New Comrades - Warrior's Way [Job/Endolf]

Jingyi carefully transversed through the forest, the thick canopy overhead casting a constant shade over her path. Despite her long path, the redhead was packed rather light, preferring to travel quicker so she could reach the village with supposedly strong warriors. She had received word of the powerful men through her C.O, who knew her well enough to give her any news of powerful opponents she could throw herself at.

This is how she found herself waist-deep within the Jade Dragon Mountains, following a rather secluded path up a mountainside so she could fight some warriors known for their power. While they might be much stronger than the woman was herself, she was still eager to try to at least fight against them. If she didn't challenge herself then she wouldn't grow at all, right?

That's what Jingyi told herself before giving herself a self-reassuring nod, a smile growing on her face. Grabbing onto the small pack that she was carrying, Jingyi stepped up her pace and lengthened her stride.

While she walked, Jingyi kept a careful look around, trying to get in the sights before she would arrive at the city. If she was going to end up sent home in some sort of defeat, she may as well look at the natural beauty of the forest and its mountains beforehand.

She didn't notice an outstretched tree root that was growing close to the path, causing her to trip over the root and stumble. She started to fall forwards, but before she started to crash towards the ground, Jingyi luckily managed to catch her balance by sticking out her arms, her hands waving in the air.

"Woo-woo-woo! You won't fall, you won't fall!" Jingyi exclaimed as she took a step away from the root and finally regained her footing. She just stood there for a good moment before taking in a deep breath. Lowering her arms, Jingyi gave herself another nod, a smile growing on her face so she wouldn't grow demotivated from her adventure.

"Keep your cool, Jingyi," She told herself with a deep breath, her hands held in front of herself as she moved them to the side, "You can do this," at that the woman did some odd hand gestures to herself, "And it'll be exciting."

With an exaggeratedly jubilant sigh, Jingyi resumed walking up the path. Though this time she was even more careful to watch her step so her tripping episode wouldn't be repeated. Luckily no one was there to spot her and her rather embarrassing endeavorment.

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WC: 437
Total WC: 3335
Stamina-Loss: 235/265
Magoi-Loss: 145/160

Abilities Used:

Weapons:

Job Details:

Endolf seemed grateful for all the time he had spent in the wilderness of Kou for the past several months. It seemed to be coming quite in handy as he walked through the thickets of vines and foliage with relative ease. Word had it that there was a tribe of people deep in the Jade Dragon Mountains that only contacted people in the Kou empire in request of people to come combat their villagers as tests. Of course even with Endolf being from outside of Kou it wasn’t stopping him from trying to track down these villagers in order to not only test them but test himself as well. The redhead had taken to the mountains alone, having left his partner Raijin behind with Merrze in the capital.

Bouncing against the warrior’s backside was his new sword, Resolve. A sleeker object with a much more unique design than his Resentment had been forged with. This would be an opportune time to test his capabilities with the new weapon. Additionally the warrior’s wardrobe had undergone an entire change as well. His entire outfit was that of something more relatable to that of Kou’s nature. A single sleeve covered his left arm, held in place by straps wrapping around his waist. Baggy black pants, not very unlike his previous pair, led down to a set of plate armored boots. His left leg was covered by a piece of black armor plates containing a pouch of similar material.

However he wasn’t without his typical magic items. His left hand was covered by the glittering layers of his golden gauntlet while a small, simple gold ring circled the middle finger on his right hand. A whip of molten lava and cooled rock rested at his left hip, coiled tightly. These items were, as usual, part of his standard adventuring set. Step by step he would continue on through the forest.
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WC: 316/1,500

Resolve:

Hand of the Stream:

Molten Strike:

Ring of Xiuhcoatl:

Jingyi continued on with her trek through the forest, all the more carefully after her tripping incident. She was lucky in the fact that no one was there to see it, though it didn't make her feel all that better, anyways.

Shaking her head, Jingyi sighed to herself before pushing herself to smile. It was only a trip, and she had much better things to think about. Such as how she was going to defeat the warriors she was going to fight in the village. Seeing how they claimed to be some of the strongest, Jingyi, of course, had to presume that they are a tiny bit stronger than she is. And if that was the case, then she certainly needs to think of some things she could do to combat the warriors during the fight.

During her thoughts, Jingyi's hand ventured to her pockets and reached in, her fingers curling around the familiar Skeleton Key. Her thumb rubbed the square tooth as she glanced around the forest, the cool brass beneath her fingers somewhat familiar. With a small smile, she remembered the comrade who had given her it, and their promise to meet up again when they were stronger.

