Alphaleph
The Firstiest of First
Booooooooooo.
so huh, is it like a modified version of Mage Armor or like a magic mech?
so huh, is it like a modified version of Mage Armor or like a magic mech?
Huh, still a mage, and not some more specialized title?
I'm always surprised by how little Samael uses Purity. Is it really expensive or something?
- Location
- Elsewhere
Samael, I think we all know it's the arrogance talking.
Even when you're right, the arrogance is extremely loud.
That's probably a hazard of faith-based titles. The line between faith, confidence, and arrogance is pretty blurry.
Chapter 78
At first, Samael thought the arm was for close up fighting, which was frankly more than a little laughable. Mages as a rule focused on studying and magical practice. They didn't live and breath combat.
His first charge was therefore cautious, but confident. That lasted until he saw the claws of the icy hand flex and pull back for a swing far too early to hit him with the range the man had. Samael immediately switched into a slide, and was thankful he did so.
The arm's claws extended just over the monk's falling head, getting a few hairs. Snowflakes trailed behind the attack, and Samael rolled to the side more on instinct than anything else. Ice erupted in his path and caused more spiky obstacles to appear in the battlefield.
Everything inside the circle was covered in ice now. Great spikes of ice rose high into the air and brushed across the ceiling. Snow drifted in the air, and each of Samael's deep breaths caused a great puff of grey mist. Block's breath notably wasn't doing the same, and not because he wasn't breathing hard. Despite the one-sided nature of the exchanges, the mage was doing the equivalent of swinging a massive club around in an attempt to hit Samael.
All the ice did give Samael a fair amount of cover fortunately. The ice spikes were lingering and were distored enough that he could dodge behind them as the claws swiped again and again. It didn't delay the razor sharp talons long, but it did force him to extend more and more effort.
Two, then three, then four swipes, and Block was visibly heaving. The man scowled and clenched his free hand together.
"Cute." He spoke quietly.
"I thought so!" Samael called out from his latest covered area.
"Been a long time since someone made me breathe hard." Block continued and chuckled. "So, as thanks, you can see something even more fun!" He grinned widely. "Ladies and gentlemen! I hope you're enjoying the fight! My vailant opponent has truely impressed me, so here's something that hasn't been seen in years!"
The snow on the field started to pull together and swirl towards the staff and wizard hat. Samael blinked and cursed internally as it gathered and packed itself around the object. Before the man could do more than take another step, it formed arms and legs.
"You made a living snowman." The monk deadpanned.
"I call him Smashy! Mostly because the next command is 'SMASH'!" Tim pointed with his free hand at Samael and the creature lumbered forward.
For the first time in the fight, Samael couldn't help the laugh. He darted out of his cover and immediately met the lumbering creature. It wasn't that much larger than him, but it was thick. No features other than the ridiculous hat, it wasn't a very proper snowman, especially with the club like arms and legs.
Hitting it with his fist was like hitting a steel armor plate though. Samael's frost covered knuckles split and bled from the impact, and then the blood froze. The man grunted and continued to strike out, before ducking down to dodge an icicle from Block's direction.
A two front attack then. Samael snorted and moved up as close as he could to the snowy golem, which was pretty close. There was a fun brawler trick that worked on something this close and clumsy. As the snowman reared back for a swing, Samael's danger sense screamed another threat.
The monk juked right into the snowman's body and under the swing, scraping across the packed ice and letting the icicle impact right into the monster's body instead of his. The weapon dug in a moment before sticking.
Samael laughed loudly, and Block muttered something that he couldn't hear. He did see the icicles starting to form around him again, and he ducked and between the golem's legs this time. Most of the icicles missed. One hit his torso.
Oddly, there was no real pain. Just icy numbness as the skin around the missile went blue. Samael hissed to himself and rolled to his feet.
"Even if you can dodge it all, I can do this all day." Block called out mockingly as the snoman continued to clumsily swing at Samael.
