that he was eating dust at the moment. As she challenged the rest, he took the queue to join the fight himself. Time slowed to a crawl, as Aven calculated his optimal strategy: it was obvious they were grunts, he didn't sense any magic from a single one of them, and their fighting postures screamed novice. Not only that, but the weapons they carried were ill-maintained, not suited for a real battle in the slightest. The condition of one's weapon spoke volumes of their skill, for as one became more skilled in their art, the tools by which they practice it become more and more precious. The men standing before them viewed the various swords and hammers they carried as hunks of metal that could kill if you swung them hard enough. Ill-advised, when facing down a pair of wizards, especially those trained in the martial arts themselves. Aven, himself, had trained since he was a mere seven years old in the art of Rapier combat. Holding any weapon of finesse such as that was home to him, an extension of his arm, though he'd yet to perfect his off-shoot style of Cane wielding. Rapiers, as he would attest, were incredibly deadly weapons, and worse yet, in an evenly matched fight with a heavier sword wielder, the only consistent way to win was to aim for extremely vital areas, such as the neck or heart. The style he'd adapted to counter this was similar in principle, of course, but it carried both the stigma and the blessing of blunt force. Thus, it was much easier for Aven to defeat opponents without killing them, a specialization he'd embraced from an early age.

The usual soft emerald of Aven's eyes sharpened as they darted from one adversary to the next. Nessa'd already made the first move, engaging into their ranks, and several of them were already converging. That meant, barring expending a spell to Blink Nessa back, ranged combat was no longer an option. Just as well, of course, the bandits were inept, it seemed, so pressing their advantage was a wise decision on her part; given that, taking care of the outliers would likely be his best option, as it eliminated the possibility of one escaping and alerting any other bandits. He found it highly unlikely they worked alone, they weren't skilled enough not to get caught sooner, by the looks of it. Assuming they had no magic, it would be child's play to dispatch them quickly, and the quicker the threat of collapsing enemies was eliminated, the easier time Nessa would have dealing the the two that were charging her.

With a flourish of his cane, Aven beckoned forth a blink circle, which immediately disappeared. Aven, too, vanished, appearing behind the bandit in the very back, knocking him out with a simple club over the head, before blinking once more behind the bandit furthest to the right with a similar motion, and finishing the bandit to the left like clockwork, all in a matter of seconds. All who remained standing were the two rushing Nessa, completely oblivious to the fact their backup had been dispatched. Aven twirled his cane with a smile, opting to analyse Nessa's fighting style more carefully. It would be incredibly beneficial to be able to predict her actions to incorporate into his plans, and it would also aid in their cooperation as a team to know each other's limits, though he highly doubted she'd need to push herself in any way to soundly defeat the stragglers in this tiny skirmish. Aven, himself, of course, had used the Translocation Glyph, Sek, to teleport his Blink Circle onto the back the the first bandit he took out, then applied the Multiplication Glyph, Hei, to make two exact copies of it, one on each of the other two. At that point, it was only a matter of activating them one after another, and taking their respective adversary completely by surprise. A simple task against bandits that preyed only on the weak, of course.

The two bandits, however, were not so aware of their situation. The first smirked as he ran forward, swinging his club in a powerful, but awkward, downward stroke. The second even found breath to jibe back at Nessa, as he made a poor attempt at stab towards her chest. "Those'r sum sad last wurds there, liddle lady!" Aven shook his head, still keeping his eyes on Nessa: those poor fools.

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 280.

Blink Circle: 4 posts cooldown remaining.
Multiplication Glyph, Hei: No post cooldown remaining.
Translocation Glyph, Sek: No post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 865.
Word Count Total: 1373/4000.

Aven watched in silence as Nessa faced down her two assailants; primarily, he was observing her footwork and martial style, two extremely defining characteristics of a fighter. Not surprisingly, instead of planting her feet, she began to shift around in place, preparing to dodge to either side. The first to strike didn't account for this whatsoever, his weak attempt at a stab thwarted by the slightest of movements from Nessa, as she leaned away from the ill-advised attack. She was certainly no pushover: there was a lyrical sense to her footwork, smooth and flowing, while congruently swift and calculated. It was a harsh foil to his own, which relied on abrupt, postured stances, focused on forcing his opponent to abandon their own flow in favor of his. Nessa's magic, as well, played a key role in the fight. It seemed as though it took little effort to summon, meaning it was likely a well practiced, basic magical effect, a theory quickly supported by the burning of the bandit's hand, disarming him. A smile spread across his face at her banter, she seemed to enjoy speaking during combat. Given how weak their enemies were, though, the two of them could've played a game of chess while fending them off with one hand each, so speaking was hardly a strain.

