No such thing as Chupacabra!!

As they walked along while being assailed by the heat and other elements of the environment around them, Faustein had listened to Pivoine’s idle banter concerning the possible identities of the Chupacabra, about how there was a distinct lack of human footprints next to the cattle corpses, and how she was not sure if this was a prank orchestrated by some rather mean-spirited humans.

“Well, there are a fair few theories out there which attempt to explain the identity of…entity called the Chupacabra…”

He had paused there as he collected his thoughts and then had continued

“Some assert that it is some sort of otherworldly creature from another dimension which somehow became stranded here in Fiore and has since developed a taste for livestock blood, others propound that it is some strange experimental specimen designed in a lab by some insane dark mage and later escaped into the wild, and yet others advance the idea that it is some sort of demon…”

He had paused again and then collected his thoughts once more before continuing

“…then again, it could just be some strange, mutated species of ancient, giant vampire bat…or perhaps a wild dog or some sort…it’s also possible this is just a pathetic prank by some rather malicious individuals…we will not know for certain until we kill this entity and then conduct a thorough autopsy on it as part of our investigation today.”


However, he had to end it there since they were now at the entrance to the cave where they found what appeared to be rotten meat with a decidedly foul odor wafting off it. He took a few minutes to look it over to see if he could discern anything from it. Alas, the meat was too far decomposed for him to glean any data from it. It was then that Pivoine had asked him whether he had brought along a light to illuminate their path into the cave system that lay ahead of them.

“I do have a spell that might suffice for that purpose…though it was not designed for such use…”


He mentioned and then raised his right hand briefly with his index finger and middle finger held up adjacent to each other and closed his eyes as well to focus his mana and activated the spell he had in mind. He flooded mana throughout his body which caused a sufficiently bright golden radiance to envelop it and then imparted the same golden radiance to Pivoine as well, causing her to be surrounded by this second aura. The light from the two auras shone upon the walls of the cave system, surging ahead up to 85 m away at a speed of 56 m/s. However, the main effect was that these auras preemptively activated their respective immune systems in preparation for resistance against any possible ailments which may be afflicted upon them by their quarry, aka the Chupacabra.

Now that the cave was illuminated sufficiently, the craggy nature of the cave walls could be seen and blood spatters here and there as if something bleeding had been swung quite roughly against them. Here and there, there were some little puddles of what appeared to be a liquid, but its nature was not clear just yet.

He had heard the growling from deeper in the cave, seemingly in response to the light and soon, there were two zombie-like hounds, aka the Chupacabra, with wicked looking teeth and claws rushing at them, their crimson red eyes full of feral malice.

Well, that did not take very long at all…how fortuitous for us that the enemy come to us and thus save us the trouble of walking all the way inside…

He mused silently with his usual smug smirk on his face as he watched Pivoine go to work in casting a shield of energy all around them to protect them both from the impending onslaught.

“Well done, Ms. Pivoine. You hold great promise as a mage, from what I can see of your spells.”

After praising her thus, he went to work with another of his spells, this time activating two, one immediately after the other. First was the one he liked to call “Diagnoscope” which involving him holding his hands toward the target in a rough diamond shape and scanning their bodies for weak spots. Once he did that, he found the weaknesses of the two Chupacabra rather quickly. He memorized whatever data was displayed in the targeting reticule and then took apart his hands. After that, he charged electrical element mana into them and then went into his other spell which he christened as “Defibrillator Palm – Twin Spears”. He used his electrically charged hands to deliver two swift strikes to the Chupacabra which was within melee range, causing it to howl in agony as the strong surge of blindingly bright, electrical element mana coursed through its body temporarily, damaging it while also causing its muscles to seize up and twitch uncontrollably. Apparently, that was enough to terminate it since shortly after those throes of agony, it fell down dead before him, outside the barrier of course.

Once that was done, he turned to Pivoine and smirked as he remarked

“Now then, the second is yours to take on, if you desire, Ms. Pivoine. Good hunting.”