"And stronger I'll be," Jingyi told herself, her grip on the Magic Weapon tightening, "so I can become an officer and impress him."

A small chuckle escaped the redheaded warrior's lips as she took her hand out of her pocket. Her hands fidgeted around as she walked, messing with her forearm guards and tightening the strings. For her trip, she was dressed how she always is. She wore a plain white gambeson beneath a red tunic, with a metal breastplate protecting her torso. The bottom part of the breastplate was covered by a sash belt which also covered the light hip armor that the warrior wore. For pants, she just wore her typical baggy breeches which tucked into black leather boots. Finishing it off was her bright hair, tied together in a tight but thick braid that ended past her hips.

Pushing hair being her ear, Jingyi paused as she spotted something up ahead in the distance. Squinting, Jingyi managed to make out some bleak walls, along with unlit torches and what seemed to be a guard post.

A grin curled along her lips as Jingyi's face lit up with jubilance. It would seem she had finally reached her destination. And so, she picked up her pace, her short strides, totally not caused by non-existent vertical challenges, turning longer as she almost jogged to the entrance of the village.

"Hey-yo!" Jingyi called out, waving a hand as she approached the guards. As she drew closer to the village, she slowed her steps once again before coming to a stop between the guards who were eyeing her. Taking a deep breath, even Jingyi knew that first impressions were important, Jingyi took a step back and offered the two a salute, just as she had been taught during her recent time within the military.

"My name's Jingyi Hou," She merrily chirped, one of her hands gesturing towards herself, "And I heard about your village's challenge to test the skills of Kou's warriors, and I was hoping I can partake?" Halfway through her sentence, it turned into an inquiry as she tilted her head and hopefully looked up at the guards.

It was obvious from their face that they were somewhat doubtful of the youthful girl, though they knew better than to judge a book by its cover. And so, the two stepped aside to let the girl enter the village and meet her challenge straight forward.

---

WC: 614 + 437 = 1051/1500

Plants and trees, trees and plants. That was all Endolf continued to walk through during his trek through the mountains. It was starting to feel like it had been hours since he had started his journey into the deep forests and still it seemed like he had yet to find the tribe he had come looking for. He was starting to wonder if he should have brought Raijin along with him as a tracker or navigator. The wolf might have been able to cut his time rather than allow him to wander around like he had been doing. The redhead sighed however, knowing full-well that it was far too late for him to turn back and collect his companion from his former teacher. All he could do now was continue forging along in hopes of finding either the tribe or a way out of the mountains that would lead him back to the capital.

More time would pass before the Fanalis heard his first sound, silently reaching for his sword’s hilt at the startling noise in the otherwise silent forest. Even now the redhead only realized that despite his walking through the plants for the past several hours the only sounds he had heard until now had been the faint crunching of his new boots on the ground as he walked. Slowly he would stalk towards the direction of the sound, making sure to be careful about hiding his own noise to keep from giving up the element of surprise to whatever he might find. Keeping to a thick cluster of leafy vines he would see through them that a red haired girl was in a similar situation as himself. Walking alone through the forest as if looking for something.

His hand would remain resting on the hilt of his Resolve as he continued to watch the young girl, only moving it away when he saw her trip over an exposed root and nearly fall flat on her face into the dirt. The only thing that had saved her from such an embarrassing fate was a rather impressive display of balance as she used her arms to correct her weight and keep herself standing on a single leg, after some chanting to herself about how she wouldn’t fall. The boy wasn’t sure what to think about the girl at the moment, finding himself greeted with a mix of embarrassment for her and a sense of being impressed by her little act. Regardless he would keep his sword at his back, clasped via the same method as his Resentment had been, and keep out of the girl’s area of awareness as he followed behind her. After all it seems as if she had some sense of direction in regards to where she was going.

His decision to follow the girl seemed to pay off as she eventually arrived at what seemed to be a large wall lined with torches that were currently unlit. The girl would call out as she moved forward towards the main entrance and the two people that seemed to be guarding it. Endolf would take the opportunity to walk forward, closing the gap he left between them with relative ease, as the girl began talking to the guards. He could hear her explain that her name was Jingyi and she had come in search of the village’s trials of skill. Exactly the same thing Endolf had come for.

“Your village wouldn’t be opposed to taking on two challengers, would it?” He would ask, speaking up as he came up behind Jingyi. “The name’s Endolf, I came for the same reason.”
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WC: 603
TWC: 921/1500

Jingyi jumped as she heard someone talking from behind her, the girl whirling around to face a redheaded man. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stepped to the side so she could look between 'Endolf' and the guards.

