Snake in town?! [Job/Ace]

Job:

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‘Already this time, eh…?’ A man looked at the cart which brought a plenty green apple while he was walking around the market. He enjoyed walking around to fill his time rather than just spend it by sleeping, he became easily bored of taking a nap every time he had nothing to do out of laziness though. But sometime, even just walking around the city made him bored too and ended up making him choose to become lazy, spending all day on the bed after doing morning training and only went out to get food. Tenma decided to approach the cart, planning to buy some of the fresh looking green apple that reminded him of his mother. At time like this in the past, his mother would always buy plenty green apple and made a lot of apple pies. He closed his eyes, remembering the sweet yet sour taste from the apple pie, wanting to eat it again but he knew that it was impossible. His deceased mother wouldn’t be there to make it for him anymore; his deceased father wouldn’t be there to secretly pour maple syrup on the pie without their mother knowing; and his little sister who he didn’t know if she was still alive or not and have been tirelessly searching for her whereabouts wouldn’t be there to happily ate it with him. The one eyed man sighed and proceeded to buy some, the price was cheap and he was delighted by its taste and freshness, so he bought more than enough for himself to eat. When he turned his back, he checked the apples and wondering about how he could finish those entire apples alone. His nostalgic feeling made him become too generous and spoiled himself, he believed. But he didn’t regret it as he hummed while bringing those apples with him.

The swordsman looked around again, this time he needed to find something to eat for lunch. He wanted a bowl of dumpling with curry sauce being poured all over it. To think that they also sold it in Heliohapt, he couldn’t be more delighted than this since dumpling was one of his favorite foods. If he was not mistaken, the restaurant was located just around the corner of the block behind the temple and he quickly headed there. His stomach was already singing very loud as if demanding him to fill it up. He quickly took a seat before ordering three bowls at once which he ate gratefully after they served it. It was not long until he heard a desperate wail from his left side, around 3 meters from him just when he finished his lunch. Without forgetting to pay, he quickly reached for his pocket and put the money on the table before calmly headed to where the wail came from. He raised his eyebrow as he saw a giant snake, holding something with its curled tail that looks like a… his eyes widened when he noticed that it was a little child within its grip. “Please!! Oh God… Anna!” The mother desperately wanting to save her daughter but some townspeople held her, saying it was too dangerous for her to just go like that. Without any words to say, Tenma dashed towards the snake, trying to chase it.

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WC: 548/1500

As I make my way through the streets of Heliohapt, headed back home after my meditation, I hear a scream to my left and see a small child held tightly in the coils of a large snake. I knew I had to do something, and as the serpent began to move I made the decision to cast a spell before the snake got out of range or began to pick up speed and made off with the girl. I pull out my wand, casting Water Tentacle. Since the spell is 5 meters long and the snake is 3 meters away, it was narrowly able to wrap around the serpent's tail, keeping it from moving as fast by immobilizing one of the three parts of it. Along with the body, the tail was central for controlling movement, while the head was the most dangerous part. Casting the spell allows me to catch up with snake, which, realizing it could no longer outrun us, decided to fight us. It turned to fight, its body coiling into heaps, its tail still immobilized by the water tentacle. Nestled in its ring of coils was the child it had captured, which squirmed and struggled, screaming loudly as tears ran down her face. The poor thing was frightened to death, and it was up to us to save her.

The snake would crush the girl in an instant if I wasn't careful. I just had to make sure to keep its attention on me, and casting water tentacle had definitely frustrated it.

I stand a bit farther away, staying just in range of my attacks. It was definitely a powerful creature, not one to be trifled with. It normally moved faster than me, but it was now somewhat tied down by the spell I'd cast, which had also allowed me to catch up with it. One way or another, it wasn't going anywhere.

Knowing time was of the essence, I decide to go with my most powerful spell in order to try and inflict as much damage to the creature as possible, hoping and believing that the girl wouldn't get hurt. I just had to keep the snake's focus on me.