After that, he fell silent and stepped back to her side after which he waited to see what she would do and/or say in reaction to the events unfolding before her.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 373

Spell Effects on Faustein:

• Full Immobilization: cut to 50% Speed Reduction
  
• Drains: standard 5%/post cut to 2.5%/post
  
• Debuffs: potency cut by 50% of original rank value
  

Other Spells on Faustein:

• 135 HP shield by Pivoine
  

More guinea pigs for my mad science lab, how amusing…

Faustein thought as he saw the four giant vampire bats flit towards him and Pivoine in a frenzy, but then they swooped down on him first.

“Well, time for me to commence your scheduled surgery for today, my patients. So, welcome, step into my emergency room.”

Remarking thus to the bats, he stretched his arms out much farther than a normal humans and since he still had his “Defibrillator Palm – Twin Spears” spell active, he was able to simply stand in place while at the same time, grabbing two of the four vampire bats out of the air and exterminating them on contact. Then, he activated yet another spell in his arsenal, this one being his “Dragon Claws – Reaper’s Dance”. This allowed him to manifest a set of large, long, curved, and razor-sharp claws on both hands after which he spun around on his heel while whipping his arms towards the other two bats. As a result of the combination of these moves and the slashes from his claws, he was able to knock the bats out of the air and kill them upon impact as well. At the end of this dance, he retracted his arms to their original size and watched as Pivoine went to work on the last Chupacabra, slicing it with what looked like sharp- edged red petals

Intriguing magic she’s got, I wonder what else she can do with it…

He mused silently as he watched the Chupacabra yowl in pain from her attack and backpedal for a bit before lunging at her again. Sadly, he couldn’t do anymore this round, so it was up to her to eliminate this second Chupacabra.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 276

Spell Effects on Faustein:

• Full Immobilization: cut to 50% Speed Reduction
  
• Drains: standard 5%/post cut to 2.5%/post
  
• Debuffs: potency cut by 50% of original rank value
  

Other Spells on Faustein:

• 135 HP shield by Pivoine (35/135 HP left from attacks by bats & Chupacabra)
  

Faustein had watched as Pivoine finished off the second Chupacabra while getting injured in the process. Then, she had cast another shield spell around them in preparation for whatever else lay in the cave ahead and remarked about his level of enthusiasm at finding so many creatures in the cave

“Well, as the ancient adage tells us, good help is VERY hard to find…so I always stay on alert for any potential research assistants I can recruit to my cause.”

He fell silent after that and reviewed the events so far in his mind

She seems to be a rearguard unit more than a vanguard one…oh well, I should probably cast one of my shields too, just in case whatever foes lie in wait ahead are stronger than we were led to believe thus far…

He mused silently and then went to work with the activation of the shield spell he had in mind. For this one, he clasped his hands briefly before him while channeling his mana into his hair. This caused it to increase in size, volume, and density quite dramatically and within the next few moments, it formed itself into a giant translucent 50 m diameter dome with long sharp spikes on it. He liked to call this one "Needle Hair Cocoon". It was fairly thick as well, and he estimated its durability was around a 100 HP total. It also had an interesting ability which Pivoine would see in action once their next few enemies showed up before them. This additional barrier formed around the one Pivoine cast so in total, they essentially had 155 HP worth of shielding standing between them, surrounding them on all sides to protect them from their potential enemies. Time would tell whether that would be enough to ensure their survival or not.

The sounds of the shuffling footsteps were growing louder by the minute and soon, their newest enemies were within sight range. They were what seemed to be zombie-like ghouls made from the unfortunate victims of whatever boss monster lay in the bowels of the cave. Luckily though, they were rather slow which meant that Faustein and Pivoine had a little more time to make further battle preparations if necessary.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 363

Spell Effects on Faustein:

• Full Immobilization: cut to 50% Speed Reduction
  
• Drains: standard 5%/post cut to 2.5%/post
  
• Debuffs: potency cut by 50% of original rank value
  

Other Spells on Faustein:

• 55 HP shield from Pivoine (55/55 HP remaining)
  

Faustein sighed in exasperation as he saw one of the thralls come closer and stand right in the range of his “Needle Hair Cocoon” counterstrike barrier. However, Pivoine had beaten him to the punch in causing damage to the thrall, so he was able to relax a little. However, the thrall had now started to damage his shield, so he realized it was not wise to wait any longer.