Cracking his neck Samael slammed his hand forward at open air again. This time the air ripples slightly from Purity, and the golem's body began to glow with golden cracks. Samael ducked the snowman's clumsy swing and slammed his fist hard into the icy body. It cracked through the packed and frozen water and impacted the staff in its middle.
Samael grit his teeth and pulled hard. The body of the creature stiffend and wrapped its arms around him in a bear hug. More icicles pierced the monk's body, but he continued to pull with all his might.
A loud cracking sound resounded from the golem, and something started to splinter. Then something cracked. The staff broke in two, and the golem stopped moving.
Samael pulled his hand free and dropped the part of the staff he had snapped off. Staring at the stunned looking Block, Samael clapped his numb hands together and breathed deeply, focusing hard.
One by one the icicles embedded in his body popped out. The blood dripped to the ground, and then the wounds sealed. Samael's body steamed in the cold air as each and every wound and scrape healed up. His ink patterns glittered with golden light and the monk stood there whole and completely recovered.
Block stared for a moment and then began to cover his face with his non ice hand and laugh loudly. "Hahaha! Oh wow! Hahahaa!" He doubled over and continued to laugh. "Hahah! Oh and here I was just bringing out tricks. I'm sorry. Let's take this really serious now."
The mage's clawed hand started to crumble and flake. He spread his hands and dropped the amulet.
"You know the difference between mage and wizard right?" Block asked loudly. "I think everyone does. Wizards study! Mages, mages cast." The man sketched a bow to Samael. "Now, let me show you."
Block's fingers snapped. The sound was unnaturally loud, and the air around the mage stilled. The sound stopped suddenly. The lights dimmed for a moment.
"I've done nothing more than try to find how cold I could make things. This is my path to that. My sole achievement in life. My best spell." Block called out in the sudden silence. "Absolute Zero."
His first charge was therefore cautious, but confident. That lasted until he saw the claws of the icy hand flex and pull back for a swing far too early to hit him with the range the man had. Samael immediately switched into a slide, and was thankful he did so.
The arm's claws extended just over the monk's falling head, getting a few hairs. Snowflakes trailed behind the attack, and Samael rolled to the side more on instinct than anything else. Ice erupted in his path and caused more spiky obstacles to appear in the battlefield.
Everything inside the circle was covered in ice now. Great spikes of ice rose high into the air and brushed across the ceiling. Snow drifted in the air, and each of Samael's deep breaths caused a great puff of grey mist. Block's breath notably wasn't doing the same, and not because he wasn't breathing hard. Despite the one-sided nature of the exchanges, the mage was doing the equivalent of swinging a massive club around in an attempt to hit Samael.
All the ice did give Samael a fair amount of cover fortunately. The ice spikes were lingering and were distored enough that he could dodge behind them as the claws swiped again and again. It didn't delay the razor sharp talons long, but it did force him to extend more and more effort.
Two, then three, then four swipes, and Block was visibly heaving. The man scowled and clenched his free hand together.
"Cute." He spoke quietly.
"I thought so!" Samael called out from his latest covered area.
"Been a long time since someone made me breathe hard." Block continued and chuckled. "So, as thanks, you can see something even more fun!" He grinned widely. "Ladies and gentlemen! I hope you're enjoying the fight! My vailant opponent has truely impressed me, so here's something that hasn't been seen in years!"
The snow on the field started to pull together and swirl towards the staff and wizard hat. Samael blinked and cursed internally as it gathered and packed itself around the object. Before the man could do more than take another step, it formed arms and legs.
"You made a living snowman." The monk deadpanned.
"I call him Smashy! Mostly because the next command is 'SMASH'!" Tim pointed with his free hand at Samael and the creature lumbered forward.
For the first time in the fight, Samael couldn't help the laugh. He darted out of his cover and immediately met the lumbering creature. It wasn't that much larger than him, but it was thick. No features other than the ridiculous hat, it wasn't a very proper snowman, especially with the club like arms and legs.