Thus, it seemed odd to him when the second attacker managed to flank her, curious indeed: he knew she'd seen him, yet her footwork made no sign of responding. Was it intentional? His question was answered quickly, and he whistled softly as Nessa widened her stance, flinging the larger man straight over her shoulder to crash onto his constituent, knocking the breath from both of them. Mental note, head locks were a no-go on Nessa, filing that away for later use. Aven made his approach as she questioned them, only to receive a snide remark. Two chipped teeth and a broken nose later, the bandit was unconscious, and as far as Aven was concerned, good riddance. The whole lot of them reeked of greed, their hearts so filled to the brim with the vice that it was hard to even glance their way. "More than he deserved; you're a Saint, as usual," Aven grinned, twirling his cane. "I'd hoped they could be a good warm up, but could hardly be called a fight."

Kept his cool? That was true, but it sounded as though she was unconsciously devaluing her own contribution. "I keep my cool because I must, to be quite honest: Circle magic is muddled by stray emotions, such as passion and righteous anger. For most magics, like yours, emotion is fuel on the fire, I'd go as far to say it's a strength of yours, Nessa!" It was a principle he'd run across very early in the development of his Circle magic, the lack of variability in it's execution based on emotion. The brightest of magical researchers, whom Aven would not even dare compare himself to, all agreed that a major strength of magic was it's natural link to the user's emotion; some texts even detailed that the purer a magic was, the closer it was tied to the mental state of the user. It was a very well supported theory, judging by the current state of knowledge on Slayer Magics, and a very intriguing one at that, as it suggested the logical conclusion that if one were to achieve perfection over magic, it would not respond to their thoughts, but simply manifest their will. A frightening prospect, indeed, and one that Aven planned to eventually study firsthand.

He followed Nessa's example, rummaging through the pockets of the bandits he'd knocked out, finding most of the same things, until the last, who had a small map concealed in his jacket pocket. Aven waved Nessa over as he inspected it, the contents detailing an encampment not too far from their current position. His lessons in cartography came in handy, finally! Useless profession, otherwise, though he did have a knack for getting lost. Ironic, to say the least. He laid the map down on the unconscious bandit's chest, using him unashamedly as a dirty makeshift table, and traced their location to the marker on the map. "We've definitely found our heading: if the supplies are anywhere we can still retrieve them, they'll be smack in the middle of the men who stole them." He glanced in that direction: having a map was perfect, they could formulate a plan far ahead of time. He rolled it up, keeping it in his hand: important or not, that filthy piece of parchment wasn't going to get close to his tailored pearl white suit.

As they took off toward the North, Aven struck up a question. "So, what's our strategy? A hit and run tactic could suit us nicely, but depending on how much magic they can use and whether they have an adequate amount of ranged firepower, it may be wiser to brute force our way through the lot of them." He was torn on it, himself: the advantages of a blitz were many, as they could chain the element of surprise into major losses in their attack force, and couple that with the inability for them to regroup, an advantage Hit and Run normally sacrificed, as it put the defenders on high alert. On the other hand, employing guerrilla tactics correctly, they could effectively minimize the risk of underestimating their opponents, and gauge the enemy's fighting strength before committing too heavily to the brawl, as with an all in strategy. Either way, the camp was close, so making preparations now was a must.

As she answered, he made a small motion with his cane, a Healing Circle appearing on his back alongside a small grey circle, which shattered, and immediately after, two more Healing Circles appearing stacked on top of each other on Nessa's back, all three glowing a beautiful light green. Those circles took a while to charge to their full potential, so it was wise to set them up preemptively to injury, time they currently had. If charged to full, he bet the two Circles could bring Nessa from unconscious to nearly fully healthy in an instant.

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 250.

Multiplication Glyph, Hei: No cooldown remaining.
Displacement Circle: No cooldown remaining.
Protection Glyph, Kha: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Blink Circle: 3 post cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 4 post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 1036.
Word Count Total: 2409/4000.

Aven gave Nessa a light wink at the compliment, as she seemed to regain a bit a confidence. "Always here to help, Nessa." Really, it was only natural for him at that point, all his life, he'd worked towards helping others. What good was it if he couldn't help those closest to him, even with the little things? Rolling up the map, he tucked it in his back pocket. They would need it later to hand over to the Rune Knights, for both retrieving the unconscious criminals they were about to create, and later surveillance of the area, should Aven and Nessa miss any. Nothing like criminals returning to the scene.

