Explore the Ruins [Solo]

Finding ruins usually brought him excitement. The thrills of exploring the unexplored, or just discovering old treasures and ancient civilisations. And if he was lucky, mayhap secrets that had yet to be discovered. He responded to its calling, or rather he heard rumours about special crystals that resided within the decayed and fallen walls of what was once a fabled city. Even more unfortunate still was the fate that had befallen upon it. Something about a great war that had happened in this very area and this city was caught in the crossfire. Now it was almost reduced to rubble. He would expect that such structure would make an attraction for tourists.

If it were not for the warning signs that were hammered around the border. Nothing to describe it than a horrid black and white picture of some crooked man's face with a long gaping mouth. Zombies, they were called. Pretty much the undead. Sly was no stranger to such, as during his youth, he had slain a number of beasts conjured with magic. This one would be no different.

Ignoring the signs, he marched onwards, and almost stopped immediately. Movement, dead ahead. Two men, dressed in rags, were running inside the ruins, disappearing within the semi-collapsed halls. It looks like he would not be alone with the undead...

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Words: 220/100
Post: 1/X

The entrance was what anyone would expect to find. Literally nothing. Dangling vines encroached the crumbled mouth that was the door, as he ducked the overhang and took his first echoing step into the damp ruins. Someone had prepared the place. The lanterns on the floor were to modern to belong to the ancient civilisation that once lived here. Another step in and he could hear the distant groans. Then, there was a bit of chatter. Human chatter. and the sound of a sword scraping off some hard surface. The groaning stopped, and the distancing footsteps told Sly the men had moved further in.

Walking down the hallway of this entrance was rather uneventful until his foot found a corpse, well hidden in the shadows. A closer inspection revealed the decayed skeletal figure. It's head was lobbed off from its body. And at that instant, Sly stepped back from the stench. Yes, it was a zombie alright. Taking a deep breath, he brandished his bronze rapier. On him, were also the throwing knives and a clockwork dagger. A small weapon which he was able to form from his device, but for now, there was no way he could dissipate it.

He rested his back against the wall, just before a turn to a large room ahead, and slowly peeked his head out...

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Words: 222/100
Post: 2/X

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

Barren.

It looked like those figures had already moved on, though he feared there could be more to come as he traversed deeper. The natives of this city seemed to adore the trapezoidal shape of their doorways. It was brilliant to keep the structure sturdy against earthquakes, but it was no match for the likes magic. The war must had been catastrophic. And those that did not escape and were not crushed to death had turned into these wandering souls, at the very edge of death but could never reach it.

Sly watched the ground as he passed by the pedestals. No raised tiles or tripwires. Or perhaps they were already disarmed. He hoped they were, as the bodies of the dead had covered almost half the floor, as he tried to get across. All of them had their heads cut off. Perhaps it was the only way to kill them. There were some slash wounds on the zombies. Fresh wounds, done by a blade no less. It was a deep cut as well, enough to reach the organs, but it did not put them down if they have to also cut off the head.

Aside from some large broken pots sitting in the corner, there was nothing of value for him to take here. And so he moved on to the next room.

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Words: 224/100
Post: 3/X
Dice: 3/25

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

He descended down a flight of stairs, until he came into another room. The state of it was impossible to tell what it was used for. All he had to take from it was that he found himself on a balcony, with two staircases on opposite sides spiralling down to the rest of the room. He saw a silhouette moving further on deeper into the ruins, taking the exit to the left below. The other chose to remain, as if to stand guard. His back was Sly, but unless he started moving to another room, he had no choice but to take him out.

Perhaps he could jump off the balcony and land on him with the blade to his neck. That could instantly kill him for sure, but it was a wild jump. Sly crouched and quietly moved closer towards it, stopping only when he could see the hair of the bandit, who decided to rummage some already explored objects that were piled near the stairs. He was just directly below Sly...

Taking a deep breath, Sly willed himself to get onto his feet and jumped over the rails. Boots adjusting to stomp on him, Sly readied a dagger in his left hand, the rapier in his right and off to the side as a back up if things went sour. His boots connected the bandit and, with a grunt, the man stumbled and crashed into one of the shelves.

"Ack! Son of a bitch!" He got up and drew his sword, face furrowed with anger as he stepped forward, rolling his shoulder. "Bloody nice of you to drop by you cockroach!" He said, grunting several more times, and marched forward. Sly leapt back from his step-swing, the iron blade whistling by. Even with a narrow miss, Sly could feel the wing slashed near his belly, almost stinging him. And quickly he assumed a fighting stance. One leg a metre behind the other, foot turned aside in a 90 degree angle, and his rapier facing forward, knife ready on the side.