Hitting it with his fist was like hitting a steel armor plate though. Samael's frost covered knuckles split and bled from the impact, and then the blood froze. The man grunted and continued to strike out, before ducking down to dodge an icicle from Block's direction.
A two front attack then. Samael snorted and moved up as close as he could to the snowy golem, which was pretty close. There was a fun brawler trick that worked on something this close and clumsy. As the snowman reared back for a swing, Samael's danger sense screamed another threat.
The monk juked right into the snowman's body and under the swing, scraping across the packed ice and letting the icicle impact right into the monster's body instead of his. The weapon dug in a moment before sticking.
Samael laughed loudly, and Block muttered something that he couldn't hear. He did see the icicles starting to form around him again, and he ducked and between the golem's legs this time. Most of the icicles missed. One hit his torso.
Oddly, there was no real pain. Just icy numbness as the skin around the missile went blue. Samael hissed to himself and rolled to his feet.
"Even if you can dodge it all, I can do this all day." Block called out mockingly as the snoman continued to clumsily swing at Samael.
Cracking his neck Samael slammed his hand forward at open air again. This time the air ripples slightly from Purity, and the golem's body began to glow with golden cracks. Samael ducked the snowman's clumsy swing and slammed his fist hard into the icy body. It cracked through the packed and frozen water and impacted the staff in its middle.
Samael grit his teeth and pulled hard. The body of the creature stiffend and wrapped its arms around him in a bear hug. More icicles pierced the monk's body, but he continued to pull with all his might.
A loud cracking sound resounded from the golem, and something started to splinter. Then something cracked. The staff broke in two, and the golem stopped moving.
Samael pulled his hand free and dropped the part of the staff he had snapped off. Staring at the stunned looking Block, Samael clapped his numb hands together and breathed deeply, focusing hard.
One by one the icicles embedded in his body popped out. The blood dripped to the ground, and then the wounds sealed. Samael's body steamed in the cold air as each and every wound and scrape healed up. His ink patterns glittered with golden light and the monk stood there whole and completely recovered.
Block stared for a moment and then began to cover his face with his non ice hand and laugh loudly. "Hahaha! Oh wow! Hahahaa!" He doubled over and continued to laugh. "Hahah! Oh and here I was just bringing out tricks. I'm sorry. Let's take this really serious now."
The mage's clawed hand started to crumble and flake. He spread his hands and dropped the amulet.
"You know the difference between mage and wizard right?" Block asked loudly. "I think everyone does. Wizards study! Mages, mages cast." The man sketched a bow to Samael. "Now, let me show you."
Block's fingers snapped. The sound was unnaturally loud, and the air around the mage stilled. The sound stopped suddenly. The lights dimmed for a moment.
"I've done nothing more than try to find how cold I could make things. This is my path to that. My sole achievement in life. My best spell." Block called out in the sudden silence. "Absolute Zero."
Camila better watch out, Samael found a magic user that loves fighting as much as him.
...That is more scarily plausible than I care to think on deeply.
Especially as Block probably will survive the fight and want a rematch if he loses.
gatewaewanderer
Wandering Fool
- Location
- East Coast, USA
This guy Block... Ugh. I'll be very surprised if some of the spectators, particularly the Titled watching, don't realize this mess of a fight was essentially an assassination attempt. I hope the Baron gets some kind of comeuppance from, even if it likely doesn't remove his threat level to Samael and co. just yet. Something like this just seems too obvious to escape the notice of any but the densest of people...
- Location
- Belfast
True, on the other hand if Samael wins here despite Block, who is apparently right at the pinnacle of what mages can reach, pulling all the stops out... Yeah I don't think advertising for a title could get much better.
Seriously though, Monks are gonna be scary combatants for anyone to face with their skillset, since they have no major weaknesses after they master those abilities.
