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You had been staring at the popup long enough that the main menu's log in music had begun to loop. It was this brief moment of silence that brought you back to the dark room you were sitting in. The only source of light was the LEDs embedded into your full dive setup, not that you could see it with the helmet on your head projecting the menu into your eyes. Had you owned one of the newer models of the system, it might had been a simple visor with tactile gloves for menus outside of VR or perhaps an all in one system/seat with a built in computer. Unfortunately, you could afford neither so you were stuck with a bulky set up that involved you plugging in the peripherals directly to your PC via a series of cables and extra hardware. Even so, your setup was considered archaic by today's standards. Most players' computers would already be full dive capable and even the most novice of PC builders would include the parts for it as baseline for a gaming computer. Your build was just another sign that you were a relic of a bygone era where full dive tech was just going over the tipping point of becoming the new standard for gaming.
Warning: You have been inactive for an extended period. The system will log you out in 120 seconds then shut down.
Your hands tremble and you shuffle a bit. The screen goes temporarily translucent to allow you to see your surroundings as it assumes you're going to slot in the aforementioned account card. You reach for the drawer in your desk to dig it out but stop. It had been 5 years since you touched it. 5 years since you buried it under various odds and ends. Why now? It's location had always weighed on your mind but it had never ate at you like it had in recent days. You let out a heavy sigh and pull the helmet off your head. Upon detecting it's removal, the system projects the menu on to your monitor giving you enough light to see clearly in the dark. Before you can hesitate again, you pull the drawer open and empty it completely on your desk. No chance to back out mid way now. Pens, pencils, an old phone, and various other office supplies litter your workspace until, in an almost dramatic fashion, the gold account card bearing the words "Account#00000020" lands nearly atop the pile.
You gently pick it up as one would an injured friend. The metal was cool, almost cold, to the touch. Running your fingers over the card, you can feel every nick and scratch on it but can also remember exactly how each and every one was earned. Finally your fingers reach the raised, stylized letters spelling "Nevermore".
Nevermore, one of the first major MMORPGs to fully utilize full dive VR, was an instant hit among gamers. While most other studios tried to take the simpler route of small instanced arenas or party games, Nevermore's company ZenSoft had gone all in with the technology and built a massive and immersive world for players explore. With life like NPCs and always on PVP, Nevermore gave players a world in which to escape their dreary lives and be someone else. Guilds battled each other for land and monsters for loot to fuel player run PVP tournaments. Such tournaments became so popular that an official PVP league was started by ZenSoft themselves. That's where you made your living for a time as a pro PVPer for a major team. Then it all came crashing down.
>What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl?
>Write in
>Why did you stop playing?
>You were thrown under the bus by someone you considered your closest friend.
>Your parents became ill and had no one to care for them but you.
>Someone bought their way into the team and took your spot.
>Write in.
>>6250633>Name/gender don't care>We got a life. Boyfriend, girlfriend, high-paying job, whatever. Something that made no-lifing the game untenable. We've got more free time, now, whether that means we're in a stable spot or it means we lost whatever got us out of the game.
>>6250633>Christian Cooke. Boy.>Your parents became ill and had no one to care for them but you.
>>6250633>Gender boy, Name: alick >We got a life. Boyfriend, girlfriend, high-paying job, whatever. Something that made no-lifing the game untenable. We've got more free time, now, whether that means we're in a stable spot or it means we lost whatever got us out of the game.
>>6250633>John Doe.>You were thrown under the bus by someone you considered your closest friend.Getting a life isn't angsty enough, I need drama.
>>6250633>John Doe>Write in: All of our friends stopped playing for one reason or another, and we lost all passion for the game, getting worse and worse results until we just had no reason or ability to play anymore.Getting thrown under the bus seems too dramatic, and getting a life not dramatic enough.
If it's enough to be tie-breaking I'd also second
>>6250682
>>6250665>>6250682>>6250702>>6250706>>6250712We do have a tie between tending for our ill parents and simply growing out of the scene. I will admit, I do like simply losing passion for the game. Nice write in.
It does seem that our name will be John Doe though.
>>6250633>What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl?Naomi Anderson. Girl.
>Why did you stop playing?>Your parents became ill and had no one to care for them but you.
>>6250712>>6250633+1 support. I like growing up as a good reason.
>>6250633>What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl?John Doe
>Why did you stop playing?Your parents became ill and had no one to care for them but you.
>>6250712I'll switch to this, it's a pretty nice idea as well.
Well, we had 2 way tie but then it became a 3 way tie.
>>6250712 offered to change his vote if it would tie break. So we left the game because
>Your parents became ill and had no one to care for them but you.I'll get to writing.
Your father was a traditional man. Strong, stubborn, tough to get emotional, but easy to make laugh and loyal to a fault. He and your mother didn't exactly approve of your choice in career. They wanted you to learn a trade or maybe go to college. You saw potential in Nevermore's e-sports scene. There was an argument, a big one, and you promptly left home without another word. Besides the traditional holiday and birthday messages, sometimes with a stuble jab at your career choice in it, you didn't really speak anymore. Fortunately for you, you were making decent money with your team. You could afford to live in a nice apartment and even made enough to start up some savings. Had you kept at it long enough, you might have had sponsors, a fanbase willing to donate, maybe even a house and car just like the pro players of today. Nevermore's professional scene had grown to the point it could probably be seen as it's own sport. Every once and a while you would even see a pro player in big ad. Unfortunately life had a different plan for you.
You got the call a few years into your career. Your mother was sobbing and begging you to come home. You father had contracted cancer and it was terminal. It was no surprise, your father's vice was not beer but cigars. Even so, you don't remember much after that call other than nearly shoving a nurse out of the way to get to his room. You don't even really remember how you got to the hospital. "Dad!" You shout as you throw the door open. Your father looks up from fidgeting with his IV and gown. He never really was one for hospitals.
"John, that you son?" He asks. The words felt like a punch to the gut. Had he really not expected you to come after news like that.
"How long...I mean...what happened?" You stammer as you try to catch your breath. Your dad gives you a sad smile and motions you to take a seat on the bed. Normally such a gesture would have felt demeaning but now you gladly take the chance.
"We've known for a while kiddo. At least...we've been fighting this for a while." He says motioning to his head. You nod numbly. Right, chemo. You father claps you on the back. "Sorry...we didn't want to worry ya. Not with you and your career." It takes you a moment before you realize he had called your job a career and not in an insulting manner.
"Dad...how much does treatment..." You start before shaking your head. "It doesn't matter. I'll pay for it. Whatever it costs." You swear. Your father gives you a weak chuckle and your mother leaves the room in tears.
"Sorry kid. I'm not doing it anymore. Doc says there's not much chance left." He says. You jump to your feet.
"When the hell do you ever listen to a doctor?! We'll drop this one and get a new one! We'll get a second opinion and...and..." You shout.
"Easy, easy there tiger." You dad says standing up and grabbing you by the shoulders. "We don't have time for that. Least..." He sighs and shakes his head. "Kid...John. I'm sorry son."
"About what?" You stammer.
"Everything. Listen son...I...we got in that argument and..." He swallows. You knew it was difficult for him to admit fault, him trying to do so now only cemented how serious this all was. "I just wanted what was best for you kid. I wanted to make sure and know that my boy was doing alright for himself." He sighs. "I was damn stubborn bastard. I pushed away my kid because I couldn't understand what you were trying to do." Your father looks you straight in the eye.
"I know dad...I just...I guess I just wanted to know you were proud of me for making my own way." You say.
"I'll admit it. I wasn't. Least that's what I thought back then." Your father admits bluntly. He was never one for softening his words for the truth. "I'll never understand what you see in that game truth be told. What I do understand is that you're a man now. You decided that you were going to take what made you strong and push forward. All I could see at the time was that it wasn't what made me strong. What felt safe for me. So I tried to bring you down. To take choice away from you." He shakes his head in disgust. "That ain't how a man is supposed to be. A real man rises up and brings those around him up with him. They see the potential in others and teaches them how to make the most of it." He gives you a tired smile. "Damn boy. I'm proud of ya."
"Dad...fuck-" You start before your father gives you a shake.
"Language." He scolds, as if on instinct. "Listen son, I want you to promise me something. Don't worry about your mom and me. Focus on your job. I lived a good life and we got savings." He pulls you in a tight hug. Even as a child, this gesture felt strange coming from him. Now it felt totally alien. "Give em hell kiddo. Let the world know Joe Doe is a man who gets things done." He whispers.
You pull your father in tighter. "I will dad. I will. But you gotta fight too. I'll swear. I'll pay for everything. Once you beat this thing we can go fishing...or play mahjong. Old people play that right?" You joke weakly.
Your father laughs. "Son, what the hell is a mahjong?"
---
True to your word, you poured every extra dollar you had into your father's treatment and true to his word he fought the best he could. You did your best to try and balance being a professional while taking care of your parents. Every free moment was spent with them instead practicing off hours or studying guides. You grew closer once more but the disease grew stronger still and the treatment got more expensive. You tried you best but the money wasn't coming in fast enough from tourneys. As a cost cutting measure, you moved back in and even made a deal with the management to do practice over the internet. Then your father became too sick to work and you had to make a choice. Trade in your career as a professional gamer for a steady pay or abandon your family. With no real job skills, you didn't have many options but you were fortunate enough to get a job at some small net café. The money wasn't great but it was consistent enough to get by.
Ultimately, the disease took it's toll and your father passed away. You had no idea how you and your mother managed to get through it and part of you never wants to think about it. That was about 2 years ago and now you sit here in the dark holding a relic of your past in your hands.
>Why do you want to come back to Nevermore?
>You want to try again. Get to the top and be the best. If you can get on a pro team then the money you make would be more than enough to support you and your mom.
>You want to relive some nostalgia. Nothing will bring back your glory days and you've come to terms with your lot in life. Now you want to enjoy a game you once loved.
>You don't know. It was a sudden urge a nagging feeling you've had for a while. Maybe you'll find purpose in the game.
>Write in.
>>6250784>You want to try again. Get to the top and be the best. If you can get on a pro team then the money you make would be more than enough to support you and your mom.
>>6250784>You don't know. It was a sudden urge a nagging feeling you've had for a while. Maybe you'll find purpose in the game.
>>6250784>>You don't know. It was a sudden urge a nagging feeling you've had for a while. Maybe you'll find purpose in the game.
>>6250784>You want to try again. Get to the top and be the best. If you can get on a pro team then the money you make would be more than enough to support you and your mom.
>>6250784>>You don't know. It was a sudden urge a nagging feeling you've had for a while. Maybe you'll find purpose in the game.
>>6250795>>6250800>>6250813We don't really know why. Writing.
You check your phone. 11:15pm. Thankfully you worked the afternoon shift so you didn't have to go to work for another 12 or so hours. You look at your card for another moment. You weren't sure what prompted you to want to play again. Maybe a taste of the past? Relive the glory days? Or maybe it was the one thing you remember being so comfortable with. Something to forget about your troubles for a time. Regardless, you weren't going to find the answer contemplating what-ifs. You roll the card through your fingers like one does with a coin, a gesture you used to do for flair and good luck. You can't help but smile slightly as your muscle memory kicks in and you do it flawlessly. Slipping the bulky helmet back on, you wiggle your mouse to wake up your computer and are greeted once more with
Please enter your account card to log in.
You slide your card into the card reading device atop your desk and hear that satisfying click as it locks into place. There's a small whirr as the old hardware scans it. Not long after the pop up is replaced with a new message.
Legacy Account detected. You have been offline for over 500 days. Welcome back and thank you for returning.
Origin Account status detected...
Checking account standing...
No issue associated with account. Now activating premium membership benefits.
Please wait while additional content is being downloaded....
Please wait while additional content is being downloaded.... You breath a small sigh of relief. When Nevermore had first launched ZenSoft had a promotion going. First 100 players to order the game would receive a unique account card and have all future DLC for free as a thanks for the generous players willing to have faith in the future of their next gen game. It was somewhat controversial due to the fact that it was announced a month after it's launch that these features would be implemented. "I want players to buy my game based on it's own merits and not based on some exclusive deal. It's my thank you to the first few who had faith in our vision." The head developer had stated in a rare interview with the man. Of course some argued that this in itself was an exclusivity stunt but over the years ZenSoft had never done anything like this again. Part of you was relieved that the company was still holding up their promise but also a small kernel of worry crept in. How out of date were you? How much had the game changed? You shake your head clear. It didn't really matter, you'd figure it out as you went.
Additional Content Downloaded. Please lay down a safe area or sit in a comfortable spot then hit accept to dive.
You move over to your bed and lay down. Heart racing with anticipation, you reach over and click "Accept" with your mouse.
Preparing to Dive in 5...4...3...2...
You feel the familiar feeling as your mind's impulses are intercepted by the helmet and you're pulled away from your body. You feel a sudden rush and a gentle deacceleration as you find yourself floating in a astral sea. The game's main theme plays gently all around you and you feel like your under water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjV9iPHdz9U
"Hello Adventurer. Welcome to Nevermore. Before we begin, let us create your character." A gentle female voice echoes throughout infinity and a window appears before you.
Please select your starting class. Once chosen, it cannot be changed.
The Fighter: A master of arms, a fighter can wield almost any melee weapon with deadly prowess. They are proficient in all forms of armor.
The Swordsman: Masters of the blade, they forgo heavier armors to maintain higher speeds and prefer lighter swords over heavier weapons.
The Thief: Full of guile, thieves prefer to wield daggers and lighter armor while using stealth and trickery to get close to their target before dealing critical blows.
The Gunner: Master Sharpshooter, they wield large cannon like weapons and various gadgets to destroy their foes from afar.
The Ranger: Expert Survivalist, they favor the bow and arrow to pin down or snipe their enemies with unerring accuracy.
The Elementalist: Unburdened by weapons or armor, these mages channel primal magics through a staff to devastate their foes from afar.
The Cleric: Wielding the power of the Light, these magic users can heal their allies and bolster them in even their darkest hour.
The Astrologian: Tarot reading mages, they provide buffs for their allies or debuffs to their enemies. All they must do is draw the correct card.
The Brawler: Unarmed combatants, they train relentlessly to make their fists as deadly as any spell or weapon.
The Hero: The mysterious savior. Armed with a strange belt only those who fully dedicate themselves to the path of Justice can unlock it's true potential.
You have to stop for a moment to reread the last option. The Hero? That was a full class now? When you were playing The Hero class was introduced as a joke option for a crossover event to celebrate the anniversary of a popular tokusatsu in Japan. It was capped at half the max level of the time and could only equip accessories. Players couldn't really make heads or tails of what the requirements for specific forms or transformations were. Without a transformation, players were basically half as effective as a regular class and even taking it to arenas was a meme. After the event, it was simply removed. It was rumored to be the head developer's favorite "class" to play as though. Maybe that's why it returned.
"Excuse me." You call out to the void. "But is there a rerun of the Hero event going on?" You ask pointing to the class.
"No. The Hero class is now a fully developed option for players to choose." The voice replies patiently.
"How does it work? What weapons and armor can it use?" You ask. "What role does it play? Tank or DPS?"
"I'm afraid I cannot say."
You balk at that. You never had the game straight up tell you that it wouldn't explain an option to you. "What do you mean? What about the Swordsman?" You ask as a test.
"The Swordsman: Masters of the blade, they forgo heavier armors to maintain higher speeds and prefer lighter swords over heavier weapons. This is a DPS class meant to help Tanks and Healers kill monsters quickly. While it is a front line attacker, it's speed is meant to avoid attacks rather than take them head on as a Fighter would." The voice explains.
"So why can't you explain The Hero?" You ask again.
"I am sorry but Mr. Nakamura himself programmed me to be unable to do so. He states, 'As the description says, only those with true dedication will be able to unlock the class's full potential. Giving away that information would cheapen it's value'. I sincerely apologize on behalf of ZenSoft and I hope this interaction does not sully your experience in the game." The voice explains.
Shichiro Nakamura was the lead developer of developer of Nevermore. Coincidentally also it's CEO, he was rarely ever seen or heard from as he openly stated he preferred to work on his game than waste time with interviews. It was this stance that gave him the nickname "The Phantom CEO". He never even showed up for official tournaments yet on the rare occasions he was interviewed, he spoke of the game as he not only played it but enjoyed content made of it. This strange combination of affection towards his game and blatant disregard for pandering to the media endeared him to the player base albeit. Safe to assume that The Hero class was just another one of his quirks kicking in.
"I apologize for interrupting any thoughts but I must remind you that need to choose a class before you can continue." The voice says.
>What class do you choose?
>This strange combination of affection towards his game and blatant disregard for pandering to the media endeared him to the player base albeit. Safe to assume that The Hero class was just another one of his quirks kicking in.
Supposed to say, "Albeit at the cost of having to put up with his rather strange demeanor. It was safe to assume that The Hero class was just another of his quirks kicking in."
I guess that's a sign of me needing to go to bed. I'll count up the votes in the morning. Have a good night everyone.
>>6250828>The Hero: The mysterious savior. Armed with a strange belt only those who fully dedicate themselves to the path of Justice can unlock it's true potential.
>>6250829>The Hero: The mysterious savior. Armed with a strange belt only those who fully dedicate themselves to the path of Justice can unlock it's true potential.
>>6250829>What class do you choose?Hero.
>>6250828> The Hero: The mysterious savior. Armed with a strange belt, only those who fully dedicate themselves to the path of Justice can unlock it's true potential.
JUSTICE
md5: b57d97cdd915fd56c47c1583a3975a25
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>>6250829>HeroMystery box
We chose the path of the Hero. Writing. Also it seems linking every vote makes the system think I'm spamming. Interesting.
You study the list for a bit longer. Truth be told, it's been long enough that every class would basically be a new experience for you but your eyes kept lingering on the The Hero. A completely new class, probably untapped by the player base. Despite Nevermore's competitive scene being a topic of constant discussion at work, you never heard of any of the pro players using the hero class. "Well...I guess I just can't say no to a challenge." You say with a smile as you mark the class as your selection. "I choose The Hero!"
"The Hero: The mysterious savior. Armed with a strange belt only those who fully dedicate themselves to the path of Justice can unlock it's true potential. An excellent choice." The voice says almost with a hint of amusement at your enthusiasm. "Now, if you would please follow me." You feel a small drift all around you and soon you're standing in a small dressing room. A large full body mirror stands at the end besides a large wardrobe full of various clothing and accessories. In the center of the room is a small table with a series of belts arranged neatly on it. "Please select which belt you wish to take with you before choosing your appearance and in game name. Like your class, once this selection is made it cannot be changed. As for your name, please note that it will be used by other players for things such as friend requests and trading. As such, we kindly ask that you refrain from choosing a name that could be seen as inappropriate." The voice continues.
With no body of your own at the moment, the camera automatically pans over to the table for you to make your selection. Among the belts you see,
A belt with three slots. It seems like coins of some kind can fit into it. You sense the feeling of someone who forgoes their own desires for the sake of everyone else's.
A belt with a hand on it. There seems to be an additional loop for holding something. You sense great magic and humanity's hope emanating from it.
A belt with a strange buckle on it. It seems like it could socket something spherical in it and it's overall shape reminds you of an eye. You can sense the presence of figures long past and humanity's potential within.
A belt with a strange blade mechanism. There seems to be a socket where you can fit a lock of some kind. It smells faintly of fruits but you can sense a power to protect that was forged through strife and chaos.
A belt with a small fan in it. There doesn't appear to be any other any other kind of mechanism to it. You sense the indominable will to fight a never ending war and pave the path for future generations within it.
>Which do you choose? What does your in game character look like and what in game name do you wish to use?
>>6251017A belt with three slots.
DameMatilda20
Generic white female knight.
>>6251017>A belt with a small fan in it.>Regal_20th>Male, white, red hair, green eyes.
>A belt with a small fan in it.
>Regal_20th
>Male, white, red hair, green eyes.
I don't know if the belts are references to anything, but the fan option seems cool.
>>6251122Each one is a reference to a different Kamen Rider. OOOs, Wizard, Ghost, Gaim, and the very first one Ichigo/1.
Won't have time to post again today and it's been a bit slow. So I'll give it til tomorrow before tallying up votes. Seems like the belt with the small fan is in the lead.
>>6251017>A belt with three slots. It seems like coins of some kind can fit into it. You sense the feeling of someone who forgoes their own desires for the sake of everyone else's.
>>6251017>A belt with a strange buckle on it. It seems like it could socket something spherical in it and it's overall shape reminds you of an eye. You can sense the presence of figures long past and humanity's potential within.
>>6251017>A belt with a small fan> You sense the indominable will to fight a never ending war and pave the path for future generations within it. Reminds him of his Dad.
As for name and looks, I am content with:
>Regal_20th>Male, white, red hair, green eyes.
>>6251111>>6251122>>6251329Seems like we're going for the classics. I do like the name Regal_20. Is that a reference to our account number? Writing.
Each belt certainly looked unique and you wonder if they somehow played a part in the way the class played. You pick up the belt with the fan housed within it. It seemed far simpler than the rest being offered. It didn't seem to have any real gimmicks or flare and yet you were drawn to it. Certainly the one with the hand would no doubt give you access to magic and maybe the one with the strange buckle would offer access to some power regarding the past. Both seemed like powerful options that would give you an edge in PVP but as hold your choice in your hand it's description kept playing in your head.
You sense the indominable will to fight a never ending war and pave the path for future generations within it.
Simple, stubborn, but willing to fight tooth and nail if it meant the people you left behind were living well. That was your dad alright. "Alright dad...one more for the road? For old time's sake?" You whisper quietly before clearing your throat. "I choose this one." You say in a louder voice.
"Understood." The voice says and the remaining belts fade into nothingness. "Please step forward to design your character." You move closer to the mirror and see a unassuming male reflected holding your chosen belt. Immediately, the belt retracts into itself leaving only the buckle portion with the fan in your hands.
"Huh?" You flip the buckle in your hands to search it for some kind of button or lever to turn it back to it's normal form but find nothing. "How am I suppose to wear this now?" You wonder as you gingerly place the buckle on your waist. In response, the belt ejects out and wraps itself around you before tightening slightly. It was a bit snug but comfortable enough that you think you could run and preform regular acrobatics without worry of it getting into the way or falling off. "I guess that answers that." You say before turning back to the mirror. Back to familiar territory, you tap it with your index and middle finger. You point of view detaches itself from your eyes so you could get a full view of your character's avatar. There wasn't much to adjust, the full dive gear did most of the work to adjust and match the character to your real life body proportions. There was, of course, a bit of glamor work done to make sure the avatar fit the game world and be more athletics but that didn't stop players from adjusting the settings to be a bit shorter or taller. You quickly speed through some basic presets and adjusted a few colors here and there. The character you were more known for in your pro days was essentially just you as you weren't that big into character customization despite the plethora of options available.
Still, you thought it best to put a bit more effort this time around. You lengthen the hair a bit, make it a bit more messy, and color it red. For the eyes, you chose a nice emerald color. You weren't sure, but you always liked that color for eyes. No tattoos or scars as you kind of wanted to keep a low profile although you don't expect anyone to remember who you were after all these years. "Alright, I'm done." You announce as you shake the slight disorientation from your vision snapping back to normal and typing in your name.
Name: Royal_20
Class: The Hero
Is this correct?
-Yes
-No
You hit yes and immediately a new popup appears before you.
Recommended Server: Server #10
Would you like to select this server?
-Yes
-No
-Select Server
"Server 10?! How many servers are there now?" You ask the system. Last you checked there were only 5 total servers. For there to be nearly double must have meant the player population had to have exploded which would explain all the hustle and bustle about the game at work. Still, you didn't think it got this big.
"Nevermore currently is hosted on 10 servers. Server #10 was launched approximately 12 hours ago." The voice replies. "It is the recommended for new players and returning ones to join the newest server in order to experience the game with minimum log in issues. According to player surveys, many players also prefer newer servers as they feel that there is still a chance for them to catch up so to speak. Most older servers have dedicated guilds and established power structures which may seem intimidating for a new player."
"New class and a new server just as I decide to give the game a go again. Life has a funny way of working out..." You say.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not programmed to explain something like that." The voice replies in an almost apologetic tone.
"Nevermind. I'll got to server 10." You say as you hit yes again.
There is another lurch as if the entire room was yanked to somewhere else. Soon after, the soft sounds of the ocean fill your ears. You can't help but smile as memories of your first time playing come to mind.
"Character creation complete. Please step outside to begin playing and welcome to Nevermore Royal_20." The voice says before you feel it's presence leave. A doorway seems to suddenly appear mid blink and you throw it open to step out into the world once more.
---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3CSWLFL5u8
"NEWCOMERS WELCOME! WE ACCEPT ANYONE, OLD OR NEW!"
"JOIN US! WE'RE A LEGACY GUILD ESTABLISHED ON OTHER SERVERS! WE KNOW OUR WAY AROUND THE GAME BETTER THAN ANYONE!"
"BUYING AND SELLING MATERIALS! GREAT PRICES FOR A NEW SERVER! NONE OF THE OLD ECONOMY PRICING!"
The familiar shouts of recruitment and player vendors hits your ears sooner than you can feel the cool ocean breeze on your face. Just as your eyes adjust to the bright light, you can see hundreds of players running and jumping around the world. NPCs chat amicably amongst them or yell at those breaking common social norms. You see a party fresh from the newbie dungeon, big grins on their faces as they eagerly examine their new loot. Other players hang around the large fountain in the city square, grumbling as they respawn perhaps killed in battle by local monsters or other players. The tutorial zone was an island of the coast of the game's mainland. All it really had was a single village, the dense forest surrounding it, and a single dungeon meant to get players used to the game's controls. Once that was completed or players hit level 5, they would be asked to leave and head into the game proper.
Your hud then pings and you pull your attention away from the game to see to the notification.
Hero Class Lvl. 1
You have the following Weapon Proficiencies:
None
You have the following Armor Proficiencies:
None
You have learned the skill:
Indomitable Will: You have chosen to fight a never ending war against evil. Steeling yourself for the long fight ahead, your will is unbreakable. Enemies have a harder time inflicting statuses upon you and you can prevent your HP from hitting 0 and instead stopping at 10%. This preservation effect can only happen once per 24 real world hours.
Sturdiness: You can take more punishment than the average human can. Your base HP is increased and you have some slight damage resistance.
[Brawler Skill]* Powerful Fist: You've trained your unarmed strikes to be as strong any weapon. Their damage scales with your level so long as you do not wield any weapons outside the unarmed weapon group. *Due to your choice of belt, this ability is further augmented to compensate for your weapon proficiencies.
[Brawler Skill] Grab: For the next 10 seconds, your grabs are unbreakable. This ability has a 1 minute cooldown.
"No armor and no weapons? Even Brawlers can wear light armor. This must be some powerful transformation then. At least, I hope it is. What have I gotten myself into..." You mutter as you read through your abilities. You're about to close the menu when you notice something in your stats tab next to your experience bar.