As they traveled, Aven listened to Nessa's strategy. It wasn't a bad plan at all, in fact, it played to their strengths extremely well. Once Aven had established his Circles, there was no real reason to stay at range, especially if they were keen on taking down all of them. Any stragglers would need to be rounded up, and they wouldn't be able to catch the ones that try to escape if they attack from too far a distance. Not only that, but pressing their advantage after a surprise attack was a surefire way to keep the momentum of the fight in their favor. Even when facing inferior opponents, numbers played a very crucial role in deciding a battle, and Aven was keen on mitigating that risk. "No objections here, we should be able to clean up quickly with that plan!"

As they neared, and scouted the encampment, Aven was incredibly disappointed. It wasn't even a hundred meters wide, shoddy tents and battlements raised to thwart.... what, ground troops? They didn't even have adequate sentries, their defense was utterly pathetic. It was the kind of thing he'd expect from... Ah, yes, simple bandits. He chuckled to himself; perhaps, it would serve him well to ease back overestimating his opponents. After all, accurately gauging an enemy's strength was paramount to a strategist, and overestimating was dangerous in it's own right. Just then, Nessa made a very interesting proposition. A grin formed on Aven's lips. "You're on: I hope you like steak!"

Before he could act, however, Nessa rushed forward, gaining a significant headstart, as dispatched four of the closest bandits in the blink of an eye. The fighting spirit ignited in his chest, and he entered pursuit, a Displacement Circle launching him into an airborne arc toward their quarries. They only had a short window to strike men could retaliate, so he planned to make the most of it, and in the process, test his newfound abilities. Twirling his cane toward the sky, Aven's body glowed with a golden sheen, and a massive, one hundred and twenty meter wide, golden magic circle appeared in the sky, blotting out the sun with the intense light it shone down on the area below. Not only were the men of the back foot of the encounter, Aven grinned wider, they'd stay on the back foot the entire time. A azure circle appeared beside Aven in the air, before shattering, the giant Radiance circle above pulsating with even more golden light, before it tripled, becoming three identical circles stacked upon each other. The light shining down also tripled in intensity, the entire encampment now bathed in gold, a truly stunning sight.

The bandits were still in shock from the surprise attack, but two of them were competent, drawing rifles and firing at both Aven and Nessa, a small volley of deadly steel. The bullets bent on Aven, however, merely bounced off the golden Aura around him, causing it to fade. His natural aura tended to stick around after casting, a very useful feature. The rest of the bandits began to draw their weapons, various swords and other slicing implements. Still, in the golden light, it was difficult to see them as menacing. The Radiance only needed a bit longer to charge, before light would crash down on their impure souls like a bolt of lighting. As he soared through the air, using another Displacement Circle to keep him well out of melee range, he wondered what Nessa would pull out next.

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 110.

Multiplication Glyph, Hei: No cooldown remaining.
Protection Glyph, Kha: No cooldown remaining.
Displacement Circle: No cooldown remaining.
Destruction Glyph, Rho: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Blink Circle: 2 post cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 3 post cooldown remaining.
Overcharge Circle: 3 post cooldown remaining.
Radiance: 9 post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 698.
Word Count Total: 3107/4000.

Aven's magic swelled in the sky, as the light became increasingly intense, gilding the entire landscape. Aven landed with a flourish of his cane, disarming the sword from a nearby bandit's hand and kicking him away. He glanced over briefly to observe Nessa, who'd gotten right into the thick of it. The bandits seemed to be converging on her, perhaps because they reckoned the girl an easy mark. He chuckled, how wrong they were: as she methodically tore their ranks to shreds, he was taking inventory on his magic power, not the least bit surprised to find out he'd already expended more than half of his energy. Remarkable, how draining Radiance was as a single spell, but then again, looking in the sky, it was easy to tell why, and that was only the first half of what he'd planned. Still, it wasn't fast enough, it seemed, as Nessa finished her fifteenth enemy, and gave him a smug look, celebrating her victory.

Meanwhile, the tent in the middle of the encampment rustled, and from it emerged five semi-well dressed men, what Aven would describe as proper mercenaries. Their builds, their expressions, and their auras all burned with an intensity that could only be described as criminal. They drew various weapons, which flared up with enhancement magic, as they charged. "GIVE NO QUARTER!" They cried out to their men, rallying the remaining bandits to join them in the onslaught.