Close quarters fighters have to deal with anti armour techniques and a whole heap of CQC tricks alongside ironskin.
Mages and ranged attackers are forced to deal with a fast opponent who can negate a fair amount of magic or ranged attacks.
Everyone has to struggle to overcome their ridiculous regen which keeps them going well past the point at which almost any other class would have collapsed.
Which might be the most suitable end for the fight imagine the look on everyone's faces if Block doesn't declare as a mage but as an Ice Mage after this fight.
gatewaewanderer
Wandering Fool
- Location
- East Coast, USA
True. I do think, though, that are likely types that could, in theory anyways, take Samael out, maybe even pretty easily. If not for the cold resistance, Block might easily have been a much tougher opponent for Samael, and even then the fight ain't over yet.
I'm mostly thinking of Titled or monsters that do AoE damage, status inflicting enemies, and foes that do massive amounts of damage all at once. I'd expect Tank type enemies could give Samael trouble too if they were strong enough but also fast enough to keep up with him.
Edit: Of course, since most Tanks in games seem to traditionally rely armor, I could see where half the problem is taken care of for Samael and other Monks. But in some games Tanks have the option of bulking up on health and not just relying on armor, which is something I could see happening here. Just to see how things develop i guess.
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I think if Ice Mage was or could be an actual title, he'd already have it.
Sometimes you don't know something until you declare it out loud, and the Universe agrees.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
So, things that Light Monks have and don't have...
- They have a way to deal with status effects, but it has a strictly limited number of uses. If they run into someone who can both load up debuffs and survive, they'll eventually go down.
- They have a way to deal with armorlike defenses, but it takes time. First they have to hit the foe a bunch of times, then they activate the power, *then* they can punch through the armor. Samael hasn't really run into this as a problem yet, because his foes don't realize what he's doing, but it is a limitation of the power.
- They have a powerful self-heal, but it takes a moment of being disengaged to use it. If they're constantly pressed, they can't.
- They have no area effect powers
- They have no mobility powers other than "run real fast", or any stealth powers
- They have some area-effect magic/ranged defense and disengage
- They have a built-in natural armor (though not an amazing one) and danger sense
- They have the brawler throwback "dance between enemies" fighting style
- They don't have any ability to do anything at range. No reach but what their arms give them.
- They have no ability to buff allies (other than, indirectly, their armorbreaker)
- They have no real crowd control abilities
- They have very limited resistance to environmental effects
- They cannot use gear
- They have effectively no utility abilities. Basically everything they have is combat-only
Monsters they might be particularly bad against:
- Slimes: monk can't engage at range, iron skin won't do all that much against corrosive grapple, and they're blunt-resistant for reasons that have nothing to do with armor. Grace offers some useful disengage, but can't be used all that frequently. Similarly, Final Prayer can get you out of a sticky situation, but can't do it all that many times. The fact that you're having to punch something with contact effects is also problematic
- Anything that requires specific elemental banes to beat efficiently: You don't have a breadth of magical attacks, and you can't wield appropriate elemental weaponry.
- Faerie swarms: They tent to use magical attacks at short range. They can probably punch through Iron Skin to a degree, and might well have a low-grade debuff payload along with that. You can manage that to a degree with Final Prayer, but you run out of that pretty quick. They swarm, but they're small enough that they aren't getting in each other's way. It gets a lot harder to dodge, but you're not getting the brawler bonuses. The spells are short-range enough that you can't really manage them with Purity. You can do knockback with Grace, but that just knocks them further into the air - it's a moment's respite, but not much more. Takign them out one at a time is doable, but the flight and short-ranged attack means that you pretty much have to manage it by targeting them one or two at a time and jumping, and they can dodge reasonably well.
- Anything that has a reasonably-sized melee weapon that can punch through Iron Skin, enough skill to keep the monk from getting inside its reach, and some answer to get around the weapon-breaking.