"Sword and knife huh?" He said, his hand reaching for one of several knives.

Sly's heart leapt to his throat, as one of such was spinning right for his head. Instinct tilted his head, and he growled between his teeth. a cold whip stung his cheek. Hard. Before the blade clattered against the wall. With a warcry, the man had already taken a step forward, amidst the distraction, blade positioned for another swing.

Crap! Sly thought, positioning the rapier at an angle. Once it met the sword, he immediately shoved it aside, into a parry, and quickly Sly moved forward, while he was exposed, and slashed the dagger across the chest. Then another, just before he could scream and stumble back. As if it had marked the spot, Sly swung his rapier forward and thrust, aiming right in between the two slash marks, and stabbed him into the chest.

The man gargled, staggering on the spot, and dragging Sly's blade around a bit. He dropped his sword, both hands reaching to grab the blade. Then vainly reaching for Sly, clawing uselessly in the air. Taking a deep breath, Sly booted him away and off the blade, and he slumped onto the bench, hand over his wound. His shallow grunt was rather soft, as he stared at Sly. The look on him was... something he could not describe any further. Without wasting anymore time, Sly aimed and sent the blade straight through the man's throat.

Beyond the soft hum of the blade entering flesh, it was now silent. Sly quickly drew the blade out and stepped back, as the force pulled the man to slump forwards and onto his belly on the floor. That was bloody close. She rubbed his cheek from the sweat, then hissed. It was not sweat at all. He was cut. The blood was quite large, but eventually it would settle down. He had to keep himself on guard next time, not expecting any chivalry or honour from these crooks.

Sly searched the body, giving it pat down, but through such little rags of clothing he was wearing, he shouldn't be surprised he found nothing. No matter. He had to carry on. And so he took the same path the other silhouette had taken.

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Words: 719/100
Post: 4/X
Dice: 9/25

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

A whole lot of nothing in this next smaller room. Thank goodness.

This place looked like a small storage area, with fallen shelves on either side. The only one still intact was used to hold up a lantern His heart could still not get over from the experience he had with the man before, and he decided to take a rest on the platform, just before the stairs to the next room. He had a water flask with him, he remembered, and only then his heart was calmed by the bitter sense of nostalgia when he felt the dents of the container.

He slowly took it out from the bag and studied it, his twisted reflection from the metal reflecting from the lantern. Lexia. His heart was heavy as his thoughts were out to her. It was not too long ago that he had departed to De Fiore. The two had explored a number of ruins together, much like the one he was in. He wanted to do so again someday. Maybe when she was better. Shaking his head, he uncapped the flask and took a long sip. It was rather refreshing, saved for the sting on his cheek when some trickled out of his lips.

Break's over. It was time to move forward.

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Words: 214/100
Post: 5/X
Dice: 10/25

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

It looked like he had stumbled upon a treasury. Or, what was a treasury before someone who got here before him ransacked the place. The dust beneath his feet had formed outlines of what was coins, probably made from gold or silver. But as he should expect from any looter, they left no coin behind. Of course, he never forgotten about his reason here. In addition to exploring the culture of the people of the ruins, he was hoping he could find something valuable. Like one of those crystals those rumours had been going on about. Aside from him, this room was very much deserted of any life. Or any undead.

He had a lot of free reign here, as he searched through every pot, pan, tiles and books that were still intact after the war. Unfortunately, nothing much was preserved. That was until he noticed something gleaming, wedged under the rubble underneath the table. He tossed the rocks aside, and looked at what appeared to be a glowing stone of some sort. Maybe a broken piece of a larger gemstone? He could not tell what it could be part of, and could only describe it as purple in colour. Maybe this was the crystal he was looking for?

Sly pocketed the stone into his backpack and moved on to the next room. He had searched about the treasury but could not find anything else worth keeping...

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Words: 237/100
Post: 6/X
Dice: 14/25
Extra Lacrima shard: 1

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

More zombies. Except they were already dead.

The next room was another hallway, except it was much wider and had rows of columns across the long stretch. Lanterns here were pretty lacklustre, and Sly froze when he could hear footsteps coming from somewhere in front of him.

"Rafael! Is that you?"

Sly quietly slipped behind one of the columns and crouched into the floor. At least none of the lanterns were close enough to cast any of his shadows on the walls. He was pretty lucky. The man's footsteps echoed across the hall, getting louder and louder. Sly placed a hand on his rapier, but dared not to draw it out. At least not yet. Knowing just how strong the other guy was, why would he be any different? He would have to come up with something better.