Hmm…this will deplete my mana reserves quite a bit, but in the end, it will be worthwhile, considering the resultant power output for my spells…

With that thought in mind he briefly glanced back at Pivoine who had asked him whether she should stay as a rearguard or move up to the vanguard position and remarked

“It would be more tactically sound for you to save your energy for the final boss fight. Besides, from what I have seen of your magic, it is not quite capable of delivering lethal hits yet. So, leave these two to me and focus on maintaining your shield and replenishing our mana reserves.”

Then, he recast his previous 4 spells, namely the “Diagnoscope”, the “Defibrillator Palm – Twin Spears”,  the "Dragon Claws - Reaper's Dance", and finally the “Immunolymphatic Hyperactivation”. Luckily he had noticed that Pivoine's magic had some kind of aromatic aura which was slowly replenishing his mana over the course of the fight. So, he was reassured at least to some degree. Then, he turned his attention back to the thrall while manifesting his dragon claws again, but this time, they were electrified due to the simultaneous occurrence of “Defibrillator Palm – Twin Spears” and his “Dragon Claws – Reaper’s Dance” spells. Then, he further boosted his damage by holding up his hands to form a rough diamond shape which he leveled at the thrall before him to allow him to detect its weaknesses. Moments later, he lowered his hands and then, remarked

“Unhygienic plebian!! Do you not comprehend the concept of interpersonal distance protocol?! Get thee away from me, for the power of my medical magic compels you!!”


As he said that, he had a really arrogant, disgusted look on his face as he looked down upon the thrall and spoke to it condescendingly too. As if in response to his words, the barrier blasted the thrall with a volley of the long, thick, and sharp spikes on its surface as a result of which it was forced to move back from them to quite some distance away. Of course, it was still within range of his attacks, so he was not worried and the hits from the spikes caused some minor damage to it as well, which made his job easier still. Then, he shot his arms with their electrified dragon claws out of the barrier and struck the already damaged thrall which had the spikes sticking out of it even more, thus tearing it to shreds almost instantly. As if that were not enough, due to the large surge of high voltage electricity which had coursed through its body, it became charred to a crisp and was now unrecognizable as a result.

However, he could not do much else since he still had to conserve his mana levels as much as possible. Furthermore, he also wanted to wait and see what the other thrall would do in response to the destruction of its compatriot.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 560

Spell Effects on Faustein:

• Full Immobilization: cut to 50% Speed Reduction
  
• Drains: standard 5%/post cut to 2.5%/post
  
• Debuffs: potency cut by 50% of original rank value
  

Other Spells on Faustein:

• 55 HP shield from Pivoine (55/55 HP remaining)
  
  
• +10% MP Regen once/5 posts
  

As he waited and watched, Faustein had seen Pivoine attack the remaining thrall with her red petals spell again and cause painful incisions on its body. Those had apparently been painful enough to keep it down for a while, judging from the fact that it did not retaliate immediately. However, they did not have any time for leisure as finally, the dungeon boss had shown up before them. This boss was essentially an overgrown anthropomorphic vampire bat. It had strange growths jutting out from its face, not unlike oversized ears, horns, or some hybrid of the two. Two sets of razor-sharp claws flexed on the end of its oversized hands. Unlike the thralls, this creature was somewhat intelligent. It shrieked once more, sizing up Faustein and Pivoine, as though it was contemplating who to attack first.

Well now, the floor boss is finally in attendance, eh? Furthermore, it seems to be some sort of bestial vampire…this should be intriguing, but its form looks rather sturdy, so I suppose this particular fight will be a tad more challenging. I had better be careful to minimize the number of wounds I receive from this foe. First, though, I will have to exterminate that thrall behind it.