- Anything that can somehow dispel the "purifying" effect on armor/weapons, and has decent armor.
- Anything that can kite him - especially fliers with a ranged attack.
(able to swarm but not in a way that can be exploited by brawler, using magical attacks (skin-piercing) at )
In general, they're solid, with relatively few weaknesses, but they're not as amazingly impressive as they might seem to us. In particular, it's worth noting that Samael is the progenitor of the class, is protagonist-grade, received the art directly from the peerless warrior of this world, and has learned all of the skills. As we saw with Knuckles, the fact that a skill is associated with a class doesn't necessarily mean that all of the users of the class get it, and I'd suspect that hose that follow behind him will take longer to pick up the art. If anything, I'd expect Monk to be a Class that has a lot of power at the high end, but takes a long time to get there.
He's also been consistently fighting against people who don't know his full bag of tricks. A lot of his abilities would be a lot more manageable if they weren't coming from surprise.
- They have a way to deal with status effects, but it has a strictly limited number of uses. If they run into someone who can both load up debuffs and survive, they'll eventually go down.
- They have a way to deal with armorlike defenses, but it takes time. First they have to hit the foe a bunch of times, then they activate the power, *then* they can punch through the armor. Samael hasn't really run into this as a problem yet, because his foes don't realize what he's doing, but it is a limitation of the power.
- They have a powerful self-heal, but it takes a moment of being disengaged to use it. If they're constantly pressed, they can't.
- They have no area effect powers
- They have no mobility powers other than "run real fast", or any stealth powers
- They have some area-effect magic/ranged defense and disengage
- They have a built-in natural armor (though not an amazing one) and danger sense
- They have the brawler throwback "dance between enemies" fighting style
- They don't have any ability to do anything at range. No reach but what their arms give them.
- They have no ability to buff allies (other than, indirectly, their armorbreaker)
- They have no real crowd control abilities
- They have very limited resistance to environmental effects
- They cannot use gear
- They have effectively no utility abilities. Basically everything they have is combat-only
Monsters they might be particularly bad against:
- Slimes: monk can't engage at range, iron skin won't do all that much against corrosive grapple, and they're blunt-resistant for reasons that have nothing to do with armor. Grace offers some useful disengage, but can't be used all that frequently. Similarly, Final Prayer can get you out of a sticky situation, but can't do it all that many times. The fact that you're having to punch something with contact effects is also problematic
- Anything that requires specific elemental banes to beat efficiently: You don't have a breadth of magical attacks, and you can't wield appropriate elemental weaponry.
- Faerie swarms: They tent to use magical attacks at short range. They can probably punch through Iron Skin to a degree, and might well have a low-grade debuff payload along with that. You can manage that to a degree with Final Prayer, but you run out of that pretty quick. They swarm, but they're small enough that they aren't getting in each other's way. It gets a lot harder to dodge, but you're not getting the brawler bonuses. The spells are short-range enough that you can't really manage them with Purity. You can do knockback with Grace, but that just knocks them further into the air - it's a moment's respite, but not much more. Takign them out one at a time is doable, but the flight and short-ranged attack means that you pretty much have to manage it by targeting them one or two at a time and jumping, and they can dodge reasonably well.
- Anything that has a reasonably-sized melee weapon that can punch through Iron Skin, enough skill to keep the monk from getting inside its reach, and some answer to get around the weapon-breaking.
- Anything that can somehow dispel the "purifying" effect on armor/weapons, and has decent armor.
- Anything that can kite him - especially fliers with a ranged attack.
(able to swarm but not in a way that can be exploited by brawler, using magical attacks (skin-piercing) at )
In general, they're solid, with relatively few weaknesses, but they're not as amazingly impressive as they might seem to us. In particular, it's worth noting that Samael is the progenitor of the class, is protagonist-grade, received the art directly from the peerless warrior of this world, and has learned all of the skills. As we saw with Knuckles, the fact that a skill is associated with a class doesn't necessarily mean that all of the users of the class get it, and I'd suspect that hose that follow behind him will take longer to pick up the art. If anything, I'd expect Monk to be a Class that has a lot of power at the high end, but takes a long time to get there.