Belt Affinity: 0%
You've never seen something like that before. All the other classes were straight forward enough. You simply leveled up and gained new spells or abilities. There wasn't any kind of meter or the like that you needed to build up along side it. It didn't seem like a resource either. All classes in Nevermore simply used mana. Even martial classes used it for their bigger abilities. You close the menu and scratch your head. There really wasn't much you could do about all this mystery at the moment. Perhaps leveling up would give you a glimpse at what you were supposed to do.
>What do you do?
>Go start on some quests to earn your exp. Shouldn't be too hard.
>Head out into the forests and start killing mobs. You don't really need to be taught the game and you kind of want to be alone.
>Try and solo the newbie dungeon. For a former pro that shouldn't be too hard. It has been a few years though.
>Write in.
>>6251479>Go start on some quests to earn your exp. Shouldn't be too hard.
>>6251479>Go start on some quests to earn your exp. Shouldn't be too hard.
>>6251479>Go start on some quests to earn your exp. Shouldn't be too hard.We must be strong enough to protect our comrades.
>>6251610>>6251510>>6251483Let's do some newbie quests. Could earn some decent exp. Writing.
IPEOEew
md5: ca62d26f412a10ad8ab4633c9cc40395
🔍
The easiest way to earn some exp in tutorial island was to do some quests. Normally, it wasn't as easy as asking an npc if they had any quests. NPCs in Nevermore were much like people, and they would only offer jobs if you looked up to the task or if you befriended them. To add another wrench to the mix, neither player or npc names were visible to the naked eye. They could be found in menus or quest journals but sometimes it was possible that the merchant or tavern owner you were chatting up was just another player stringing you along. On tutorial island things were a bit more simplified in order to get players used to the concept of having to interact with NPC like they would a person rather than program. "Welp, I guess I better get started. I wonder if the quests are still the same..." You say and stop mid sentence. Perhaps it would be best that you didn't make a habit of talking to yourself.
---
You spend the next few in game hours doing various odd tasks designed to show you some of the game's systems.
"Adventurer! Can you please help me gather my chickens? They've escaped the coop!"
"Greetings traveler! Might you be interested in learning how to fish? Catch a big enough one and I'll throw a lesson in cooking as well!"\
"Mr. Royal_20! I've got a delivery I need to make to the mayor's home but it's just too heavy for me to carry. Can you please take it in my stead?"
"Adventurer!"
"Traveler!"
"Royal_20!"
Yep...exactly the same as before. You say with bemused nostalgia. You wipe your brow and take a swig of some free beer that you got as a reward. You could only describe the taste of food and drink here as just as you expected something to taste. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good. There was always this hint of artificiality that seemed to put a barrier between your brain tricking itself into thinking you were eating the real thing. Perhaps it was a safety measure to prevent just that. It was kind of unnerving thinking about how long a person could get lost in the game if it was able to make the brain think it was actually eating or drinking.
You down the last of the alcohol and check your stats.
Royal_20
Level 4 Hero
Only one more level and you would be eligible for a new skill. Checking your exp, you think you can hit that with one or two more quests. Your eyes wander over to your affinity and your heart sinks.
Belt Affinity: 3%
3%? After all those quests? You were hoping for a bit more. Or perhaps there were other conditions you weren't meeting. Maybe you weren't meant to max it out before leaving the island. You give the belt a few taps but nothing seems to happen. No hints or anything. You sigh. I guess it's not gonna be as easy as I thought. You think. Closing your windows, you notice the local butcher making his way towards you.
"Adventurer! I heard about all the help you've been doing around town. I was wondering if you could do me a big favor?" He asks.
"Sure. I could use the work." You reply. "What's the job?"
"With all these adventurers nowadays I've run out of meat and there's a big festival coming up soon! I'd hate to ask you to do something dangerous but would it be possible for you to head into the forest and hunt 10 boars for me?" The butcher asks. Finally, a combat quest. You had been eager to throw yourself into a fight and see what you could really do but most of the combat focused tasks were already taken by other players forcing you to get by on small chores.
"Yeah, I can do that. I'll head out right now if there's nothing else." You say. The chef shakes his head.
"No. Just the boars but...please be careful. Those tusks are deadly. I know of many an adventurer who got cocky and never returned." He says. You give him a pat on the shoulder and nod.
"I should be fine. I'll be back in a bit." You assure him and head towards the surrounding forest.
---
The soft rustling of the leaves in the trees was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city. It took about a minute or two but slowly the shouting and noise faded away into the peaceful quiet you were enjoying right now. You spend a second to bask in it before old habits kick in and you begin to walk again at a brisk pace. If there was something that you knew wouldn't change after all these years is that there would be no shortage of players who jump at the chance to, at best, steal your kills and loot or kill you and steal your gear...if you had any at the moment. Part of you wonders if your belt could be stolen. It was technically a piece of gear and players could steal quest items and other important objects.
You push those thoughts aside and stop for a bit. Making a fist, you throw a punch and then a kick before following up with a flurry of attacks. Although you couldn't wield "unarmed" weapons like claws or knuckles, your attacks were quite fast. Fast enough that you were confident that you could rely on martial arts alone to handle the boars. The deep dents into the nearby tree were proof enough for you.
You continue on your way until you hear a faint rustling in the distance. Keeping low to the ground, you sneak your way up to peek around a tree. In a small clearing you find a small group of 3 boars eating out of some berry bushes. You wait a moment to see if any other players were nearby but you see no sign of anyone else here. There doesn't even seem to be signs of combat recently from a previous fight.
>What do you do?
>Rush one of the boars and see if you can take it down before the others react.
>Try and lure a boar towards you to separate it from the group. Maybe set up a trap.
>Leap into the clearing and challenge all three. Boars should be an easy fight for you.
>Write in.
Aw man. I have just realized I have screw up John's in game name, not once but over 3 times. It's Regal not Royal. Damn, I need more sleep.
Won't happen again. I swear.
>>6251667>Try and lure a boar towards you to separate it from the group. Maybe set up a trap.>>6251670It ain’t a bug, it’s a feature.
>>6251667>Try and lure a boar towards you to separate it from the group. Maybe set up a trap.
>>6251667>Rush one of the boars and see if you can take it down before the others react.
>>6251667>Try and lure a boar towards you to separate it from the group. Maybe set up a trap.
>>6251689>>6251698>>6251783Gonna try and be sneaky. Writing.
Boars were pretty low level mobs and you think you still have enough muscle memory intact that you could probably dodge them but it wouldn't hurt to play it safe. Although Rangers and Gunners had access to more advanced traps, players outside of the class could still make their own rudimentary ones. You back off a bit and start to scavenge around for bits and pieces to start your little project. You sharpen an armful of sticks and break off a flexible branch. Tying the sharpened sticks to the branch, you then tie the branch to the trunk of a near by tree and pull it backwards before holding it in place with a thinner piece of rope that ran the length of the branch and between two trees.
With your handicraft done, all you had to now was lead a boar to your contraption. If all went well the boar to break the tripwire and cause the branch to whip forward and drive the wooden spikes into it. You dig around your pack for some of the food you were given as a quest reward, a nice fat drumstick. Grabbing your last stick, you attach the piece of chicken to it and creep forward. Back at the clearing where the boars were grazing you climb the nearest tree and dangle the food. The boars seem oblivious to your bait until a breeze flows through and carries the scent of seasoned poultry towards them. One of the boars perks it nose up and begins wandering towards your location. You leap from your perch to a nearby tree and continue to dangle the chicken just a few feet away. The boar's ears perk up at the sound of you rustling the leaves but it's hunger outweighed whatever caution it hand and it continues to follow you.
"That's it...come on." You whisper as you slowly lead it towards your trap. In the final stretch, you let the boar get close enough to try and get a bite before hurling your bait away and over the tripwire. The animal's greed gets the better of it and it rushes forward. There's the sound of the rope snapping and an angry squeal of pain as the branch whips forward to slam the spikes into the beast's side. "Got you!" You shout as you jump down and bring your fist down upon your prey.
You feel your attack strike true as your fist collides between the boar's eyes. The animal slams into the ground from the force of the impact and bounces slightly before it flails in place to regain it's footing.
The Boar has become enraged!
You leap backwards to create some distance and take a fighting stance. Boars had a small chance to survive a fatal blow and become enraged boosting their attack and speed while recovering back some of their lost health. The boar lets out a screech and begins to dig at the ground as it prepares to charge at you. It looks like you were going to have to fight on your hands after all.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Status: Healthy
MP: Full
Items:
3 minor HP potions: Heals a small amount of HP. No replacement for a healer, it can help in a pinch.
Active Skills:
[Brawler Skill] Grab: For the next 10 seconds, your grabs are unbreakable. This ability has a 1 minute cooldown
>What do you do?
>Engage with the animal. Try and strike it before it's charge hits you.
>Stand your ground and side step it at the last moment then strike it's flank. Risky, but it's something you should probably get back into the practice of.
>Try and grab it's tusks to stop it. If successful, you'll have control of the situation. ([Grapple] can apply here if you choose to activate it.)
>Write in.
>>6251826>Try and grab it's tusks to stop it. If successful, you'll have control of the situation. ([Grapple] can apply here if you choose to activate it.)Wrestle the piggy
>>6251826>Stand your ground and side step it at the last moment then strike it's flank. Risky, but it's something you should probably get back into the practice of.
>>6251826>Stand your ground and side step it at the last moment then strike it's flank. Risky, but it's something you should probably get back into the practice of.
>>6251826>Engage with the animal. Try and strike it before it's charge hits you.
>>6251835>>6251839We're gonna try and get the rust out. Writing.
Defying all your instincts, you lock into place and wait as the boar rushed you down. One of Nevermore's biggest hurdles was a result of it's medium. Full dive VR gave players a way to interact with games in a way that no other medium could come close to. As a result of this deeper connection and level interactivity, players often found themselves facing situations they could never do so safely in the real world. Many newbies would often find themselves locking up instinctively when put into actual combat before they remember it was only a game. It was these precious seconds that could often spell life or death in a fight and for anyone in the pro scene learning to control this fight or flight instinct was a must.
The boar lets out another angry squeal and you continue to fight the rising urge run or jump away. The distance begins to close, 10 feet away, 5 feet, 3 feet, 2...now! You shift your weight and try to hop to the side hoping to let the boar miss you by a small margin. "Damn!" You shout as you realize too late that you put too much power into your maneuver. Rather than landing in the next instant, you can only watch helplessly as the boar scrambles to turn around and charge again. Just as you feel your feet touch the ground the boar slams into you. You wince as you feel the game send a jolt of pain to remind you that you had been hit as the impact sends you flying. Old instincts kick in and you roll to reduce the impact and quickly get back to your feet. "Come on..." You say as you take your fighting stance again. You were kind of hoping you'd get this on the first try but you guess you're more out of practice than you though. You weren't going to stop after a single hit though. That old skill still had to be in you somewhere. The boar snorts, angry that it's attacker was still standing and attempts to gore you once again. Just like before you stand your ground. You weren't sure why, but you felt like you had to practice this technique again. You weren't even sure if you wanted to go competitive again and while this skill was a must know in that scene it wasn't strictly necessary when a fight broke out in the open world. Keeping your distance, blocking, and dodging blows were all equally effective in a regular fight against normal players. However, the split second opening that an attack would leave could help break even the tightest of defenses.
You shift around and try again just as the boar gets close. Too early. The two of you avoid each other cleanly but both are forced to scramble back into position for another clash. Too late this time. The wind is driven out from you as the boar slams right into your gut and carries you for a bit before you slip free. Adrenaline, fake or real, courses through you and you do a fake butterfly kick to flip back on your feet. You continue to ride on instinct and begin to hop from foot to foot, a technique you borrowed form watching boxing videos. It wasn't uncommon for Nevermore players to take from real world fighting and bring it into the game world. After all, if it worked in real life then it could have an application in a game where you were in control of all your movements. In higher play, such techniques started losing efficacy once people were firing off magic spells or volleys of gun fire but it never hurt to expand your arsenal. An unconventional fighting style might throw off an opponent enough to give you an edge for a bit much more so in a fantasy game.
"One more time." You mutter and the boar complies as it barrels towards you once more. You hold your breath, clench your teeth, and wait. As soon as you see the whites in the boar's eyes you pivot and shift to the side. The boar brushes past you just as you thrust your leg out. You feel your foot impact and sink in slightly as you crush the animal's ribs with your attack. With a shout you put everything you have into the attack and the poor animal rockets away, slamming into a tree, and falling to the ground dead. One boar down, 9 more to go.
"Yes!" You pump your fist in victory. Before you can go to collect your precious drops, the nearby shrubbery explodes as two more boars rush forward and attack you. You roll out of the way of one attack and leap over the other as they try to trample you.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Status: Healthy
HP: 90%
MP: Full
Items:
3 minor HP potions: Heals a small amount of HP. No replacement for a healer, it can help in a pinch.
Active Skills:
[Brawler Skill] Grab: For the next 10 seconds, your grabs are unbreakable. This ability has a 1 minute cooldown.
>What do you do?
>Focus on one boar and do your best to dodge the other one.
>Fight both at the same time. Work on your multi target fighting.
>Continue to practice your spot dodging. It'll be harder with more opponents.
>Use one of your skills.
>Write in.
>>6252024>Continue to practice your spot dodging. It'll be harder with more opponents.
>>6252024>Focus on one boar and do your best to dodge the other one.
>>6252024>Focus on one boar and do your best to dodge the other one.
>>6252024>Continue to practice your spot dodging. It'll be harder with more opponents.
>>6252181>>6252179>>6252170>>6252063Looks like there's a tie between continuing our dodge practice and focusing down one boar.
Rolled 1 (1d2)
I'll roll for tie breaker. 1 for spot dodging practice, 2 for focus fire.
You had gotten back into the groove of being able to dodge without giving up much ground. Now with two opponents you saw the perfect opportunity to tighten up your movements. In a competitive environment attempting to do a spot dodge without giving up any ground by either simply leaning out of the way or taking a single step to the side was often seen as an overtly flashy move. Spot dodging was important but so was keeping mobile. A pro player would often dodge with as little movement possible but then immediately shift into a move advantageous position on command. Thieves were the prime example of this technique. Being able evade what seemed like a safe attack and then move into a sneak attack spot was their bread and butter. While impressive looking, dodging on the spot and remaining there didn't help the team at all especially if you remaining there left you walled off by a tank.
Sometimes, however, the need to evade with little to no movement would come up. Needing to avoid an attack while not getting in the way of a fireball or having to dodge two melee combatants without exposing a flank. They were rare but they were also often the most remembered moments of a match. "Never could give up a chance to train." You say as you do your best to limber up. The boars charge at you in unison and you're forced to roll out of the way. You needed to break them up otherwise you'd be basically be trying to dodge one entity. You leap over one boar and jump kick the other away. It squeals and tumbles away, breaking their formation.
Both boars charge once more at different angles and you stand your ground. With a slight shift, you avoid the first and another step lets you avoid the second in the nick of time. Not too shabb- you think before you feel your legs being swept from underneath you as the first boar boar slams into your legs. You flip through the air and land painfully, face first, into the ground. You quickly kip up just before you're trampled by one of the boars. You begin the process again and get similar results. You avoid one, only for the second to come at an odd angle or stand their ground and attempt to rip into you with their tusks. "Come on...I got this." You growl. You exhale and fight the urge to tense up. You needed to be relaxed and as flexible as possible.
You sidestep once then twice, deftly avoiding both attacks. You rein in your excitement and dial in your focus as the animals come in for another attack. Sidestep then lean away from a melee attack. Lean then sidestep. You continue your practice and work to minimize your movements. Slowly your old habits and techniques begin to come back to you. You needed to see both attacks as a single one. To quickly find the optimal angle to avoid both with a single motion rather than react to each individually. Soon enough you were easily dodging both boars. It still wasn't at the level you were used to back in your prime but it was a good start. You continue for a while longer before the boars start to get tired and their attacks slow down long enough that you were starting to dodge them individually again. With your training partners no longer up to the task, you engage them in a straight up fight. They posed no threat to you and you think that even if they were full of energy, you'd be able to kill them without getting hit.
Objective: Kill 3/10 boars
You start gathering the meat required for the quest. Luckily you didn't need any gathering skills for this quest but the fact that you could get some brought up the question. How long did you intend to play this game? You frown at that thought. It wasn't a matter of your current session but rather if you intended to fully commit to the game as a whole once more. Before you could ruminate too long on the matter of responsibility and leisure, your harvesting is interrupted by clapping. You quickly whip around to face the source of the sound, fists ready for a fight. You come face to face with a young woman dressed in the classic mage ensemble of a robes and pointed hat. What caught your eye was the intricate staff she was hugging closely. That wasn't anywhere near what a newbie weapon looked like. In fact, if you weren't mistaken that looked like a weapon chassis. A very rare and powerful base weapon that could be upgraded and customized to the wielder's desires but the required materials to upgrade them, on top of the ultra rare drop rate, made them every player's dream drop. All the pro players had one, mostly funded by the massive guilds their clubs owned. So why did this girl have one especially on a new server that wasn't even a day old? The only thing you could think of was that it was transferred over from a different server. There was no way it dropped here on the tutorial island. You weren't even sure if that was possible. Was she using a smurf account? Perhaps she was trying to set you up for an ambush? Not like you had much in the way of items to drop and players didn't start losing exp on death until after they left the island.
"Wow! That was amazing! I've never seen anyone fight like that before! It was like those boars couldn't touch you." She exclaims, her eyes glowing and full of awe. "I have trouble even fighting one of them. They all just chase me down. I've almost died a few times too." She continues. "Could you help me with my quest?" She asks as she nearly trips on her robes.
>What do you say?
>Accept helping her. Even if she had some kind of impossible drop, you don't think a pro would go wandering around with it like it was nothing.
>Decline. You weren't sure you were ready for playing with other people. Maybe you just wanted a bit of nostalgia alone or it might be because you're still wary for an ambush.
>Deflect her request and ask something yourself. What do you want to ask her?
>Write in.
>>6252435>Deflect her request and ask something yourself. What do you want to ask her?Just ask about the staff and where she got it.
>>6252435>Decline. You weren't sure you were ready for playing with other people. Maybe you just wanted a bit of nostalgia alone or it might be because you're still wary for an ambush.I'm definitely wary about that ambush
>>6252455>>6252463Asking about the staff. It's too conspicuous.
"Why do you need my help?" You ask curiously, not dropping your guard. "With that weapon of yours, you should have no problem." Even an unmodified weapon chassis was step above whatever gear that could be obtained here on the island and perhaps a few levels after leaving as well. The girl seems surprised at that comment. She glances at the staff and then at you.
"I'm new to the game." She says holding out the staff before her to present it. "I don't really know what I'm doing to be honest. I've only been playing for a few hours...or minutes? It's kinda hard to tell time in here." She says and she pulls up a menu. You instinctively tense up and readjust your guard in case she was messaging anyone she was with. The small window is only up for a moment before she closes it. "I've been on here for about 3 hours." She says with more confidence. You guess she was checking the time.
"If you're new then how'd you get that weapon?" You ask, still unsure. She seemed to be telling the truth at least you think she was. You considered yourself as good at reading people as the next person but the distances between the two of you coupled with her large hat obscuring her face here and there made it a bit difficult. At that the girls face falls for a moment.
"Oh this is my friend's- I mean it's mine. I don't...I don't really want to talk about it." She replies quietly. You see her grip on her weapon tighten and she holds it close to her chest causing you to feel a pang of guilt. Despite your wariness, you didn't really want to ruin anyone's time here. Sure a bit of paranoia and PVP might cause some salt but it wasn't anything that a bit of time to cool off wouldn't fix. The girl seemed to be genuinely upset at the question. Things didn't add up or at least, there was some information that you didn't have access to. Given how the girl reacted to your question, maybe it wouldn't be best to press her for more. With what you've seen and heard, it seemed pretty believable that the girl was an actual newbie regardless of what she was wielding.
The girl remains quiet, seemingly lost in thought.
>What do you do?
>Apologize for asking and accept her request for help. It's probably the least you could do for bringing up some bad memories. You should also tell her about how rare the item is.
>Still decline but warn her about the value of the weapon she was holding. Suggest she use a normal one or she'll definitely be targeted by PKers for that alone.
>Try and change the subject. Talk to her about the game. If you won't help her, then you can offer her some pointers. Just because she doesn't want to explain how she got her gear doesn't mean you don't want her to have fun. You love the game too much to keep others away.
>Write in.
>>6252663>Apologize for asking and accept her request for help. It's probably the least you could do for bringing up some bad memories. You should also tell her about how rare the item is.
>>6252663>Apologize for asking and accept her request for help. It's probably the least you could do for bringing up some bad memories. You should also tell her about how rare the item is. So it was a gift or something like that and she has some personal shit going on. Fair enough.
>>6252663>Apologize for asking and accept her request for help. It's probably the least you could do for bringing up some bad memories. You should also tell her about how rare the item is.
>>6252663>Still decline but warn her about the value of the weapon she was holding. Suggest she use a normal one or she'll definitely be targeted by PKers for that alone.
>>6252690>>6252669>>6252665Apologizing. Looks like we're going to party up. Writing.
"Sorry." You say awkwardly. You quickly bring up your own menu and target the girl to send a party invite. It takes a moment for the girl to notice the gentle "Ping!" followed up by the small window appearing before her. She jumps slightly at the sudden notice and quickly accepts.
Serena_Starlight has joined your party!
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 80%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: Full
Elementalist. You figured with that staff she'd be one but with a name like Serena Starlight you half expected her to be an Astrologian. Doing a quick snoop, you access her equipment preview. Unsurprisingly, she was wearing only the basic starter gear for the island. Not terrible for a newbie but something that should probably replaced asap. You weren't sure if you expected her to be fully geared out for her level but the only outstanding thing about her was her staff. Closing the menu, you dig into your pocket and draw a healing potion. With a quick swig, you ignore the taste of what you always described as out of date cough syrup and feel a coolness flow through your body.
Healing potion used. 5% HP restored.
"So, you mentioned you had a quest to kill boars too?" You ask, trying to change the subject as you pocket the empty flask. "Did the butcher send you out here too?"
"Oh...No. I was trying to get a new cooking recipe but mayor's chef said I had to replace all the meat I burned. The crafting mechanics in this game sure are realistic." Serena says, perking up a bit. "He told me I had to kill 15 boars." She adds.
"Fifteen...how much cooking did you do?" You ask, stunned. Boars provided plenty of meat each. Even 2 or 3 boars gave enough meat to satisfy a player's curiosity for cooking provided they had even access to the appropriate gathering skill. In terms of game lore, 15 boars could feed a village the size of one on the island for a day or so. Serena seems unfazed or perhaps she was unaware of how much her request would provide.
"Ummm...a lot!" She says cheerfully. At the very least her mood improved.
"Do you have Carving?" You ask. Serena nods.
"I do but it's kinda hard to use. I've never cut up an animal before." She admits. Gathering skills, while not rare, tended to be rather scarce due to the time and dedication required to level them up. Not only that, but many of the gathering skills were modeled after their real world counterparts and required much of the effort and steps that the real thing demanded. As such, gathering tended to leave the player quite vulnerable to "Vultures" or PKers that lie in wait for gathering players to do their work for them before killing them for loot.
"Have you turned on assist mode?" You ask. "It'll highlight the steps to get regular mats. If you want HQ mats you'll need to turn it off though."
"What's that?" Serena asks.
"It's...well...it'll probably be easier to show you." You say. It'd been a long long time since you've interacted with a new player. Perhaps tonight will be a bit longer than you thought. "Let's go find you some more boars. What spells do you have?"
"Oh, I got this neat fire spell that explodes and this nifty ice one that can slow down monsters. I also got this other spell that makes tons of fire too." Serena says eagerly. You suppress the rising feeling of exasperation.
"Could you read their names off your spell book, please?" You ask as polite as you could. Serena pops her menu up and begins shifting throw some windows. She didn't know any of her hotkeys or in this case the specific finger motions to go directly to certain menus... "Here we go! I have Fireball, Ice Lance, and Fire Wall!" She says happily. You nod patiently. These spells weren't terrible but Serena had fallen for a simple newbie trap. She had picked the higher damage starter spells without taking into account their mana costs. While they could easily take down mobs, she'd soon run into mana issues. At low levels mana potions weren't too expensive but at higher levels she was going to start running dry and burning alot of gold for them especially on a new server. No doubt a lesson was in order.
"Not bad spells but..." You explain to Serena the issues she was going to run into but it didn't seem to phase her. Rather, it seemed to make her more excited.
"Wow! This so much to this game! I didn't know about spells costing more or having to thing about mana. I just thought I'd always have all of these little blue potions around." She admits.
"Another thing, you might want to put away that staff. Do you know how rare that is? It's the kind of item most players won't see drop and even then the amount of investment needed to power it up is expensive. Here on the island, if you die you won't be losing any exp but players can still steal your items if they kill you or disarm you. With an item like that, anyone who knows what it is will probably come gunning after you. Don't you have any other staves you can use?" You ask. Serena's grip tightens on her staff. "No...would they really do that? Everyone seems so nice." You nod, sadly.
"You've been lucky so far I'm guessing. People probably thought you were a veteran player and didn't want to mess with you. In the hands of someone who knows what they're doing an Elementalist is a forced to be reckoned with even at low levels. Doubly so with a staff like yours." You explain. Serena squirms uncomfortably but you can't get a full read on her. Given the fact she was unaware of the value of her weapon, it more than likely had value beyond it's rarity. Even you had to admit you were a bit envious of starting the game with something that good but you didn't want Serena's experienced to be tainted because of some dickhead player taking advantage of her lack of experience. Still, outside of the newbie dungeon there wasn't anywhere to get more gear. Normally, the starter gear was account bound to prevent a player losing all their equipment but that staff wasn't exactly starter gear. Then something dawns on you. You quickly pull up the party menu.
Serena_Starlight
Level 4
Class: Elementalist
Serena was level four as well. If things hadn't changed since your time playing once she hit level 5 she'd be eligible to leave the island without needing to complete the forest dungeon. Any player who completed the tutorial portion was allowed to bind all their acquired gear to their character and bound gear didn't drop on death. Instead they took heavy damage and, while expensive to repair, it was better than losing it. After that, biding weapons to a character was a very rare occurrence often costing more than what it was worth to do so. If you could somehow get Serena to level 5 without her losing her staff, she'd be able to basically keep it forever. But the longer you stayed on the island the more likely you'd run into players who were grinding out the forest mobs. As you ponder the predicament, the game throws another curve ball at you.
New Quest Unlocked: A Friend's Memento
Help Serena_Starlight leave the tutorial island without losing her staff.
Accept quest?
-Yes
-No
"What the..." You had never seen or heard of any instance where the game created a quest regarding other players. Dynamic quests were a thing and were meant to be a filler task in order to generate exp or materials but they always had to do with the game itself. How would the game even be able to account for something like this?
>Do you accept the quest?
>Yes. If you can run Serena through the newbie dungeon then she should earn enough exp to leave. You can probably solo it, maybe even do it as a 2 man group with another vet. You're not sure if you can do it with a complete newbie but it'd be the best way to do it without running into other players.
