OZ Forest of Gugu

~Nemo~

An Odd
It is located in the central western part of the Gillikin Country. On its eastern side, it is bordered by rugged mountains. The Forest is dense and very extensive; many places in it have never been seen by a human being. It is ruled by its eponymous monarch, the leopard Gugu.
 
Tom had no clue how things had gotten this bad. One moment he was simply travelling through the forest, the odd flying monkey distracting him for a couple of minutes, before continuing on his way. The next, a massive 'fuck off' bear appears out of nowhere, slams him into and through a tree and then roared at him. Considering that the initial surprise attack had cost him a quarter of his health bar, Tom did the only thing he could and bolted.

It was a long chase and the bear, called Bru so it had to be a boss, didn't seem too keen on giving up. The only thing that seemed to stop it was when the forest ended and the mountains began. Which brings Tom to now, where he peers down at the blasted thing from a shelf on the side of a mountain, the monstrous bear roaring up at him from the shadows of the forest.

Sitting back against a boulder, Tom brought up his menu. Quickly selected a health potion, the item materialised in his hand. Popping the cork off, he downed the earthy tasting drink in one go, feeling better as he watched his health slowly increase. Once he was fully healed, he peered down at Bru. "Now. What am I gonna do about you?" He mutters to himself.
 
There was a certain peace that lingered in the forest.

Tranquility was hard to come by in Oz, considering the less players there were, the more monsters and vice versa. Walking amongst the gorgeous greenery before them, Aurelius decided to settle on sitting near the edge of the forest to gain access to an escape route in the event of an emergency. As they were about to sit down on the patch of soil however, there was a thundering noise nearby. Shaking, the ground started to lift slightly as a massive roar echoed out from within the forest. Placing a delicate hand on the seathe of their sword, the weapon master glanced back towards the forest, focusing their eyesight onto anything that moved. Carefully scrutinising the flash of two moving figures, they leaned forward and quietly stalked towards the edge of the forest and closer towards the seemingly fellow PC.

His footsteps were soft and light. Widening slightly, his eyes surveyed the sight that lay before him; another PC and what seemed to be a large bear creature boss. Elegantly pulling his sword out, he stepped towards the bear, careful not to aggro it. His eyes settled on the other PC as he motioned him to move towards the left and distract the bear.
 
Last edited:
There was another player down there! Tom could see him, standing just to the side of the manic bear. They were... gesturing? Pointing at something...

Looking towards where they were gesturing, Tom couldn't see anything. Maybe something was the- oh wait. It wasn't pointing, it was a plan. 'Distract it' was the pretty basic message being sent, and he was somewhat embarrassed he didn't get it immediately. Oh well. Nodding down to the figure, unsure as to whether they could discern that or not, Tom crouched behind the rock.

"Leap." He mutters, the armour of his legs beginning to glow a molten red. Sheathing his longsword, he grips his battleaxe in two hands. "Shatter." He continues, the blade igniting in a red light, leaving trails of the colour for a split second as it moves through the air.

Stepping out into the open, Tom aims at the bear, and launches forward, the stone around where he was previously shattering from the force. Propelling himself through the air, pass the bear's guard, he raises and slams the baattleaxe into the Boss' skull, the force of his impact bringing the boss to hit the ground with a whump, an explosion of air radiating from the impact area.
 
Watching the other player leap into the air, their eyes narrowed towards the battlaxe being gripped tightly.

Berserker.

Good, this made the mission much easier. Watching as the berserker ran the bear into the ground, Aurelius smiled at the higher levelled player. The boss's health popped up as the damage was dealt. Their eyes widened. The sheer base damage that was dealt by one blow was sickeningly massive. It had already brought down the boss's health by an eighth of its original value. Quickly advancing towards the boss, they pulled their sword to an appropriate angle and readied a skill.

The blade had hit the monster faster than you could blink.

With the naked eye, you could see a bunch of lines crossing each other in a grid-like manner but from their perspective, or at least, the player's, the sword moved so quickly you could barely see a moment where it was not in a certain, practiced and timed position. Slowly dropping, the boss's health had reached 3/4 in a few minutes whilst it stood still, presumably stunned or paralysed. The hit by the higher level player must have been made by a weapon which had been processed. The barrage of slices stopped as the bear started to shake awake. It threw its claws upwards and let out another roar, pushing the berserker into a tree.
 
And once again, Tom felt his armour creak as he crashed through a tree. This thing was goddamn strong and had a bone to pick with him. Picking himself up, Tom switched his axe to a single hand and drew his longsword. Holding them both apart from his body, he met the bear's roar with his own.