"Damn, where the bloody hell is that whoreson?" He whispered to himself before turning the other way. Only for a few short steps, before turning to where Sly came from again, hands to his waist.

Of course Sly would have to be a fool to think this man would eventually leave the area. Judging from the shadow of his pose, he was in no hurry. If he wanted to avoid another disaster like the first bandit, he may as well use what he had been saving up to this point. Taking a quiet and deep breath, he concentrated in his aura, the familiar and comforting burn inside his chest spreading across his arms, and he felt a small whirlpool of that flames spinning in his chest.

He slipped a hand into his coat and fished two throwing knives, both in between his fingers. Then, with a swift flick, he spun them into the man's chest. He grunted aloud, doubling over, but not quite enough. He was still on his feet. Like he was lifting some heavy weight, he dragged himself back onto his feet and forcefully pulled the blades out. By then, Sly had already jumped out, rapier and dagger in hand, before he performed a step lunge.

The bandit sidestepped the blade, and staggered some distance back, grumbling between breaths, before drawing his sword out. "Well... look who's come... out to.. play."

Sly kept his mouth shut, concentrating at the man, rapier pointing forward and dagger to the side. The man was heavily favouring his side, grunting and almost staggering on his feet. Sly immediately launched his attack then and faked a thrust. As if out of desperation and instinct, the man attempted to intercept. Having predicted this, Sly flicked the blade down, letting it rebound just under the blade as it passed by in a miss, before he step-lunged into the man's heart.

A sharp gasp escaped from him, his body trembling like it suddenly turned cold. His weapon dropped to the floor, before his voice shivered and drew hoarse breaths like that of an elderly. Sly shouldered him away from the tip of the blade, and, using the knife, he slashed at the throat, while the man was still standing. A huge mess of a kill; like Sly had just tossed a cup of water off in front of him. The hallway echoed the splatter of blood against the broken floor, followed by a heavy thud as the man dropped off to the side, bleeding profusely.

This kill was a bit more easier than before, thanks to this new magic. But he knew it would not last long. He better find some of the shards before he would turn vulnerable again...

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Words: 592/100
Post: 7/X
Dice: 20/25
Extra Lacrima shard: 1

Abilities:

Power Up, Weapon: Weapons do an additional D-Rank damage. Lasts 7 Posts, cooldown is 10 posts

Duration: 1/7

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

After crossing the hallway, he now understood why the second man had stopped there. The next room was still festered with these moaning undead. He had not seen zombies in a long while, and neither was he interested in studying their behaviour as well. They were almost down to their bones, mouth gapping or chewing at nothing, as they wandered about like some drunkard, with no discernible purpose in where they were going. The room was only lit up by a single flare, still going in the centre of the room. The zombies seemed to have already gathered around it, but found nothing of interest in it.

However, what caught his attention was three of those familiar purple gems, glittering off to the side. They were rather easy to get if he waited for the right moment, but after that, he would have to make a run for the next room. Backtracking would barely be an option, and he could only hope that he could find an exit along the way. It would not be easy, especially if he encountered more of these buggers, and then hit a dead end. He would be swarmed then. With this sort of hoard, Lexia would have very little issues clearing them. But for Sly, he did not possess any magic as destructive as that.

Casting that thought aside, his opportunity came, and he slid down the rails of the room. Landing with a heavy thud, the zombies uttered sharp hisses, slowly turning in his direction, as Sly made for grabbing the three shards off the ground, one by one. Shoving them messily in his bag, he zipped it closed and made a run for the doorway. Well... he thought he needed to run. The undead moved in a walking pace. With how much of their muscles that had eroded away, it was difficult for them to even make a single step. After separating himself from a good distance, Sly slowed to just walking, keeping his eye behind him. Some of them attempted to run, but didn't make it far before collapsing onto the ground.

Yeah, he rather not take that chance. He jogged his way forward to the next room, keeping his eyes open for any exit. Mentally, he had counted five zombies...

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Words: 380/100
Post: 8/X
Dice: 25/25
Extra Lacrima shard: 1

Abilities:

Power Up, Weapon: Weapons do an additional D-Rank damage. Lasts 7 Posts, cooldown is 10 posts

Duration: 2/7

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

He did not like this hallway. It was narrow and far too enclosed. Not to mention that the bandits earlier had not reached this part of the ruins. A new experience perhaps, but he would rather do so without a group of the undead trailing behind him. The road split into two, but he went straight. The path immediately turned into the opposing side and, after making a run around the corner, he skid to a halt. Many silhouettes had blocked the pathway. Great. More of them. One of them heard the echoing patter of his footsteps and were already a few metres from him.