>Yes. If a 10 boar quest can get you to level 5 then her own quest will be more than enough. It'd be an easy enough task with your skill and her spell list. However, Elementalists aren't known for being quiet and the noise might attract other players.
>No. You didn't really want to fend off an island full of PKers all night. Serena's friend should have warned her about all this before she gave her that staff. You didn't want to get between that if she lost it.
>No. Just help Serena with her own quest. Tell her about your idea and continue. If it happens then it happens. You didn't want the extra pressure of a quest over your head.
>Write in.
>>6252834>Yes. If you can run Serena through the newbie dungeon then she should earn enough exp to leave. You can probably solo it, maybe even do it as a 2 man group with another vet. You're not sure if you can do it with a complete newbie but it'd be the best way to do it without running into other players.
>>6252834>>Yes. If you can run Serena through the newbie dungeon then she should earn enough exp to leave. You can probably solo it, maybe even do it as a 2 man group with another vet. You're not sure if you can do it with a complete newbie but it'd be the best way to do it without running into other players.
>>6252847>>6252840We're gonna try to duo a dungeon. Will our skills be enough? Writing.
As you contemplate your decision, you remember what your father told you.
A real man rises up and brings those around him up with him...
You hit 'yes' without hesitation. Even if today was going to be the only day you were going to play, if you were only doing this for a nostalgia trip, you'd rather have it end with you making a difference in someone's day. "Listen, I got an idea." You start. Serena looks at you, her eyes a mixture of hope and worry. "Once we're level 5, we can leave the island and when you do that you can bind all your gear to your character. That means even if you die, you keep whatever is bound to you. You'll just need to pay to have it repaired. Normally, players don't have much to bind but in your case you can do it to your staff. If we can get you off the island, you'll be in a position make it so you can't lose your staff."
"Really?!" She asks. You nod.
"If we stick around here killing boars, we'll eventually hit level 5. But the longer we're out here, the more likely we'll run into someone who is willing to try and take it from you. There's another option though..." You pause and look deeper into the forest. "The Forest Dungeon..."
"Forest Dungeon? But isn't that dangerous?"
"It's meant to be taken on by a party of 5. But if we can go in it with just us two. If we can complete it then we should have enough exp to get to level 5, not to mention those that complete the dungeon can also just leave the island." You explain. "I've never tried with just two people." You keep the fact that you were basically playing half a class at the moment to yourself. You didn't want to worry Serena any more than she already was. You were mostly banking on the fact that this was a starter dungeon and was designed around most people not having many class abilities yet.
"Then maybe we shouldn't try it. It's ok." Serena says.
"No. I'm sure I could do it alone. An extra person would make it easier." You half lie.
"R-really?"
"Yeah. Luckily for you, I've got some experience with this game. If we're careful then we should be ok." You assure her. "I promise. We'll get you off this island in one piece."
Belt Affinity: 12%
"Ok! Let's do it!" Serena says. You motion for her to follow you and the two of you head deeper into the forest. The dungeon lay in the deepest part of the forest at a point where even the light struggled to pierce the canopy. Despite your worry about players fighting mobs, your real worry was running into players near the dungeon. Meeting someone here would mean that there was a group high enough level and competent enough to challenge the dungeon or it was a group of vets rushing the island and hoping to get some footing in the mainland for their guilds. Both would prove to be dangerous if encountered. Fortune seemed to smile upon you, or perhaps the latter group of players had already left the island, and you arrive at the simmering barrier the indicated the entrance to the dungeon.
"We're here." You announce. "Keep your guard up. Monsters in the dungeon hit harder and won't wait for you get close before attacking. They'll take the initiative."
"What kinds of monsters are there?" Serena asks, adjusting her hat.
"We'll mostly run into goblins. They'll try and pick us off from the shadows. A few will try to shoot us but they're mostly melee fighters. If we can spot them early then we shouldn't have a problem." You recite from memory. "There's only one goal in this dungeon and that's to clear the boss, the goblin Chief. Later dungeons might have more objectives but luckily this one only has the one. Once you're ready, we'll cross the barrier. After that we're stuck in the dungeon until the boss is cleared or we all die. Anyone else who tries to join will be sent to their own version of the dungeon so we won't have to worry about pvp." Serena nods and moves forward. You follow her through the barrier and step forth into the dungeon proper.
Now entering The Dark Forest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW2J96RVN64
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 85%
MP: Full
Skills: [Brawler Skill] Grab: For the next 10 seconds, your grabs are unbreakable. This ability has a 1 minute cooldown.
Indomitable Will: You have chosen to fight a never ending war against evil. Steeling yourself for the long fight ahead, your will is unbreakable. Enemies have a harder time inflicting statuses upon you and you can prevent your HP from hitting 0 and instead stopping at 10%. This preservation effect can only happen once per 24 real world hours.
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: Full
Spells/Skills:
Fireball: A powerful blast of fire that can catch multiple opponents in it's explosion. Enemies have a chance of catching fire if hit and causing damage over time. Mana Cost: Medium
Ice Lance: Hurl a sharpened ice spike at an enemy. Can pierce through weaker or weakened enemies to hit one more target. Enemies hit by this are slowed. Mana Cost: Medium
Fire Wall: Create a wall of blaze to split up opponents or create an obstacle for them. Anyone who crosses it takes fire damage and is instantly light on fire and will take damage over time. Mana Cost: Heavy
The soft rustle of leaves is the only thing that could be heard in the dungeon at the moment. Were it not for the fact you knew what lay in wait, you could have been fooled into thinking this was some kind of safe zone. "Stick close. We'll try and find the boss as soon as possible. It'll be best if we preserve as many resources as we can before fighting him." You say as you cast glances everywhere. "If you hear anything that isn't us, let me know. Doesn't matter how small."
"This is intense..." Serena whispers as she follows your lead. "What do we do if we see the boss?"
"Depends, the boss of this dungeon isn't too perceptive. If we're lucky we might be able to get the drop on him but I wouldn't count on it." You find yourself whispering back. "If we had a thief in our party then we'd ask them to scout for us. They have a few stealth skills that could help out. If we had a fighter then we'd probably just fight head on. They have abilities to mitigate damage and keep the monsters focused on them. Both of us are DPS classes so our only option is to take whatever advantage we got and just quickly dispatch anything we come across." The two of you continue to make your way through the dungeon but no monsters attack putting you on edge. As you walk, you notice a faint glint on the ground. You hold out your hand to stop Serena and examine the light. A thin wire runs between two trees and hanging delicately above is a giant log waiting to drop. A short distance away, you can see several eyes hiding in a nearby bush.
>What do you do?
>Have Serena cast Fireball. The blast should flush them out but the sound might alert anyone in the surrounding area.
>Charge in and attack the goblins yourself. You could probably handle a few yourself but you're no tank. Some might ignore you and charge after Serena.
>Try and sneak by. Neither of you have sneaking skills and you might end up exposing your flank.
>Have Serena cast Fire Wall then make a run for it. It'll block the goblins' advance and cause some chaos but it won't stop them forever.
>Write in.
>How do you want Serena to fight when not instructed?
>Have her focus on Aoe using Fire Ball. You'll try to gather them up with martial arts and she'll blast them.
>Haver her focus on Single target with Ice Lance. There's less chance of you being caught in the aoe and she can finish off any weakened enemies.
>Have her lay low and hide. You'll fight as much as you can while trying to expose her to as little danger as possible.
>Write in.
>>6252912>Have Serena cast Fireball. The blast should flush them out but the sound might alert anyone in the surrounding area.>Haver her focus on Single target with Ice Lance. There's less chance of you being caught in the aoe and she can finish off any weakened enemies.
>>6252912>Charge in and attack the goblins yourself. You could probably handle a few yourself but you're no tank. Some might ignore you and charge after Serena.>Haver her focus on Single target with Ice Lance. There's less chance of you being caught in the aoe and she can finish off any weakened enemies.
>>6252912>Have Serena cast Fireball. The blast should flush them out but the sound might alert anyone in the surrounding area.>Have her lay low and hide. You'll fight as much as you can while trying to expose her to as little danger as possible.Think it would be a good idea for her to conserve her spells. For our part, we should make sure we tell Serena about the tripwire and remain on this side of it. Maybe when reinforcements come, they will trigger it
>>6252915>>6252916>>6252926Lobbing an explosion and letting Serena cover us with single target. Writing.
"Serena, cast a fireball into those bushes. There's goblins waiting to ambush us." You whisper, pointing to the bush. "There's a wire running between those two trees tied to a trap. We'll stay on this side and hold our position. I'll take care of the main force, you hang back and back me up with Ice Lance. If we're lucky, anyone other goblins that come will run into their own trap." Serena shifts uncomfortably.
"I've never done anything like this before." She admits.
"It'll be alright. I'll handle most of the positioning. All you need to do is aim at what you think is most threatening or anything that runs at you. I'll do my best to keep their attention and take them down as fast as I can." You assure her and place a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get through this. Together."
"Ok!" Serena raises her staff and begins chanting. Rings of arcane runes surround her wrist and the orb at the tip glows red. With quick flick, she sends an orb of fire hurtling towards the bush. The explosion echoes throughout the forest and several goblins are flung everywhere, screaming and lit ablaze courtesy of the staff's extra power.
"Here they come!" You call out and take a position in front of Serena. The burning goblins come rushing towards you still alight from the fireball's effect and you rush forward to meet them. You had no weapons nor any armor so the best you could do was play your class like a brawler. You drive your first into the stomach of a goblin, halting it's leap mid way and causing him to fall to the ground right into your kick. His screeches fade away into the darkness as the fire damage ticks away at his remaining health. Two more goblins rush at you forcing you to spot dodge into a roll to evade their daggers. Just as you're ducking to tuck into your evasion, you feel the air chill at the nape of your neck as a large shard of ice collides with one of your opponents and impales them against a tree. You leap to your feet into a should tackle against another goblin and grab him before slamming him into the ground. You're given no pause for respite as you hear the battle cry of another group of mobs get cut short as the trip wire snaps and the log come crashing down upon their heads. The power of you melee strikes was becoming more evident as you continued to fight. It seemed like they had the power of warhammers compressed into your limbs capable launching and flinging your foes with your strikes alone. All without compromising your speed.
Serena, unfortunately, was just as inexperienced as she claimed to be. Her movements were all over the place as the ran back and forth, often canceling her casts, to try and get a better a better view or freezing up when she thought a goblin targeted her. Her one saving grace, and what really caught your attention, was that she was an amazing crack shot. She was able to thread the needle with her spells with such precision that you would have doubted how much of a newbie she claimed to be had you not seen her running around like a headless chicken moments ago. You raise your fist to punch a goblin only have an ice lance slip inches under your arm to strike another one that was attempting to back stab you. Launch another with an upper cut and it was quickly shot out of the air. Once she even managed to shoot one between your legs as you started another dodge roll. The two of you make quick work of the pack of goblins with surprisingly no injuries, thanks in part to your experience and Serena's aim. "Was that all of them?" She asks, panting and reaching for a mana potion.
Mana potion used. 10% of mana recovered
"That's two or 3 groups, yeah. We still have the rest of the dungeon to go." You say as you dust yourself off. You can't help but jiggle your belt in hopes of it doing something. Things would probably be easier if you had a fighter's taunt or maybe a swordsman's double slice. "Just watch your mana. There's no guarantee that we'll get mana pots as drops every fight." You advise. "Otherwise, we should be fine of we keep this up."
"Is this the part where we get loot?" Serena asks, gingerly poking a dead goblin.
"We'd have to search the bodies. With the noise we made, there's probably going to be another group or two of goblins coming." You warn.
"But you said they might have potions and stuff. I don't have many mana potions."
"How many do you have?" You ask.
"I only have 3." She says.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 80%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: 70%
>Do you want to spend some time looting?
>Yes.
>No.
>Do you want to change tactics?
>Yes. (What do you want Serena to do?)
>--Have her focus on Aoe using Fire Ball. You'll try to gather them up with martial arts and she'll blast them.
>--Have her lay low and hide. You'll fight as much as you can while trying to expose her to as little danger as possible.
>--Write in.
Meant to add a "No", to the second question. Guess it got cut out while I was splitting up the post. Sorry about that guys.
darkwing
md5: e76a24d7f19aa8c22647654521d4a045
🔍
>>6253071>You leap to your feet into a should tackle against another goblin and grab him before slamming him into the groundpicrel
>>6253072>Yes. >Have her focus on Single target with Ice Lance. There's less chance of you being caught in the aoe and she can finish off any weakened enemies.Should conserve her mana for the boss
>>6253087>>6253116>>6253142We're searching bodies with an unanimous vote to keep Serena acting as our single target caster. Writing.
Goblins
md5: bb0e706f979553e5692000f818ec76e0
🔍
"Alright, but we'll have to be quick." You say and you lean down to start rummaging through the goblin's pockets. Being tutorial enemies, you didn't expect much in terms of gear but a rare roll could yield a nice accessory or weapon, the latter neither of you could make use off beyond selling off.
The Party Obtains:
3 daggers
3 stale bread
2 copper rings
2 health potions
1 mana potion
1 enchanted ring (Wearer gains slight slashing resistance)
As expected, you didn't find anything exceptional but the ring was a neat find and the potions were going to be crucial if you wanted to complete the dungeon. You're pocketing the last of the times when you hear Serena cry out in pain. "Ah!" You spin around to see her pulling an arrow out of her arm before another struck the ground nearby.
"Get behind cover!" You shout as you sprint over to her and pull her behind a tree. You feel a lance of pain jolt up from your side meaning you didn't get out of this unscathed. You can hear the malicious giggling of goblins off in the distance as arrows continue to pour from out of the trees. There had to be a group of archers hiding nearby trying to keep you pinned. Of course, it wouldn't be a dungeon if it didn't do it's best to try and kill you. As you try to stay in cover, another group of goblins leap out to confront you on the opposite flank keeping the two of you stuck.
"W-what do we do?!" Serena says her panic rising. You step forward to put yourself between the on coming goblins and Serena while keeping the tree behind you. You could stand your ground but with the archers behind you, your maneuverability was going to be greatly limited and you wouldn't be able to guarantee you'd get out of this one without taking a hit or two. You consider your options. You could rush the archers and try to keep behind cover but with so many archers, you were still bound to be hit. You could have Serena cast a Fire Wall spell. The arrows looked flimsy enough that they'd burn completely before crossing the barrier but that'd be a temporary solution. Serena's aim was exceptional and she could probably take archers down with Ice Lances but she'd be exposing herself every time she cast...unless she learned to snap shot. Much like in traditional MMOs, Nevermore's spells required time and concentration to cast. Moving or taking too much damage would disrupt the magical flow and cause a spell to fail. At higher levels, casters could take skills to mitigate some of this and allow them to move a bit or take more damage before the cancellation happened. However, there was a brief instance before a cast when off that a mage could freely move and by taking advantage of this free moment of movement they could reposition themselves or even change the target of their spell. If Serena could snap shot, she'd be able to cast behind the tree then fling the spell at the archers.
There was a lot that could go wrong however, moving too early would cancel the spell and leave her exposed, not moving in time would run the risk that she'd shoot you in the back of the head, and mistiming her shot meant she'd leave cover just as an arrow came her way. You didn't have much time to make a choice.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 65%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: 80%
MP: 70%
>What do you do?
>Have Serena cast Fire Wall. The two of you need to extra space to maneuver.
>Have Serena try and snapshot a spell. [Ice Lance (Risky) or Fireball (Riskier)?] While you hold off the melee goblins.
>Hold your position and bank on your teammate's ability to thread the needle to back you up. You'll focus on the archers next.
>Use your Grapple skill. Those 10 seconds of unbreakable grip could be enough to use a goblin as a shield. Have Serena try and run somewhere safe.
>Write in.
>>6253273>Use your Grapple skill. Those 10 seconds of unbreakable grip could be enough to use a goblin as a shield. Combine this with having Serena cast Fireball at the archers' location, if that's possible
>>6253319Yeah, that's a valid suggestion.
>>6253398>>6253358>>6253319Alright. Casting fireball and rushing in. Writing.
"Alright, I got a plan." You say as you duck under a goblin leaping at you and throwing another over your shoulder. "We're gonna- hmph!" You grunt as you put your full weight behind punching a goblin in the face. "We're gonna do something a little advanced. You're gonna do something called a snap shot." Another goblin is sent crashing into the ground as you roundhouse kick them. "You're going to start casting a spell and at the last second you're going to peek out and fling it at the archers. Don't worry about it canceling. There's a good half second between you finishing your cast and actually shooting the spell. I'm going to grab a goblin and rush in, I need you to snap shot a Fireball right at the archers."
"I...don't know if I can do something like that!" Serena protests.
"You can. We're pushing it a bit but it's something you were going to have to learn anyways. You've cast spells enough times that you should have a general idea how long a spell takes to cast. Just trust your gut and twist at the last second. You'll do fine. You're better than you think." You assure her. "Now CAST!" You shout, not giving her any time to second guess herself.
Skill: Grab activated. 10 seconds remaining
You clamp your hand around the throat of a goblin and swing them around. With a roar, you dash out from behind the tree and rush towards the source of the arrows with the helpless goblin in front of you.
Grab: 8 seconds remaining
You feel hot blood soak into your wrist and splash on your face as the goblin in your grip is riddled with arrows while other arrows narrowly miss you. Goblins were never known to care about friendly fire and so they continued to fire.
5 seconds remaining
An arrow misses your eye by an inch and the following hot flash makes you think you were grazed. It's only due to the subsequent explosion that you realize it was a fireball that narrowly missed your ear. Like before, you see a group of goblins being flung all over the place while being set ablaze. You throw the now dead monster in your grip to attack the remaining monsters. They scramble to try and draw their daggers but you're already upon them. With a combination of your attacks and the on going fire damage they are quickly dispatched. There isn't much time for you to catch your breath as Serena comes running after you screaming and with a few goblins chasing her. You leap over her and continue your fight. Now that there were no more archers keeping you pinned, finishing off the remaining monsters was easy.
The last goblin falls and then so do you. You wipe your brow of fake sweat and take the time to catch your digital breath. "Jesus..." You pant. You dig into your inventory and take a swig of water. It didn't do anything but it did help with the fake thirst. Although your body didn't really require food or drink within the game, the human brain didn't like seeing time go by without feeling anything so the game's developer's allowed it to feel such things but also added food and drink to trick the brain into thinking it had eaten.
"Is it over?" Serena asks as she stumbles over a dead body. You shake your head.
"We still have a bit more to go. Then the boss." You say. "We're going to have to come up with a plan. If we keep this up then we're going to run out of resources."
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 65%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: 80%
MP: 60%
>What do you do?
>Rush to the boss. You know of the general area where it tends to spawn. If your luck holds out, it'll be there and you can finish the dungeon.
>Try and sneak your way forward. You think you've thinned out the herd. Sneaking around should be easier.
>Continue as normal. Rushing forward might cause you to aggro extra mobs and sneaking could result in you getting surprised instead. You'll just have to play it safe.
>Write in.
>Do you use any items?
>You have:
4 Health Potions (Heals 5% HP)
3 Mana Potions (Restores 10% MP)
3 Stale Bread (Heals 3% HP. Can't be used in a fight)
>>6253452>Continue as normal. Rushing forward might cause you to aggro extra mobs and sneaking could result in you getting surprised instead. You'll just have to play it safe.>Use the 3 stale bread on Regal, use 1 mana potion on Serena.
>>6253452>Rush to the boss. You know of the general area where it tends to spawn. If your luck holds out, it'll be there and you can finish the dungeon>Use the 3 stale bread on Regal, use 1 mana potion on Serena.
>>6253452>Rush to the boss. You know of the general area where it tends to spawn. If your luck holds out, it'll be there and you can finish the dungeon.What's the worst that could happen?
>>6253666>>6253591>>6253578What could possibly go wrong? Writing.
You gingerly retrieve the stale bread from your inventory before taking a bite. Even with the artificial disconnect provided by the full dive system it tasted like what you'd assume dry wall would taste like and it probably had the same texture as well. Mixing it with some water provided some relief but then you had to contend with a mouthful of sludge that was only marginally better. As you swallow the first loaf, you promise yourself that you'd be spending as much money as you could on player made food. At least there a player could tweak the flavor of something until it almost tasted real. Serena watches you awkwardly as you scarf down the "meal" as quick as you could. Once the last of the bread was gone you get back to your feet. "Drink a mana potion, we're gonna need it." You say as you try to clear your throat with some more water. Serena does as she's told and takes a swig of one.
9% HP and 10% MP recovered
"Ok. We need plan. Without a full party, especially a healer, we're at a pretty big disadvantage. We just don't have the resources to keep fighting everything." You say. "The only thing we can do is find the boss as fast as possible and finish the dungeon. So..." You trail off.
"So...?"
"We're going to do a lot of running." You say grimly.
---
"Gogogogo!" You shout as duck under the fireball and pull an arrow out of your arm. A goblin rushes towards you in a panic but you kick them back into the blaze. For the last few minutes you and Serena had been running and dodging traps. You had been doing fine for the most part if you call narrowly setting off another set of trip wires and almost falling down a spike pit doing fine. Somehow, you'd managed to avoid running into other packs of mobs but your luck could only hold out for so long. During your run, you had leapt over another trap only to land right in the middle of some goblin archers. You didn't have enough time to warn Serena before she crashed into you and chaos erupted. In her attempt to avoid slamming into you she set off the trap and caused a net full of rocks and various other debris come crashing down. The two of you managed to scramble out of the way of the falling garbage but the archers started firing in a panic causing one of them to hit your arm. As a result, Serena also began to panic and fired off a spell at the group. You only managed to get to your feet and drag your screaming Elementalist before you could hear another group rushing to your location.
You chug down another HP from your dwindling supply and the two of you continue to run. "Are we there yet?!" Serena screams as she stumbles over a root causing an arrow to miss her. You skid to a halt and pull her back down as another barrage of arrows fly over your heads forcing you to crawl through the brush to cover. You hold a finger up for silence and the two of you wait. The sounds of dozens of tiny footsteps can be heard running around as the goblins search for their prey. You motion off to the distance where the boss of the forest tends to prowl and raise three fingers. When the sounds begin to grow quiet, you begin your count down. 3...2...1...
The two of you leap to your feet and make a break for it. You can hear some shouts behind you but a sharp turn to the right breaks line of sight and soon you lose the group as you go deeper into the dungeon. Once you're sure that you're in the clear, you slowly come to a halt to catch your breath. "Ok...not the smoothest but we're here. The boss tends to roam around here." You say panting.
"Is this normal for dungeons?" Serena asks. She pulls an arrow out of her hat and thigh before sitting down to drink some water. You shake your head and look around.
"No. Generally, a group of 5 people explore a dungeon to do their objectives and fight whatever gets in their way. With a tank, most of the damage goes to them and their armor and skills help reduce damage. The healers keeps them up with magic and we the dps tend to be safe enough to kill the monsters. Of course there's traps and some monsters have aoe skills but generally it's a bit slower paced." You trail off as you remember your first dungeons in your career. Once you hit the pro scene, you didn't have time to do them and most of your gear and materials were sourced by the team's official guild but you always remember the panic and excitement when getting new gear and fighting new bosses. "It's fun. Especially with friends. Solving puzzles and fighting big monsters. Really helps you forget about real life for a few hours." You admit. "Not to mention, they can get a bit more complicated. Then there's raids..." You shake your head. You were getting nostalgic again. "Come on. We got a boss to find."
Your party continues onwards and the forest grows quiet, almost too quiet. You strain your ears, the goblin chief rode atop a giant boar so it's footsteps would be easy to hear if you paid attention.
*thump* *thump* *thump*
You could hear the heavy footfalls off in the distance. The sounds of a branch snapping or a bush being crushed under the weight of the boss's giant mount. Then you could see him, a fat goblin wearing an oversized crown made of scrap and wielding a worn crossbow stained in blood. His mount was a monstrous boar roughly the size of a small car. Scars ran down it's sides a result of the make shift spurs made of scrap daggers that the goblin chief wore. You were close. All you had to do was confront your target.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 64%
MP: Full
Skills: [Brawler Skill] Grab: For the next 10 seconds, your grabs are unbreakable. This ability has a 1 minute cooldown.
Indomitable Will: You have chosen to fight a never ending war against evil. Steeling yourself for the long fight ahead, your will is unbreakable. Enemies have a harder time inflicting statuses upon you and you can prevent your HP from hitting 0 and instead stopping at 10%. This preservation effect can only happen once per 24 real world hours.
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: 60%
MP: 60%
Spells/Skills:
Fireball: A powerful blast of fire that can catch multiple opponents in it's explosion. Enemies have a chance of catching fire if hit and causing damage over time. Mana Cost: Medium (About 10%)
Ice Lance: Hurl a sharpened ice spike at an enemy. Can pierce through weaker or weakened enemies to hit one more target. Enemies hit by this are slowed. Mana Cost: Medium (About 10%)
Fire Wall: Create a wall of blaze to split up opponents or create an obstacle for them. Anyone who crosses it takes fire damage and is instantly light on fire and will take damage over time. Mana Cost: Heavy
Boss: Goblin Chief
Threat Level to Party: Deadly
HP: 100%
>How do you approach your target?
>Go all out. Have Serena cast nonstop while you try to cause enough damage to hold aggro.
>Try and kite the boss. Have Serena cast and run while you leap into intercept as she repositions.
>Have Serena burn her mana to cast Fire Wall. She can use it to contain the boss while you try and solo it with a makeshift arena made of fire.
>Write in.
>Do you use any items?
>You have:
3 Health Potions (Heals 5% HP)
3 Mana Potions (Restores 10% MP)
>>6253764>Go all out. Have Serena cast nonstop while you try to cause enough damage to hold aggro.tell her to spam ice lance
>Do you use any items?i say we use all potions just to be save
>>6253764>Go all out. Have Serena cast nonstop while you try to cause enough damage to hold aggro.>Do you use any items?2 health potions for Serena. 1 for us.
All 3 mana potions for Serena.
>>6253764I agree with both of these anons
>>6253788>>6253811But in addition, I think we should grapple the boar to hold it in place while Serena spams ice lance
>>6253830>>6253811>>6253788Looks like we're going toe to toe with the boss. Chugging all of our potions just to be safe. Writing.
"This is it." You say. "That's the boss of the dungeon, the goblin chief." You motion to the boss. The goblin chief comes to a stop for a moment and fires a few bolts into the tree line with a mad cackle. "He's a simple boss. He'll try and run us down with the boar or he'll aim for the furthest party member with his cross bow. Suffice to say, we don't want to get hit by either. The boar take down has a chance to stun if you don't have a defensive skill up and the crossbow just does a lot of damage. Don't be afraid to take cover from the crossbow shot and break your spell casting." You kneel and begin drawing in the dirt. It was a bit difficult to see in the low light but it was going to have to do. "In terms of the game, both the boar and the goblin are the same entity and they share the same HP bar. Once their HP is depleted the goblin chief will die and the boar will run away. However, if you can hit the goblin you'll do extra damage. Other than that, the boar will try and do most of the fighting by swinging it's tusks and trying to kick. That shouldn't be an issue for you." You draw a line away from your tiny doodle. "You'll be here, among the trees, while I'll take the boss head on."