Before I could even begin to cast the spell, however, the anaconda uses Squeeze, lunging at me in an attempt to constrict me. However, since its tail was immobilized by Water Tentacle, and the tail accounted for half of its movement speed, it was only moving at 5 m/s, which allows me to retreat away from it without suffering any damage. Time being of the essence, I twirl my wand in the air and cast Ice Spears, both of which impacted the snake's body due to it being unable to dodge as a result of its reduced speed. The frozen spears stab halfway to the muscle and deal C-Tier damage to the monster, which hisses in pain, causing the small child to screech even louder in terror as it sways back in forth in the snake's clutches. Thankfully my spell hadn't caused any harm to the child, and I could tell that my attack had definitely been effective. Still this wasn't going to be an easy battle, and if I moved away the monster might do something to the girl. So I stay in the snake's range, preparing myself for another attack and keeping it from doing any harm to the girl for the time being. If it attacked it would definitely get me, and although my borg would protect me, it would shatter, making it useless if the snake struck again. The snake seems to size me up, its head swaying in the air as it figures out how best to finish me. Its beady eyes and fearsome gaze stared straight at me, detecting even the slightest of movements. A forked tongue quickly slid out between its lips before retreating. It was definitely on the hunt.

652/1500 word count
170/200 magoi left

Weapon:

Abilities:

It was only silent that escaped his lips as a female magician came out and attempting to save the little girl. She would cast some water spells to the snake which he could say as a brave move… or maybe a naïve one. The swordsman kept his eyes at the little girl, observing when was the right timing for him to attack the snake. The moment after the magician cast her icy spears and made it pierce the snake’s body, Tenma dashed in, entered the fight after unsheathing his Katana. With a swift move, he swung Myou, delivering four quick slashes to the snake without it noticing his presence because it was too busy focusing its gaze towards the female magician. The little girl was successfully caught by Tenma before she hit the ground the moment that anaconda released her and he quickly bringing her to the female. “Could you please take care of her for a while? Thanks!” The one eyed man smiled warmly before turning his back, facing the remaining anaconda that looked very fierce possibly because witnessing its comrade’s dead. He unleashed his murderous intention, making some citizen who watched the fight to feel something strange because they were affected by the murderous aura. With a chuckle, he stayed still, waiting until the anaconda made it first move while guarding both the female magician and the little girl. That magician might end up being very pissed off because she didn’t get the action to finish the creature, but the swordsman wouldn’t care even at the slightest since he believe someone need to tend the little girl while another one take care of the anaconda.

With a loud hiss , the snake leaped towards Tenma, seemed to not affected by Tenma’s killing intention at all. It was attempting to bite him, which he deflected by pulling his hand back and engaged the base of his palm, sending four upward thrust to the snake’s jaw. Wasting no more time, he send four diagonal slashes towards the snake that was being thrown for around 10 meters and being chased by the one eyed man. A sly smile that was as cold as the glint in his eyes was there, as if giving the snake a signal to say its own words before he finished it. And after letting out its last hiss, Tenma lifted his Katana and performed two downwards diagonal cuts towards the snake. “…” He stared at the corpse with coldness still resided in his eyes before he turned his back to both the magician an little kid, “Is she okay? And are you alright, milady?”


WC: 986/1500
Magoi : 140/250

Abilities:

"I'm fine, thank you," I say, smiling faintly. "Honestly, if it hadn't of been for you, I may not have survived this encounter. I'm still fairly new to magic, and I haven't fought anything as powerful as that snake was. I owe you a debt of gratitude," I say, holding the little girl to my chest and patting her on the back as she, understandably, bawled her eyes out. She's gone through a lot, and it was going to be a while before she stopped.

I look around, making sure the area was free of any other creatures that might aim to do us harm. I hadn't known much about them, but they were definitely dangerous. Thanks to this mysterious stranger, however, the little girl's life had been saved, and I owed him great thanks as well. Although I had my borg, it wouldn't have lasted very long against a monster like that.

"Anyways, where are my manners? My name is Ivris, Ivris Mantra. I'm a Water Magician, just beginning mind you, but I'd like to think that I'll be able to help others whenever I can. I hope to continue my training and go beyond the reaches of Heliohapt, travelling to other places around the world where I'll be able to help those in need. Still, my home will always hold a special place in my heart; it has been kind and good to me, and I will do all in my power to help it grow into a great and powerful nation. But enough about me;  I don't believe I've seen you around before, and I think it's fair to say you are not of Heliohapt. Where are you from, and what is your name? I hope you don't mind me asking; I'd just like to know the name of the person who saved my life."

