Cora
*Once night falls, Hitoshi approaches his destination, naginata held by his side. He scouts for the golem, utilising his superior stealth skills and newly gained night vision to stay hidden and avoid a fair fight.*

**Rank 1 Night Vision, Level 2 Blurry and Silent utilised.**
Amie
*Hitoshi had best be on guard as well. This stone golem was said to ambush those who passed through the path alone, opting for stealth and an unfair fight. He'd have to present bait, wait for some himself, or seek out the Kuilei without being spotted. The road was a wide one with large trees and thick shubbery on either side. How Hitoshi approached the scene was up to him.*
Cora
*Hitoshi opts to wait for a while near the road, to see if the golem preys on anyone nearby. If he does, Hitoshi has a golden opportunity to strike the beast down.*
Amie
*For a few minutes, there'd be nothing. Silence as the wind rolled over the treetops and what scarce animal life there was skittered by. Then came singing.* "I carried f'rty bales, drank f'fty ales, hammered s'xty nails, a drunkard wanders s'v'nty trails! Th'rty n'ne bales, f'rty n'ne ales, f'fty n'ne nails, s'xty n'ne trails! Th'rty eight bales, f'rty..." *It was a Lora, very clearly inebriated. He was wandering down the path, clearly trying to get home after a long night at the tavern. He came into Hitoshi's view, stumbling over his own feet and still loudly singing.*
Cora
*Hitoshi silently follows the Lora, hoping (sort of, he's not a psychopath) that the golem would show itself by ambushing the poor man. If it does attack him, easy win for Hitoshi, right?*
Amie
*There'd be a loud shifting of dirt and some kind of solid thud off to the right, ahead of the Lora.* "How's that?" *The Lora turned to look, squinting. He and Hitoshi would see a Stone Kuilei, over 6ft tall, lifting a sizable rock over his head. It looked like it weighed about 30lbs. It was shaking off dirt, possibly half submerged in the ground just moments earlier.* "That for me?" *The Lora didn't seem to understand he was in danger.*
Cora
*Hitoshi decides to get the ultimate sneak attack in with his Naginata. With most people, that's a risky and almost suicidal move, but Hitoshi tries it anyway.*

"Kurayami no kyoka..."

*Drawing his fingers over the blade of the weapon, it becomes covered in some inky black fluid. He quietly moves toward the Kuilei and then suddenly strikes downward on its back, as hard as possible. If it hits very well, it might slice into the creature's head.*

**Hitoshi uses "Shadow Strike". 105/130 Mana**
Amie
*Hitoshi's movements and words were enough to alert the Kuilei, but not so much that it could tell where Hitoshi was. It held the stone in its hands, unsure of what to do. When the Kitsune's blade came down the rock would intercept the blade enough to avoid the golem's head, but Hitoshi would be able to carve a nice gash down the Kuilei's back. It dropped the rock to he side, staggering forward and onto the road, turning to face the opponent assailing him. The golem went for the sword on his belt, backpedaling away to gain some distance.*
Cora
*Hitoshi backs off, but only to use another trick up his sleeve. He grabs a kunai out of his pocket and begins chanting to himself. When he completes the chant, you might barely be able to hear the crackling from the blade. He then uses the kunai by throwing it at the golem's chest, hoping to render its arms worthless.*

**Hitoshi uses "Nerve Killer". 5 Mana regenerates. 87.5/130 Mana remaining.**
Amie
*With the distance created between the two by the Golem's retreat, there was about 15ft between the two. The crackle would make the Kuilei expect some type of spell, making it already begin sidestepping when Hitoshi moved to throw it. The kunai barely missed, with the stone golem almost losing its balance with the quick evasion. Now, though, it began advancing forward, holding a longsword. It raised the blade high in its charge, hoping to end the fight with a decisive chop.*
Cora
*Hitoshi rushes the beast, sidestepping to the right and swinging the naginata blade at its waist. He holds the weapon a bit closer to the blade, with a lot of the handle behind him as he attacks.*
Amie
*The Golem barely missed his swing as Hitoshi landed his own attack. The blade carved into the stone and embedded itself slightly, but not deep enough to stick or cut anything too vital. The golem grabbed the back of the blade as firmly as it could in one hand and swung his longsword in a backhanded strike towards Hitoshi's head.*
Cora
*Hitoshi ducks to evade the blow, although his straw hat is unceremoniously ripped off his head. Now he's pissed.*

*He leaves the Naginata in the wound for now, opting another approach. He begins chanting again.*

"Watashi no kyosei suru.."

