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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 20, 2023 4:54:49 GMT
While the focus of his enhanced vision allowed Emmanuel to easily keep track of Vrynn's reactions and movement, he still struggles with the new mind-body connection he had on hand. Even then, the storm of metal that rocketed towards him once again. Channeling another burst of essence into his etchings, the shield on his arm warped and expanded, sacrificing thickness and durability for a larger protective area. It still caught the metal shards, just barely, with several that struck near his arm puncturing into his burly forearm, soaking his sleeve with blood.
Turning to meet the now repositioned Vrynn, Emmanuel offered him a wry smile as he racked the pump on Hordethinner. "Just testing the waters friend, usual thing to do on a new live fire exercise." This time he unloaded a trio of buckshot volleys at Vrynn's center of mass, shots that would pincushion his upper torso and head with a mess of lead shot if they connected. At the same time he rushed forwards, using the suppression of his gunfire and the expected defensive shields as an obscurance to close the distance and body slam directly into Vrynn's chest; using his etching shield, now riddled with metal spines as a jagged battering ram, to push Vrynn up against the essence barriers behind him. Sure enough Vryn conjures up a wide metal shield to guard against the onslaught. The first barrage leaves dents, the second leaving holes, and the third shattering the shield entirely. Several pieces of shrapnel tear into Vrynn's flesh, but he doesn't seem fazed. He snaps his fingers as Emmanuel charges him, causing the metal spikes lodged in Emmanuel's shield to dissolve into dust. When Emmanuel collides with Vrynn with a heavy WHAM it's like he just ran into a brick wall. Vrynn was only pushed back a few inches by that full body slam. Vrynn wastes no time, punching his fist straight through Emmanuel's shield right into his gut. He follows it up with a powerful shove that would be enough to stumble the breathless Emmanuel back a few feet. Two steel swords fabricate into Vrynn's hands and with a deft whirl he dashes toward Emmanuel with a pair of light slashes. AMMO: 21 |
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Post by floofmasterfox on Jun 20, 2023 7:39:54 GMT
The thunderous blow to his gut knocked the breath from his lungs, but it wasn't enough to stun him, not nearly long enough for a full counter at least. He couldn't relent his offensive, even for a second... being pushed to defense would spell an absolute loss, he'd faced enough of those, it was time for a change of pace.
With Vrynn rapidly advancing Emmanuel caught his footing and lunged forward once again, barreling straight into Vrynn's charge, and the oncoming sword blades. Ever the dutiful and perceptive student, mental notes were taken every moment that Vrynn activated his metal etchings, analyzing his tactics and techniques to advance his own. Emmanuel met the keen edge of Vrynn's blades, crashing headlong into Vrynn's chest once again. Though this time his shield wasn't bared to protect him, an opening left to allow Vrynn's blades to sink into the thick muscle of his arms and chest. Instead, he wrapped his free arm around Vrynn's chest in a crushing bear hug, and the etchings on his own arms began to glow, and an unseen force began pushing the sword blades away from his vital organs, trapping them amidst iron hard muscle. All Vryn would be able to see was Emmanuel gazing up at him with a sinister, bloodied smirk; accompanied by the sizzle of hot shotgun barrels pressed hard against his pelvis. "Heh, gotcha~." Even at medium range Hordethinner had shown the potential to eviscerate flesh and bone, against lesser beings, or even hunters it was a dangerous force to bear down. At absolute point blank?... As Emmanuel squeezed the trigger, there were only two possible endings to this bout that he could theorize. Either he'd take Vrynn's legs off at the hip, or Vrynn would find some sort of dastardly way to counter him yet again.
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 20, 2023 16:28:34 GMT
Vrynn's reaction to being pulled into a bear grip was somewhat unusual— A curious cocking of his eyebrow. Emmanuel's smirking remark is followed by a resounding BOOM and the visceral sounds of tearing flesh. Emmanuel hearss Vrynn's legs and pelvis (Or what's left of them) fall to the floor, completely torn from his upper body. He did it!
...But something about Vrynn's grin tells him that he may have just made a terrible mistake.
Pulling himself up using his much reduced weight, Vrynn wraps his arms around Emmanuel's head and jerks it to the side, snapping his neck. Immediately Emmanuel feels his entire body go limp and numb as he falls to the floor helplessly, his gun landing with a heavy THUD.
"And who got who, exactly?" Vrynn taunts, crawling off of Emmanuel as his legs regenerate. Emmanuel's regeneration would soon start kicking in and he will eventually regain connection to his body, but for a few moments he is unable to even so much as breathe a response. Vrynn returns to a stand and dusts himself off. "I admire your ingenuity, but I am no mere human who can be killed by a shotgun to the gut. You will find that is the case for most prey beyond Lantern's walls as well," He notes, continuing in his instruction. "Until it is well and truly dead, NEVER assume your victory is assured,"
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Post by floofmasterfox on Jun 21, 2023 6:25:08 GMT
In the face of that fiendish, maniacal smirk, Emmanuel barely had time to ponder over how much he'd grievously overestimated his position. Sure, a tactic like this would work swimmingly on a number of enemies. But Vrynn was something else. There was no time to react before his vision suddenly blurred horizontally, and his body crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Any normal human would've been killed instantly, a hunter's regeneration could keep them alive, regenerating the thunderous spinal fracture, and exposing them to the horrific, sickening numbness of total paralysis at the same time. "God he really can be a smarmy prick sometimes can't he?"