"Substitute." He mutters, quickly fading out of invisibility as a copy of himself appears at the same time. The copy quickly ran towards the, now charging, bear as Tom sprinted to the side, keeping pace with his substitute. As his copy leapt forward towards the bear, forcing the obviously intelligent mob to try and swipe it out from the sky, Tom once again activated Leap, propelling himself forward and lodging his sword and axe into the bear's cheek just as its swipe passed through the illusion.

Bru threw its head back, roaring in pain as Tom (Now roughly ten metres above the ground) desperately held on to his sword, which seemed to be imbedded between two of the bear's teeth, trapping it there for the time being. He wondered where the other guy was.
 
Last edited:
Taking a few strides back, Aurelius quickly got out of the Bear's vision and frowned disappointedly at the lack of damage they dealt with their strongest skill. That skill had burnt through a large chunk of their mana. 'I guess this is the dangers of still being a low level when fighting a high level boss...' they thought and shook their head as they watched the berserker switch to his second class, illusionist. 'Typical.' Running forward as the mob boss let out a screech of pain, they jumped up and did an unnecessarily dramatic front flip- mid-air- to be able to reach the hilt of the longsword. Carefully balancing upon it, they stabbed the bear's eyes with haste and jumped to the side to avoid the incoming claws from the malicious creature.

Motioning the air in front of them quickly, they grabbed a quick mana potion from their inventory before the bear had floundered backwards and landed on its back with a thud. Aiming towards the bear once again, they went in for a basic attack downward slash but failed to see the incoming claw out of nowhere.
 
As he was beginning to fully register the surprise Tom felt as t seeing someone balance on his blade that was currently lodged in a moving, gigantic bear, Tom began to build up momentum, using the blade as a stable (As possible) point in order for him to swing forward.

As the stranger gouged the eye of the bear out, Tom placed his axe in its sheath and heaved himself forward, ripped out the longsword with all his strength and swung forward through the air, reaching out desperately to grasp at the thick fur of the bear. Managing to catch a clump of the course fur with his free hand, Tom placed his sword hand next to it and heaved himself up, his immense strength allowing him to be sent flying straight up, just clearing the ground as the bear collapsed.

Landing on his back next to the stranger, Tom noticed the incoming paw. Swinging his sword around to cross his body, he swiftly enters a crouched position with both of his hands on the hilt and flag of his blade. Launching himself towards the paw a split second before it landed and squashed them both had him meet the boss' attack head on, legs tumbling as they try and support both the strain of the blow and the awkward positioning that was the result of such a hasty defence. "Don't suppose you have a plan?" He asks through gritted teeth, looking back at the stranger.
 
Last edited:
Stepping sideways, Aurelius jabbed his sword towards the bear, the force of the stab forceful enough to push it back. The large mob stumbled back, clutching it's nose in simulated pain. The illusionist/berserker lost his balance and hurtled towards the floor. Before Aurelius had caught him. Holding him in a strange waltz dip, the caped weapon master pulled him onto his feet and nodded his head, as if thanking him for rescuing their life. Curling the corner of his lips slightly upwards, the blonde sent a small but barely visible smile towards the male, to show gratitude for his bold actions.

Without much thought, the two sprung back into action once again. Facing the bear with determined eyes. Making eye contact with the other PC, Aurelius crossed his fingers over each other and pointed at the bear, two words floated in front of him, the letters glowed brightly despite it being daytime.

'Switch attack'
 
A feral grin split Tom's face as he read the words, body facing the bear. Glancing at the strange man, his body slackens, nodding at the man as he begins to shake his arms and legs, as if preparing for a warmup. Turning back to the bear, which was still recovering from whatever the swordsman had done, he nodded again. "I can hold it off. Distract it. But it only lasts a short while and I'll be out like a light afterward. You need to finish it in that timeframe, or we're both beyond fucked." He says, voice beggining to sound more and more feral as ethereal ribbons of red light begin to wisp from his armour. Crouching, he stays still for a bare moment before suddenly launching forward, almost faster than the eye could see.

[Cue Theme Music]

Charging towards the bear, which by now had completely recovered, his body began to grow. Armour melted into steel flesh, muscles bulged and arms sprouted from Tom's sides as he charged forward, soon becoming nothing more than a red and gold blur. Leaping from his dash high into the air, Tom quickly countered a swipe aimed at him mid-air, taking the blow and sending it flying back. Rearing back his fists on his right side, he delivers an earthshattering blow to the bear, sending the head of the animal snapping back under the force of the blow.