*Hitoshi utilises that tendril again, throwing it at the creature's leg. If it succeeds, he pulls upwards, removes the naginata at this point and stabs at its head. If this fails, he simply grabs the naginata handle and tries to kick at the beast and dislodge the weapon.*

**Hitoshi uses "Get Over Here". Because of his Mana regen, only 5 mana was expended. 82.5/130 Mana**
Amie
*Hitoshi was not be able to generate enough force to properly lift the leg of the Stone Kuilei, due to its great density and weight. However, removing the blade was far easier, cutting the wound a bit deeper as he pulled it back. The golem tried to grip it tightly, though leaving scratches and impressions along the blade. It cost the kuilei a thumb.*

*It'd take a step towards Hitoshi, driving its longsword forward with a thrust at his chest.*
Cora
*Hitoshi slides, hoping to get through the Kuilei's legs and avoid the stab. If this succeeds, he swings a mighty blow at the beast's shoulder, whichever one holds the blade. Hitoshi breathes in and out, and continues an aggressive stance, ready to get dangerous, even if he gets hurt real bad.*
Amie
*Hitoshi is able to take advantage of the Kuilei's wide stance. However, it would pivot to block the naginata with the arm that's already been maimed.* "Rff." *The weapon would halfway into the Golem's arm, sticking slightly. In the same motion, with some footwork, the Stone Golem swing the sword in a powerful horizontal strike at the Kitsune, attempting to keep Hitoshi's weapon in place with his injured arm.*
Cora
*Hitoshi ends up letting go of the Naginata, ducking to avoid the swing, and after some chanting his body starts to crackle as he palm strikes at the beast's upper chest. If this fails, he continues to follow the Naginata as he attempts to get it back. If it succeeds, he grabs at the Naginata and tries to pull it out.*

**Hitoshi uses Nerve Killer again and only expends 17.5 Mana due to regen. 70/130 Mana remaining.**
Amie
*Hitoshi is able to avoid the swing and lands the hit on the Kuilei's chest. The weapon falls from the Golem's hands as its arms fall limp. Hitoshi is easily able to retrieve his weapon as the Kuilei tries to figure out what just happened. After a moment of thought, the Stone Kuilei bends its' knees slightly before whipping its limp arm at Hitoshi, coming from below as the arm flails upward.*
Cora
*Hitoshi quickly grasps his weapon and jumps to the side, kicking the longsword further away from the golem and swinging again, downward at the golem's shoulder.
He then kicks at the creature's left knee, trying to bring it down. This creature was an actual challenge! Hitoshi is happy for that, to be frank.

Hey, he might keep that longsword. Looks better than his katana.*
Amie
*The Golem backs up after missing his attack, the Naginata slashing its right leg, making ti waver slightly in its stance. The kick to the other leg made it topple forward to a kneeling position. Now, however, it could use its arms again, and simply raised them in a defensive manner over its face and chest as it tried to get its feet underneath itself once again.*
Cora
*Hitoshi doesn't falter. He charges up his weapon again using Shadow Strike, swinging it at the Golem's left knee as it tries to get up. If he stuns and slows the creature, he should be incapable of doing much else, and the fight would be much easier after that. No matter the outcome, he kicks the longsword further away from the golem, trying to prevent the use of that weapon whatsoever.*

**Shadow Strike used. Only 20 Mana used due to regen. 50/130 Mana.**
Amie
*The second attack to the knee would break the joint, making the leg collapse under the Kuilei, barely propping it up. Using its arms now, it tries to push itself back up, weary and weakened. It starts to position its broken leg in a way that will support the weight, but not allow movement. It's standing again, barely.*
Cora
*Noticing the creature's weakness, he powers up yet another Shadow Strike, this time aiming for the Golem's neck. Hitoshi thinks that this is the creature finally at a state where he will likely be borderline impossible to lose to.*

**30/130 Mana. 25 was expended and 5 was regenerated.**
Amie
*The Stone Kuilei raises its injured arm to defend itself, but Hitoshi swing is able to chop the remainder of the limb. The blade of the naginata would cleanly dive more than half way into the Kuilei's neck. The light from the eye gems would fade as it slowly fell to the side with a heavy thump. Silence on the path, and then:*

"Fucking Sea Gates, son, that was awesome." *The Lora, who watched this all transpire, was still standing in the path.*

**QUEST COMPLETE**
*1.4PP Awarded*
Cora
*Hitoshi stands proudly with his Naginata, as he stares at the beast some more.

Damn, that was challenging. But he did it, and pretty well at that. He salvages the eye stones and anything else that could be taken.*

*He turns to the Lora.*
Amie
"Heheh. Am I okay, he asks. Weird cat." *The Lora simply walks down the path, continuing the way he was going before all of this started.* "What number was I on again?" *Hitoshi could probably leave the corpse on the road, the local people will just be glad that it's dead.*
Cora
*Wow, he's drunk. Hitoshi straps his Naginata back on, grabs the longsword, and heads back for