mantou

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

@WindsOfFate Chef's kiss

finally got to meet Lorenzo-- now they're just needing to meet up with Yuri and Suzanna soon

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

Gou

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_{mentions: @Gentlemanvaultboy @Searat}

The disciple took off immediately after Luna, sprinting quite a distance behind her to give her room as she took out stray breadmen. For a moment he felt grateful as the road effectively cleared up but was soon distracted at the sight ahead. Beyond them were masses of black and brown, each mob tearing the other to shreds as they shrieked and groaned to form a messy chorus. Chaos! He ran faster into the fray, quickly beginning to run out of breath. A fast runner indeed-- but his stamina as a man was subpar compared to his beast form.

The phone in his hands was capturing all sorts of blurs and afterimages. Still, Gou hoped he'd managed to film something good on the way, recalling Luna taking out the breadmen. At this thought, he sped on forward to catch up to her.

Gou had arrived just in time to see a gas-masked man strike a strange, almost threatening gesture at his elder martial sister.

"Hey!" the runner was out of breath, but was ready to defend if need be. His hands held up the camera, and through the screen he noticed the pose was gone the next second. Clearly, the man meant no harm... but there must have been a good reason for him to be standing in the middle of the battlefield so casually. Gou tucked the phone into his side for a moment to glare into the mask's eyeholes, then at the scene before them. The shadowy figures were relentless in their pursuit of the breadmen, and vice versa. Though, there was something truly strange about these creatures.

The breadmen had a life force; the monstrous figures did not.

Gou's eyes widened at the realization, taking a step forward to the man to properly look at the masked figure. In the cultivation world, there were only very few masters they had heard of who could perform such a feat. They were extremely powerful, but also highly misunderstood. This was a mysterious type of cultivation, and everyone who attempted it ended up having entire Sects against them simply because of fear. In time, they had disappeared from the cultivation world entirely.

Was it possible that this man could have been part of that lineage? As for the matter at hand-- his intentions were in the right place. Gou would not make the same mistake as his predecessors, and so his mind opened to wholly accept their new ally.

"Demonic cultivator, my name is Gou. It is an honor." the disciple gave him a deep bow, then straightened up to extend his sword in a quick motion, stabbing through a breadman attempting to sneak up behind the masked figure. It felt much denser than the last one he'd destroyed. "The breadmen seem to be getting stronger-- let us all continue on to the beacon!"

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

Alright, gucci. The flare should be seen from where they are, so feel free to go ahead! Wavebreaker Style: Flounder was pretty damn creative, by the way!

Seriously looking forward to the whole group meeting Suzanna and Lorenzo, as well

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

Gou

---

_{MENTIONS: @Gentlemanvaultboy, @Searat Lorenzo's shadow minion, @WindsofFate's Monarch}

Gou placed a frantic effort to catch the phone, hurriedly pointing it to Luna as she flew to make short work of the leftover dessert. The student was thoroughly unfamiliar with the device, but did just as she taught him; tapping on the glass once to focus, and dragging two fingers apart to zoom in.

Suddenly, a powerful layer of water erupted from the ground and before he knew it, the bread man was in the air. In his awe, there was only a second delay as he remembered to bring the phone up to document the scene, fiddling with the zoom functions to really capture the right feeling. He watched through the screen as Luna cocooned the bread mid-air, and proceeded to lead it to its demise.

”And that’s a wrap. Good hustle everybody. The cameraman grinned, and raised her a thumbs-up. “Excellent!” he mouthed from behind the screen. The recording was going still, and soon the man’s smile formed a grimace. He cringed at the otherwise innocent scene, and lifted a hand to cover the lens for a moment-- this wouldn’t be so good for the younger disciples around the world.

“I know this taste! This is no space muffin, he was baked on earth. Come on, we got to get to the SeaShell Bakery.” Making sure not to drop the precious piece of metal in his hands, he ran awkwardly after Luna to her bigger hunk of metal and got on the move.

”Elder sister, earlier, I heard you say ”Flounder”-- right? As in the flatfish? If so, that was an amazing demonstration of such a fish’s ambush skill! I’m beginning to understand how your skills work!” Gou mused as they drove towards the city. He was learning a lot during his time outside the Sect, and for that, he was truly glad. The Yuheng Sect. set such a path for him, and him only! Abound with learning experiences everywhere you turned. With Luna’s camera, he pointed it all around him for a good view, preparing before their supposed fight. He continued this for the next 5 minutes until something caught his eye as the city drew closer.