Quickly landing, he set about blocking and countering the bear's attacks, a whirlwind of red and gold light determined to deal as much damage as he possibly can. Every attack he could block he blocked and returned with ten times the force. Every attack he could not block he dodged and returned fire, fists glowing a fierce golden as virtual muscle, bone and sinew snapped and crumbled beneath the force and speed of the attacks. Every roar from the bear was met with a roar from his mouth, a challenge to see who would break. It was a match between two titans of strength, and only one was going to give.
 
Eloise - Forest of Gugu

"Tails!" a female voice resounded in the forest. A coin flipping. A bright light emerged from one of the trees, illuminating the triumphant grin of a small phanfasm as she nocked an arrow to her bow, aiming with the confidence of a master. "Well, looks like today is my lucky day." she muttered as the light collected on the tip, cackling with potent energy, the force making the wind swirl and the leaves rustle. With a lick of her lips in a predatorial manner, she whispered.

"Instant Death."

She fired, the arrow flying at the speed of light towards its target, hitting it right where she wanted it: straight through the temple and out. The beast roared, clutching at it's bleeding head, the HP going down instantly to a mere 5%. To Eloise, that was to be expected, the skill unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) does not deliver the instantaneous death it promises. "It's not dead yet!" she yelled, warning the other PCs as she changed her stance. "Switch." The bow morphed into her weapon of choice, her double-bladed naginata. She jumped down behind the bear and swung her weapon, wanting to cut through the neck cleanly, but it only created a small gash on its nape. She glanced up at its HP bar. 4%. The bear was getting back to its senses and bracing an attack, slowly turning its attention towards her.

"Scary." she muttered as her eyes widened, half meaning it as she skittered a few steps back. "Berserker! Finish it!
 
People seemed to just be coming out of the woodworks. It was awesome! Nodding at the new girl, Tom capitalised upon the distraction that whatever that devastating ability was had provided. Clasping two of his hands together into a ball, Tom leaps forward into the air, uppercutting the bear, sending its head snapping back. Without pause Tom raises all six of his fists as he raises above the bear, staring into the Boss' eyes as he begins to fall.

Once he was in reach of the bear's snout Tom lashes forward with his fists, each thunderous impact striking home onto the bear's snout, sending ripples of shock through the very air of the surrounding area as the force of the strike became just enough to push itnover the edge, reducing its HP to 0% as the gigantic mob burst into a cloud of polygons.

Landing on the ground, Tom's body began to shrink. His skin and arms melded back out into the shape of his armour, his hair returned to normal and his eyes and veins returned to their normal function of not glowing. Health at 5% and exhausted beyond compare he gives a nod to the two players. "Thanks." He pants, before marching his way over to the stump of the tree he had been thrown through and sitting down, pulling out a health potion and lifting his visor to chug the earthy tasting drink.
 
Last edited:
The swordsman gripped their sword lightly, holding it in an upright position. Muttering words underneath their breath, circles that glowed a sky blue illuminated the area around him; within them illegible inscriptions that could only be understood by nerds who bothered learning the game's fantasy language. The air around them thickened and spurred into a mini hurricane. A quicker dash than the default one given to all PCs of Oz, available for those who had reached a certain amount of agility. Observing the two different motions was easy, the blows made by both were powerful and the result of the impact could be felt from meters away. If you were to time the fight, sixteen seconds would have passed. Those sixteen seconds meant everything to Aurelius. Two pairs of fists clashed in perfect unison, with such accuracy that you might say they were attracted to each other. Man and bear pushed against each other, but found themselves unable to move.

The blonde dashed forward, sword first.

A streamline motion was made, set towards the two giants brawling. One hand gripped the handle whilst the other protruded in front of them, bent. Aiming straight for the bear, the swordsman stabbed it with the murderous intention to pierce it's thick hide.

Abruptly, a blinding light dashed past them with incomprehensible speed. Stopping in place, they cancelled the skill and set themselves back, watching as the arrow whistled through the air and penetrated through the monster's skull. Throwing a glance over their shoulder, they gazed at the sight of a female amongst the foliage. Sighing, they placed their sword back into its sheath as they watched the human brute finish off the monster.

Walking over to where the monster had been, the weapon master kneeled down and large letters floated over their head.

"Boss drops."
 