Aven waggled a finger at Nessa as their enemies closed in, tutting soflty. "There were two parts to this bet, were there not? You forget..." Above them, the Radiance circles multiplied once more, becoming a total of five, and Aven twirled his cane, "...the Leader." His cane tapped the ground, and at that exact moment, the world around them became a solid gold color, surrounding the both of them in a small protective shield, as the bandits were pulverized into the ground mercilessly, every single one of them knocked immediately unconscious. As the light faded, Aven felt a decent sum of magic return to him that the circles hadd gathered, and he gave Nessa an award winning smile. "Then it's settled! Dinner at my place tonight!"

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 185.

Multiplication Glyph, Hei: No cooldown remaining.
Destruction Glyph, Rho: No post cooldown remaining.
Blink Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 2 post cooldown remaining.
Overcharge Circle: 2 post cooldown remaining.
Radiance: 8 post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 365.
Word Count Total: 3472/4000.

Aven couldn't lie, there was a sense of pride as he surveyed his work. The bandit camp was undamaged, as though a battle had never occurred, but every last one of the murderers was out cold. It was definitely an added plus that his Radiance only affected the impure-hearted, otherwise it could have damaged the supplies they came for. With a snap of his fingers, the Healing circles on the two of them multiplied once more, two more appearing on Nessa, before they all activated, the restorative energies completely eliminating Aven's fatigue, and the circles around Nessa restoring roughly one and a half times the normal injury she could possibly sustain. Magic power flowed from the completed circles into Aven, as well, filling his magic stores to the brim, and his muscles relaxed. The danger was over, and all that remained was the cleanup.

Nessa looked very excited at his proposition, to which he laughed. "I certainly hope so!" There was a small twinge of doubt behind his eyes at the statement, though, unusual for him. Above all else, Aven was nervous about introducing anyone to his family, as they tended to be... well, eccentric, like him. It was likely his father would have no issues with Nessa, but if Aven knew anything about his mother, there would be heavy scrutiny to come, and that nervousness snuck into his demeanor ever so slightly as she sent her magic courier to fetch the Rune Knights. Getting his mind off the endeavor ahead, he marveled at the utility of her Magic: if it had been Aven alone, he would've had no efficient way to contact the Rune Knights without leaving the bandits alone, which could have allowed them to escape. Quick thinking, and a bit of magic, would make the wrap-up nice and tidy for them, the retrieval going without a hitch as the Rune Knights arrived within a short while, packing up the groggy outlaws into carts and moving out towards their new home: prison.

With that, they were able to return the supplies to the Neko people, and a tall, imposing female Neko approached Nessa, chatting idly. It seemed like she was thanking her, but Aven couldn't make out the conversation, as he was busy helping the Neko load up their packages into the caravan, his Inertia circles making it a breeze to lift and transport the temporarily weightless goods. As they finished, however, the sound of struggling alerted him to a potential threat, and he glanced around for Nessa, only to find she'd disappeared. He rushed over to where she'd been before, in front of the tent that noises were echoing from, but before he could get worried, a male Neko nudged him as he stopped in front of the tent, saying something confusing. What would he want to see?

The question was answered as Nessa stumbled through the flaps, Aven instinctively reaching out and steadying her by her shoulders. when she looked up, making eye contact, it only took a split second before his face lit up red like a ripe strawberry: Nessa was adorned in, perhaps, the cutest outfit he'd ever seen, and at the same time, the most scandalous. The skirt was so short, if Aven hadn't been taller than Nessa as he was, her undergarments would be clearly visible. Not only that, but the red tinge to her own cheeks ignited a fire in Aven's chest, a sense of instinct that he'd never felt before. His heart was pumping faster and faster, the rhythm thumping in his ears, as his eyes naturally flicked to her lips, having the strangest pull toward them. Unconsciously, his head leaned forward an inch, the urge to press his own against them, for whatever reason, was overwhelming in the moment.

Aven's eyes shot wide open, and he darted back, panic running through him. What had he been about to do? He almost just... he couldn't even think about it! He spun away from Nessa, facing the other direction as he stared abashedly at the ground. "T-t-that outfits looks v-very nice on you, N-Nessa." It was all he could manage, no other words could be formulated for the situation: what was happening to him?

[End thread!]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Health: 300.
Magic Power: 280.

Multiplication Glyph, Hei: No cooldown remaining.
Blink Circle: No cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Overcharge Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Inertia Circle: 3 post cooldown remaining.
Radiance: 7 post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 704.
Word Count Total: 4176/4000.