"Wait but..." Serena starts to protest but the look on her face suggests she didn't really anything to suggest or counter your plan. Instead, she simply falls silent.
"Our best chance is that you stay out of the fight directly." You explain as you retrieve your health potions and hand 2 of them to her. "You're going to be our ace."
"Huh?" Serena looked shocked at that, completely unaware that you were going to say such a thing.
"Like I said, a good Elementalist is a force to be reckoned with. Even a low levels." You say confidently. "You're going to burn all the mana you have and hit the goblin portion with as many Ice Lances as you can throw. I'll keep his attention as best I can."
"But...but you're not a tank..."
"No but as long as I'm dishing out more damage than you are, the boss will keep it's attention on me." You explain. "Don't worry. I'll won't let you die. Not at this stage." You promise.
Belt Affinity: 18%
You stand up. "We best drink everything we got. We're not going to get a second chance at this." You say as you empty your last health potion. Serena follows suit and drinks her share of the potions along with her remaining mana restoratives.
Regal_20
5% HP restored
Serena_Starlight
10% HP restored
30% MP Restored
"Alright. Let's do this!"
"Right!"
The two of you rush forward and leap through the tree line to confront the goblin chief. The large boar's irritated snort at the new intruders is cut short as you punch it right between the eyes. "Now! Fire!" You shout as you grab the boar by the tusks.
Skill: Grab activated. 10 seconds remaining.
The boar squeals in pain and tries to throw you off but finds it's neck locked in place. You keep both of your feet planted on the ground and do your best to hold the beast down. Even with your strength augmented by the game, you can feel your muscles strain against the monster's strength. "No...you...don't..." You grunt. The goblin chief screeches in anger as it's attempts to spur the boar to attack fail. In desperation, he attempts to fire his crossbow at you but the attack is canceled when a lance of ice strikes it in the chest.
Critical Hit. Extra Damage applied
8 seconds remaining.
Serena's aim remains true as she twirls her staff and flings spell after spell with deadly accuracy.
Critical Hit.
The goblin chief fires his crossbow at his furthest assailant like you explained but, be it out of skill or plain luck, Serena shifts to the side and snapshots another lance.
Critical Hit
4 seconds remaining
You do everything in your power to deal damage. Already you can feel your aggro slipping with Serena dealing critical hit after critical hit. You slam your knees into the boar's jaw, slam your head into whatever you could reach, and risk throwing a punch at the beast's eyes whenever the Ice Lance's slow effect was applied.
Critical Hit
Critical Hit
0 Seconds remaining
With the effect of your skill over the boar easily flips you up, and bashes you to the side. You're sent flying and crashing into a nearby tree. The follow up rush down is thwarted when another lance strikes the chief in the back. The ensuing slow effect gives you barely enough time to get up and throw yourself out of the way. As you're getting to feet, you realize you miscalculated. The weapon chasis was stronger than you had expected. Coupled with Serena's prodigious accuracy, her burst damage was far higher than you anticipated. It turns and begins to ready a charge.
Boss: Goblin Chief
HP: 40%
Targeting: Serena_Starlight
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 44%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: 60%
MP:30%
>What do you do?
>Tell Serena to cast Fire Wall and break line of sight. She should have just enough MP for it.
>Rush forward and try to blind the boar with your punches. It can't hurt Serena if it doesn't know where to run to.
>Leap atop the boar and attack the goblin chief. Try and cause chaos between rider and mount.
>Write in.
>>6253890>Rush forward and try to blind the boar with your punches. It can't hurt Serena if it doesn't know where to run to.Already took over half its health, nice.
>>6253890>Rush forward and try to blind the boar with your punches. It can't hurt Serena if it doesn't know where to run to.
>>6253890>>Rush forward and try to blind the boar with your punches. It can't hurt Serena if it doesn't know where to run to.
>>6253890>Rush forward and try to blind the boar with your punches. It can't hurt Serena if it doesn't know where to run to.We should probably tell Serena that the boar is targeting her
>>6253897>>6253922>>6253972>>6253974We're punching the thing in the eye. Like any true hero. Writing.
"Damn it!" You should have anticipated this. You knew how strong weapon chassis can be without upgrades and you should have known that level of power would have been exacerbated at lower levels especially without a tank. "SERENA! Another Ice Lance! Now! It's after you!" You scream as you try to will your legs to go faster. Serena stands her ground as she taps into the her dwindling mana pool. She swings her staff like a bat, losing all pretenses of being elegant, and hurls another spike of ice at the boss.
Critical Hit
The ice collides with the chief and a thin layer of frost builds around the two creatures slowing them down just enough for you to catch up. You leap and grab whatever fur you can to cling on. Planting your foot on one of the boar's tusks you pull your fist back as far as it can go before driving it into the mount's eye. The boar lets out a mix between a roar and a screech as it buckles and fails to try and throw you off but is unable to stop it's charge. It veers of course in it's desperation to get rid of the person repeatedly punching it in the eye and crashes into a tree. Your perch was tenuous at best and the sudden stop flings you off the beast and into a nearby bush. "You have to hide! The boss has aggro on you. It'll try to run you down but it can't do that if it can't see you!" You shout. If you had any bones or if any of the bosses moves could inflict a similar debuff, they'd probably be broken. Despite your lack of skeletal structure, everything ached and the red tinge around your vision indicating that you were close to death wasn't helping.
The boar shakes it's head to clear the pain and you pick yourself up. If it wasn't broke, there was no need to fix it, right? You run straight at the boss to fight once more. It swings it's head at you in an attempt to gore you and the goblin chief fires a bolt at the only thing it can see, you. You jump over the mount's head to avoid the swipe, kick off the remains of the tree beside it and drive your heel into the animal's other eye. The result wasn't pretty and you feel a sickening squelch as the eye gives out from under your weight. Without skipping a beat, you plant your other foot on the boar's snout and launch yourself at the goblin himself. You tackle him off his mount and the two of you land in a heap. He tries to shove you off and flee but a strike to the chin puts a stop to that. The two of you slowly get to your feet and you wearily raise your fists. "Let's do this." You pant and run forward. The chief fires bolts wildly and screeches at it's beast. The boar groans and limps away in pain just as you reach the chief and slam your knee into the boss's face. The goblin recoils from the impact and you simply let loose. No finesse, no acrobatics, just punch after punch. A bolt flies at you and misses you by virtue of the fact you had pulled back for another swing. Your combat log fills up with Critical Hit after Critical Hit until finally the boss's HP bar empties.
Boss: Goblin Chief Defeated
Regal_20 leveled up!
Serena_Starlight leveled up!
"I'm getting too old for this." You say, falling to your knees. Despite the fact you were in your mid 20s, it just seemed like the right thing to say.
"Is it over?" Serena asks, peeking out from behind a tree. You give her a tired thumbs up.
"It's over." You say as you pick yourself up. You stretch and roll your neck. "All that's left is to loot the boss and head on out. The mobs should have dispersed and we should have an issue. Not to mention we just leveled up. So let's see what we get..." You flick your wrist and bring up your level up screen.
Name: Regal_20
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: Full
Please pick two skills:
[Brawler Skill] Throw: Throw an enemy in your grip causing damage to them and the environment. Enemies grappled while you're under the Grab skill's effect or collide with sturdy enough objects take extra damage.
[Brawler Skill] Second Wind: Gain a burst of stamina, healing yourself for a small amount at the cost of some of your mana. [Mana Cost: Heavy]
[Fighter Skill] Guard: Raise your defense momentarily reducing damage taken for the next 5 seconds. Cooldown 20 seconds. *Due to your class, you are eligible to use this skill without a shield.
[Fighter Skill] Taunt: Goad the enemy into facing you, diverting the party's aggro onto yourself. Cooldown 10 seconds.
[Swordmaster Skill] Riposte: Time a parry to avoid all incoming damage and deliver a counter attack. Failure to time it properly causes the incoming attack to ignore any damage resistance. Armor protection is applied normally. Cooldown 40 seconds.*Due to your class choice, you are eligible to use this without a sword.
[Gunner Skill] Flashbang: Throw a small explosive to temporarily blind an opponent, lowering accuracy greatly. [Mana Cost: Medium] Cooldown 20 seconds.
Two skills? Normally, you were only allowed to choose one. Was this to make up for your class's restrictions? "Hey, how many class skills are you allowed to pick for your level up?" You ask Serena. She looks up from her own pop up.
"I can choose a new spell! I don't know which one though." She says furrowing her brow. "Can you help me choose?" She asks flipping her window for you too see.
Name: Serena_Starlight
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: Full
Skill Acquired:
Lucid Dreaming: Meditate during battle for 20 seconds to regain 20% MP. Caster must remain stationary the entire time or the effect will be nullified. Cooldown 2 Minutes.
Please pick a Spell:
Firebolt: A low level fire spell with a small chance to burn the target. [Mana Cost: Low]
Ice Shard: A low level ice spell that deals slightly higher damage than other low level elemental spells but has no other effect. [Mana Cost: Low]
Frost Spire: Conjure a large pillar of ice to encase an enemy or enemies in close proximity. Can be shattered to deal ice damage in an area around it. [Mana Cost: High]
Gust: A low level wind spell. When cast on burning enemies, it causes the fire to flare up instantly extinguishing it and dealing it's full dot in a single attack. [Mana Cost: Low]
Typhoon: A medium level windspell. Blasts enemies with a torrent of wind. Flings around unattended objects and smaller sized enemies. When cast on burning enemies, it causes the fire to flare up instantly extinguishing it and dealing it's full dot in a single attack. [Mana Cost: Medium]
Shock: Low level electricity spell. Has a small chance to paralyze the target. [Mana Cost: Low]
Chain lightning: A medium level electricity spell that bounces between enemies, prioritizing those with metal equipment. No chance at paralysis. [Mana Cost: Medium]
Thunderclap: A medium level electricity spell. Has a moderate chance to paralyze the target. [Mana Cost: High]
>What skills do you pick?
>Write in.
forgot the image. Oops. Well congrats on the level up! Will you make Serena a single element focus? Give her versatility? Will you pick up some dps skills? Get some tank abilities or work your way to some debuffs? Decisions, decisions.
>>6254116>Despite the fact you were in your mid 20sFor an online space these days, that’s practically retirement home age.
>>6254120>>6254118Us:
[Fighter Skill] Guard
[Swordmaster Skill] Riposte
Serena:
Firebolt
Shock
>>6254120Us
>[Swordmaster Skill] Riposte>[Brawler Skill] ThrowSerena
>Shock
>>6254125Oh wait, I fucked up. Just Shock for Serena.
>>6254120[Fighter Skill] Guard
[Fighter Skill] Taunt
And for Serena
>Ice ShardWe were telling her earlier that she needs some low-mana-cost spells
Leading votes are for,
Regal:
Riposte
Guard
Serena:
Shock
I'll leave the vote open to see if we can a tie breaker or perhaps offer some thoughts.
>>6254120>[Fighter Skill] Guard>[Swordmaster Skill] Riposte>Shock
>>6254307>>6254134>>6254247>>6254125We're going for some damage reduction abilities. Serena is taking a low cost spell. Writing.
"You really need a low mana cost spell. Take shock if you're not going to go mono element. Paralysis is a pretty strong debuff if it hits." You explain as you choose your own skills.
[X][Fighter Skill] Guard
[X][Swordmaster Skill] Riposte
Some defensive skills would be good since you seemed to be a melee class. The fact you had access to a tank's damage reduction was pretty strong and a swordmaster's ability to counter attack was pretty powerful too. You'd have to time it right and not just keep your guard up like normal but if you can land it, then it could turn a fight around. Taunting would have been nice too but you weren't sure if you wanted to try and go for a tank build. For now, these two skills seemed good to have even if you chose to try for a dps role. With your skills picked, you go to loot the boss.
The Party Obtains:
Chief's Crossbow (Small chance to bleed target on hit)
Chief's Scrap Spurs (Unarmed attacks have a chance to bleed enemies)
2 Greater Boar Tusks (Rare material)
You'd split up the loot later but the spurs were a nice drop. While you couldn't wear armor or weapons, boots were technically considered an accessory by the game which you could equip. The crossbow wasn't much use to you but you might be able to sell it off and the tusks could also fetch an ok price this early into the server. That is of course if you got any of it. Parties could split up loot in various ways but the most common with experienced players was to simply decided before hand who got what depending on what the dungeon could drop. For randomly made parties, they could either roll for it or let the party leader choose, the latter being the less popular option. In this case, you're pretty sure Serena would defer to you on how the loot was split but you suppose you wouldn't be opposed to simply letting the dice decide. In either case, you'd decide once you got out of the dungeon.
"Was there anything good?" Serena asks as she looks at the list of items that dropped. You give her a noncommittal shrug.
"Not anything super good but you could probably sell some of these things for an ok price to other players. These kinds of items weren't meant to be used long term. Once you have access to crafting materials outside of the tutorial, you'll be able to make something around the same power level. But if you got something for your class, it can hold over for a bit if you don't have the coin or skill to replace it." You explain. "We can choose how to divvy the things up once we get back in town where it's safe." The two of you gather your things and turn to make your exit.
"So what happens after the tutorial?" Serena asks as she follows you.
"Well there's a boat in the village that's going to take you to the main land. You'll have to talk to the mayor and let him know you beat the forest threat. After that you'll choose which starting city you want to go to." Serena looks surprised at that.
"Starting city? There's more than one?"
"Yeah. Least, I know there's three. One in a winter zone to the north of the main continent, in the south there's a desert location, and in the west section of the center there's a forest city. It doesn't really matter which you choose. Eventually, you'll be traveling all over the continent and there's other cities and towns you can visit. Generally, it's depends on what you want to do. The desert city is a merchant town, so you'll find tons of profession trainers and it's also a pvp hotspot since it has a big arena. The northern city has some basic profession trainers but it's a mecca if you want to focus on magitek gadgets and crafting. Gunners tend to favor that city. The forest city is more for exploration and gathering. If you want to do potion craft or other crafting that requires natural ingredients. But if you just want to look around, just pick a city and see where your legs take you. Each one of the starter cities has transportation to the others so if you have the coin, you can just buy a ticket."
"Hmm...so do I want to be freezing cold, hot and sweaty, or enjoy a nice beautiful forest?" Serana thinks out loud. "Sounds like an easy choice to me." She smiles. You can't help but snort at that.
"Yeah, I guess that's one way of deciding." You admit with a laugh.
"What city are you gonna choose?" She asks.
You don't have time to consider the question as a loud roar and the sounds of cracking wood break the silence. Bright red text appears in your HUD.
The Alpha Boar senses worthy challengers and has come to seek them out!
"No..." You whisper as you try and ready yourself. "Nononono." You pull Serena behind you as another boar, this one nearly twice the size of the one you just fought, crashes through the tree line. Of all the times for a secret boss to appear, why did it have to be now?
"What's that?!" Serena shouts. "I thought the dungeon was over?!"
"It's a secret boss! They're rare events that can happen in dungeons!" You shout over the sounds of trees falling. You pull Serena with you as you throw yourself to the side. Every dungeon had a secret boss. Some of them had strict requirements to summon of them, others depended on the in game hour, some were simply rng dependant. These bosses were not just rare but also stronger than it's host dungeon's boss and should one appear, the dungeon was not considered complete until it was dead or the party wiped. As a reward for teams who could conquer the extra challenge, the boss dropped even rarer gear and materials. It was these materials that were used to upgrade weapon chassis like the one you fought so hard to preserve.
It seems like today's session was going to be a long one indeed...
>What do you do?
>Do as you did before. Fight the boss directly while Serena backs you up with ranged attacks (What spell should she use?)
>Try and have Serena kite the boss. Do everything in your power to hinder it while she runs around and pelts it with spells.
>Have Serena cut it off with Firewalls while you engage with it directly. Given how strong you know secret bosses are, you're not sure if she can take more than 2 hits.
>Have Serena hide while you try and weaken the boss. Hopefully, you can put it within killing range even if it manages to take you down.
>Write in.
>>6254449>Try and have Serena kite the boss. Do everything in your power to hinder it while she runs around and pelts it with spells.
>>6254449>Have Serena cut it off with Firewalls while you engage with it directly. Given how strong you know secret bosses are, you're not sure if she can take more than 2 hits.I hope this doesn't preclude her pelting it with ranged attacks afterwards
>>6254449>Try and have Serena kite the boss. Do everything in your power to hinder it while she runs around and pelts it with spells.
>>6254449>Try and have Serena kite the boss. Do everything in your power to hinder it while she runs around and pelts it with spells.
>>6254616>>6254480>>6254467Gonna try and kite the boss. Writing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2irUfNJem_w
"Hit the boss with your spells and keep moving! I'll try and slow it down!" You shout as you dash towards the beast. You leap in to a spinning kick, avoiding the monster's tusks as it tries to impale you. You leg feels like it struck concrete as you feel the boss's damage resistance kick in. You see the familiar layer of frost build up below you, slowing the boss down as an ice spike strikes it's flank. The effect is quickly nullified thanks to it's increased resistances but it's only just enough for you to flip away and create some space. "Hit it with sparks! Save your mana and only slow it down when it's out of my reach! It has magic resistance and the most you hit it with the same spell the more of a tolerance it builds to the debuff!" The boar rears up as it prepares to charge but you leap to ram your elbow into it's head. You grab one tusk and swing around to grab the other one with a free hand.
[Grab activated. 10 seconds remaining]
The boar comes to a sudden halt as your skill kicks in and you pin it in place. There was no room for false pretenses, no time for pretending and holding back. If you wanted to get out of this dungeon alive and help Serena then you were going to have to dig deep and pull out that old pro that you buried long ago. "Sorry, but I promised someone 'I'd give em' hell.' That includes you buddy." You grunt. Your heels slowly dig into the ground as the two of you fight for control like something straight out of a Greek painting. With a heroic effort, you wrench your arms to one side and pull the boar with you, exposing it's flank for a direct hit from one of Serena's spells.
A small bolt of electricity arcs from the tip of her staff and strikes the exposed side. The fur burns and singes slightly filling the with the smell of burnt hair but the paralysis effect doesn't activate.
[8 seconds remaining]
The boar growls and grunts and you feel your feet start to leave the ground. Unlike the previous animal you fought, this one was no fool. Just because it couldn't break your grip on it, it didn't mean it couldn't remove your control. The moment your feet left the ground, it'd be free to run again. "Get. Down!" You shout. You slam your elbow down upon the bridge of it's snout. The impact of your enhanced blows forces the beast back down and another jolt of electricity strikes the boss.
[6 seconds remaining]
You yank at one tusk with all your might, wrenching it's head to the side so you could force it's gaze elsewhere. You rain blow after blow right into the beast's eye but it doesn't so much as flinch. You and Serena throw everything you had as you hold the monster down.
[4 seconds remaining]
[2 seconds remaining]
[0 seconds remaining]
The skills effect wears off and you're immediately thrown into the air. You twist as much as you can to turn the strike into a glancing blow but it still sends you flying like a rag doll. With you no longer being a pest, it slowly turns and begins to dig at the ground preparing a charge at your mage.
Boss: Alpha Boar
HP: 80%
Targeting: Serena_Starlight
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 75%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: 72%
>What do you do?
>Run after the boar, once Serena casts Ice Lance as you instructed use the temporary slowness to get ahead and tank the hit using your Guard Skill.
>Aim for the legs, if you and Serena can hit the legs in time it might topple the beast. If you fail, it'll simply trample the two of you.
>Tell Serena to use Firewall. It won't stop the boar but it'll run into it and cause it to take fire damage. The broken line of sight might help throw off it's aim and let her get out of the way.
>Write in.
>>6254748>Run after the boar, once Serena casts Ice Lance as you instructed use the temporary slowness to get ahead and tank the hit using your Guard Skill.
>>6254748>Run after the boar, once Serena casts Ice Lance as you instructed use the temporary slowness to get ahead and tank the hit using your Guard Skill.
>>6254748>Aim for the legs, if you and Serena can hit the legs in time it might topple the beast. If you fail, it'll simply trample the two of you.
>>6254748>Run after the boar, once Serena casts Ice Lance as you instructed use the temporary slowness to get ahead and tank the hit using your Guard Skill.
>>6254748>Run after the boar, once Serena casts Ice Lance as you instructed use the temporary slowness to get ahead and tank the hit using your Guard Skill.
You twist around in the to reorient yourself and kick off a nearby tree to gather speed and start sprinting after the boss. Before Serena's spell hits the boss, you're only able to keep pace with the charging monster. The slow effect takes hold and you leap forward, activating your defensive buff just before you get in the way of the charge.
Guard Activated. 5 seconds remaining.
You cross your arms and brace for the impact. It feels like a car crash when the boss collides with you and you're shoved back a few feet. You block another attack with the last second left in you guard and go back to attacking. You strike at it's face, leaping over and side stepping it's tusks as it auto attacks you. Over your shoulder you can see Serena hiding behind a tree and snapshotting her spells sending the small bolts of electricity at the boss.
It tries to charge at you but at such a close range you easily avoid it by throwing yourself to the side. Another ice lance strikes it in an attempt to slow it down but the boss's resistance had reached the point where it the spell's slow effect has become chance based rather than a guarantee. You'd have to let up on the spell and wait some time before the tolerance level would go back down to a point where you could rely on the spell's effect again.
Every time you see the electricity course through the monster's body, you pray that the paralysis chance procs. As if the Gods themselves, or perhaps Mr. Nakamura in this case, heard your plea you hear an extra loud thundercrack from behind. A large bolt of electricity surges forward from Serena's staff and blasts the boar right between the eyes. The boss rears back from the impact and collapses on the ground. You see small sparks of electricity flare up between the animal's fur as it struggles to move.
"I'm running low on mana!" Serena calls out in a panicked voice. If you had other team members, then that wouldn't be much of a problem. She could simply hang back and regen while the rest of the team went all out. However, with the two of you every bit of damage counted and you were just given a golden opportunity. With the boss unable to move, you could pour as much damage as you could without worrying about positioning or drawing too much aggro. But doing so would no doubt eat through the rest of Serena's MP.
Boss: Alpha Boar
HP: 55%
Status: Paralyzed (10 seconds)
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero
Status: Healthy
HP: 65%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: 37%
>What do you do?
>Tell Serena to use Lucid Dreaming. With the paralysis effect on the boss, she'll only need 10 seconds to receive the recovery effect of the skill.
>Have Serena deal as much damage as she can. She can use her skill to recover MP but you'll need to somehow hold the boss off for 20 seconds.
>Tell Serena to break off and run away. You'll stay behind and burn everything you got before you die. Hopefully it'll be enough to weaken the boss so Serena can finish it off with whatever MP she has left.
>Write in.
>>6255242>Tell Serena to use Lucid Dreaming. With the paralysis effect on the boss, she'll only need 10 seconds to receive the recovery effect of the skill.
>>6255242>Tell Serena to use Lucid Dreaming. With the paralysis effect on the boss, she'll only need 10 seconds to receive the recovery effect of the skill.
>>6255242>Tell Serena to use Lucid Dreaming. With the paralysis effect on the boss, she'll only need 10 seconds to receive the recovery effect of the skill.
>>6255242>Tell Serena to break off and run away. You'll stay behind and burn everything you got before you die. Hopefully it'll be enough to weaken the boss so Serena can finish it off with whatever MP she has left.
>>6255242>Tell Serena to use Lucid Dreaming. With the paralysis effect on the boss, she'll only need 10 seconds to receive the recovery effect of the skill.
>>6255271>>6255292>>6255336>>6255423Taking advantage of the debuff to regain mana. All we need to do is hold him off for a few seconds. Writing.
"Use Lucid Dreaming! I'll buy you the remaining 10 seconds!" You shout. Serena nods and plants her staff into the ground. A large arcane circle appears around her and you start to see motes of magical light float up from the ground and into her. She then closes her eyes and then enters a meditative trance. You had nothing left to do but to being raining blows upon the boss. You'll probably never get another chance like this so you needed to deal as much damage as you could to make it worth it.
The boar struggles against your blows and the paralysis effect but even after a few seconds you can see the effects of debuff rapidly fade. It slowly begins to kick and then beings to flail as it starts to regain it's motor functions. After the half way mark of the effect, it manages to get back on it's feet and tries to walk. You ram your shoulder into it's side and nearly topple it once more but simply stumbles away from you. Not quite what you wanted but it was creating a gap between it and Serena.
Paralysis. 0 Seconds remaining.
On cue, the boar's strength surges once more and with a burst of speed, it bats you aside to try and get past you. "We're not doing this again." You grunt as you catch yourself on one of the beast's massive tusks. You use the momentum to swing around and drive your knees into the side of it's head. The boar roars and slams you into the ground. It rises on it's hind legs as it comes crashing down upon you.
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP: 50%
Guard Activated. 5 Seconds Remaining.
You raise your arms once more to soften the blow but even with your skill in place, the force of the impact craters the ground beneath you and drives the wind out of your lungs.
HP: 45%
With you pinned, it rises once more to crush you underneath just in time to coincide with your guard's effect to wear off. In desperation, you use the only thing you had left in your arsenal.
Riposte Activated
You grab the falling hoof and pull it downwards, accelerating the boar's fall and pulling it straight into the wild uppercut you threw. The blow's power is enhanced by the effect of your counter attack and the beast is sent flipping backwards. You struggle to your feet. "Listen here, I've got a quest to get this girl off the island safe and sound." You announce. "But even if I didn't, I already gave my word. I'd be putting my old man to shame if I didn't rise up to keep my word. So...100%, 50%, 10% it doesn't matter what my HP is at. I'm going to go down swinging." You beckon the boar. "You wanted a worthy challenger? I'm right here. Full class or not."
Belt Affinity: 25%
RIDER System Activated...
Welcome Kamen Rider 1
Please state your activation phrase.
The fan in your belt whirrs to life with the sound of a turbine and begins to suck in a tremendous amount of air. It whips around you as if a small tornado had spawned on top of you. As it sucks in air, you can feel your weariness start to fade away and energy begins to fill your body. The winds begin to whip around more and more violently as the energy the fan was generating was feeding into itself and causing it to go stronger. As it seems to hit it's apex, you take a fighting stance and a single word comes unbidden from your lips. You're not sure where you heard it form, perhaps from the internet or some other player, but you put forth as much power into it as you can nonetheless.
"HENSHIN!"
The winds around you explode sending debris everywhere and you feel something envelop you. A mechanized armor seems to appear out from the blind spots around your body surround your limbs before latching onto itself and locking in place. A helmet unfolds itself over your head like a hood before the mouth piece slides out to conceal your face. A red scarf flows out from your neck and begins to flow in the dying breeze.
Belt affinity requirement reached. New Skills unlocked:
[Hero Skill] Transform: Unleash the power of your belt to don your armor and augment your abilities. While transformed you are considered to be wearing Medium Armor and while untransformed you're considered to be wearing light armor. This stacks with your natural damage reduction. Your unarmed strikes are further augmented to the level of two handed weapons while in your transformed state and your speed is enhanced slightly. Strong enough hits can force you out of your transformed state. Duration 1 minute. Cooldown 5 minutes.