He's also been consistently fighting against people who don't know his full bag of tricks. A lot of his abilities would be a lot more manageable if they weren't coming from surprise.
- Location
- Belfast
True, but you also need to recall just how young Samael is at this point. The opponents he's been put up against are people who have been fighting against the toughest stuff the world can throw at them for years, and not exactly average members of their classes. The fact that he's keeping up against them is ridiculously impressive, since there's still a lot of things for him to learn about, and abilities to polish the use of.
I'd also point out that yes, there may be some enemies that give monks trouble, but those are mostly non humanoid ones that won't suffer against the martial skills bonuses there. I would however expect Salvation to work on status effects, though some types of DoT may be an issue until Samael inevitably gains some more spirit's blessings.
I'd also point out that yes, there may be some enemies that give monks trouble, but those are mostly non humanoid ones that won't suffer against the martial skills bonuses there. I would however expect Salvation to work on status effects, though some types of DoT may be an issue until Samael inevitably gains some more spirit's blessings
.
Chapter 79
"This isn't a perfect spell yet frankly." Block stated as he placed his hands in his pockets and took a few steps away to avoid Samael's charging form. "That would give me archmage. Right now you're barely noticing anything."
Samael turned on a dime and lashed out with a kick, only for Block to start to skate backwards on the ice forming on the ground. The monk managed to keep his balance as she reset his stance, but he wobbled as he slid on the ice some.
"That cold resistance is really helping you a lot here by the way." The mage commented as he continued to skate away. "Normally people would be shivering. But onto this spell. It's pretty far from being perfect yet. Creating spells takes a lot of iteration before they're properly set so to speak." Snowflakes started to fall down out of the sky.
Samael clapped his hands together and there was a crackle of ice as Grace triggered around him. For a moment there was no cold, but then it billowed in with another wash of snow. He was starting to feel the cold, especially around his feet. The monk glanced down at them. Fortunately they still looked good, but this was getting bad.
Block continued to talk as he skated. "The largest flaw aside from the time it takes to effect the area is that it's only really effective when you can limit the area in question. Like a dueling circle like this." The mage took his hands out of his pocket and gestured to the area.
"So it's useless." Samael grit out and charged forward again. The ice wasn't as slick as it had been for some reason, and the falling snow was starting to die down. It was not lost on him that the roles had been reversed here.
"Yeah, pretty much." Block shrugged as he continued to skate. "Except when it fulfills those two conditions, it's a killing move."
Samael blinked and slammed his palm forward. Magic rippled around him, but to no effect.
"That's a disruptor. Not a dispel. Not like you'd be able to dispel this. You'd have to get through my mage armor first. There's a difference between the two, which is critical here. I'm not directing everything aside from the basic area around me." Block explained quietly as he continued to move. "Absolute Zero is the theoretical point where everything freezes. Even air." The man held out a hand and a drip of what looked to be water dropped from his hand.
"That's air isn't it?" Samael breathed out and coughed.
"This is about as far as I can get it. It can burn the lungs and flash freeze water. You're barefoot in this and just starting to turn blue." Block shook his head and amazement. "That is some hefty cold resistance."
Samael tried to respond, but only hacked instead.
"Annnd, done." Block snapped his fingers again, and the sound came back. Like a wave, heat started to return and there were crackling and popping sounds. "My win!" The man stated with a smile.
"What?" Samael hacked again and dropped to his feet and coughed. The ice was already starting to melt.
"Why any more and you would have died." The mage responded as he blinked innocently. He walked casually towards his hat on the ruined snowman and pulled it off the body. "That would be very unsportsmanlike after all. Going for a killing move like that and not stopping it when it was clear I won."