She hadn't noticed anyone walking behind her during her path, nor did anyone speak up when she trip- wait, did he see her trip? Jingyi felt the tips of her ears and the back of her neck start to grow hot as she finally looked at the guards.

They looked just as confused as she is, but she ignored it as the dumbfounded look on her face was quickly replaced with her usual jubilant smile.

"Anyways, is there a sort of first-come first-fight rule?" She inquired as she edged closer to the entrance. Though her only answer was some shrugged shoulders when one of them spoke up.

"I think the chief said that it would just be one side versus one side. I guess you two could just fight with each other against them?" The guard uttered with another shrug of his shoulders before gesturing to the gate. "Anyways, just get going. If it needs to be corrected, it will, I guess."

Jingyi quickly nodded her head, risking a quick glance at the 'Endolf' figure before going on and entering the village. Her hand quickly snuck into her pocket to grab the Skeleton Key in reassurance before letting go.

Turning around, if Endolf had followed behind her, Jingyi would offer him a polite smile as she paused. She would give a quick salute with a hand before giving him a wave.

"Hey there, name's Jingyi and it's nice to meet you," the woman would've said before pausing to give Endolf time with his own response.

If he hadn't, she would've just shrugged her shoulders to herself before continuing onwards into the village.

---

WC: 331
TWC: 331 + 1051 = 1382/1500

Endolf stood silently, his body language giving off an air of carefree laxness, as the girl and the guards conversed. He would be listening to everything that was said without giving any appearance of such. The girl would ask how these fights would work, giving off her impression that it would be a “first-come-first-serve” situation. The guard that replied told her that as far as he was certain it was to be a team verses team situation and that the two of them should be alright facing their warriors together. He seemed to care little either way as he told them to just hurry along through the gates.

The girl, Jingyi from what he heard when he first approached her, walked forward first. He would notice that her hand made its way into her pocket and gripped something. He pushed it off as just some form of self reassurance and just walked into the village after her. Once inside the girl would stop and turn around to face him, giving a sort of salute before waving at him with a smile. She would introduce herself properly to him. In turn Endolf would give his own little lazy wave back. “Endolf.” Walking along he would give her a small smile from the corner of his mouth.

Making sure to walk at a pace she could keep up with he would attempt to make small talk. “So, you a Fanalis too?” The first question he would ask would be an appropriate one considering the color of the girl’s hair was almost identical to his own.
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WC: 263
TWC: 1184/1500

Jingyi’s reactions were rather unexpected by Endolf as he questioned if there was some possibility of the two sharing the same race. The girl’s hands moved away from her head, one returning to the depths of her pocket while the other seemed to take some sort of nervous reflex as her fingers seemed to rub together. A shake of her head and an odd shrug of her shoulders accompanied these gestures as she resumed eye contact with him and informed the male that she wasn’t of the Fanalis race despite her hair color. Though he did find it a bit pointless and somewhat racist to have simply questioned her of her heritage just based off of the color of her hair, especially when people like Mer or himself existed. After all he himself had the sides of his hair turned black and his former teacher’s entire head was covered in white despite both of them being Fanalis.

The girl did seem to put some praise into her words though, claiming that she wished she could be as powerful and fast as Endolf’s people. Now it was his turn to give her a sheepish smile. “I suppose it would come in handy. Though we’re good at other things than just running and punching too.” His sheepish smile would turn into a sly, almost teasing grin before he continued with his words. “Like not tripping over tree roots out in the forest.” He would fall silent again, allowing her to absorb what he said as he tipped her off on how he had been watching her and possibly raising her paranoia with questions like how long he had been watching her.

It was as they walked he would begin to notice the local people lining up, watching the two of them intently. He hadn’t really been paying attention with the guards at the main entrance but now that he was seeing the village people he saw that they were very symbolic of what one would think of when hearing about a tribe out in the deep forest. Their clothing was nothing like Endolf’s, far more primitive being made from leaves and pelts and hand-woven pieces of simple cloth. Simple accessories adorned them made from animal teeth and bones or beads. Even the markings on their bodies that weren’t scars from previous fights held a sense of tribalism. As he looked at them the only thing Endolf could feel for these people was a sense of respect.