He thought as he analyzed the new enemy quickly and devised a plan for whatever data he had thus far, closing his eyes as he did since that was his usually thinking habit

Battlefield surveillance data…let’s see, I am the vanguard while Pivoine is the rearguard. The enemy has the boss vampire as the vanguard and the thrall as the rearguard. The vampire does not look like it has any shields active, so I should be able to teleport behind it and destroy the thrall and then turn around and strike at the vampire from the back…That should suffice for now…

He finished musing thus silently and then opened his eyes while casting his teleport spell which he liked to call, “ Xénosómectomy”. In order to activate it, he pointed one of his hands towards the thrall which was laying on the floor behind the boss vampire and then made a slicing gesture followed by turning that hand towards himself. Then, he vanished from view briefly, only to reappear next to the thrall. Once there, since he was outside the protection of their barriers for the time being, he knew he had to work quickly. So, by employing his electrified dragon claws, he ripped the second thrall to shreds just as he had its predecessor. Simultaneously, the high-voltage surge of electricity which coursed through the thrall upon impact charred it to an unrecognizable, black form which lay on the floor, now thoroughly dead.

Unfortunately, the boss vampire had noticed him behind it, so it turned around and slashed at him with those wicked looking claws on its forelimbs, causing him to grimace in pain before returning his face to its impassive, bored expression. Nevertheless, due to its attack, he now had a large bleeding gash along his right arm and shoulder as well as on his torso, causing some 120 HP of damage to him. As if that were not bad enough, the attack had even ripped through his physician-scientist’s white lab coat and the formal shirt beneath it.

“You maggot. You dare to destroy my physician-scientist’s outfit? You shall provide me considerable recompense for that.”

He said calmly with a haughty, condescending expression on his face to the vampire before going into his combat stance and then scoping out its weaknesses before striking at it repeatedly with his electrified dragon claws. Due to the increased spell damage output he had, he was able to do considerable damage to it. His attack caused it to screech loudly in pain, not only due to the large slash wounds on its arms, but also due to the same massive surge of high voltage electricity which had destroyed its minions charring it badly, causing its face to turn black as coal and emit a burning flesh smell. Overall, his attack had caused it a total of 264 HP damage and so, it would not be long before it was dead just like its minions. Furthermore, thanks to the special effect of his dragon claws, it was now also leaking mana from its wounds in the form of a stream of fluid ethernano. Little did he know that soon, he would be turning into a vampire himself due to the vampirism virus which had entered his body through the claws of the vampire.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 753

Spell Effects on Faustein:

• Full Immobilization: cut to 50% Speed Reduction
  
• Drains: standard 5%/post cut to 2.5%/post
  
• Debuffs: potency cut by 50% of original rank value
  

Other Spells on Faustein:

• 135 HP Shield from Pivoine (135/135 HP remaining)
  
  
• +10% MP Regen once/5 posts
  

Pivoine’s call did distract the boss vampire since it clearly went and destroyed her shield as well as his own spiky shield, causing her to create a new one of her own. This presented Faustein with the opportunity to finish off the vampire since its attention was currently on Pivoine as it apparently was trying to get around her newly raised shield.

This chess session has finally reached the endgame phase, so time to finish this guinea pig and collect the bounty….I think I will take this one and its dead minions back to the village as proof of job completion and then later off to my base so I can reconstruct them into a loyal servant…

With that thought in mind, he rushed at the vampire and then tore it to shreds with his electrified claws in a series of blows that looked almost like a war dance. As before, due to the razor sharp nature of his dragon claws, the vampire received several slash wounds which drained its life force and on top of that, the claws sent a massive but brief surge of high voltage electricity directly into its body, charring it badly, though not quite bad enough since it was still recognizable to any onlookers. Thus, their job was officially complete and as the vampire’s body fell to the cave floor, lifeless, Faustein dismissed all of his active spells and headed further inside to acquire whatever treasure item the vampire may have been hiding in the back. Fortunately, it was unguarded, so he was able to obtain said item and pocketed it. Then, he returned to the front of the cave where Pivoine was waiting, making sure to sterilize the path along the way.