[Hero Skill] Finisher: Leap into the air and channel all your power to deliver a power attack. At certain HP thresholds, this attack becomes an execute. Regular Mobs: 30%, Elite Mobs 15%, Bosses 5%, Players 3%. Must be under the effect of the Transform skill to use. Cooldown 3 minutes.
"I'm done!" You hear Serena shout far more clearly that you expected. "Huh...Regal? Is that you? Is this some kind of boss mechanic?" She asks, confusion in her voice.
Boss: Alpha Boar
HP: 45%
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
Class: Hero [Kamen Rider 1]
Status: Healthy
HP: 45%
MP: Full
Serena_Starlight (???)
Class: Elementalist
Status: Healthy
HP: Full
MP: 57%
>What do you do?
>Tell Serena to go all out with her strongest spells and get the boss into execute range. It's now or never and you both are all out of cooldowns.
>Go back to your original plan. Whittle the boss down with low level spells and your attacks.
>Tell Serena to hang back. You want to try this new form alone.
>Write in.
With that, I need to head to bed. Unfortunately, due to work shift changes I won't be able to do write ins until around 3pm PST or so. Sorry about that guys.
>>6255454>Tell Serena to go all out with her strongest spells and get the boss into execute range. It's now or never and you both are all out of cooldowns.
>>6255454>Tell Serena to go all out with her strongest spells and get the boss into execute range. It's now or never and you both are all out of cooldowns.Damn, we look good.
>>6255454Hey, it's one of those power rangers
>Tell Serena to go all out with her strongest spells and get the boss into execute range. It's now or never and you both are all out of cooldowns.
>>6255454>Tell Serena to go all out with her strongest spells and get the boss into execute range. It's now or never and you both are all out of cooldowns.
>>6255454>Go back to your original plan. Whittle the boss down with low level spells and your attacks.
>>6255454>Tell Serena to go all out with her strongest spells and get the boss into execute range. It's now or never and you both are all out of cooldowns.
>>6255473>>6255509>>6255510>>6255554>>6255638We're going for the explosive finish. Writing.
"We need to end this." You say. Your voice is slightly digitized and robotic but still clear enough to be heard. "We're entering our burn phase." You glance over your shoulder and give Serena a thumbs up. "Basically, we give em hell. Cast your best spells and we'll end this swinging. Our goal is to reach 5% of the boss's HP. After that, leave it to me." You charge forward to engage the boss once more. Serena gives you a nod and raises her staff to start channeling her Ice Lance. To her, you must have been a blur because from your perspective it felt like you were on ice skates with all the mobility from running normally.
You throw a punch and your arm momentarily becomes a blur before it comes to a sudden stop when it connects with the boar's face. The force of your newly enhanced blows causes it's head to snap back form the sheer impact right. With your newfound speed, you pivot and shift into a roundhouse kick right into the still moving head. Serena's ice lance flies directly at you as she's taken off guard with your newfound speed but you deftly backflip over it. Your corkscrew midair, causing your coat and scarf to appear to become a solid mass, before your come back down and delivering a double fisted hammer blow upon the flinching animal just as the lance of ice slams into it's side.
HP:40%
The boar roars as it tries to assert it's dominance over this fight but the rage falls upon deaf ears as you and Serena continue to your assault. It's attempt to fling you away fails when you spot dodge the tusks and it receives a kick to the face as a reward right into another ice lance. By sheer force of your attacks, you keep the beast at bay. Every attempt to move past you or attack is swiftly met with a dodge and follow up attack. Serena swaps to Shock spells to preserve her mana pool and spam her magic.
HP: 30%
You're not sure if she's doing it intentionally or it's happening via sheer luck but every spell seems to hit the boss just as you push it in that direction. It's clear to you that the girl might have that knack for the game that every player dreams of when they want to go pro. You slide right under the boar's belly and stand between your caster and the boss as it tries to either flee or run Serena down.
Guard Activated. 5 seconds remaining
You barely budge when the attack connects but the boar certainly feels the ridiculously telegraphed karate chop you land upon it in retaliation. This time, you flatten the boars as it's legs buckle from the force of the attack. Just as the descriptor stated, it was as if your bare hands were each a Warhammer. Under the rain of attacks and spells, fear floods the beast's eyes as it dawns in it that it is no longer worthy of it's title of being the Apex animal. "We're getting close! Keep it up!" You shout.
HP: 25%
HP: 20%
HP:10%...9%...7%...
"Cast Fireball! We got this!" You command. Serena flourishes her staff and the tip ignites. She flings the spell with all her might just as you leap right into the air.
Finisher Activated.
Your leaping kick connects just as the fireball explodes. Flame envelopes you just as you feel your finishing move connects. You feel yourself fly through and for a moment you think you miss before you hear the boss explode once more behind you. It gives out one last roar before it falls to the ground, dead.
Boss: Alpha Boar defeated
"We did it? We did it!" Serena screams and rushes to your location. You feel your helm and mouth guard retract behind your head just as she collides with you and grabs your hands. "That was amazing! How long were you able to do that?! Was that another mechanic you discovered? Do all bosses have something like that?!" Questions pour out of Serena's mouth and you're not given enough time to respond. Even if you could, her questions are interrupted when you hear the same voice that helped you create a character boom across the forest. A large text window appears in the sky, Nevermore's way of doing server announcements, which reads:
Secret Boss: Alpha Boar Defeated
Players involved:
Regal_20
Serena_Starlight
Congratulations for getting the server's first kill.
"WHOA! We...we killed it first in the whole server?" Serena gushes. You nod.
"Yeah. Secret bosses without requirements are quite rare. We're talking about a 1 in a 100 chance? Maybe rarer? I don't remember what the numbers were." You admit. "We've gotten quite unlucky...or I guess lucky depending on how you look at it." You explain somewhat distracted. You read and reread the announcement.
>How do you feel about the message?
>Excited. You haven't felt like this in since your old days. Making records, coordinating teams and overcoming the odds.
>Wary. Your name and achievement has been broadcasted across the whole server. That means attention and attention means trouble.
>Melancholic. You missed this game but this just reminds you of what could have been. How far you could have gone if things hadn't gone the way they did.
>Write in.
>>6255892If it’s possible, I think “excited but wary” would be the ideal here.
>>6255900I'll accept that as a choice.
>>6255892>>Melancholic. You missed this game but this just reminds you of what could have been. How far you could have gone if things hadn't gone the way they did.Gotta keep going anyway kid
>>6255892>Excited. You haven't felt like this in since your old days. Making records, coordinating teams and overcoming the odds.
>>6255892>Worried. You run through your memories if you had any online connections who might have beef with you, and consider turning off your transformation before someone can get a screenshot.Or
>Hopeful. You might find some old friends who recognize your name.I suspect Serena here is using a late relative's account, unless she herself got amnesia from a car crash or something.
>>6256016The reveal is that she's actually our father reincarnated inside the game as a cute witch girl
>>6255892>Excited. You haven't felt like this in since your old days. Making records, coordinating teams and overcoming the odds.enough moping around
>>6256085She then proceeds to seduce MC's mom all over again
Your heart skips a beat and it takes a moment for you to realize that you were excited. When you started playing, you never had the chance to do something like this due to your inexperience and the mechanics being unknown. When you hit the professional scene, your accolades were wins and trophies. Even though it hadn't reached the level of popularity and renown among the general population as it is now, you and your team was recognized within the game's player base. Part of you had forgotten how it felt to fight the odds and overcome challenges and the rush that came from succeeding. Of course, fame always comes at a cost. You and Serena just had your names plastered all over the server. Everyone knew your names now and they were tied with a very rare achievement. Bigger guilds, especially those that belonged to professional teams, fought over awards like these. Server firsts, record dungeon clears, or arena win streaks were all ways for these big guilds to recruit new players, new fans, and like any popular spectator sport these fans can be very rabid. Best case scenario, you'd be spammed endlessly with guild invites and perhaps you'd get a few favors in the hope that you'll permanently join their guild. Worst case, they'd see you as a threat and pissing off a large hive mind of angry players was a sure fire way to get hunted down until the mob was appeased.
Fortunately, the worst case scenario was very unlikely, at least for now. Any guild owned by a major team was very strict about how it went about hunting other players or guilds. As the public face of a pro team, these guilds were often the first thing seen by sponsors and any guild who couldn't control their members or seemed like a bad investment PR wise would be doomed to fail. Therefore, major guilds would very rarely hunt someone down publicly. Occasionally, a few fans might go rogue but those were swiftly dealt with before any more damage could be done. That didn't stop guilds from doing things behind the scenes though. Price hiking, hiring players outside of the guild, or denying access to dungeons. There were several ways that a guild could deniably make it hard for anyone they didn't like to play the game. It wouldn't be impossible but it would certainly not be fun. For now, you doubt anyone would kick up a big fuss about this. Certainly, it's going to draw attention but if you kept your head down and didn't announce yourself then you should be fine.
"Everyone on the server knowns our names now." You say out loud. Serena's eyes widen.
"What?! Everyone?" She gasps.
"Everyone. These announcements are made so everyone in the server can see and hear it. It's a big achievement after all. Best we keep our heads down though. Stuff like this can draw the wrong kind of attention. People wanting to take advantage of your skill or maybe they'll just spam you with guild invites." You explain "Basically everything that comes with being famous anywhere. As long as you don't go around bragging that it was you who did this then you'll be ok. There's a whole game out there for you to get lost in. Or maybe find another secret boss to first clear." You say with a smile. "But now that we're finally done. Let's get out of here." You turn off the transformation and your armor opens up and unfolds behind you. You wonder how it looks like from behind but from the front it must look pretty neat. Serena gives you an excited nod and the two of you begin to make your way out. As you walk, you look at your belt. For all your talk about keeping a low profile, you probably shouldn't be wearing this in public not to mention, there was an advantage to people not knowing what class you were. On the other hand, if people thought you were playing some gimmick class then they might underestimate you and leave you alone.
The two of you opt to take a longer route back to the village once you were clear of the dungeon. No doubt there would be players rushing over to the entrance in hopes of seeing the people who got the record and possibly murder them for their loot. Even when you arrive the village is abuzz with excited chatter.
"Two players? Must have been one of the Big Three. Think it was Rising Dragon?"
"No way, they're all muscle heads. Has to be Evolution. They have master tacticians in the guild."
"I bet they had a whole team and let them die. Only way two people could get the record. Probably got lucky."
"Yeah. Sucks for the guys who died though. Really need to change the way the game records who gets the record."
"I heard the guys who got the record got caught leaving! There was a huge fight outside the dungeon entrance!"
"If that's true, then they just lost all their loot. Sucks to be them."
"Let's get to the mayor's office." You whisper to Serena. "Sooner we leave, the better." The two of you make your way to the mayor's home as nonchalantly as you can. All throughout the village, people were making up theories and dealing in rumors though it seems like there was nothing concrete on the two of you so far. You have a quick chat with the mayor and receive your boarding passes. They were quite plain, simply a note signed by the mayor promising a free ride to the mainland.
---
"Thanks for...well everything." Serena says as the two of you wait for the next ship to arrive. She hugs her staff tightly, slightly nervous about the other players near the two of you. They were all lost in their own conversations and menus but you couldn't blame her. Being so close to her goal, having so many people that could take it all away was pretty nerve wracking.
"Don't mention it. It's been...a while since I've done something like this. It was more fun than I remembered." You admit. "All you need to do now is pick your starting location. Got anything in mind?"
"I'm going to the forest place. Everywhere else seems too extreme." She says. "What about you? Where are you going?"
>Where will you go?
>Go the Valford in the frozen tundra. It's main city is a popular spot for magitek engineers and gunners.
>Go to the Effelume in the forest zone. You'll find plenty of gatherers and potion makers.
>Go to Sesouris in the desert area. There's plenty of merchant players and smiths.
>>6256327>>Go the Valford in the frozen tundra. It's main city is a popular spot for magitek engineers and gunners.I like the icy aesthetic
>>6256327>Go the Valford in the frozen tundra. It's main city is a popular spot for magitek engineers and gunners.I personally prefer smiths, but the desert sounds like the flashiest place to stand out.
Grapple tank should let us hold down targets for gunners to perforate, or we go batman ourselves by getting gadgets to use.
>>6256327>Go to the Effelume in the forest zone. You'll find plenty of gatherers and potion makers.maybe we should stick with serena. keep a lower profile
btw did the boar drop anything?
>>6256327>Go the Valford in the frozen tundra. It's main city is a popular spot for magitek engineers and gunners.
>>6256327>Go the Valford in the frozen tundra. It's main city is a popular spot for magitek engineers and gunners.Widgets and gadgets!
I would want to say some parting words of encouragement to Serena, I think she could do with them. She is inexperienced, but she definitely has the chops for this and has the makings of a fearsome player. So chin up and keep at it, and we hope to see how she's progressed when we see each other next.
>>6256339Right. I'll meant to put those.
You got:
2 Alpha Boar tusks (Rare materials)
1 Alpha Boar hide (Rare Material)
1 Skill Book (Ultra rare item): Allows the user to permanently swap out 1 skill/spell for another. Using 3 allows the user to gain 1 more skill/spell. Consumed on use.
>>6256328>>6256333>>6256341>>6256356To the icy tundra after some words of encouragement. Writing.
>>6256327>Go to Sesouris in the desert area. There's plenty of merchant players and smiths.I think the main PvP zone is a good place for us to protect the innocent and all that hero jazz we're supposed to do
"I think I'm going for Valford, the ice region." You reply. "The city is well known for it's gadgets. I think it might help." Serena's face shows a brief moment of disappointment before she hides it.
"Oh well...We'll see each other again some day right?" She asks. You nod.
"Course, maybe we'll end up running into another secret boss by accident." You joke just as you hear the dock master announce that the ship to the mainland had arrived. "Looks like this is it. Don't forget to bind that weapon to your character once the ship leaves."
"I won't." She assures you and turns to leave. She seems to hesitate for a bit, however.
"Hey...it's been a while since I've had to say something like this but...you're a good player." You start. "I mean, you got talent. You pick up on things quickly and your aim is, frankly, amazing. It's a shame you didn't pick up a gunner or a ranger but even as an Elementalist being able to land your spells is a must. With a some experience, you could be a force to be reckoned with. So keep it up. Maybe the next time we meet, you'll be the one dragging some poor newbie around a dungeon." Serena gives you a smile and a thumbs up.
"I will! I'll see you again then. Whenever that is." She promises. You see her hand over her ticket and walk across the gangplank onto the ship. You watch it get pulled up and soon enough the ship begins to depart. Serena runs to the back of the ship and waves goodbye to you until she's out of sight. You look at your ticket and debate your choice for a moment before deciding to open the menu.
Log off?
[X]Yes
No
---
You come back to reality and quietly slip off the helmet. The clock on your desk marks 6:00AM indicating that you had long run past your intended play time. Even so, you go through the motions of shutting your computer and the connected components off with a smirk. For the run you had, it was worth sleeping in and being a bit tired for your shift tomorrow. You pull your account card from the reader and after a small moment of contemplation, you slip the card into your wallet instead of burying it in your desk once more. You climb back into your bed, pull the sheets over your head and for the first time in years, fall asleep with a large grin on your face.
---
The first thing you hear as you pass through the glass doors of "Oasis", the net café where you worked at, was a rather blunt, "You look like shit dude." From the place's owner and your boss, Roland. You weren't sure what his last name was, he never told you and you always seemed to forget to ask. Nonethless, you felt you didn't deserve to pry into it given that he didn't pry into your past when he hired you. With basically no job skills or resume to speak of, Roland had hired you on the spot after you mentioned you used to play Nevermore and he was a big enough fan of the game that he was willing to give you a chance. He was such a big fan that he owned a small restaurant in under the same name of the his real business in game on Server #3.
"It's to drum up interest in the net café! People see how great the restaurant is in game, hear about the real life location, and they'll pop in." You remember him insisting. You honestly think it's just an excuse for him to hop in game during your shift. In any case, Roland taught you the basics of running the real life Oasis and from then on you had steady income.
As you approach the front desk, Roland shoos a few customers who he was chatting with away. "You doing ok, man?" He asks. You give him a noncommittal shrug. If you let him know you had started playing again then you'd never hear the end of it. If he heard that you got server first then you were sure you'd never get any work done.
"Just had a long night." You reply vaguely as you try to stifle a yawn.
"Your mom doin' alright?" He presses. You nod. Roland was one of the few people in your life that knew of your father's passing. It was probably the other reason he hired you if it wasn't for the love of the game. Beyond you begging for a job to help your father, he never once asked for any more information. He gave you every day you asked for off and in return asked you to cover an extra shift or run an extra errand for parts. Given the leniency, part of you wonders if he had gone through something similar himself.
"Yeah, she's fine. A bit grumpy because she was the one who had to make breakfast today but we're doing good." You assure him. Roland gestures for you to start your shift, seemingly satisfied with your answer. As you're clocking in, you feel him place both hands on your shoulder eagerness radiating from him.
"Hey, did ya hear? Of course you haven't. You don't even try to keep up with the game anymore." He says eagerly. "Last night some group got server first for the tutorial dungeon's secret boss! Not only that but it was a group of two players! The whole cafe's been talking about it!" You look behind you into the computer lounge itself. Oasis was split into three different sections. There was the regular internet section where customers would be stationed in a normal PC, the Full Dive section where customers would rent a room with a full dive chair, and off in the corner was a tiny café run by Gloria, a woman who rented out the space for her litter eatery. As you glance over to the open section full of regular PCs, you can see the excited chatter of the events on the new server. "I've heard that the big guilds are absolutely losing their goddamn minds over it. After all, tutorial island's secret boss is like the easiest one in the game and they couldn't even get it to spawn!" Roland continues with a huge grin on his face, looking at you expectantly.
>What do you say?
>Continue playing the noncommittal part. If Roland hears you were the one who got the record, he'd never keep it to himself. Soon everyone in the café would know and probably on the game too.
>Feign surprise. Say that you've been considering playing again but you're still on the fence. It'd be a good cover if you start asking for more info on the game all of a sudden.
>Say that it was probably one of the Guilds. Them being upset about it just sounds like the usual Guild politics rumor mongering.
>Tell Roland that it was you who broke the record. Let him you you started playing again. If anyone would have good info on the state of the game, it'd be your boss. Maybe he'd answer a few questions. (What do you ask?)
>Write in.
>>6256501>Feign surprise. Say that you've been considering playing again but you're still on the fence. It'd be a good cover if you start asking for more info on the game all of a sudden.
>>6256501>Feign surprise. Say that you've been considering playing again but you're still on the fence. It'd be a good cover if you start asking for more info on the game all of a sudden.
>>6256501>Feign interest. Reveal that you'd been checking if your old account card still worked when you heard people talking about it. Ask if secret bosses are still a big thing even now.If the boss wants to party up, we can reveal the secret ingame
>>6256501>Feign surprise. Say that you've been considering playing again but you're still on the fence. It'd be a good cover if you start asking for more info on the game all of a sudden.The guilds sound like packs of absolute retards.
>>6256501>Tell Roland that it was you who broke the record. Let him you you started playing again. If anyone would have good info on the state of the game, it'd be your boss. Maybe he'd answer a few questions. (What do you ask?)
>>6256532>>6256528>>6256515>>6256505We're going incognito mode on this one. Still haven't decided if Roland thinks that actually does anything to prevent people from spying on you. Writing.
You do your best to act surprised. "Really? It's been years though. Pretty sure the secret tutorial boss was found eons ago." You lie. Roland claps his hand to his face.
"Dude! What're you living under a rock? You know server 10 opened last night!" He says in exasperation. "I told you all about it yesterday." You give Roland a weak shrug and an awkward smile. Truth be told, you tended to zone out when he spoke about the games especially since you didn't play anymore. You trained yourself to catch every other word and get the gist of what he was talking about just to keep conversation with him and the customers but you were distracted yesterday with the urge to play the game again. Given his reaction, you figure it'd be funny to push his buttons a bit more.
"I guess I forgot. But...are secret bosses even that big of a deal anymore? I mean there's probably guides all over the place for how to get them." You ask just as you hear the ding of your shift starting. Taking a seat, you add, "Like, why would the guilds even care any more?" Roland lifts his hands as if asking to be granted patience from a higher power.
"Of course they're a big deal. It's all about the rep! No one wants to join a guild that can't break or make records. Especially if you're trying to cultivate a fanbase for your competitive team. Sponsors eat that stuff up too. If your fan base is big enough, they're gonna want to offer some cash for you to advertise them. I mean just look at football. That's how they make the big bucks. Nevermore is like the gaming equivalent. Not to mention, there's the big loot to em. Most people want to join a team who can get them the secret boss loot. Makes sense you'd want to ask the big guys who are known for getting to them first." He says as if he had explained this to you several times before. He probably had or at least gone over this speech once or twice...but then again you might have learned to selectively hear things by then. Having had your fill of annoying your boss, you raise your hands up as a gesture of peace.
"Ok. Ok. I get it. New server, new chances at getting titles for the belt." You say. "But...what about the guys who got the first kill? Are you sure they're not part of a guild? Like some kind of secret team or PR stunt?" Roland shakes his head. He leans over you and starts searching on your computer.
"Check this out. Someone took a screenshot of the announcement." He says pulling up an image of the pop up that announced your kill to the server. "See?" He asks pointing to the second with your name on it. "There's no guild affiliation. If they were part of a guild then the game would have announced who they were under. From what I heard around the café, the big guilds were still organizing and recruiting to start farming. The clear happened only a few hours after the server opened."
"Guess they got pretty lucky. Uhh...anyone see who it was?" You ask, trying to seem nonchalant about it. Roland's eyes squint slightly.
"No. Apparently so many people rushed to the entrance that they started fighting over who would get to gank record breakers." As far as I heard, no one's come forward to reveal themselves as the ones who did it." Roland pauses for a moment. "Why are you so interested? We've never talked about Nevermore this much. At least, you've never asked this much about the game."
You cough. "W-well...I was umm...Kinda considering maybe playing again? I mean, I found my old account card and-" You can't complete that sentence as a large arm pulls you into a head lock.
"Ayyyy! I knew you couldn't stay away! A couple years too late but I knew you'd get the itch again!" He shouts, a massive grin on his face. Several of your customers stop what they're doing to look at the two of you. "You gotta get in on server 3. Come check out the the venue in game!"
"Maybe. Server 3 must be packed though. Maybe I should hop on the newest one? Is there a server 11?" You half life.
"Nah, 10's the newest one. Probably right though, 3's a bit dusty. Too much of the old guard. 10's where it's at if you want to get in on the action. Come on! I know we have a Full Dive station free right now. Tell me what class you pick!" Roland starts to push your chair towards the café but you hop off.
"Come on, Roland. I still gotta work-" You start but Roland waves his hand dismissively.
"Ehh...you can take the day off. It's been like a billion years since you played! This is like...I dunno, that bible story with the son." He says but you slip out of the chair. You knew your boss was a mega fan of the game but you didn't want to take advantage of that, not to mention you had already made a character. Making another would just force you to play to characters to keep up the lie and you had no doubt that Roland would constantly ask for updates.
"I appreciate it but I really should work. Besides, I bet you've been up since the server opened, right? Maybe go take a nap. You're gonna crash." It seems like your words ring true and Roland relents.
"Fine. But I better be the first one to hear about what class you picked!" He says as he starts to head out with a yawn.
"I never said I was gonna play! I was just thinking about it!" You call out just as the door begins to close but Roland simply waves your claim away. You sigh, and sit down at the counter again. At best, you've bought yourself 2 or 3 hours. Roland lived on the second floor of the café and only ever napped for about that long though never without a pre-nap snack. Once he was back from the store, he'd probably head up to the second floor from the back entrance. You close the screenshot of your record announcement and start to sift through the tickets for things you needed to look at. As you're doing so, the stream on Roland's station catches your eye.
"With Nevermore's anniversary on the horizon, we thought it'd be cool to go over the history of it's competitive scene." A woman's says as a series of pictures begins fade into the foreground. You see the old logos of the first big teams, teams you went up against yourself. "What better place to start than in the beginning?" Images of player's characters juxtaposed with photos of their players begin to appear. These images seemed too professional, too recent. It dawns on you that these might be current photos of the players who stuck around long enough to play to this day. You do recognize a few here and there but you also see many of them are sillouettes, a sign that many had their careers cut short. "Many of these players are still part of the pro scene today. Some of them even maintaining their title they earned from the community. Others retiring as coaches or simply fading into obscurity." You see your own character as the woman says the word "Obscurity" with you as a simple silhouette.
>What class did you used to main in the pro scene?
>Fighter
>Swordsman
>Thief
>Gunner
>Ranger
>Elementalist
>Cleric
>Astrologian
>Brawler
>Were you good enough to be given a title by the community? If so, what was it?
>You were known for your clever strategies and coordinating your team. People called you the Master Tactician.
>You were known for hunting down priority targets without mercy. You were known as The Assassin.
>You used to be able to make impossible shots and hit targets at a great distance. The community referred to you as The God's Bow.
>You were an allrounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Though you didn't have a specialty, you could fight on even terms against any class due to your knowledge. You were known as the God of Battle.
>You were never in the spotlight. Though people didn't know who you were, they knew you formed the backbone of your team. To the community, you were simply referred to as The Hidden Ace.
>You never received a title. Despite your term in the pro scene, you either didn't hang in long enough or didn't make enough of an impact to be well known in the sphere.
>Write in.
>>6256862>Cleric>You were an allrounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Though you didn't have a specialty, you could fight on even terms against any class due to your knowledge. You were known as the God of Battle.
>>6256862>Fighter>You were an allrounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Though you didn't have a specialty, you could fight on even terms against any class due to your knowledge. You were known as the God of Battle.
>>6256862>Swordsman>You were an allrounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Though you didn't have a specialty, you could fight on even terms against any class due to your knowledge. You were known as the God of Battle.A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.
>>6256858Boss is too cool, but maybe he should make sure there's someone to man the desk
>>6256862>>Astrologian>>You used to be able to make impossible shots and hit targets at a great distance. The community referred to you as The God's Bow.planting buffs and debuffs from across the map, you could throw cards further than archers could shoot arrows. Sometimes it even caused misdirection, drawing aggro from enemies who swore you had to be within their range somehow.
flashy but not game-changing
>>6256862>Brawler>Were you good enough to be given a title by the community? If so, what was it?>The Terminator. Your character kinda looked like Arnold and yeah... people described fighting you like you were some kind of unstoppable killer robot.
>>6256862>Swordsman>You were an allrounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Though you didn't have a specialty, you could fight on even terms against any class due to your knowledge. You were known as the God of Battle.
>>6256862>Swordsman>WRITE INOnce you engaged with an enemy, you never let up in your attacks. They called you The Badger
Allrounder is VERY popular, what're you all thinking?
>>6256862>Ranger>You were never in the spotlight. Though people didn't know who you were, they knew you formed the backbone of your team. To the community, you were simply referred to as The Hidden Ace.