Once his regeneration healed the graphic twist in his neck, and his vision settled back into it's correct orientation he sucked in a breath, and immediately spluttered out a ragged, bloody cough. He hauled himself loosely up onto one knee, scooping up Hordethinner once more as he rose to his feet. "This was a spar remember? No lethal shots. Felt it would be more polite to dump a few shells into your bollocks, rather than ram a shotgun barrel through your teeth. Trust me, that kind of mercy won't be shown to the things I'll be facing out there."
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Post by giantfiredog on Feb 19, 2024 22:41:57 GMT
"And I distinctly remember telling you multiple times not to hold back," Vrynn retorts, putting his hands on his hips. "I appreciate you not wanting to kill me, but understand this—" He snaps his fingers and suddenly a glowing handprint on Emmanuel's shoulder lights up and he feels his entire body freeze up, leaving him completely unable to move or speak as Vrynn activates his other etchings. With a motion of his hand Emmanuel is lifted off the ground and floats over to Vrynn, whom affixes him with a stern glare. "I may be your friend, but I am also the oldest and most powerful Hunter in Lantern's history. I can do what I want, when I want, and the only people who can stop me are the other grandmasters. You are no grandmaster. The fact that you thought you had any chance of killing me, accidentally or otherwise, is a clear sign that you are not yet able to properly gauge the strength of your opponents. This is a flaw you will need to iron out, or else you will not survive long in this line of work,"
Vrynn then disables his magic, dropping Emmanuel to the floor. "Even in the least dangerous regions you might sometimes encounter something far above your paygrade by unlucky chance. Knowing when to fight and when to flee is imperative, and if you cannot properly assess whether something is a threat then you will die. Looks can often be deceiving; some of the most dangerous enemies in this world are ones that look unassuming at a glance. Liches may just seem like fancy skeletons; ancient vampires are only slightly uglier than normal vampires; elder demons can often disguise themselves to be much more human-like; the list goes on. Do you understand the point I'm trying to make?"
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Post by floofmasterfox on Aug 17, 2024 6:53:50 GMT
An... understanding frustration glinted in Emmanuel's eye as his body went rigid, the tingle of adrenaline pumping fresh at the sudden wave of immobility that locked his body up. With the autonomy of movement robbed from him, he could do little more than stare down at Vrynn and listen to his lecture. While it was a valuable one, it wasn't a truth that Emmanuel was blind to. He had ample wisdom and experience facing fraught dangers within Lantern, enough to know that whatever he was due to face in the future would be beyond his current comprehension. He may be inexperienced as a hunter... but he wasn't stupid.
As the spectral grip on his body laxed, Emmanuel dropped to his feet, and shook the eerie clamminess from his muscles with a muttered grunt. "Crystal, sir." With practiced fluidity, Emmanuel racked the remaining shells out of Hordethinner's magazine for storage, before slinging the heavy shotgun across his back. As it stood, it seemed there was little more to cover for his initiation, bar the inevitable tour of the lodge itself. Emmanuel gave a dry chuckle as he stepped out of the essence ring. "Remind me to shoot you in the head next time~."
"So... where to next?"
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Post by giantfiredog on Sept 9, 2024 4:24:58 GMT
"If you had you might've forced me to use my spirit etchings, which I would've counted as a win for you," Vrynn responds, shrugging with a smile. "But you still performed well,"
Vrynn follows him out of the ring and stretches. "Now this would normally be the part where I show the recruit to the barracks and let them get settled, buuuuut—" He nods toward the door. "I have a special surprise for you. Follow me," He says, before leading Emmanuel back through the HQ and, oddly enough, out the door into the Hunter's District proper. He leads Emmanuel down a few streets, Hunters stopping to salute him as they pass, until they finally stop in front of a gothic-looking house, though given the entire district is quite gothic in appearance it blended right in. Vrynn smiles. "Perks of being buddies with the boss, you get to start off in a nice cozy house. Generally Hunters have to complete a handful of bounties and prove their worth before they are granted a house, but there's no hard and fast rule. Go on, check it out," He urges.
When Emmanuel opens the door he would see the house is already partially furnished, starting with a lovely living room that has a comfy looking couch, with a kitchen visible behind a half-wall. The home seems to make liberal use of essence tech for the purpose of comfort and utility, with a frost rune-powered fridge, a fire rune-powered stove, light runes connected to switches in every room, and in the bathroom a shower that seems to be able to be set to a specific temperature. That being said some of the rooms were empty, clearly meant to be filled in with whatever suited Emmanuel's fancy.
Vrynn would walk in and chuckle. "Honestly Hunters spend more time out in the field than they do in their homes, but having a nice place to come home to is always nice—and of course it's the most convenient place to store your trophies,"
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