Samael wanted to deny that Block had won. He really did. But his burning lungs and tingling toes and fingers made that a lie. Arrogance, and pride again. His heart burned to dispute that win. To get up and fight again.
"Good match." Tim offered his hand to the monk with a sardonic smile.
It would have been easy to get up and punch the other man, almost trivial even. Samael had never walked on the easy path. He centered himself and quenched his building rage. He let peace and serenity flow through him and heal. Then he reached out his hand and took his opponent's hand in his.
Block pulled Samael to his feet and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'd say you're about Elite ability now. Anywhere else? I would have lost. Keep it up." The mage offered quietly.
The statement caught the monk off guard. "You're serious." It was one thing to hear it when after the world boss, and another to hear it after a fight like that. "I did have a good counter there you know?"
"Hah, cold resistance doesn't matter a bit to a good ice mage." Block winked and started to walk off with a yawn. "Now, I'm going to need to take a long nap. This stuff is tiring. Have fun with the fan club."
"Fan club?" Samael asked with confusion as the other man walked out of the circle.
Like popping a bubble, the crowd started to rush in. Breaking the circle had signified that the duel was done. Everyone who had watched wanted to speak with the combatants after this.
Block waved them off with a smile and easy cheer. Samael however wasn't so lucky, and had more than a few people hanging off him. Well, Camila hanging off one arm and the rest of the people trying to get the other.
Admittedly the man was completely lost at that point. Too many different conversations, and his teammates were of no help at all. They were either laughing, or in Camila's case glaring. Samael spent the rest of the party trying to figure out what was going on, to no avail.
He missed the duke quietly excusing himself. He wouldn't have attached any significance to it either. Very few people did at all.
Samael turned on a dime and lashed out with a kick, only for Block to start to skate backwards on the ice forming on the ground. The monk managed to keep his balance as she reset his stance, but he wobbled as he slid on the ice some.
"That cold resistance is really helping you a lot here by the way." The mage commented as he continued to skate away. "Normally people would be shivering. But onto this spell. It's pretty far from being perfect yet. Creating spells takes a lot of iteration before they're properly set so to speak." Snowflakes started to fall down out of the sky.
Samael clapped his hands together and there was a crackle of ice as Grace triggered around him. For a moment there was no cold, but then it billowed in with another wash of snow. He was starting to feel the cold, especially around his feet. The monk glanced down at them. Fortunately they still looked good, but this was getting bad.
Block continued to talk as he skated. "The largest flaw aside from the time it takes to effect the area is that it's only really effective when you can limit the area in question. Like a dueling circle like this." The mage took his hands out of his pocket and gestured to the area.
"So it's useless." Samael grit out and charged forward again. The ice wasn't as slick as it had been for some reason, and the falling snow was starting to die down. It was not lost on him that the roles had been reversed here.
"Yeah, pretty much." Block shrugged as he continued to skate. "Except when it fulfills those two conditions, it's a killing move."
Samael blinked and slammed his palm forward. Magic rippled around him, but to no effect.
"That's a disruptor. Not a dispel. Not like you'd be able to dispel this. You'd have to get through my mage armor first. There's a difference between the two, which is critical here. I'm not directing everything aside from the basic area around me." Block explained quietly as he continued to move. "Absolute Zero is the theoretical point where everything freezes. Even air." The man held out a hand and a drip of what looked to be water dropped from his hand.
"That's air isn't it?" Samael breathed out and coughed.
"This is about as far as I can get it. It can burn the lungs and flash freeze water. You're barefoot in this and just starting to turn blue." Block shook his head and amazement. "That is some hefty cold resistance."
Samael tried to respond, but only hacked instead.
"Annnd, done." Block snapped his fingers again, and the sound came back. Like a wave, heat started to return and there were crackling and popping sounds. "My win!" The man stated with a smile.