>>6257016The Hero class doesn't look optimized for a single role in the party, since we've seen DPS/armor boosts, a counterattack skill, self-healing, one that synergizes with Grab, a debuff and a finishing blow. It looks like a class that could fill in for a Tank or a DPS as the situation demands. Definitely not meant to sit in a dedicated role.
All John needs is a taunt and more DPS boosts. I would've liked to get Throw since it gives us extra damage plus aggro, a way to move the boss around, and something to do at the end of Grab, rather than just running once it ends.
>>6257033Sure, but this isn't a class selection, but a background choice.
>>6256862>>Brawler>>You were an allrounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Though you didn't have a specialty, you could fight on even terms against any class due to your knowledge. You were known as the God of Battle.Brawler seems to be the most compatible with our class and would provide the experience necessary to use the unarmed fighting style to its full potential. God of Battle combos nicely with the versatile Hero class, plus I just like that title the most.
>>6257052I chose the allrounder background because it seems to work well with what I've seen of the Hero class.
On that note, I want to change my vote in
>>6256949 from Swordsman to Brawler.
>>6256876>>6256885>>6256949>>6257067So, God of Battle is the clear winner for the title and Brawler just barely wins over swordsman. Writing.
>>6256897I will say that I really liked this combo. Never considered it but it's pretty cool.
>>6256915Making a character look like Arnold and then becoming a well renowned pvp professional does sound like something that happens irl. The meme that got out of control.
>>6256993Badgers are scary. Badgers with swords hunting down your clerics is scarier. Nice idea.
"Of course, we'd start with one of the best, if not the best. The God of Battle himself. " The woman continues. A clip of one of your old fights is shown. You see yourself playing your old Brawler as you shift back slightly to dodge both a Gunner's cannon blast and a Ranger's arrow. The projectiles miss by inches, nearly intersect with themselves and continue onwards to strike a Fighter and another Brawler as they were trying to close in on you.
"Many considered him to be the master of the game and it seemed like nothing could surprise him. In fact, there's tons of stories of people claiming that no matter the build, they simply could not get a drop on him while he still played the game." Another clip, this time outside of the tournament arenas. The POV is of an Elementalist behind you in the bushes watching you fight a Fighter. They begin casting a fireball but just as they are launching it towards you, you spin kick the Fighter's shield aside as he attempts to guard. With a reverse grip, you grab the Fighter by the collar and hold him up as a shield against the fireball. The clip ends as the tank is flung right at the Elementalist.
"We checked old tourney rosters and he registered under the name John Doe. We don't know if this was some kind of inside joke or meme or if this was his actual name. It's quite ironic that the name used for unidentified males has been tied to one of the most well known players in the game. We'll never really know why he retired but we know he made a lasting impact on the game, forcing his opponents to get better and increasing the level of skill required in the big leagues." The woman concludes. You watch a few more clips of your old fights before checking the chat.
"THE GOAT!"
"Bruh, we lost the man too early. RIP. :crying:"
"King of spot dodges. He walked so modern teams could run."
":heart::heart::heart::heart:"
"Bet he could still rundown the current pros. The pro scene's gone downhill."
"He's the reason I started playing. Godspeed brother, wherever you are."
You feel your eyes sting a bit. Truthfully, you didn't think you were that good and you're surprised that people thought of you as some kind of master of the game. The reality was that you just did a lot of studying. After your fight with your parents you really couldn't afford to fail. At least, thats what you thought at the time. So the only way you could think of to secure your future was to put your nose to the grindstone. You would spent countless night after practice just reading class guides and forum posts or you'd be in the public arenas just spectating matches for ideas. You didn't really steal moves or techniques so much as memorized them as a potential avenue of attack. As for your class, you simply memorized what you could do and couldn't do, match ups and the like. The fact that people thought so highly of you made you feel like it was all worth it.
"Reminiscing about old times?" You hear a woman chuckle. You quickly rub your eyes and look up to see Gloria, holding out a coffee for you. She was the only person you knew that had figured out who you were before working here. It was unsurprising given how frighteningly accurate she was at reading people.
"How many people named John Doe with no job skills and plays the exact same game as the professional do you think show up asking for work a few days after the the pro retires?"
While not a testament to her powers of reading people, her pointing it out made you feel a bit silly about trying to keep it all secret. You were just glad that Roland hadn't put the pieces together. Despite the occasional teasing, she never lorded your secret over you.
"We all got things we'd rather not talk about. I just run an eatery. I'd rather my coworkers find my shop a safe space to wind down just like the rest of my customers."
You take the cup of coffee and sip it. Gloria leans on the counter and closes the laptop. "Not good to dwell on the past you know? Then again, it seems like you had some happy memories going on. Anything to do with you playing the game again?" She asks.
"I...never said I was playing..." You say lamely putting the coffee aside and trying to hide behind checking tickets. Gloria steps around the counter and sits next to you.
"I mean, Roland was shouting about it. That and you've never shown much interest in the game until now. Normally your eyes just sort of glaze over and you repeat the same answer over and over." She says as she takes a drink of your coffee. "That and you got a pep in your step when you walked in. Given that I know you didn't just suddenly get a date, I can only assume that it probably has something to do with the thing you were suddenly so interested in." You sigh and close the to do list.
>What do you say?
>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.
>Admit that you started playing again but lie about the records. Simply say you made a character and wandered the tutorial area. The announcement is what prompted your questions.
>Lie and say that you really were just considering playing. You haven't made any characters.
>Try and change the subject. Ask if Gloria is going to make a new character on the server.
>Write in.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.She knows that we’re the God of Batlle. She also knows that we started playing Nevermore again. This wouldn’t be much of a shock for her, I’m sure.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.>I'm not gonna keep the secret forever, but Roland is gonna explode if he finds out now.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.You're not as cool as Cinder or are you?
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.
>>6257415>Admit that you have started playing again. Tell her you were the one that broke the records last night. She's kept your secret for years. You doubt that she'd start now.
>>6257507I don't know if I could ever compare to cirno's quest or writing. But I will admit nostalgia for Gun x Glory was a big factor in running this.
>>6257430>>6257444>>6257496>>6257498>>6257507>>6257558>>6257523>>6257588We're telling her. Writing.
"Alright...I'll admit it. I actually logged into the game last night and made a character." You say in a hushed voice. You look around the desk for anyone eavesdropping. With no one in earshot, you remove the lid of the coffee cup and take a sip. It's smooth and flavorful as you come to expect from Gloria's drinks and food. You let the warmth seep through your chest and letting you relax a bit. "Anyways, I made a character and just played for a bit...and maybe got a record?" You add sheepishly. Gloria gives you a knowing smirk. "I'm not gonna keep it secret forever, you know. But if I tell Roland now, he's gonna explode and then the rest of the server is going to know and then I'll probably never get to play it normally." You find yourself explaining. Gloria would have probably guessed but for some reason you always felt like you could just talk to her about anything. It was honestly pretty frightening in retrospect.
"Just casually getting a record, huh?" She teases. "You know it was done with two people. Who was your second? You drag one of your old crew? Was it Lance? Or Ming?" Even before you do it, you can feel your face fall and your body slightly tense up. You catch yourself rubbing your cheek before you pull your hand away.
"Oh uhh...Ming and I haven't really talked in years. Last email she sent me, she mentioned she was picked up by Evolution." You admit. "I kind of lost track of her after that. Lance..." Your voice trails off.
---
Several years ago...
"JOHN!" Lance's voice echoes across the empty parking lot. You hear him running towards you, footsteps splashing in the puddles as the rain begins to pick up. You turn just in time for his fist to connect with your face and send you and your things crashing to the ground. "You fuck! You think you can just come back after what you did?!" He screams. You lay on the ground. Your brain registers the pain in your cheek but you were just so tired and numb by now that you didn't really register it.
"I...I'm sorry Lance..." Is all you can really muster, a new form of guilt already melding with the rest of guilt and pain that you were burying at the moment.
"YOU WALKED OUT ON US JOHN!" Lance continues to scream. "YOU COST US THE TOURNAMENT!" He grabs your shirt and forces you to look at him. His eyes are a mixture of rage, confusion, and most of all betrayal. "Now you think you can show your face and think we're gonna look the other way?!"
"I...was just grabbing my things Lance. I'm not...can't...can't be part of the team anymore. It's important to me..." You mumble. You didn't like seeing Lance like this. Especially since it was your fault. But right now, you just wanted to get home. Keep taking care of your dad. Give him the fighting chance to survive.
"Important?! This was important to us!" Lance shouts back. "An investor was talking to us, John! All we had to do was show them we were a good investment! That we could win consistently! Then our best player just decides to walk out on us the day before?! This was our chance to finally make it! What we all sacrificed for! You think Ming or Alex are here to just have a good time?! Just living from tourney to tourney?! This was our chance John! To finally start earning some consistent money! What could be more important than our livelihoods? OUR GODDAMN DREAMS?!"
"I...I don't wanna talk about it." Is all you could muster. You weren't able to keep your promise to your dad, you couldn't support your friends, and you could just barely afford to take care of your family. You just really didn't want to think. At least not until your father got better. Once he was ok then you could come back. Then you could tell everyone. Lance's eyes grow wild and he raises his hand to strike you. You instinctively close your eyes but the blow never comes. Instead he lets go and you feel his weight off your chest.
"...Just get the fuck out John. You're not even worth it..." Lance mutters, his voice barely audible in the rain. You slowly get to your feet. Maybe you should tell Lance, maybe he could help you. At the very least, you'd be able to apologize properly but by the time you got to your feet, he was already walking in the building...and you didn't have the will to chase after him...
---
"...we're not on good terms." You say simply. "I haven't talked to him or Alex or any of the others since I left." Gloria puts a hand on your shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up some bad memories." She says.
"It's fine. It was all my fault anyways." You admit.
"Maybe you should reach out to them. Move forward. You three had a lot of history together, be a shame to just let it go away." She suggests. You shake your head.
"Nah, it's probably better that I stay away. They've got their own lives now, living their dreams. I don't want to stain that." Gloria frowns at that but she doesn't say anything. She instead gets up, gives you another reassuring pat on the shoulder, and says, "How about I make you something to eat? Celebrate that record of yours. You can tell me all about the dungeon run. You in the mood for anything?"
>What do you say?
>Tell her just to make you some cup ramen. You feel bad when she makes you anything fancy plus you know it'd push her buttons given how much she loves to cook.
>Ask for something you can carry with you. You'll probably up and about doing tickets and serving customers. Be easier if you had portable food.
>Ask for something off her menu. You don't want her spending extra time making something she hasn't prepped for.
>Ask for a surprise. You can't really decide what you want and her food is good regardless of what she makes.
>Write in.
>>6257824>Ask for a surprise. You can't really decide what you want and her food is good regardless of what she makes.
>>6257824>Ask for something you can carry with you. You'll probably up and about doing tickets and serving customers. Be easier if you had portable food.
>>6257824>Ask for something healthy. You've been trying to focus on that more.
>>6257824>Ask for something off her menu. You don't want her spending extra time making something she hasn't prepped for.
>>6257824>Ask for something you can carry with you. You'll probably up and about doing tickets and serving customers. Be easier if you had portable food.
>>6257824>Ask for a surprise. You can't really decide what you want and her food is good regardless of what she makes.
>>6257824>Ask for something you can carry with you. You'll probably up and about doing tickets and serving customers. Be easier if you had portable food.
>>6258020>>6257975>>6257845Portable food it is. I hate when my weekends are taken away by stuff I should have done during the week. Writing.
IMG_1077
md5: 7f991d9d3cce9f40759361c37c8cabc5
🔍
"Can you make me something...portable? Alot of these tickets need me to be on the move." You ask. Gloria nods.
"Meet me back here in about 20. I'll have something for you." She says before heading back to her shop just as a customer walks in to register for a station.
"Full dive or conventional? And I'll need your ID, please." You ask as you reach out to take the customer's card.
---
"So...it's a hot pocket?" You ask as you pick up the half circle shaped food and take a bite. Gloria squints and glares at you.
"It is not a hot pocket. One, they're called turnovers and are made from pastry bread. Two, this is made masa which is what tortillas are made from and finally, that's fried. You don't fry a hot pocket." She huffs. You take another bite. Whatever it was, it was really good. Stuffed with shrimp, grilled onion, tomato and some kind of herb, it was quite savory. "Normally, I'd give you some salsa and cabbage for you to use as toppings but you wanted portable so there you are." She says proudly.
"It's really good. This is supposed to have salsa?" You ask, mouth partially full. "Like green sauce?" Gloria gives you the look again and you're starting to wonder if you had a knack at pushing your coworker's buttons. A natural taunt skill as it were. She opens her mouth and then sighs.
"It can be I guess but normally it's tomato and oregano. Or it can be blended toasted peppers and some water." She says. "Depends on what flavor you want. But it probably wouldn't play nice if you got salsa on the PCs." You grab another empanada and stand.
"Whatever it is and whatever you're supposed to put on it, it's really good. Thanks Gloria. Walk with me?" You offer. "A PC might be having memory issues and I gotta look at it."
"Sure, let me just..." She leans over your table and pushes the intercom button. "Attention Oasis customers, the café will be closed for an hour. I need to take my break." Her voice rings throughout the net café and you see everyone shrug before going back to their usual business. It wasn't unusual for Gloria to be heard over the speaker as she often announced the closing of her shop or any special items on the menu. Roland often used it for in house tournaments or to call you when something went down and you were in some other part of the shop. You're not sure if it was him who installed it or it the system was already here when the place was bought. You assume it's the latter given that Oasis had it's own app for ordering food and being told it was ready as well as being alerted when a station you asked for was ready.
"I wish I could decide I could take my break on a whim." You joke. Gloria grins.
"I pay my rent, I bring in customers and I feed your boss when he decides he wants a snack after I close." She says. "I think I earned the right to decide when I want a break and when I want to play with the speakers. Now let's go, I wanna hear more about that dungeon."
---
"...and so we decided the best way for her to keep the staff was to run the tutorial dungeon. Farming mobs would just mean we would run into other players." You say, elbow deep into an open PC in the far corner of the café. Turns out that by memory issue, the ticket meant 'A user decided that PC served as a drink tray'. The whole thing was basically fried and you had to pull out spare parts and cannibalize the remains of another defunct PC to get this one running. Gloria raises an eyebrow.
"Wait, you dragged a complete newbie into the tutorial dungeon?" She asks in an impressed tone. "That's pretty ballzy."
"We'll it's not like we had many options. Not gonna lie, I thought I might be able to solo it and figured that another person would make it go by faster. Turns out my choice of partner was a prodigy." You grunt as you pry a sticky, burnt out RAM stick from it's slot. "That staff was in good hands all things considered."
"You sure she wasn't a pro?" Gloria asks curiously. "I mean, what classes were you running again?"
"Believe me. She ran like a headless chicken." You say as you judge whether or not the CPU fan was salvageable. "But her aim was off the charts. You ever see a newbie elementalist fire off an Ice Lance from under someone's punch? Not to mention, she learned how to snapshot after a brief explanation and through gut feeling alone. All while under the line of fire and flanked by melee goblins. Once she learns to settle her nerves and get her fight or flight under control, she's going to be a monster." You toss the part into the bin. "It's equally impressive given we were running Elementalist and Hero. At that point I was basically running half a class."
"YOU WERE RUNNING WHAT?!" Gloria shouts and clamps her hands over her mouth. Several customers turn to face the two of you but she waves them away. "You're not serious are you?" She asks. You shrug.
"I wanted to try it out. It's pretty cool." You admit.
"No one's ever gotten the class to work John. As far as I know, no one's even pushed it to level 20." Gloria whispers. "It's basically a meme class. It doesn't even explain how it works. Everyone thinks the head dev just went off the deep end." You give Gloria a grin.
"I guess I'm the first then." You whisper back. "I got it to work and it's how Serena and I beat the dungeon."
"No way. Show me." She demands. As far as you knew her, Gloria was a more casual player of Nevermore. She'd participate in the local tournaments in the Oasis and played in her spare time but she wasn't one who cared for records or rumors. So long as she could wander the game world and have a good time, she'd be up for it. Though thinking about it, you don't think you've ever seen her this into the game. You pull your account card from your wallet and move over to the next computer over. Quickly booting up the game, you slot your card into the reader and load your character up. Nevermore didn't have any way for regular PC users to play the game as it was much too advanced for a traditional computer to interface with. However, it did have an auxiliary program that allowed users to manage their characters, auction house trades, and mail among other minor things. You see Regal_20's avatar load up and point to it's list of skills.
"See? They get a transformation state. You get tons of bonuses but it only lasts for a minute." You whisper and look around. Coast was still clear. Most people were avoiding the two of you due to the fact you were preforming maintenance.
"Whoa..." Gloria breathes as she leans forward to look at your character. "Roland is going to explode when you tell him."
"Now you see why I'm trying to keep this under wraps?"
"Yeah..." Gloria studies the screen for a moment. "Hey you got some notifications." She says and you click on the notification icon.
Serena_Starlight would like to be friends. Accept?
-Yes
-No
You have Dungeon Loot that still needs to be divvied up. How do you want to divide loot?
Serena_Starlight has voted for [Party Leader (Regal_20) chooses].
-Party Leader Chooses
-Random Roll
-Give up on your share
Total Loot:
3 daggers
2 copper rings
1 enchanted ring (Wearer gains slight slashing resistance)
Chief's Crossbow (Small chance to bleed target on hit)
Chief's Scrap Spurs (Unarmed attacks have a chance to bleed enemies)
2 Greater Boar Tusks (Rare material)
2 Alpha Boar tusks (Rare materials)
1 Alpha Boar hide (Rare Material)
1 Skill Book (Ultra rare item): Allows the user to permanently swap out 1 skill/spell for another. Using 3 allows the user to gain 1 more skill/spell. Consumed on use.
>Do you accept Serena's friend request?
>Yes
>No
>How do you split the loot?
>Pick the RNG option. (Loot will be rolled randomly to see who gets what)
>Choose to split the loot as the leader. (What do you want to keep and what do you want to give to Serena?)
>Let Serena have everything. You don't particularly want anything.
I couldn't find many non ai generated art of a red head character. So I guess John's in game character looks like Shanks for now. I'm always open for alternate art.
>>6258456>YesI really don't see a reason not to
>Choose to split the loot as the leader. (What do you want to keep and what do you want to give to Serena?)Serena gets the skill book. Call it an investment into a monster. The rest....I'm still not sure.
Serena
>daggers>copper rings>Alpha Boar hideRegal
>enchanted ring>crossbow>scrap spurs>All tusksSo we give up on defensive gear, relying more on skills and gimmick resistances to be tankier than we look. I think the crossbow will be handy for surprise weakpoint target or just distant aggro-drawing.
>>6258456>Do you accept Serena's friend request?>>Yes>How do you split the loot?Serena:
>Daggers (3)>Copper Rings (2)>Chief's Crossbow>Greater Boar Tusks (2)>Alpha Boar Tusks (1)John
>Enchanted Ring>Chief's Scrap Spurs>Alpha Boar Tusks (1)>Alpha Boar Hide>Skill BookI'm thinking Serena doesn't need the items to increase DR, since she shouldn't be getting in harm's way to begin with. Moreover, as a newbie she can't make good use of the skill book. In exchange, she can have extra loot to sell.
John keeps the DR/resistance items and the Spurs because they're useful for his build.
>>6258477Powerful Fist stops us from using the crossbow, sadly.
>>6258498I'll support this.
>>6258456>Do you accept Serena's friend request?>Yes>How do you split the loot?>Choose to split the loot as the leader. (What do you want to keep and what do you want to give to Serena?)Serena:
1 Skill Book
Chief's Crossbow
1 enchanted ring
Us:
2 Greater Boar Tusks
2 Alpha Boar tusks
1 Alpha Boar hide
Chief's Scrap Spurs
I don’t care how the 3 daggers and 2 copper rings are split up.
>>6251477>>6258498Hmm, does powerful fist apply to thrown weapons like the flashbang?
What about quick holster slots, can we keep a single shot or two on the hips that we can quickdraw and maybe even drop until the battle is over?
>>6258456>>6258498+1
Also, I think Doe needs to watch some kamen rider compilations, maybe he can learn something about the hero class and unlock a hidden feature
>>6258456>Do you accept Serena's friend request?>Yes>How do you split the loot?>>6258498 +1
>>6258534>>6258506>>6258498>>6258500>>6258553We will go with this split and adding Serena as a friend. Writing.
>>6258519Flashbang is a gunner skill which was available. As a general rule, you can use consumables style "weapons" things like alchemist fire, small bombs, throwing daggers and the like. You can also build simple traps such as snares or pitfalls but Rangers can build more elaborate ones like tripwire traps that shoot blades.
Conventional weapons such as swords, guns, bows, staves, ect are not available to the Hero class. You aren't prevented from picking them up or manipulating them but you can't use them in conjunction with any skills nor can you use them to attack. You can touch a weapon to try and disarm an opponent or to prevent them from picking it up if they drop it.
There is the engineering/gadgeteer profession (don't have a good name for crafting magitek gizmos yet) where you can build one use consumables as mentioned above. There is also the Alchemist profession which can do a similar thing. Smiths can make throwing daggers but it's more geared towards actual arms and armor.
Generally speaking, if a class offers an ability with a similar effect such as the Gunner's Flashbang skill vs a crafted flashbang, the class skill will be stronger. However, the item has no cooldown but you are limited to the amount you can carry. Things like single shot crossbows or like a derringer aren't something I've thought of so I'll need to consider that and how it works with the Hero class so thanks for the idea.
>>6258534Upgrading the Typhoon Driver to allow other Rider's abilities? Sounds like a cool idea.
>>6258569might be because I was playing a game that explicitly supports a build where you carry and fire 6 crossbows to avoid reloading.
You hit 'Yes' on the friend request and quickly divide the loot. Serena could have most the the loot as she could probably sell them for a nice boost of cash. You didn't think she'd know what to do with the skill book and both the ring and spurs would work better with your class than hers. "Giving her the lion's share of the loot? And some of the secret boss's drops? That's pretty generous. Doesn't she already have a weapon chassis?" Gloria teases.
"I don't really need any of it. I can't use it for starters but I figure she could do with a nice starting boost of cash. That crossbow might go for a bit since the server is new." You explain. "I could really use the skill book though. Might need the extra skill or swapping out an old one. The class is uncharted territory after all." You double check Serena's name. It seemed like she was offline right now. Given how late it was when you met her, maybe she only played during the late hours due to work or maybe she lived in a different time zone. You quickly finalize the choices and log off. "The game can be brutal to newbies if it wants to be. Be a shame if it loses a good player because of that. Could do with a friend."
"So the God of Battle is a kind soul. All the stories I heard said you were a cold killing machine." Gloria smiles. "So what's are you gonna do?"
"I gotta finish up this computer. Maybe figure out where Roland buried the body." You sigh as you take another bite out of your food and examine the burnt out RAM stick. "I don't think he'd let anyone who did something this stupid live."
"I didn't mean right now." Gloria says as she grabs one of your empanadas. "I mean in the game."
"I'm going to Valford. Could be fun running into some gunners." You say, tossing the stick in the trash bin. "Maybe pick up a profession. Level up and see where the class goes." You pause for a moment. "You know...it's been so long since I've talked about the game like this." You say.
"It means your healing." Gloria says. "Moving forward. You've been hung up on what happened, you never let yourself be happy. You took that first step and risked getting hurt. All you gotta do now is keep walking." She takes a bite out of the empanada. "Do you have a plan? Is the God of Battle returning to the limelight? Take back your title?"
>What do you say?
>Say that you have no plans on returning to the professional scene. You just want to play the game. Ask if she wants to join you on a new character.
>Say that you eventually want to try your hand at the competitive scene. Right now, you want to get a feel for the scene. Maybe play some local tourneys.
>Say that you're just gonna be casual about the game now. Your time has come and gone. Now you might just hang out here and play with locals.
>Ask what she means about taking back your title. Has someone else taken up the mantle? Was that even a thing that could happen.
>Write in.
>>6258587>I'm gonna rush this Hero thing, at least until it's PVP viable so I'm not ganked once my identity's out. Could be fun to figure out what that CEO was thinking, all this time.>After that, you'll start to put feelers out for making money. Would be nice to give back to Roland.
>>6258587>Say that you have no plans on returning to the professional scene. You just want to play the game. Ask if she wants to join you on a new character. From what John's said/thought so far it seems like going pro kind of sucked all of the fun out of playing the game for him. It might be better to just play the game as intended rather than getting all ambitious, at least for now.
>>6258587>Say that you have no plans on returning to the professional scene. You just want to play the game. Ask if she wants to join you on a new character.
>>6258587>Say that you eventually want to try your hand at the competitive scene. Right now, you want to get a feel for the scene. Maybe play some local tourneys.
>>6258587>Say that you eventually want to try your hand at the competitive scene. Right now, you want to get a feel for the scene. Maybe play some local tourneys.>Ask what she means about taking back your title. Has someone else taken up the mantle? Was that even a thing that could happen.
>>6258587>Ask what she means about taking back your title. Has someone else taken up the mantle? Was that even a thing that could happen.
>>6258587>Say that you're just gonna be casual about the game now. Your time has come and gone. Now you might just hang out here and play with locals.
>>6258587>I'm gonna rush this Hero thing, at least until it's PVP viable so I'm not ganked once my identity's out. Could be fun to figure out what that CEO was thinking, all this time.I think this anon's suggestion
>>6258587>Say that you have no plans on returning to the professional scene. You just want to play the game.Maybe be a local server 10 hero or something, not totally serious stuff, straighten up some guild if they do dumb stuff
>>6258569ah, yes. The Legendary Rider gimmick, never get tired of 'em
>>6258598If you read
>>6250784, it seems John quit because his dad couldn't work any longer and his pro career wasn't keeping up with the increasing medical expenses.
>>6258650Yeah, I know he quit because of his father. I'm saying that I think going pro affected his enjoyment of the game.
>>6258651I meant to say that I think it was the pressure from paying the bills that sapped his enjoyment. Judging from the flashback with Lance in
>>6257823 and his reaction to chat in
>>6257411 >>6257413 he didn't seem like he got tired of the game, it's just that life got in the way. Somehow that got lost in the final post.
>>6258587>Say that you eventually want to try your hand at the competitive scene. Right now, you want to get a feel for the scene. Maybe play some local tourneys.>Ask what she means about taking back your title. Has someone else taken up the mantle? Was that even a thing that could happen.
>>6258587>Say that you have no plans on returning to the professional scene. You just want to play the game. Ask if she wants to join you on a new character.eventually the local pros would want to challenge us i think
>>6258598>>6258602>>6258616>>6258640>>6258650>>6258735Looks like just being a casual and inviting Gloria to join us wins. Writing.
"Nah, I just want to play the game. I'm glad people were happy with my performance but that's in the past. Now I'm fine with just being a casual player." You say. Gloria leans against the table and crosses her arms, smirk on her face.
"Casual as in making records, right?" She jokes. You smile.