Or rather, some things.

Surrounding them were bread-men, and the undead.

There were many of them, crowded to a point that made it difficult to drive on forward. Not only this but they were engaged in intense battle! Gou quickly hopped off the sidecar, taking care to point the camera at things he thought important. First, a random breadman’s face, and then a shadowy creature-- unfortunately, it took notice, and proceeded to slowly grin back at him. Shivers ran up and down Gou's spine as backed up slowly.

“Elder martial sister, we have to be very careful... I do--”

Then, he felt something soft behind him. Something… furry, and sturdy. Whatever stood behind him blocked all rays of the sun, casting him in a giant shadow.

At the back of his throat, his heart threatened to jump out. “Everything, is a learning experience… a learning experience--” Gou steeled himself and swung his head around, only to have been met with a face full of fur as the creature growled in response to the flustered disciple. A loud yelp echoed between the buildings, earning a hand over his own mouth. The disciple could then be seen jogging back to the scooter in an effort to stay composed in front of his Martial Elder. In the midst of building his fake confidence, he could’ve sworn he saw the creature roll its eyes. It proceeded to continue its work against the dessert army.

”...it seems that the strange creatures are occupied with keeping this part of the city safe.” Gou spoke to the water stylist, desperate to change the topic to more pressing matters to save face. Fear? This disciple knew none...

”Do we… have any idea as to where Yuri and Sir Bear could be?”

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

I'll see what I can do!

@Gentlemanvaultboy I'll be writing about them already reaching there if that's alright

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

@Gentlemanvaultboy, I think

Hoseforn’s Academy for Gifted Adventurers

---

From the back of Hoseforn Academy, a dot of blond could be seen making its way tirelessly around the gigantic premise.

Calven huffed and puffed, his body feeling more energized after yet another 6 miles in just under an hour. Morning runs were almost a ritual at this point. Aside from cooking, this was another thing he truly enjoyed. One would wonder why an aspiring chef like himself would be in pretty good shape under all his robes - a rarity when it comes to being capable of making great food every day. Alas, there was no secret. Only consistency (and way too much time growing up than he knew what to do with). After his endurance run, he proceeded to finish off his routine with one last 100-meter sprint. Many people would find this to be torture, but to him, it was a great way to pass the time growing up in a home that only housed himself. Plus, he could eat more throughout the day.

Athena began to call for their first class’ assembly by the time he arrived. In a hurry, he washed up, then donned his uniform and robe. A groan left him; the magus robe had already begun to make him sweat. Oh, well. Another shower at the end of the day wouldn’t hurt.

By no means was he late, but he rushed to the Hall of Combat anyways, energy and adrenaline still rushing through him. Cal was nowhere near capable in combat as he was in the kitchen-- the reason being, he’d simply never bothered to try fighting anyone. Though this was the case, he didn’t care too much. A self-proclaimed pacifist through and through, but he’d try his best. Would it be reasonable for anybody to give up on their very first day? Also, where was Ixius?

The Hall of Combat looked like something straight out of his mythology books. Great colossal cyclops and warriors alike battled to the death here. A bead of sweat formed on the concerned chef’s brow, totally unsure what to make of the grandiose setting. Should anything similar have to occur, he’d gladly excuse himself to the cafeteria. Shattering this plan were resolute words from a man in full body armor. Sir Vermont from the cafeteria! However, he wanted to asked: Sir, are you not feeling hot at all in that get-up? The student cursed in his head as he noticed another person in full body armor-- Valencia? That was Valencia! But why on earth does everybody seem immune to heat? He had half a mind to call out to her until a sentence interrupted his thought process.

“...you’d better keep up.”

In a blur of black and yellow, Calven took off in a sprint and beamed all the way. Boy, if there was anybody who keep up, it was him. The energy pent up in his body from the run fueled him, boosting him across crowds of students still processing the words. The chef easily tagged along right beside Sir Vermont, happy to be using his excess of adrenaline for a second morning run. The wind rushed against his smiling face as he took this peaceful time to think. Things were rather pleasant, and he’d even caught the faces of some of the people at his table just last night! How wonderful; how were they all holding up? Presumably, rather well--

“@%$#!!!!!!!!!”

A chorus of “holy shit”s and “oh no”s erupted from behind him as the herd sped up.

