[@Zelosse]

Day 2, Morning.

[color=turquoise]Cinera nodded as he explained, feeling a bit relieved to hear this. [b]"That sounds good. Lead the way."[/b] She was unfamiliar with the pattern of other VRMMO games, but this one seemed to be fairly similar to those that she played - which meant she had some time to build up her skill before they would encounter too many large groups. Of course, the hunting prey would be different than the bosses, but even a pack of wolves wouldn't be more than three or four, maybe five max; it was unusual for regular monsters to gang up on you, even if you have a big party.

With this in mind, she followed Delcastle to the hunting spot, noting that they were heading in the complete opposite direction from the rest of their party. She was beginning to learn how he and his brother liked to do things, and it was honestly like a well-oiled machine. They were working with them separately to find their strengths and weaknesses, and then they would form the group as a whole to make it function. It was a pretty good strategy, but it did require a lot of trust from those involved. Cinera felt herself suddenly become a bit nervous that he was leading her out into a dangerous area, like this; it would be an ideal way for him to trick her, if he wanted to, since he knew that she was fairly defenseless out here. It may have been a mistake to tell him all of the important details about herself - was it really smart to tell a stranger her biggest weaknesses?

Shaking her head, Cinera continued to follow him. No, this wasn't the time to doubt. She had already made the decision to trust him. He knew what he was doing; her life was better in his hands than in her own. And honestly, considering the circumstances, she couldn't see people trying to ambush one another. This game was them against the GM and the bosses, not against each other. Hopefully any player battles would cease until the end of the game; people wouldn't be stupid enough to actually fight other players when they could die for real, would they? She had no idea at the time, but she severely underestimated the insanity of people in this world.

Soon, they arrived in a small meadow near the forest where they encountered a pack of three wolves. [i]Level 2, huh... This should be okay. I fought these on the way to this town.[/i] When he asked if she could handle all three by herself, she nodded. [b]"It should be okay. They move quick, but if I remember their attack power isn't very high."[/b] [i]I just need to slow them down...[/i] She remembered what he had said about hitting their limbs as she removed her cloak to place in her inventory. This was the first time she had revealed herself in this game, showing her black leather bralette, shorts with white belts, fingerless gloves, and boots. It was an outfit that did not have much protective power, but it allowed her to move fast which is what she had originally been aiming for. [i]Agility was always my strongest suite... but if I can die based on my HP, I might want to save up for something more protective.[/i]

She also revealed a deep, black katana resting on her hip in its sheath. This little gem had been something that she discovered during the beta test when she wandered into a secret cave. It had contained a secret boss that was pretty low-level, and she was sure to challenge the monster again as soon as the full version released. It was a rare sword in title only - its abilities were pretty average, but Cinera absolutely adored it. The weight was fairly light and easy to control, but it still had a decent strike power; it fit perfectly with her agile nature. [i]Severance... An oddly fitting name for a sword like this.[/i] She smirked at the thought and quickly drew the long, black blade from its hilt and held it above her head at a downward angle, ready to fight.

[i]Okay. Here we go![/i]

As the wolves targeted her, she quickly lunged forward, her orange hair sparkling in the sun as it flowed behind her. The first wolf lunged at her, to which she dodged and sliced her sword toward the one on the left, instead. It left a mark, but not much damage. She was too worried about Delcastle watching her - she needed to focus. Another wolf jumped at her and she turned to block, her blade coming into contact with the wolf's teeth as it pushed her back in the dirt. Cinera struggled, grunting as she tried to keep her ground. [i]Come on... I need to be stronger![/i] It was no use, though, as her back slammed into the tree behind her. A bit of a cry escaped her lips as she fell to the ground, still squaring off with the wolf as the others began to growl. The pain level in this game was surprising... almost realistic. She could practically feel the scratches on her back from the bark of the tree.

Rather than admire the game's level of detail though, she noticed that the wolves only attacked one at a time, though it was in quick succession. [i]So they won't gang up on you... I'm sure that's not the same with every creature, but this makes it easier! I just need to calm down...[/i] After a moment of struggling, Cinera managed to push the wolf back with her blade and then kick the wolf as hard as she could. It whimpered as it fell back, and she managed to regain her footing while the other wolves were distracted. Once she was up, another wolf lunged and she jumped to the side, simultaneously swiping her katana to wound its back leg. One was slowed. Good. This was the one she needed to focus on. One at a time.

As she began to regain her confidence, the fight moved very quickly. She dodged the way of another wolf and managed to strike the wounded one, killing it instantly. Then she blocked another one as it lunged, this time digging her heels into the ground to keep her footing. In a more confident manner, she firmly grasped the katana with one hand to hold off the wolf and pulled her other hand back to punch it hard in the snout. It wasn't much damage, but enough blood gushed from the wolf's face to keep it distracted. Cinera once again dodged the other wolf and drove Severance hard into the wounded one, killing it. This last wolf was the easiest, not requiring much except a dodge to the side and a few strikes from her blade. It was finished.

Cinera glanced around before lowering her stance and letting out the breath she had been holding in. The fight took longer than it would have for a normal player, but once she got a rhythm going she made sure to fight carefully and pace herself. Her defensive skills were better than she though, and she credited that to the confidence Delcastle had begun to give her. Quietly, she returned Severance to its sheath and looked over at her new friend, breathing heavily from the battle. [b]"So... H-How was that...?"[/b] She gave him a nervous smile as the blood from the wolf she had punched dripped from her fingertips.[/color]