"That was an accident. I didn't plan to get the luck of the draw." You say prying free the GPU. Somehow it had miraculously survived but you'd probably need to test it to see if it was going to act up. "Wanna join me on the new server? Make a new character?" Gloria gives you a big smile.
"Ehh...maybe. Shop keeps me busy, you know?" She says shrugging, her voice full of fake indecision. She gets up and starts walking away. Looking over her shoulder she adds, "Valford right? You gonna wait for me?"
"I'll explore the city a bit but yeah, I'll wait. Just hurry, or trouble might find me again. Maybe a secret city boss will appear." You joke. Gloria laughs and shakes her head as she continues to walk back to her shop.
"Astrologian or Fighter. I've been meaning to play a tank or support." She speaks up again. "Let me know before I close shop for the day."
"Right." You say, a feeling of eagerness rising again. "I'll let you know."
---
After cobbling together a new PC, the rest of the day went as usual. Had to remind people that full dive stations were not a place to take a quick nap before precalc classes, that "No, we won't and aren't interested in turning some of our computers into a bitcoin farm", and "Frank, for the last time. It doesn't matter what computer you use. They won't make your online poker hands any better. All virtual slots are rigged and that there's a pachinko parlor a few blocks down". Between that and hustling back to the front desk, you begin to ask your self the same question you did every day by mid-shift. Why doesn't Roland hire another person for the front desk? The daily ritual comes to it's usual culmination as you see Roland making his way through the front door, yawning with a grocery bag in his hand.
"Man, I gotta stop taking all nighters." He says digging around the bag and pulling out a burger wrapping that kind of aluminum that you could only find at mom and pop run take out places. "Extra grilled onion, easy on the mayo, right?" He asks already knowing the answer.
"Thanks boss." You say digging out your wallet to pay him back. As always, he simply declines your money. Roland buying you food wasn't a daily occurrence but it happened often enough that you kind of felt bad not paying him back. Sometimes though you'd simply leave some cash in the till if you felt what he got you was a bit expensive. "I got all the tickets sorted, had to settle a dispute over whether or not Rising Dragon is going to hire new pros or if they were going to poach another team's players and put together that old fired PC."
"And that's why I don't ask you to pay me back for food John." He says with a grin as he takes a seat next to you. "You know, we got labor day coming up in two weeks. Was thinking maybe setting up some kind of cook out or potluck out back for the staff and their family. After than, we got the usual tournament weekend. What do you think?"
>What do you say?
>Say that you're not too interested in a gathering. Not really your thing.
>Say that you could swing by for that. Normally, you'd prefer to just be home but maybe Gloria is right. Should push yourself a bit more.
>Say that you'll come. You could probably wrangle up something edible. Free food is free food.
>Write in
>What class will you tell Gloria to pick?
>Fighter. You could use main tank to keep the heat off of you.
>Astrologian. You already have some tanking abilities. Some support would probably be better for you.
>Suggest something else. (What class would you suggest for Gloria?)
>>6258772>Say that you could swing by for that. Normally, you'd prefer to just be home but maybe Gloria is right. Should push yourself a bit more.>Astrologian. You already have some tanking abilities. Some support would probably be better for you.
>>6258785Support.
I don't fully *get* Astrologist, so I'd like to see someone play it
>>6258772>Say that you could swing by for that. Normally, you'd prefer to just be home but maybe Gloria is right. Should push yourself a bit more.>Fighter. You could use main tank to keep the heat off of you.If it's 2 tanks in a city of gunners, we can stay alive. I'm not quite confident in Hero's ability to keep a pure support alive in pvp.
>>6258831In a nutshell, or at least my imaging of such a class, Astrologian's gameplay revolves around drawing tarot cards and using them on players. Some will buff their allies while others will debuff enemies. There's a bit of rng to it but the class also get skills to influence them such as redrawing a a card or converting a buff card into a debuff card. In terms of attacks, they have a few minor spells to help but they won't be massive damage dealers.
>>6258772>>Say that you could swing by for that. Normally, you'd prefer to just be home but maybe Gloria is right. Should push yourself a bit more.>>Astrologian. You already have some tanking abilities. Some support would probably be better for you.
>>6258772>Say that you'll come. You could probably wrangle up something edible. Free food is free food.>Fighter. You could use main tank to keep the heat off of you.
>>6258785>>6258831>>6258890We're getting a support class. Writing.
>>6258989Oh and we're pushing ourselves to be more social. Sorry about that.
"Yeah...yeah I could go to that." You say after thinking about it a bit. Normally, you'd prefer to just stay at home and maybe get some takeout but you think that Gloria was right. Maybe it was time to start taking steps forward. Start learning to stop moping. "I'll let my mom know. You know she makes the greatest pot pies I've ever had."
"Man...been a while since I had a good pot pie. Guess I better start a list." Roland says hungrily. He grabs a sheet of paper and scrawls your idea on it. Clicking on the intercom, he rings up the Gloria's shop. "Hey Gloria. We're gonna have a potluck this labor day. What are you bringing? John said he and his mom are making pot pies."
"John said he'd be at a gathering? You did let him know there's other people there right? That and sunlight, socializing, no computers..." Gloria replies with a hint of genuine surprise. You click on the button.
"Yes, I am aware that I will have to fulfill my social obligations and a bit of sunscreen will protect me from the big bad sun." You joke.
"If you got any family members, they're invited too. I'll let Ethan and Iris know too." Roland adds. Ethan and Iris, as far as you knew, were the ones who covered the morning and graveyard shift respectively. You never really met either beyond seeing them clock in as you were heading out so this could be an opportunity get to know them. Thinking about that though made you a bit uneasy. Maybe you were taking a step too big but you were kind of locked in so there was no backing out. Roland stretches and gets up. "Man, now I'm hyped. Some good food, good vibes. Just what we need on a holiday. Now I gotta bust out my secret burger and onion rings recipe. Can't be a labor day party without some good old fashioned grilling." He grabs a sticky note, writes "shopper" on it and sticks it to the front of your hoodie. "You've just been drafted."
"For what?" You ask as you pull the sticky note of your clothes.
"Day before. Oasis is gonna be closed and we're going to go shopping. Gotta make the burgers fresh." Roland explains.
"On the day before a holiday? Roland, that's gonna be some expensive ingredients." You point out. Roland grins at you.
"Hey, there's no skimping out on a good burger. You compromise on the ingredients and the whole thing is shot. Besides, I can't pay you to do it while the place is open. Day before the holiday is the only day we got a shot at this." He thumps his chest. "Besides, shopping is like a battlefield and we are the discount warriors. A true tactician knows how to balance price and freshness. All we have to do is fight others for the best sales." He places a hand on your shoulder. "Stick with me John, and I'm gonna show you a whole new side to sales you've never seen before."
"R-right..." You say sheepishly and begin to unwrap your burger. The smell of grilled onions and ground beef soothes your soul and steadies you for a future of market deals and carrying veggies. Taking a bite, you quickly scrawl a note and walk over to place it on Gloria's counter. "I'll see you after work." You say with a smile and walk off.
---
The rest of your day was a bit of a blur. The usual routine of serving customers and making sure things operated smoothly was mixed with the excitement of returning to the game. "See ya later John. Remember you gotta tell me what class you picked!" Roland shouts as you step out of Oasis into the cool night air. You really wanted to head home and hop on the game but given how the day went, you think a bit of celebration could be in order too.
>What do you do?
>Head straight home. Nothing better than a home cooked meal after all. You could wrangle up something nice for you and your mom.
>Swing by a fast food place. Splurge a little for you and your mom.
>Call home and ask if you mom wants to go eat somewhere. Nothing fancy but some time away from home might do the two of you good.
>Write in.
>>6259038>Head straight home. Nothing better than a home cooked meal after all. You could wrangle up something nice for you and your mom.best to get the mom advance warning, unless MC knows what to buy for her.
>>6259038>Call home and ask if you mom wants to go eat somewhere. Nothing fancy but some time away from home might do the two of you good.
>>6259038>Call home and ask if you mom wants to go eat somewhere. Nothing fancy but some time away from home might do the two of you good.
>>6259038>Head straight home. Nothing better than a home cooked meal after all. You could wrangle up something nice for you and your mom.
>>6259038>Head straight home. Nothing better than a home cooked meal after all. You could wrangle up something nice for you and your mom.
>>6259045>>6259161>>6259231Homecooked meals are the best. We're gonna do some cooking. Writing.
You already had a burger today and while you could probably go for some more take out, it'd be best if you head home. You pull your cellphone and with some care to not cut your finger on the cracked screen, you call your mom. "Hello? Doe residence." You hear your mom answer, the old traditional greeting of an era gone by.
"Mom...we don't have a land line anymore." You chuckle. "I even programmed your phone to show my name when I call."
"Oh honey. You know me. I just can't kick the habit." Your mom says. "What's going on? Are you working late again?"
"Not tonight mom. Roland threatened to write me up if I tried to pull back to back multishifts again like I did a few months ago. Says I need to have some kind of sleep schedule." You say. You're not sure what a write up from Roland would be like but given how lenient and easygoing he was you fear what his wrath would be when he finally got angry. You were sure the threat was less about the money and more about your heath. Still, you didn't want be the one to make him mad. "Have you made anything yet?" You ask.
"Not yet, I was thinking of just ordering out." She admits.
"Mom, it's not even friday yet." You say. "How about I make something? I'll swing by a shop to pick a few things up."
"Honey...I don't know." Your mom says hesitantly.
"I'm not that bad of a cook mom." You scoff. "It'll be fine. I'll even clean up afterwards."
"It's not that you're bad. It's just that sometimes you look up some rather different recipes."
"Mom, japanese food isn't that strange. Nor is greek." You laugh as you start to hail a cab. "It's going to be soup. We could use something to keep the chill out." You can feel your mom hesitate some more before she relents.
"Ok...but I just never grew up with these kinds of foods. Don't stay out too late ok?" She asks with the same hint of worry she always had when you were out after sundown.
"I won't. You know what they say though, variety is the spice of life." You promise.
---
The heat from the small pot fills the rather spacious kitchen/dinner area as it slowly comes to a boil. Much like the rest of the house, it was basically built and maintained by your father's hands. After his passing, you had to do a lot of studying on youtube to be able to at least maintain everything around the house. Even so, you don't think you'd ever compare to the handyman that your father was. It was just another reminder of his passing. Your mother sits at the table idly reading a book but you can't help and note that she looked up every so often to watch you cook. "I'm just adding tofu mom. It's made of beans and we use it as a meat substitute. Don't worry there's pork in this too." Your mother makes a face between supportive and apprehensive.
"Of course. I'm sure it'll be lovely." She says trying to sound supportive.
"Mom. I've made this dozens of times when I lived away. It'll be good. I promise." You chuckle. Your mother was the traditional homemaker. She stayed at home, made the food, did the chores, and made sure bills were paid on time while your father was out earning money. While your father was alive, the most adventurous things she did was go to the woods and spend a week in the family cabin that was passed down to your father and his siblings by your late grandparents. Every since his passing, however, the most she ever did was go out to do grocery shopping once a week. You pour the soup into a bowl and grab a spoon and fork. "This is hotpot." You say somewhat anticlimactically. "Normally, you eat straight from the bowl and with chopsticks but I only have one pair of them and I don't want to burn the table." Your mother gingerly takes the bowl and spoon. You pour yourself a bowl and grab your sticks.
Sitting next to your mom, she cautiously takes a spoonful of broth. Her cheeks flush red, and for a moment you see the old version of your mom before everything happened. "Oh my. This is a bit spicier than it looks." She says giddily.
"It's the best way to keep the cold away." You say as you take a mouthful and feel your own face flush as well. Perhaps you might have added a bit too much spice to it. You spent the next few minutes naming the various ingredients your mom didn't recognize and chatting idly. After a short while, your mom empties her bowl and grabs a napkin to wipe the sweat from her brow.
>What do you do?
>Let your mom know about the potluck. Ask if she wants to go.
>Offer another bowl. The mood is nice right now. No need to be extra adventurous with mentions of potlucks. Talk about another topic. (What do you want to talk about?)
>Finish up your meal and clean up before logging on to the game. The meal was nice but it's getting late. You can talk more tomorrow.
>Write in.
>>6259629>Let your mom know about the potluck. Ask if she wants to go.
>>6259629>Let your mom know about the potluck. Ask if she wants to go.
>>6259629>Let your mom know about the potluck. Ask if she wants to go.
>>6259629>Let your mom know about the potluck. Ask if she wants to go.
>>6259805>>6259744>>6259690>>6259668Letting mom know about the party. Writing.
You stir the remaining contents of your portion as you think for a moment. "Hey mom, umm...we're having a get together at work. You know, for labor day. Roland's making burgers and everyone's invited to bring something to eat." You start.
"Oh that's nice honey. Are you going to bring anything?" Your mom asks as she pours herself a third glass of water. You clear your throat.
"Well I was wondering if you wanted to come along? Everyone's family is invited. Roland is already looking forward to having some of your famous pot pie." You offer. Your mom gives you a sad smile.
"Honey...that's nice of him but...I dunno." Her voice trails off.
"Mom...come on. It's a long time since you've gone out. It'll be fun." You urge. "Gloria's always making great stuff at work. I bet what she's making for it will at least be worth the trip. Plus, I'm gonna be helping Roland pick out ingredients for his burgers so at the very least, you know that it's gonna great." Your mom turns the cup in her hands for a bit.
"Well...I don't know honey...I'll...I'll think about it." She says, but you get the impression she's simply saying that to placate you. You just give her a quiet nod and finish the rest of your meal.
"I'm going to the rest in the fridge." You say as you get up and start cleaning up the dishes. "I'll eat the left overs for breakfast and take what's left to work so you don't need to get up early to make me anything."
Your mom opens her mouth to stay something but stops. Instead, she simply says, "That's fine dear. I'll have dinner ready when you get back."
---
You finish putting the final dish to on the drying rack and stretch a bit. Having spent the day leaning over computers and desks had made your back stiff. Still, your day wasn't done. You might not have been able to convince your mom (yet), but at the very least you had the game to look forward. By now your mom was probably in her room reading a book or watching some tv before finally dozing off to sleep. You quietly make your way to your room, avoiding the squeaky planks, and boot up your PC.
Please enter your account card to log in.
You slot your card in and slip the helmet in before going through all the motions. You lay in bed just as you make the final click of your mouse and feel yourself pulled into the game once more.
---
You open your eyes to the sound of seagulls once more as you find yourself standing at the port where you logged off. There's a ping as a small window pops up before you.
Quest Complete: A Friend's Memento
Belt Affinity Increased: 35%
[Hero Skill] Aerial Mobility: While transformed your jump height is increased to 15ft. Additionally, while in the air you may jump again to change the angle of your trajectory allowing you to shift your movement to different angles. You may change the angle of your aerial movement two times before needing to land to reset this skill.
main1
md5: e066f893b854d98d0177642dcd4df2cd
🔍
You close the window with a nod. 15ft of jump height wasn't anything to laugh at. The highest a player in this game could jump was roughly 10 or so feet. Having an extra 50% jump height on top of extra jumps to rocket yourself around was pretty powerful. All the better given the fact you couldn't equip armor. While you did have the defensive values of medium armor, you were ineligible for set bonuses or random bonuses armors might have. Speaking of armors, you open your inventory and equip what little you could from the dungeon. It wasn't much but it seems like this class was going to revolve around you making the best of what you were given.
Checking your friend's list, you note that Serena was still offline. Perhaps she was busy today or she might log in later. Either way, she was off on her own adventures for now. You walk towards the other end of the dock. The ship you were waiting wasn't a nautical one but an air ship. Valford was located in the mountains and the only way to get to it from the island directly was to fly.
Your ship arrives minutes later. It looked like a combination of a blimp and a sailboat. Carried by the balloon, the ship slowly comes to a land in the water. The gangplank is thrown down as the airship's captain announces it's destination. You climb aboard alongside several newbies. They mutter amongst themselves in awe as you all hand in your tickets.
"Wow...this is pretty cool. I've seen airships in regular games before but..."
"Do you think there's a movie on this flight? lol"
"Did you just say lol out loud?"
"Man...I hope air sickness isn't a mechanic in game."
You lean against the railing and wait for the ship to rise once more. There's a slight jolt as the blimp portion starts to pull the rest of the ship out of the water. Butterflies flutter around your stomach at the sudden movement but soon you were flying just bellow the clouds with the sea far below. "Great day for flying isn't it?" You hear a voice say. Turning around, you see the ship's captain making his way towards you.
"Yeah. I guess it is." You reply. "You...uhh make the flight to Valford often?" You ask.
"Aye. As long as I'm paid to do so, I'll fly as often as I can. Of course, I need sleep so there's others taking the same route." The captain says. "But I'm not used to taking nobles. Normally it's adventurers." He adds sizing you up.
"I'm sorry?" You ask confused.
"Noble. Rich person. Land owner. They tend to be the only kind of person eccentric enough to want to take this route." The captain explains. "Never seen an adventurer not have any armor. Even magic users at least try to wear something protective."
>What do you say?
>Say that you're a different kind of adventurer. Not having armor isn't an issue for you.
>Go along with his assumption. Say you're a noble just exploring the world.
>Try to change the subject. Ask him something instead. (What do you ask?)
>Write in.
>>6260289>Say that you're a different kind of adventurer. Not having armor isn't an issue for you.
>>6260289>Go along with his assumption. Say you're a noble just exploring the world.Mysterious Stranger
>>6260289>Go along with his assumption. Say you're a noble just exploring the world.
>>6260289>>Go along with his assumption. Say you're a noble just exploring the world.>I'm just a man, nothing more and nothing less.
>>6260325>>6260423>>6260475We're just a wanderer. Going where the winds take us. Writing.
"You could say that. But out here I'm just a man, nothing more and nothing less. I go where the wind and roads take me." You say, trying to sound as mysterious as possible. "I suppose that does look strange to the average person." The captain sizes you up once more.
"Indeed. Well, far be it for me judge my traveler's strange habits but I'd be remiss not to remind you how foolish it is to wander the world without protection. Even if you are traveling with others." He says somewhat gravely. "Especially if you don't even have a weapon."
"I agree and I thank you for your concern but I think I can manage. I'm pretty good with my hands." You assure the captain. The man raises an eyebrow but doesn't press the issue. You think he was busy writing you off as some fancy pants noble that thought they were untouchable. You were used to the type in the real world. Wanting to change the topic, you ask, "So...anything interesting happening in Valford?" You ask casually. The captain grunts.
"Same as always. The inquisition is off hunting heretics. The Church is trying to charge an arm and a leg for imports and dragon attacks are becoming more and more common in the area." He says taking the casual role as you are left in confusion.
"W-wait. Dragons? Heretics?" You ask. You've never heard of these things before. Valford was run by the Church of Her Holy Fury and while it did have it's own military force, you had never heard or saw anything that would indicate an Inquisitorial squad let alone any stories of heretics. The captain seems to get some joy out of seeing your confidence falter.
"Aye. Dragons." He says clapping you on the back. "But I bet a brave wanderer such as yourself wouldn't have to worry about that. After all, you have those hands of yours. Surely the Holy Church would be very appreciative of them." He chuckles.
"Are dragons a problem in other regions? What about Effelume?" You ask. You didn't expect your knowledge of the game to be this out of date.
"Not that I've heard. Although, I have heard that the forest elves have aligned themselves with some dark magicks. They say strange monsters attack the roads, stranger than any run of the mill creature we used to have. That they follow some dark rider who appears to spell doom to those who see him. Few have survived such sightings and even then they think their survival was for a purpose. " The captain continues, his tone now grim. "If you're now thinking Sessouris is the safe place to go then I have even worse news. Some kind of cult has sprung up there. They abduct people and enslave their minds with magic. It is said that the spell is unbreakable and their loyalty unyielding. No one seems to know their purpose beyond growing their ranks."
"Sounds like the world's gone to hell." You say without thinking. "Sounds like something right out of a storybook. Next you'll be telling me of a legend that a great hero will rise to save everyone."
"If we were only so blessed." The captain says with a measure of wistfulness. "Unfortunately, whatever deity you worship seems to have forgotten that part. No saviors, no fate. Most ordinary people simply try to live their lives and most adventurers take their coin to solve their problems...or die trying. " You want to ask for more information but the sounds of conversation, work, and your discussion is cut short when a piercing screech rings throughout the sky. The sound leaves your ears ringing for a moment before another shriek breaks out and then another.
"Captain! Wyverns inbound!" A voice from the crow's nest shouts. The captain curses and looks over the railing. You do the same to see several figures making their way towards you. They looked more like a cross between a pterodactyl and a lizard than any real dragon. Thin membraned wings replaced what would have been the front legs of the creature. The back legs are thin with talon like toes, perfect for grabbing and dropping it's victims. At this height, death would be all but certain assuming the monster didn't just bite the face off of whatever they were carrying.
Part of you seemed relived that at the very least the monsters didn't seem too different even if this random event, if it was random, certainly wasn't your introduction to the game years ago. That relief was short lived as you start to note more and more of the beasts making their way towards your vessel. "Prepare the cannons! Get ready for evasive manuvers!" The captain shouts over his shoulder. He turns and faces everyone else. "You lot! You call yourselves adventurers?! Well get to work! We're about to have a fight on our hands!" A cheer breaks out among your fellow players and the captain curses under his breath. "Blasted maniacs. They'd do anything to get themselves killed." He mutters.
---
Despite the driver's best efforts, the monsters were too agile and maneuverable to avoid for long. Soon enough, the monsters began to swarm the ship like locusts. Several players had run to the cannons and began firing wildly at the creatures, their shots going wide more often than hitting, their ammunition slowly dwindling and not replenishing. Tanks were attempting to dps the creatures ignoring everyone else in hope for glory kills or accidentally pulling too many. Healers were desperately trying to either kill or heal everyone, wasting precious mana as any other dps class would simply go all out attracting too much attention or running out of resources.
Soon enough, one of the wyverns swoops in and grabs the one crew member steering the ship. A tank falls to the ground, dead as it was surrounded by five monsters, and soon another player succumbs to their wounds. In short, everything had gone to hell.
>What do you do?
>Grab a cannon and begin firing at the biggest of the monsters. If they're leading the attack then the others will flee if they die.
>Transform and go after the crewmate. Someone needs to keep the ship steady and you can't have the monsters constantly picking off the npcs.
>Hang back and start organizing the players. They're clearly excited and eager to fight but they're all over the place. If you don't consolidate your forces, you'll be picked apart and once their morale drops then this whole thing is over.
>Write in.
>>6260807>Hang back and start organizing the players. They're clearly excited and eager to fight but they're all over the place. If you don't consolidate your forces, you'll be picked apart and once their morale drops then this whole thing is over.
>>6260807>Grab the helm! We're sitting ducks now, and it's time for some real evasive manoeuvres.
>>6260807>Hang back and start organizing the players. They're clearly excited and eager to fight but they're all over the place. If you don't consolidate your forces, you'll be picked apart and once their morale drops then this whole thing is over.
>>6260807>Hang back and start organizing the players. They're clearly excited and eager to fight but they're all over the place. If you don't consolidate your forces, you'll be picked apart and once their morale drops then this whole thing is over.time for good ol shanty
>>6260819>>6260895>>6260913They need a team captain. Luckily, you did that for a living. Writing.
>>6260826I like write ins and this can gel with the winning vote easily. Allons-y
>>6260807>Grab the helm! We're sitting ducks now, and it's time for some real evasive manoeuvres.Lets go!
The ship lurches and begins to list dangerously. You've seen this plenty of times before and have even been guilty of doing it in your early years. Everyone was just too eager for a kill and this game wasn't really about the solo experience when it came to big fights. Luckily, you had the perfect solution for this issue.
"Keep your crew safe, I'll handle the play- err adventurers." You tell the captain as you dash forward. With a grunt, you leap and uppercut a wyvern that was attempting to grab a tank. "Push forward! Head to the front of the ship and start taunting the monsters!" You say, putting on your old commanding tone from your professional years. The Fighter looks surprised. You can see the usual look of wanting to argue and you speak again. "Do it now or we're all dead! Cover your healers!" You command and shove them forward. "NOW!" You shout again. The fighter stumbles forward and begins to swing at the beasts.
You duck under a talon swipe, grab a dead wyvern and use it to bat away another one. Grabbing the wrist of a healer, you pull them down to the ground just in time to avoid a small breath attack. "Do you have any friends on this ship?" You ask over the shouting. The healer looks confused. "Your friends. Are they on here?!" You ask again. They nod. "Good. Tell them to head to the front of the ship and start fighting. If any of them are tanks tell them to start using their taunt ability. Everyone else has to start fighting with them and you need to start healing! Keep that man alive or you'll die!" You point at the fighter you sent forward. "We can't do this solo! So unless you want to be sent back to the island, we need to work together!"
The ship lurches again and slowly starts to dip to the side. "Damn. Damndamndamn." You mutter. "Hurry up!" You shout at the cleric and get up to start sprinting to the back of the ship. You leap up to the level of the ship wheel, which was spinning wildly to the left, and grab it. Grunting, you put your back into keeping it in place and righting the ship. "Guy on the middle cannon!" You shout above the din. "Get off of that and start using your regular gun! You're a gunner! Brawler, hop on the cannon and aim! I'll get us in position!" You never actually drove an airship before but you're fortunately the game was merciful enough to put some controls on your UI. "Rangers, cover the casters! Elementalists, use fire ball! Chain lighting is too risky! If anyone has Typhoon, wait until the fireballs detonate and follow up with that! Alternate between those spells at the monsters farthest away from the ship!"
"Why should we listen to you?" One of the players shouts back.
"Yeah! Quit try harding!" Another player shouts. You had expected this. There's always a group of people who think they knew better or simply wanted to be a contrarian.
"You're free to do as you want but I'm telling you now that this game isn't for you if all you want is getting solo kills. You want that go play a single player game. You want to survive and actually get far, then buckle in and get ready to play nice." You warn as you start to turn the boat around. "Otherwise, get ready to be chewed up and spit out by the rest of the players. This is probably the nicest warning you'll be getting. Everyone else who wants to cooperate, head to the front of the ship! I'm going to try and mitigate damage to the ship and keep the monsters at the front!"
There's some dissenting murmurs but you didn't care. Like you said, this was the nicest heads up they were going to get. If they tried to pull something like this during a dungeon, they'd get kicked. If they tried it during a raid or a world boss, they'd get left behind or ignored. Maybe they could get quests and the like done, but this game was built with cooperation in mind for bigger monsters. Even bandit players needed to work together if they wanted to face the hoard of bounty hunting players. "We're getting in position! Cannon users, get ready to fire!" You command.
The explosions of cannon fire reverberate throughout the ship and some players cover their ears. It was to be expected, there were few people left in the world that had ever heard the sounds of a real cannon and the in game ones were the closest thing they'd get. Several of the monsters were blasted apart and you turn the wheel wildly once more. The ship leans away and begins dip in altitude. "Start reloading! We don't have many shots left, so let's make them count! Tanks, pull aggro on anything that tries following us! Ranged units, mow them down!"