Calven swerved his head back after a quick glance, only to bump into Sir Vermont and land on his ass. A great line of people passed by him in a blur. Taking his sweet time to get up, he noticed a person proceed to knock a boy down, wish him a greeting for the next year, only to have himself knocked down and exposed to the rest of the stadium. A witness to this magnificent scene, he took sight of Valencia, Lorelei, and the boy who fell, jog past him.

Great job, all of you! he mentally commended the trio.

Easily lost in his thoughts, a good group of people passed him as he wiped away his sweat. There were many yelps and exclamations of panic, only now realizing that one of the teachers from the Grand Hall’s feast had been shooting students one by one. A look of disbelief ran across his face, then immediately switched to one of determination.

With a swift motion, he unclipped his robe and threw it over his head, obscuring a good majority of his body. To complete this plan, he’d run like the wind--

Just then, a feeling similar to being stuck outside during a thunderstorm came about. From next to him, a familiar face slowly jogged past. Ixius had been at the back this whole time! A wide grin bloomed on the chef’s face as he damned his plan to hell and threw his magus robe over the both of them. With a firm grip on Ixius’ wrist, he zoomed forward at full speed, a pair of black after-images bolting past groups of students that had begun to wane. During their speedrun, the blond stuck out a tongue at Dex, fully believing in the cover of his robe. The boy’s body was light and extremely energized from his morning run, and had no trouble dragging along an extra person. There was no way in all the realms he’d be caught at the back!

The wrist in his hand began to struggle, but by that time they’d already reached Sir Vermont’s side. Perfect! Now, all they had to do was keep up the pace, and this kind sir would act as their meat shield. It seemed difficult for Ixius to keep up, but Calven was determined to keep their position, energy unmatched.

“SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

Gou

---

_{@Gentlemanvaultboy}

Gou was busy staring in awe at the flat piece of metal Luna pointed at the running teenagers. The tiny thing captured the scene before them in real-time, and he was just about to praise the idea until he realized something was amiss.

Behind the kids were two… he struggled to find the right words. Desserts? Men? Whatever they were, they brought with them a scent so delightfully sweet that the disciple almost began to salivate without realizing it.

“Keep going kids. We’ve got this.” It was a funny thing, seeing people run for their lives on one side, while his elder martial sister filmed so calmly on the other. He wanted to laugh, but then the scent grew even stronger-- this time, it irked him to a point he could not describe. Last week he drank a slush, and that had been enough to drive him crazy to the point of exhaustion for a while. Thank the Nine Heavens for Luna's couch-bed at that time. But this? This was too much. Sweet things are truly nice and all, but only in moderation, as he’d been taught all his life. This was straight-up disgusting!

Luna kept her cool. Perhaps such delicacies were normal in this city, save for the ones attempting to murder the two kids currently running with all they had. With the mention of a “Candyland”, she had gotten them riled up enough to attempt a strike in her direction. Gou shook his head to get rid of the stench, irritation growing as the living, breathing, walking desserts stepped up. These damn things were giving him a headache, and it had been only a couple of minutes!

“You’re up, little bro. Show the world what you can do.”

Like a dam bursting open, the disciple angrily hurled himself at the closest bread-like man. The both of them fell to the sand as his body collided against the figure with a thud. Sitting on top, he straddled the sickeningly sweet bread of a man and began to pummel it into the ground. Chunks of his opponent tore away as it got beat deeper into the sand. Colorful ornaments broke under the student’s unrelenting fists. Soon, he noticed the enemy relinquishing control of its hook-shaped weapon-- able to do nothing as it crumbled into pieces along with itself.

Gou stood up from the mess and wiped his hands, grimacing at the presence of the smell still in the air. Luna had been recording him the whole time, and so he reached a hand out to her.

“Elder sister, my turn to film. Please get rid of the other one quickly. This stench is almost physically paining me...!”

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

@Gentlemanvaultboy My initial thoughts reading this came up as riding the waves all the way to the shore nearby SeaShell Bakery hehe

Sorry for the delay. I'll get a quick post up so we can get 'em moving!
EDIT: and with that, lettuce go

@Nyxira Hey there Nyx!! Looking forward to it c:

Target Earth! [A Monster Marathon]

Neat.

I've got the last project of my sem that needs work today, so I'll try and have a post up anytime tonight or tomorrow at the latest