I glance at him, taking in his appearance. He was very tall, although I'd heard that the Imuchakk to the far north were even taller. He had a very handsome face, added to the fact that he seemed in great shape. Albeit lean muscle, it looked like he took very good care of his body, seeming very deadly with that weapon of his. His skin was very pale in comparison to that of the people of Heliohapt, and his hair was jet black. While his clothes were very different from the usual garb in my home, his most prominent feature was probably the eyepatch that covered his face. I wondered if his eye had been injured; I'd never known anyone else to wear an eyepatch before, so I could only wonder why. The one I could see, however, was colored a beautiful golden hue, and I wondered what could be so wrong with his face that he covered his other eye. Every day, I'd been hoping more and more to get out of Heliohapt and continue my magical studies, and it was possible that the person who stood before me could be my partner in the journey I had ahead of me.

510/1500 word count

1162/1500 total word count

170/200 magoi

The first answer from the swordsman was just a friendly laughter that was directed towards the girl, he would shook his head with a warm smile and said, “No no, if you don’t attack first and save the little lady right here, I wont get the chance to finish them. Oh and…” Tenma would look around for a second before he spotted a florist nearby and walked there to buy two aster flowers. He would quickly ran back to the girl and little kid, “Good job for being very strong girl, little missy.” The swordsman lightly touched her nose and put a flower on her hair before looking at the water magician, “You too, good job for holding the snake. It’s not much but I think that suited you.” He smiled again, this time was warmer when he excused himself to put the flower on her hair before stepped back for several steps. It was the first flower that he picked up and gave to her mother before putting it on his mother’s hair. It was also the first flower he gave to his sister, making her smiling happily when he put the flower on her hair too.

Tenma would bow down to the girl after she introduced herself, “My name is Tenma, Mikazuki Tenma. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ivris.” He said politely, putting his hand on his chest, making a respectful gesture to the woman. “I came from Kou and no, please don’t remember my name because you think I saved your life. Your decision alone to bravely face those creatures was admirable and you managed to save yourself because of that, not me. I am just using the chance and the opening that you gave for me to finish it.” He lifted his hand and put it on her shoulder, giving her some encouragement, “If you keep up such fine arts in the battle, I am sure that you can become a great water magician.” He paused a little bit by just staring at the woman’s blue eyes, “And Magnostadt is the best place if you want to enhance your magic skills, I heard they have this magic academy and was the best of the best.”

“Anna…!” A hysterical call from a woman could be heard near them and Tenma quickly gestured Ivris to put down the little girl so she could go back to her mother’s arms who gladly accepted her even though her face was drenched in tears. Ivris and Tenma probably had lost count on how many times the mother thanked them, even forcing to give money for them as their reward which with a heavy heart, Tenma accepted it. “Well, let’s split it…?” The swordsman gazed to the girl and took some of the coins inside before handing the rest of the bad to Ivris. “Perhaps you can be my guide in Heliohapt? I really need a guide to show me around.” He looked at the girl’s eyes before continuing, “Well, if you want to be my guide, just visit the place that I rent right now and we can start traveling around the city. Until then, farewell Lady Ivris.” With a smile carved on his face, he turned his back and walked away.

WC: 1530/1500
Magoi/Stamina : 140/250

I nod as he leaves, smiling in turn. This was nothing more than a coincidence, running into him, yet I couldn't help wondering if it was something more. I'd been yearning to get out of Heliohapt for so long, but I hadn't had a clue where I wanted to go. He'd been one of the first people I'd met that wasn't from Heliohapt, and he'd also mentioned a place I'd often dreamed of going - Heliohapt. And yet, would I fit in there? As much as I wanted to head to that place, where I'd heard there was so much to learn about magic, was I really ready for something like that?

As I sit with the mother and daughter, comforting them and promising them that no more harm would come to her or her daughter, I smile warmly at the young girl. She seemed so young, full of life and innocence. It was nice to see her like that, her face red and damp from all the tears she'd cried. But at last she was settling down, all her energy gone, falling asleep in her mother's arms. It was beautiful, to see the bonds between people; trust and love were such fragile things, yet the child fell asleep without a worry in the world, knowing she was safe in her mother's arms.

As the mother got up to go, so did I, and my mind wandered back to the stranger I'd met earlier. Tenma... I wasn't sure yet, but I was considering taking his offer. After all, it would be the least I could do to repay him. Still, I wasn't sure what to expect; he seemed nice, but at the same time distant; a formality that seemed to be normal of Kou created a barrier between us. As I walked home, pondering this, I wonder if this is the same with all kinds of people around the world - was there some reason that we could not all understand each other, and was it this that caused such terrible war and hatred?

344/1500 word count

1506/1500 total word count

170/200 magoi