Eloise - Forest of Gugu

The girl twirled the naginata on her fingers before letting it disappear back into her inventory. She then grinned widely as she made a V with her fingers. "My pleasure to be of help! I actually didn't mean to steal the spotlight, but it's the very first time that my coin hit right side up, and I couldn't resist." she gave the swordsman an apologetic smile. She walked over to where her arrow landed, her tail wagging lightly. "I don't see people around here often. I'm Eloise, you can call me Ellie. Weapons Master and Gambler. Nice to meet you two."

"Now that I mention it..." she crouched on the ground and stared at her arrow. It was lodged deep into the ground, and with some difficulty, she managed to pull it out. She studied it, looking pleased with herself. "That shot was so awesome, but I wish the possible drawbacks weren't so terrifying. Well, that's the beauty of luck magic, I suppose." she chuckled.
 
Feeling decidedly better after draining the health potion, Tom stands up, using his double bladed great-axe for support. Marching over towards the girl he swings his axe from side to side, blade creating furrows in the dirt. Making his way over, he looks down upon the girl, silent, before sheathing his axe and putting his hand out for her to shake.

"Good to meet you Ellie! The name's Tom, you can call me Tom. As you could probably see earlier, I'm a berserker who dabbles a bit in illusion magic." He says cheerily as he looks at the arrow in her hands. "That's one terrifying ability. You brought a boss like that down to 5% in one shot! What level are you? Scratch that, what level are both of you?" He continues inquisitively, looking between the two weapon masters.
 
Turning their head to glance at the two other players, Aurelius nodded in acknowledgement. They held the sight of the two people behind them and turned around slightly. Their eyes narrowed as they continued to conjure words above their head. "Aurelius. Nice to meet you. I'm level 21."

Rummaging their hands through the goods, the sight of a pair of bear ears caught their attention. It was similar to one of those 'Neko ears' that Japanese people would use as fanservice. Raising an eyebrow, they took a step back and got a good look at the drops, making a mental list of them.

'Bear Cloak (Cape)'
'Detached Paw (Weapon)'
'Bear Ears (Helmet)'
 
Eloise - Forest of Gugu

She grinned as she shook his hand. "I'm level 58. I started multiclassing recently because I thought luck magic would be interesting. I underestimated how dangerous being a gambler could be." she raised her hand and opened up her menu, viewing the list of her skills. "Instant Death. An all or nothing ability. Grants the user one hit that could instantly lower the HP to 5%. Decided with a coin flip. Could backfire to the user." she muttered, reading the description before making a sigh. "I already tried it twice before it finally worked. I had to drink so many health potions..." her eyes narrowed as her ears twitched. "I've drunk so much I think I'm going to get sick."

She glanced over at the swordsman, Aurelius. "Ah, you guys can split it between yourselves however you wish, I would love a new weapon but that one isn't really my style. Besides, I've already reached the weapon limit for my level."
 
Tom walks over to the items, picking up each one and reading their stats. "I'm level 99. Can't wait to hit triple digits." He calls back as he chucks the paw aside, unfurling the cloak. Frowning in disappointment, he turns to the other two, clicking his tongue, the sound echoing through his helmet. "Damn. For such a strong boss he drops some low level stuff. This crap would be useful if I was about forty levels lower." He mutters, before turning back and grabbing the cloak.

"However... this thing looks pretty cool. If I get it to a nearby town, I could probably turn it into an accessory." He says thoughtfully, before draping the cloak over his shoulders and spinning to face the two players. "How do I look? Dashing enough?" He jokingly asks as he strikes a regal pose.
 
Grabbing the paw and the strange set of ears, Aurelius opened up their menu and placed the paw in their inventory. They turned towards the other two. "We could sell it and split the money." The air was left empty for a while until they continued to write, "I would like to also suggest that we may give it to someone of a lower level. I'm guessing that they may be able to do well with the stats this thing has."
 
Estefany Odgen-Gugu Forest
Estefany had been walking around the Gugu forest, staying in a cabin she bought not to far from the forest. Along her walk, she spotted a few player characters, one of which she recognized easily. "Tommy!" she said, pulling him into a tight, choking hug. "How are you, lovely?" It had been a moment since she'd seen the little pest. Turning her gaze to the others, she sent a sweet smile. "Hello there darlings, I'm Este. Pleasure to meet you." she chuckled for a bit. "I couldn't help you but overhear your talk on levels. If I can share as well, I'm level 122, the very thing little Tommy here hates about me." She finally let go of Tom before sending a wink to the others.
 
Back
Top