Thread: orb of deception《 captain levi x ƒeral 》

Something was wrong. Even the grandeur of watching actual life-sized minions clang and clash, even the scent of gunpowder and smoke of artillery fire, and even the graceful dance of his champion, weaving in and out of combat, obliterating opposition with bursts of arcane energy, were not enough to shake that gnawing sense of dread festering in Kazu's mind. A minute, two, and still no Shaco. No, that wasn't quite right, there were jack in the boxes that sprang up every once in a while, imbuing the violent clash with their eerie, hair-raising laugh. But the jester himself, nor his summoner, was nowhere to be seen. Kazu's visage was marred by a frown, the look of concern imparting upon him a seriousness beyond his years. For the first time since the game began, he looked actually perturbed. The instruction manual had mentioned that this 4D version of League would be different, but this felt nothing like what he was used to. Already Ahri was racking up quite the bounty from minion kills, and gold constantly poured into his virtual inventory. They were winning, by a large margin, if he were to rely on his prior knowledge of what constituted winning. Even if he and Ahri were to be somehow ganked and slain right now, the sheer amount of gold from minion kills would have made up for the First Blood. But it felt wrong. His instincts warred with his logic, and he decided to wait and see. Surely no summoners were this dumb, to forego CS'ing altogether -- His train of thought was interrupted by the sudden lance of pain. Kazu grunted and fell to a knee, a hand immediately reaching for his unmarred back, eyes wide with disbelief and pain. There was no blood, not from him, no, but the mirrored cry from Ahri had him directing his attention at her, at the blood erupting from his champion. He felt that. An experienced gamer he might be, Kazu was still just a grad student in his 20s. The closest he came to actual pain was probably from a kitchen injury or two, but that...there was no mistaking the gut wrenching pain of a dagger forcibly rending through flesh. It had hurt, badly, though perhaps not as badly as a wound like that would suggest. If he was not mistaken, he shared half of Ahri's pain. And that wasn't his only concern, even as he scanned around with pain-laced eyes, chugging down a potion to refill their shared HP bar, there was no Shaco. Impossible. Deceive had a cooldown of 11 seconds, he knew that by heart. And yet the jester had stealthed in, stabbed Ahri, and stealthed right out. Or perhaps Shaco had been here all along? His mind turned, exploring the possibilities. Had he simply missed the flashes of steel slicing a minion's underbelly, claiming the experience and gold unseen? It made sense that in a 4D version, champions might be rebalanced to offer more immersive gameplay, but this...this was almost like facing champions with their truest potentials, no longer chained by the rules of the game, allowed instead to simply be them . Kazu shivered. Not with fear, no, his dark eyes shone with sudden excitement, and he licked his lips, forgetting even the earlier pain as he climbed back to feet, grinning from ear to ear and walking up to his champion. Soul-linked, the instructions had said, but this arrangement between him and Ahri was not unlike a light and its shadow. The damage dealt to the light is reflected upon the shadow, but the shadow - the summoner - could not be directly damaged by the enemy champion. There was no reason to be afraid, no reason to hide in the umbra. He had yet to learn what Ahri at her truest potential was like, but knew that at least at present, they were battling against an invisible enemy. And, judging from Ahri's reactions, she can't see the jester either. It was an extremely one-sided fight, given just how important Ahri's spirit rush was to her kit, a tool she won't have access to until a few more levels in. And thus, it was his job as her summoner to see her through these first few levels. That much at least, Kazu anticipated, and his preparations would hopefully prove useful here. Ahri, stay perfectly still, he whispered, pressing his palm against the uninjured parts of her back in a hopefully soothing gesture. He was taller than her by only a few inches, and his heated breath tickled the fine hairs of her furred ear. I'm going to do what I can to give you one clean shot with charm, and the rest is up to you. His palm glowed with warmth, with magic, serving not to heal her wounds, but to...? Before the both of their eyes, Ahri walked forward, bouncing with vulpine grace and heading to the cluster of enemy minions, evidently planning on scoring more last hits. The actual Ahri was temporarily concealed, provided she stayed still as Kazu had asked. A minor illusion spell, dispelled by any damage and lasting only under a minute before being dispelled naturally. But he had a feeling that Shaco would take the bait.