Sly jumped back, and rushed back before his heart could quell, and immediately turned the other corner. Of course, he could just lop off their heads, but he was only equipped with a rapier, knife and several throwing knives. He would rather not get too close to them just to slice off their spine. The glowing moss in this hallway lit up the rest of the way rather dimly, filling the air in the musty scent, as roots that encroached the walls were slowly getting bigger and bigger. He must be right below an overgrown forest, the roots of trees having infested much of this place and barely holding the ruins together. Some of the walls had fallen off, and permitted dirt to pile onto the ground.

He hopped over them and hurried to the next room.

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Words: 242/100
Post: 9/X
Dice: 30/25
Extra Lacrima shard: 1

Abilities:

Power Up, Weapon: Weapons do an additional D-Rank damage. Lasts 7 Posts, cooldown is 10 posts

Duration: 3/7

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

He came into a room with a rope bridge connecting his side to the other. It was not even a steep drop, as it was probably another chamber of sorts. But it was completely taken over by the trees. There was a pathway below to another hallway, but he rather not take that chance. It could have already been collapsed considering the state of this area. On the first step of the ricketing wood, it creaked, and he swore it was just about to snap if he had not left his foot off it quick enough. And how quickly the bridge started to swing. Sly took large strides, grabbing the rope every now and then to steady himself. He jumped over one of the broken planks, and tried to land as softly as possible on another, praying it would hold his weight. It snapped. But incompletely. And Sly scampered off the wood and leapt onto the other side.

The undead tried to cross after him, but as the weight against the thing increased, the rope of one side suddenly snapped, and the bridge did a complete flip, throwing off the undead onto the ground below and trapping the rest. There were no platforms for the undead to climb up to where Sly was. He stepped back from the room and leaned against the wall, catching breath for a minute. Did not seem like there was any other way out for him but to go deeper into the ruins and hope for another exit...

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Words: 253/100
Post: 10/X
Dice: 31/25
Extra Lacrima shard: 1

Abilities:

Power Up, Weapon: Weapons do an additional D-Rank damage. Lasts 7 Posts, cooldown is 10 posts

Duration: 4/7

The member 'Sly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Normal Dice' :

Result :

The rest of the journey through the ruins was uneventful. Mostly because so many places were already caved in and he could barely make any progression without running into dead ends. He tried shifting some of the rocks, but many of them would not budge. So far, he managed to slip through some hallways with his smaller frame, though he had to hang his bag over his arm to sneak through. And there, before him, was another treasury. Anyone would imagine that, this far into the ruins that had not been explored, there would have been priceless treasure and that his efforts was well worth it. That would have been the case...

... if the civilians that resided here decided to abandon their priceless treasure. The place does appear ransacked, but not by looters or anything of the sort. There was enough moss and lichen here to tell him that. Sly shook his head and rested his legs, taking another sip from his flask. Beside it were the four pieces of crystal that he collected, still shimmering even under very low light. Now that he thought about it, there was a small section of the treasury that was emitting the same light, against the glowing green. He went to investigate it, hiding behind one of the roots of the tree. And there, half-buried in the mud, was another of this crystal.

Somehow he had been finding so many of these that he wondered about the worth. But this was what many in De Fiore was looking for as well. He grabbed and yanked the crystal out, giving it a bit of a clean, before slipping it into his bag. Another sweep around the treasury did not yield anything new for him. It was all he could find, which was rather unfortunate. Maybe once the excavators reached this area, they could clear out the rest of the ruins.

He walked the rest of the way through the ruins, finally finding a set of stairs that would lead him out of the overgrown area. He just took any path with stairs leading up, hoping that it would be the right idea to escape from this place. With how simplistic the ruins was built, he did manage to reach the surface, the familiar shine of sunlight welcoming him as he emerged from somewhere in a jungle. Sighing in relief, his feet found the dirt path and he took the trip around the border of the ruins to where he had entered.

What a day... he said to himself.

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Words: 425/100
Post: 11/X
Dice: 35/25
Extra lacrima shard: 2

Abilities:

Power Up, Weapon: Weapons do an additional D-Rank damage. Lasts 7 Posts, cooldown is 10 posts

Duration: 5/7

Good Job. Mei approves.

You've earned 5 Lacrima Shards and a D Rank Reward Dice.

Rewards soon to follow (via Kas).

Salty.

The member 'Kodai' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'D Class Reward Dice' :