The people seemed to line what he could only think of as the main street in their village, almost directing them towards where they would need to go. It wasn’t a lot of people, as the village didn’t seem to be very large, but it was enough to get the message across that they were supposed to be heading towards a specific location. The boy would continue until he reached what seemed to be like a ledge leading down into a pit of sorts. Comparing it to the Coliseum in Reim it wasn’t structurally different and was clearly to be a source of entertainment. The ledge he had been lead to started down into a series of seats not unlike the Coliseum. These would continue down to a cage formed from branches and cord that created a dome. People had already begun to take seats along the ledges and look up and Endolf, and Jingyi if she continued to follow, as if inspecting him. Their gazes followed as the redhead began his walk down towards the cage.

Inside he could see what appeared to be three people, all of an impressive size range. As he approached closer to the cage he could begin picking out more and more details of the warriors. The main details being that of the three two were obviously female which flanked either side of the solitary male. Their manner of dressing wasn’t very different from that of the rest of the village people he had seen so far but their “outfits” were unmistakably more along the lines of hunters or warriors.
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WC: 680
TWC: 1864/1500

And just like that, the very second the warriors opened their mouths to speak, Endolf disliked them. Of course he knew how this all worked. They weren’t that different from himself or any of the contenders back at the Coliseum. They trained and put on a show to entertain their village while they fought. But it was the male and his self-amused smile that annoyed the Fanalis even more. The second Jingyi asked his opinion on splitting them up, he acted. His foot hit the ground and in a single breath he was in front of the man, burying his elbow deep into his abs before the full impact of his charge sent the man flying back to slam into the arena cage. The structure would creek and bend back just slightly before settling back into place, the male warrior a heap at the base.

“Well then, guess it’s down to two-on-two now. Take your pick Jingyi.” The boy would smile with a grin that just oozed confidence. He knew he’d be able to handle both of the women as easily as he had handled the man, let alone one at a time. It seemed his actions had stunned the women as well, the two of them were clearly transfixed on him with pure shock and awe at his actions.

Endolf found himself watching with amusement as Jingyi took the center stage, picking her target and produced a small object not unlike a key from her pocket. Pointing it at the woman she seemed to catch her momentarily off guard before the key seemed to produce a large staff like weapon ending in a single blade. Endolf had dealt with enough magic items to know that the key had clearly been one of them. He was unfamiliar with the weapon the key had formed into however, knowing it wasn’t one commonly used back in Reim. He would instead simply remain against the cage, casually watching Jingyi and her chosen opponent face off with each other. For a girl that claimed to not be of Fanalis decent the young redhead seemed skilled enough and managed to best her opponent.

Which left one. The remaining woman seemed to have forgotten Endolf was still present in the cage as she herself had been watching her companion attempt to best the smaller girl. With a shrug to himself Endolf gave the man at his feet a quick smash in the gut with his heel before walking off to the girl. So far she had remained silent since their arrival which seemed to have earned her a little bit of leeway with the duo. The woman attempted to approach Jingyi, hesitantly and cautiously as she had watched how the weapon worked, only to be caught by the waist by the chain leading back to Endolf’s hands. The Fanalis would give a simple tug and pull the woman back to him in a single, effortless motion. “Ya know. You’re pretty easy on the eyes. You don’t have the same kind of ego that your partners there had either. What’cha say? Wanna just call this our win and actually walk away?”

The woman was absolutely dumbfounded at this. Not only had she been stupid enough to stand around without acting until the last minute but she had also forgotten about the girl’s partner that had made the first move. Silently she simply nodded to the male redhead, a faint blush spreading across her face as she did so. She continued this action for what felt like several minutes before she noticed his chains were no longer binding her by the waist. The woman wondered when that had even happened. But as she looked around, embarrassed and confused, Endolf had already walked over to Jingyi. “Not bad kid. Looks like you’re pretty capable when you can keep your footing.”

The Fanalis smiled as Jingyi tried to defend herself by countering with the fact that Endolf would have tripped on a root himself if he hadn’t noticed it. He actually thought she was rather adorable when she was embarrassed and mad, standing there with her arms folded across her chest and her brows furrowed together. But her arms were soon lowered to her sides and her hands were once more placed into her pockets as she started to boast about how capable she was when it came to fighting and how she only got better at it each day. It really caused the taller of the redheads to look at her with amusement as he returned his sword to the clip on the rear of his waist. It seemed like each of them was infecting the other with their smiles.

Endolf’s interest in the girl was already piqued. Not in any kind of romantic interest, but more as a teacher who believed to have found a worthy student. “Well then, here’s my proposition. I’ve got a wolf that needs some training, why don’t you meet up with us and show me just what else you can do?” If the girl said yes the boy would give her the information on where she could meet with him and his companion later on. If she turned him down he wouldn’t bat an eye and would simply just continue on himself.