“Das is the way of life sometimes. Well then, I do believe we can pronounce this task as being completed to the client’s specifications, Ms. Pivoine. Let us return to the village and collect our reward then, shall we?”

He asked while stepping through her barrier and then out of the cave to the plains outside after which he waited for her to come out as well. in his right hand, there were long suturing threads wrapped around the body of the dead vampire and one of the two dead chupacabras while the suturing threads in the other were attached firmly to the bundle of four dead vampire bats.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 356

Spell Effects on Faustein:

• Full Immobilization: cut to 50% Speed Reduction
  
• Drains: standard 5%/post cut to 2.5%/post
  
• Debuffs: potency cut by 50% of original rank value
  

Other Spells on Faustein:

• 135 HP Shield from Pivoine (135/135 HP remaining)
  
  
• +10% MP Regen once/5 posts
  

Faustein had noticed Pivoine try to suggest that they get a cart or that he needed help before realizing he did not require any such thing.

“Well, I fully intend to for…er, I mean request those pleb…er, I mean those nice, kind, and generous villagers to aid us by giving us a cart to carry all these specimens to a safe location for disposal. You need not worry, Ms. Pivoine. As to whether they had any idea about this vampire, it is clear they did not, as attested to by the presence of the zombified villagers aka the thralls we encountered in the cave.”

He remarked with a wicked wide smirk on his thin lips, a baleful light glinting in his hauntingly brought crimson red eyes, and a maniacal, rumbling chuckle as they walked back to the village with him dragging the spoils of his victory, aka his most recent guinea pigs along behind him through the use of his energy threads. It did not take long for them to reach the village again and once they did, he swung the threads forward, causing the corpses of the bats, the chupacabras, and their boss, the ancient and now dead vampire to fall with heavy thuds at the awaiting villagers’ feet. Needless to say, they panicked like the pedestrian sheep they were and this terror of theirs was compounded still further when they saw him manifest vampiric features right before their eyes, presumably due to the effect of being attacked and infected by the Ancient Vampire.

“Mission complete. However, there are several questions to be answered before the day is done and our business deal is complete. So, commence your explanations regarding these creatures immediately.”

He ordered in an authoritative voice which seemed to be laced with ice-cold menace, probably due to the side effects of the vampirism which had him in its thrall for the time being. Naturally, the villagers balked at this display and panicked still further, stuttering a medley of answers at him, none of which made any sense at all. Then, the village chief came out and after taking in the sight of Faustein who had essentially become the Ancient Vampire by this time and exclaimed in fear and with utmost revulsion clearly evident on his face

“You monster!! Get back!! There’ll be no reward for you!! The jewel shall instead go to the nice young lady beside you!!

He said, before hurling the medium size, but relatively heavy bag of jewel which was the reward for completing this job at Pivoine while staying as far away as possible from Faustein. Faustein’s face remained impassive as he saw this terrible display of gratitude and simply sighed before turning to Pivoine and remarking

“Well, Ms. Pivoine, it looks as though these peasants are not going to be very useful, so I shall have to make my own way back to my home with these prizes in tow. There is no need to worry, I have procured more than enough reward in the form of these specimens and am satisfied, so you may feel free to keep all the jewel. It will be very useful to you in your career as a professional mage. Till next we meet, au revoir.”

He then healed her injuries after which he bade her good bye. With that said, he turned about on his heel, waved to her with one hand and then started to walk away, intending to rent a magic mobile somewhere so that he could make his way back to Magnolia and his home in relative comfort.

---

OOC:
NOTE: OOC permission for spell use was obtained from accompanying user “Pivoine Corbeau”

Post WC: 598

Spell Effects on Faustein: None

Other Spells on Faustein: None

Job Summary:

• All enemies defeated successfully
  
  
• Faustein attacked by vampire and turned into a vampire
  
  
• NO JEWEL REWARD FOR FAUSTEIN KUROYAKUSHI PLAYED BY USER KUROFAUSTΩ, REWARD OF CHOICE: STRONG ITEM
  
  
• Jewel reward for job goes to Pivoine Corbeau