"What?" Samael hacked again and dropped to his feet and coughed. The ice was already starting to melt.
"Why any more and you would have died." The mage responded as he blinked innocently. He walked casually towards his hat on the ruined snowman and pulled it off the body. "That would be very unsportsmanlike after all. Going for a killing move like that and not stopping it when it was clear I won."
Samael wanted to deny that Block had won. He really did. But his burning lungs and tingling toes and fingers made that a lie. Arrogance, and pride again. His heart burned to dispute that win. To get up and fight again.
"Good match." Tim offered his hand to the monk with a sardonic smile.
It would have been easy to get up and punch the other man, almost trivial even. Samael had never walked on the easy path. He centered himself and quenched his building rage. He let peace and serenity flow through him and heal. Then he reached out his hand and took his opponent's hand in his.
Block pulled Samael to his feet and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'd say you're about Elite ability now. Anywhere else? I would have lost. Keep it up." The mage offered quietly.
The statement caught the monk off guard. "You're serious." It was one thing to hear it when after the world boss, and another to hear it after a fight like that. "I did have a good counter there you know?"
"Hah, cold resistance doesn't matter a bit to a good ice mage." Block winked and started to walk off with a yawn. "Now, I'm going to need to take a long nap. This stuff is tiring. Have fun with the fan club."
"Fan club?" Samael asked with confusion as the other man walked out of the circle.
Like popping a bubble, the crowd started to rush in. Breaking the circle had signified that the duel was done. Everyone who had watched wanted to speak with the combatants after this.
Block waved them off with a smile and easy cheer. Samael however wasn't so lucky, and had more than a few people hanging off him. Well, Camila hanging off one arm and the rest of the people trying to get the other.
Admittedly the man was completely lost at that point. Too many different conversations, and his teammates were of no help at all. They were either laughing, or in Camila's case glaring. Samael spent the rest of the party trying to figure out what was going on, to no avail.
He missed the duke quietly excusing himself. He wouldn't have attached any significance to it either. Very few people did at all.
gatewaewanderer
Wandering Fool
- Location
- East Coast, USA
Huh. Seems like the Duke is gonna be pissed that Block didn't do something irrevocable to Samael, and indeed likely only increased his fame. Can't quite figure out Block ended things the way he did though. Maybe taking the chance to cash in on Samael's quickly growing legend, and add his own to it?
Edit: By that, I mean he'll now be able to say he bested Samael the (First) Monk in a duel, and that might very well be something he can use to further his desire for his own Title and especially 'kill move.'
Edit: By that, I mean he'll now be able to say he bested Samael the (First) Monk in a duel, and that might very well be something he can use to further his desire for his own Title and especially 'kill move.'
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Oh gods, he's so dense it's hilarious
Most of the previous stuff could have been handwaved away as accidents. Especially the ice block move, as it's explicitly not lethal if the one hit by it is strong enough.
Absolute Zero is a move that will kill if it's left on too long. There is literally no way of mitigating that, and it's extremely obvious when it's getting to lethal level.
Not to mention if Samael had done what his anger and pride wanted to do, get up and cheap shot Block something a Brawler no doubt would have found hard to resist, it would have been an extremely effective way of harming Samael's and Monks reputation as nothing more than reskinned Brawlers.
gatewaewanderer
Wandering Fool
- Location
- East Coast, USA
Ah. So he knew he'd failed at what the Duke wanted but didn't want to have done the duel for nothing. Not to mention just quitting might have made it obvious what he was there for.
Good for Samael being cool with a possible murder attempt. Block is a chill guy who just likes fighting. Getting in his face after the fight would have put Samael on thin ice. The Duke would casus belli have pulled off his snow job easier, though he still might do that. The Monks that are to come might have a frosty reception in future parties they may have. An avalanche of bad press as it were
Lazurman
This is fine.
- Location
- Classified
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Where is the slap rating?