A hail of fire, wind, ice, and lightning sail through the sky as the braver of wyverns are cut down by the magic. Those that attempted to back away are forced to continue charging the tanks and are shredded by the ensuing gunfire and arrow shots. "We're coming in for another volley! Mages, drink your mana potions! Melee units, in position to cover them! Fend off any of the ones the cannons miss!" The ship groans as you make it rise once more to meet the on coming hoard. Another volley of cannon balls punches through their ranks while swords, fists, spears, and more bring down the ones that tried to flank your ship.
"Holy shit! This is awesome!"
"We're actually pushing them back!"
"Chat, we're doing it!"
Another screech breaks through the chaos of battle and you see another flock of the monsters approach at a bad angle. These however seemed angrier and redder than the current group. There's a small flash that comes from them before you notice that they were firing their own fireballs at the ship. "Everyone brace yourselves! We're taking evasive maneuvers!" You shout and you pull some levers. You didn't have enough time to get away so the next best thing you could to was mitigate the damage. The ship shudders as the fireballs impact the hull. There's screams of pain and surprise as fires begin to spread.
"Boss! We lost some cannons!" A player shouts.
"We got some players down!" Another screams.
"There's fires spreading in the lower decks!"
You put the ship into a dive. Several fireballs fly over the heads of everyone but fortunately miss. You need to clear the board and get some distance. Unfortunately, the ship wasn't as maneuverable as the wyverns following you. You force the ship to sway from side to side as you try to avoid the fire breath attacks.
>What do you do?
>Continue evading the best you can. If the ship goes down, you're all dead in the water. The ranged players can pick off anyone who follows.
>Stand your ground. You're not as maneuverable so the best you can do stay within range and have the rest of the players fend them off.
>Throw caution to the wind. Ram as many of the monsters as you can with the ship. Any that survive can be picked off by the group.
>Write in.
>What do you have the group do?
>Have the melee units break off and take care of spreading fire. You need to keep it from causing too much damage.
>Have the group maintain their position and the healers tend the injured. Splitting up your forces is too risky.
>Pull people off the cannons and send them to mitigate ship damage while the others fight.
>Write in.
>>6261027>Fly in a straight path at full speed, drawing the wyverns to fire from the same angle behind us. From there, mages cast ice spells to clash with the fireballs while gunners keep picking them off.>Pull people off the cannons and send them to mitigate ship damage while the others fight. That should buy time for the others to put out the fires
>>6261027>Throw caution to the wind. Ram as many of the monsters as you can with the ship. Any that survive can be picked off by the group.>Pull people off the cannons and send them to mitigate ship damage while the others fight.
>>6261027>Stand your ground. You're not as maneuverable so the best you can do stay within range and have the rest of the players fend them off.>Pull people off the cannons and send them to mitigate ship damage while the others fight.
me reading this update when this comes on the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nVSM1oAruI
>>6261077+1
>>6261235>>6261099>>6261077Nice write in. We'll be doing this.
>>6261235Been listening to the song all day. Thanks for sharing anon!
"Cannoneers! Disengage! Head down and start helping with repairs. If the ship goes down, we all go down!" You command. Several of the people on the cannons run downstairs but a few stubbornly remain where they are. It was no matter, you'd have to work with what you had. "Mages, new target! Fire any and all ice spells! You're new objective, the monsters' fireballs!" The mages give you surprised and confused looks.
"Wait, what?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Trust me! It'll work! Nevermore is known for rewarding creativity! We can't let any more of them to hit us. The ship is relying on you to mitigate the damage!" You assure those that were listening. "Rangers, gunners, get ready to fire on my mark! Fighters, taunt and pull in whatever is left, cover your ranged teammates! Melee classes, mow down whatever gets close! Clerics, do whatever you can to keep everyone alive. Conserve mana, we don't know how long this fight is going to last!" You hear a few shouts of affirmation and you grab the nearby speaking tube. "Captain, this is Reg- err...this is The Wanderer. I need you to tell whatever engineers you got to give me more power. I'm sending down some of the adventurers to help with repairs."
"Are you mad, lad?! We're already at maximum capacity. We push the old girl any harder and she's liable to blow!" You hear the captain's protest echo back at you through the pipe.
"Captain, either we blow the engine trying to get to Valford or the enemy blows it up for us and leaves us dead in the air. We're fighting them in their home turf, they're agile than we are. The longer we stay in the air, the longer we're in danger. Speed is the only thing that might tip things in our favor." You argue. There's an uncomfortable silence and you glance over your shoulder to see the enemy approaching. "Captain?!"
"Calm your arse boy! I just relayed the order. You'll have your power. I can only pray to the Gods that those hands of yours can handle steering." The captain barks back. The ship makes a noise that you could only describe as a guttural groan as you smell the scent of burning aetherchemicals, refined natural magical liquid akin to real life gasoline or petrol, and suddenly there's a kick as the ship's thruster goes into overdrive. The flame increases in size four fold and the ship rockets forward.
"Everyone get ready! Attack positions!" You shout as you turn the wheel to straighten out the ship at the right angle. Every turn felt like it was 10 pounds heavier and you can hear the wings and rudder groan and strain as they fight you for every inch. The balloon that served to lift the ship inflates to dangerous levels as it seemed to be dragging behind the ship itself from the speed and only just keeping everything afloat. Even with the extra speed, you're only just faster than the wyverns. They still manage to get within range, their mouths agape and lit aflame. "Mages! Ice spells!" You order and several bolts of ice of various sizes are flung just as the fire balls are sent flying.
The fireballs flare up once before they explode into a cloud of ultra hot steam. The air around the impact zones becomes blurry and distorted but the monsters continue forward. Third degree burns cover whatever parts of their body weren't protected by scales and several succumb from the environmental damage alone. "Rangers! Fire!" You order. Arrows rip through the sky as various skills are used to put extra power behind them. More of the beasts fall from the sky like flies, either dead or due to their wings being shredded from the assault. "Gunners! Now!" Shells clatter and scatter across the deck as your gunnery squad open fire to finish the job. Between both volleys, are cannon shots from the more willful players but their targets were heavily reduced leaving them with very little glory for their shots.
"Boss! We have more incoming!" A player shouts pointing to the other side of the ship. You turn your attention towards that direction to see another squad of wyverns on their way. However, you notice a few of them looked disfigured. Squinting, you see that it wasn't some strange mutation but people! 3 of the wyverns had riders atop them and before they got close, they split up into three squads each one with a handful of wyverns following them. They were somehow controlling them!
"Boss what do we do?" Another player asks.
>Good question. What do you do?
>Maintain your course. Regular wyverns were having trouble keeping up. If you maintain your speed and direction, they shouldn't be able to board. However, these riders might know how to make the most of their beast's mobility.
>Go fully on the defensive. Slow down to reduce strain on your ship and put all your focus on evasion. It'll help with your ranged player's aim if they're not rocketing forward all the time.
>Pull up, hard. Hide in the clouds and make the most out of the low visibility on both sides. They'll need to get in close and swarm you but you'll have the advantage of expecting them.
>Write in.
>What do you have your players do?
>Remain in formation. Protect the front of the ship at all costs.
>Split your forces up. Have them guard both sides of the ship evenly.
>Move everyone to important areas of the ship. The sides with wings, the back with the rudder and engine. You'll be more spread out but the more of these systems that you lose, the harder it's going to be to control the ship.
>Write in.
>>6261600>Go fully on the defensive. Slow down to reduce strain on your ship and put all your focus on evasion. It'll help with your ranged player's aim if they're not rocketing forward all the time.>Move everyone to important areas of the ship. The sides with wings, the back with the rudder and engine. You'll be more spread out but the more of these systems that you lose, the harder it's going to be to control the ship. It can’t hurt to try and lose some of them.
>>6261600>Go fully on the defensive. Slow down to reduce strain on your ship and put all your focus on evasion. It'll help with your ranged player's aim if they're not rocketing forward all the time.>Have the gunners pressure the ridersIf we had a higher level team we could be ramming the leaders, but them having their own squads is a bit too risky.
>Move everyone to important areas of the ship. The sides with wings, the back with the rudder and engine. You'll be more spread out but the more of these systems that you lose, the harder it's going to be to control the ship.
>>6261600>Maintain your course. Regular wyverns were having trouble keeping up. If you maintain your speed and direction, they shouldn't be able to board. However, these riders might know how to make the most of their beast's mobility.>Move everyone to important areas of the ship. The sides with wings, the back with the rudder and engine. You'll be more spread out but the more of these systems that you lose, the harder it's going to be to control the ship.If we use our speed to keep the mob off of us and only face the led squads, we can afford to spread ourselves out some more.
>>6261574It is a banger from a great band.
>>6261600>Maintain your course. Regular wyverns were having trouble keeping up. If you maintain your speed and direction, they shouldn't be able to board. However, these riders might know how to make the most of their beast's mobility.>Move everyone to important areas of the ship. The sides with wings, the back with the rudder and engine. You'll be more spread out but the more of these systems that you lose, the harder it's going to be to control the ship.
>>6261600>Go fully on the defensive. Slow down to reduce strain on your ship and put all your focus on evasion. It'll help with your ranged player's aim if they're not rocketing forward all the time.>Split your forces up. Have them guard both sides of the ship evenly.
We got a tie for our ship speed but it guarding the ships important bit wins. Anyone want to tie break or should I roll?
>>6262185I'll swap to maintaining course.
>>6262188I appreciate it and your previous vote anon. I'll get to writing.
"Everyone! Teams of 5! Magic, ranged, tank, and healer! Melee dps fill! We have enemies incoming and these seem smarter than the average wyvern!" You call out. "Protect the ships control points! Rudder and fins!" The players all scurry around, trying to organize in the called out formation before they disperse to various parts of the ship. It was a bit thin of a spread but it'll have to do. You do your best to keep your course steady but maintaining the current speed was starting to take it's toll. The ship wheel begins to shake in your hands and you can hear a grinding sound as you turn it. "Captain! How are the repairs going?" You call down the pipe.
"Slow! We're trying to keep this blasted engine from exploding! At this point it might be just as risky to try and slow it down." The captain shouts back.
"Yeah...it'd be risky alright." You mutter as you look off into the distance. Right now, the speed might just be what saves your hides. The three squads of attackers, swoop down and out of sight forcing you to descend and keep level with them. Even if they couldn't reach you, having the underside of your ship peppered by fireballs would do you no good. More importantly, if they were below you then you'd have no way to protect your vulnerable points. "Get ready everyone! They're going to engage!" Your muscles strain as you pull on the wheel to level out. It felt like you were trying to lift the whole ship on your own.
Fireballs rocket towards your most important ship locations as you predicted and the Elementalists in your group respond as you told them. Steam explodes everywhere but your formation isn't as airtight as before. You twist and throw the wheel sideways to force the ship to tilt in hopes of mitigating damage. The whole vessel shudders on impact and you can hear the sounds of things creaking and cracking as you right the ship again. "Ranged units! Return fire!" You command and the group obliges. The mounted enemies easily evade and dodge your counter attack but you still manage to clip and kill some of the wyverns following them. The two of you exchange volleys a few more times, each time forcing you to dip lower and lower. You can't evade everything and you're forced to exchange some of your cannons, parts of your hull, and some of the deck for handfuls of wyverns. You were certainly thinning them out but something fell off. If they had focused their fire or coordinated better, you'd certainly have lost something important. The ship was still going strong in terms of speed, but your maneuverability felt more and more sluggish. By now the wheel was rattling violently in your hands. Were they toying with you? Just picking you apart slowly and waiting for the engine to give out? Could they even know something like that?
You shake your head. Maybe the game was going easy. After all, everyone here was at least level 5. There was no way it'd throw something as demanding as a group raid or the like. "Captain, how much longer until we hit Valford at this speed?" You ask.
"I'd say...maybe 5 or so minutes? Dunno, if the engine will hold out that long though. Wanderer, how are things on your end?" He asks after a bit of quiet.
"We're still solid. A few burns here and there but the enemy hasn't landed a real solid hit. They might just be whittling us down though. Waiting for the engine to blow." You theorize. The captain swears into the pipe.
"If the tales are true, then the heretics are cruel and malicious bastards. They wouldn't give us a proper death if it meant it'd spoil their fun." He says.
"So these are heretics?" You ask.
"What else could be, boy? This close to Valford, and the little scaley bastards just attack us? Too much to be a coincidence. In any case, they'll have us dead before we reach the city if we don't do anything."
>What do you do?
>Focus on getting to the city. You just need to last 5 minutes. Have your crew open fire. Not to hit but to keep them scattered enough they can't hit you.
>Adjust and try to line up some shots. If you can get rid of the mounted ones, they the enemy should break off.
>Force a landing in the ocean and force an engagement with your pursuers. Give the captain and his crew time to shut down and repair the engine. You end it here and now.
>Write in.
>>6262240>Adjust and try to line up some shots. If you can get rid of the mounted ones, they the enemy should break off.
>>6262240>Go low, near the ocean. Make ice pillars to block line of sight and knock wyverns into the water, that should delay their fireballs while they're wet.>If we can, pretend that the engine is failing and fake a landing to buy time for ice pillars to be made and the heretics to change tactics to a slower assault, before moving fast and low.
>>6262240>Adjust and try to line up some shots. If you can get rid of the mounted ones, they the enemy should break off.
>>6262240>Adjust and try to line up some shots. If you can get rid of the mounted ones, they the enemy should break off.
>>6262240>Force a landing in the ocean and force an engagement with your pursuers. Give the captain and his crew time to shut down and repair the engine. You end it here and now.
>>6262403>>6262425>>6262291You're gonna line up our shots. Writing.
>>6262296Always gotta acknowledge some good write ins. Clever use of ice magic.
You clench your teeth and steel your grip as your force the wheel still. Part of you wants to use your grab skill just to buy some time but time was not on your side today. "Captain..." You start, forcing your voice to be calm. "Give us 5 minutes...then shut the engine down." You can almost see the look on the captain's face as he shouts back.
"Are you mad?! If we shut the engine down we'll fall out of the sky!"
"The air ship's blimp should keep up afloat in the case of engine failure, no?" You ask, forcing the ship to list to the right as another fireball rockets past.
"As if those beasts will allow us to stay afloat!"
"There's won't be any." You counter. "Five minutes, then shut off and repair." Had you the ability to you'd have shut communications off instead you simply have to ignore the captain's shouts of disapproval. "Everyone!" You call out to the players on deck. "It's now or never! We have 5 minutes before we lose power! Even if the engine could still hold, we can't keep this up. We don't have enough people or mana to fend off the attacks forever. So let's show these winged bastards who really owns the skies!" You call out and point at the people riding the wyverns. "Your new and final target! Take those guys down!" You point to one of the players. "Streamer guy! Tell your chat to play us something good!" The streamer, a newbie gunner, gives you a salute.
"Fuck yeah boss! Chat give me something good!" He shouts into the air.
"Commence final operation! Everyone right side!" You command and you put everything into throwing the wheel to the right. The whole ship seems to scream as you force it to turn. You pull back on a lever and throw the whole thing into what could roughly be described as an aerial drift. You hold the angle until you can clearly see your targets and the arc of the turn pulls you as close as possible. "NOW! EVERYONE FIRE! CANNONS, SPELLS, ARROWS, BULLETS! WHATEVER YOU GOT! SHOW THESE GUYS WHAT WE PLAYERS CAN DO!"
The air fills with the screams and shouts of battle. Explosions ring out as bullets and cannon balls are shot, the air temperature rises and falls violently as spells are flung, the sky lights up as holy magic lances through the sky, arrow flit between everything else silent yet deadly killers. Your targets twist and dive to get away but the sheer fire power and angle of your attack make it nearly impossible to dodge. One of the figures falls along with his squad as the others dip out of sight. "Mages! Lucid dreaming! Get ready for the next volley! Cannons, reload!"
Skill: Grab activated. 10 seconds remaining.
A wheel spoke snaps under your grip but your skill allows you to keep the wheel steady with one hand. You swap to another spoke as the second snaps from the strain and you manage to start turning the ship once more for another attack. In the distance, you can hear something snap and crack but you can't tell if it's one of your wings, a rudder, or just the hull giving way. "Next run, starting!" You shout over the din of the wind whipping around you and wood breaking. You can only just barely hear the captain screaming about his ship. The head of a lever shatters as you throw the ship into a semi free fall to keep up with the diving wyverns. Loose cannon balls begin to roll down the deck and slam into barrels, breaking them or into the railing and get stuck between them. Despite the their maneuverability, your ship's speed easily keeps up with the riders' free fall. "FIRE!" you command at the top of your lungs.
The ensuing barrage shreds through everything with ease. It's only by some miracle that one rider survives and even then, his mount is heavily wounded. They weakly stop their descent and you rocket far past them and out of sight. The glittering ocean waters don't look as inviting as you approach it at several hundred miles an hour. You plant both your feet as firmly as you could and pull back with all your might. "Come on...hold on for me girl." You grunt. The wheel and levers fight you for with everything they got as they equally threaten to simply snap under the strain. A large crack appears and begins to grow at the center of the wheel and through the connecting axle.
"Boss! We're gonna hit the water!" A player screams.
"I'm doing what I can!" You shout back. You plant your foot on the railing behind the wheel and start throwing you're whole weight behind the pull. Your foot goes straight through the railing from the force you place on it, another spoke of the wheel snaps clean off, and the wheel also detached itself slightly but the ship slowly begins to even out. The ocean gently laps at the very bottom of the ship before the ship begins to rise once more. You gingerly level out and look up into the sky. Several wyverns linger in the sky like buzzards but eventually they turn and fly off.
"We did it!" Another player shouts and cheers erupt everywhere.
"Holy crap that was wild!"
"Chat clip this shit!"
"Goddamn, is the rest of the game like this?"
Digital adrenaline leaves you and you lean against the ruined railing to catch yourself. "Captain. It's over. We drove them off. Let's start powering down." You say, a stupid grin across your face.
---
"Do you know the level of damage you've caused, boy?!" The captain shouts. "Broken steering, cracked rudders and fins, the engineers say that part of the engine is not only cracked but it also welded itself together from the heat it generated. The amount of money I'm going to have to spend to get this repaired. Good Gods..." He pulls his hat off and rubs his brow.
"At least...we're alive?" You reply sheepishly. Truth be told, you didn't realize the level of damage your tactics had caused. You were too busy staying alive. The captain let's out a heavy sigh and puts his cap back on.
"Aye. That we are." He agrees. "I suppose you're right, it's best that this is the problem I have rather than having someone pull my corpse from the ocean." He looks around and grimaces. "I guess we have those hands of yours to thank for that."
"You're starting to make me wonder if I should take a few coursers in medicine. Usually only surgeons are complimented on steady hands." You joke. The captain laughs heartily.
"Dear Gods, I pity whoever is under your care with hands like yours. You'd probably crave them up while trying to find a splinter." He says. "Well, since this is your fault. You better get to helping." He adds. You shrug, it was fair enough. Better be forced to do some work than start the game with a massive debt. You stretch and limber up to start moving cannon balls. Every so often, however, your work is interrupted by some player walking up wanting to talk to you and offering you a friend invite.
>What do you do?
>Decline all invites. You don't want people to know who you are just yet.
>Decline invites but let them know you as The Wanderer. At the very least it'll be less rude than ignoring them.
>Accept some invites. Having some contacts would be nice or knowing a specific class you can call in. (What class are you looking for?)
>Write in.
>>6262821>Accept some invites. Having some contacts would be nice or knowing a specific class you can call in. (What class are you looking for?)Try to get a balanced list of friends. No more than one of each class that ain’t our own or Serena’s.
>>6262818>Chat give me something good!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwu6YmLEBj8
>>6262821>Decline invites but let them know you as The Wanderer. At the very least it'll be less rude than ignoring them.Alternatively, The Traveler. I wonder if those wyvern riders were NPCs or players.
>>6262821>Decline invites but let them know you as The Wanderer. At the very least it'll be less rude than ignoring them.
>>6262821>>Accept some invites. Having some contacts would be nice or knowing a specific class you can call in. (What class are you looking for?)A gunner or two to vouch for us once we're in the city of gunners.
A Cleric who has reasonable confidence that we won't hang them to dry
Yeah, that's all. We might grow the gunner if they're willing to experiment with builds or player skills we advise, but it's hardly the top priority.
>>6263048>>6263023>>6262896>>6262842Looks like we got a tie.
>>6262896More music! I like this one too.
Rolled 2 (1d2)
>>6262842>>6262896Rolling for it. 1 is accept some, 2 is decline
>>6263048>+1 to this strategy
You politely decline to the invitations. "Sorry, I'm just trying the game out right now. Not sure if I wanna stick to it or not. But you can call me The Traveler. " Is the lie you give them. You get a combination of confusion and disappointment at every turn. If you were also new then what was that coordination before? You had made it seem like you knew what you were doing and talking about. You give them a weak smile and explain that you're coming back after a dry spell and you still watched a lot of tournaments. Half of that was true but it seemed like a good enough explanation. You continue to move broken pieces of the hull and hammer in temporary planks for a while longer before the captain is satisfied enough with the repairs to move again. The engine coughs and growls like a bear with a bad cold before it starts again and the ship begins to limp onwards.
You stand at the bow of the ship and quietly watch the distance. As the the temperature begins to drop and the crew starts to don winter clothing, the spires of Valford slowly begin to fade into view. What little of your HUD is available slowly fades away and you see the the game's introduction credits begin to fade in. A quite tune plays as a female voice sings in a operatic tune:
Beneath the gazing stars
Vales deep and forests dark
Betrayed by loyal hands, Her wrath stirred
Bound fast unto our fate
One path, one burden great
Yet ever do our aching souls point Heavensward
"Get ready for landing! Adventurers, gather your things and prep for disembarking! That over there is what you all fought for. Valford." The captain calls out. You shiver as the cold finally gets to you and you continue to watch the city come into view. The large mountain based city looked as if it was carved out of the mountain itself. Large spired buildings and towers make up majority of it's gothic like architecture. Smoke and steam slowly float above it, a sign of it's many forges and fires used to arm the city and keep it warm. It's walls and various over ramparts are lined with cannons, each one loaded with what looked like lances and harpoons each the size of an electric pole. "Those are Dragonkillers." The captain says walking up to you and noticing your gaze. "See the chains on the harpoons? Should the city ever be attacked, they'll shoot those scaly bastards and pull into the ground for the knights to finish off."
"Has Valford ever been attacked by actual dragons?" You ask, eyeing the weapons. As you come closer you start to note the finer details of the city. Chipped walls, ruined ramparts and various other pieces of rubble. The city might have looked majestic and splendorous in it's heyday but now it looked rundown and worn.
"Not recently from what I heard but a few years back was the first one. Many people died. There was supposed to be a barrier of some kind to keep them out but from what I heard, traitors from within brought it down. You'd think that'd be a big enough chance for the beasts to come in and burn the place to the ground but they haven't. Still, the threat of it happening again can still be felt in the air."
"Well, sounds like the perfect stage for some heroes. Isn't that what all adventurers dream of?" You ask.
"You mean what they all die for." The captain snorts. "But you wouldn't have such dreams being a wanderer yourself?"
"Not really." You admit. "But I might hang around a bit. See what's going on."
"I'd watch your step. The inquisition is always on the look out for strange people in hopes of finding heretics. Don't want to run into their ire."
"With so many adventurers around? I think I'll be able to blend in easily. They're always a strange bunch." You joke. The captain simply nods at that.
"That they are." He says. "That they are..."
---
You shiver in the cold as you step off the tired airship. A light snow has begun to fall, almost as if christening your arrival in to this city. Distant ringing of forge work can be heard off deeper in the city. Knights watch your ever step as you make your way to the main embarking/disembarking area of the port. Even the civilians seem to look at you with a wary and untrustworthy eye. You can feel the weight of quiet worry in the air. All in all, this was not the city you once remembered and it certainly wasn't a warm welcome.
>What do you do?
>Go and see if you can find Gloria. Maybe she's already logged in.
>Find the most popular inn here and wait for your friend. You could do with a warm drink.
>Head into the city and explore to pass the time. (What do you look for?)
>Write in.
>>6263601>Go and see if you can find Gloria. Maybe she's already logged in.We’d stand out less with a friend, I think.
>>6263601>Consolidate your gear, at least to see what warm clothing fits under your restrictions without looking ridiculous.
>>6263601>Consolidate your gear, at least to see what warm clothing fits under your restrictions without looking ridiculous.Well, we can look anyways.
>>6263601>Find the most popular inn here and wait for your friend. You could do with a warm drink.
>>6263738Support
And also
>Go and see if you can find Gloria. Maybe she's already logged in.
>>6263738>>6263791>>6263837>>6263647We'll look for Gloria while getting our bearings on what you can wear. Writing.
You blow air into your hands to keep them warm. Environmental damage was a thing and while your in game body could tolerate higher or lower temperatures than the real life body could, you don't think you'll be able to survive the night without warmer clothes or at least loitering in an inn. You bring up your character sheet and double check your proficiencies.
You have the following Weapon Proficiencies:
None
You have the following Armor Proficiencies:
None
[Hero Skill] Transform: Unleash the power of your belt to don your armor and augment your abilities. [bold]While transformed you are considered to be wearing Medium Armor and while untransformed you're considered to be wearing light armor. This stacks with your natural damage reduction.[/bold] Your unarmed strikes are further augmented to the level of two handed weapons while in your transformed state and your speed is enhanced slightly. Strong enough hits can force you out of your transformed state. Duration 1 minute. Cooldown 5 minutes.
You weren't allowed to wear armor of any kind. Normally, a class's starting gear had some kind of padding or was naturally insulating to help with Valford's ambient temperature. Light armor wearers had robes or thick tunics, medium armor was made of furs and hide thick enough to insulate, heavy armor had padding to prevent chaffing and it doubled as insulation of sorts. It wasn't enough to be fully comfortable with the chilly atmosphere but it was enough to not worry about freezing to death at night outside of heavy snow or blizzards. Your teeth starts to chatter and you begin walking. Movement would cause you to expend energy and that would warm you up at least for a bit. Better to send your energy looking for Gloria than stand around and let the chill settle in. Your eyes dart around the town, looking for an Astrologian in newbie gear maybe even looking for someone. You see other players running around or chatting amongst themselves. A few talk to the locals or avoid the guard's gaze. Beneath their full helms, you can feel their gaze on you. The fact you couldn't see their faces gave them an ominous, unyielding presence. You could never tell if they were looking at you, through you, or behind you which made their presence even more known.
As you walk and rub your arms, an idea dawns on you. You couldn't wear armor but there was plenty of clothing and the like that you could wear that wasn't considered armor by the game. Such gear was only really worn for fashion purposes and was favored by vendors, crafters, or RPers. Traveling with them was considered a stupid and suicidal endeavor as the many beasts, PKers, and other hazards on the road could easily pierce and cut through it. Swapping weapons was as easy as picking up a fallen enemy's gear or unslinging it from a side holster but suiting up in new armor required to actually manually remove your current armor and don the new one. At most, players wore these fashion pieces in guild halls or in the city streets where the sheer number of players and guards made it inadvisable to attack one another.
Most players simply wore cloaks, maybe a large cape, or even thicker clothes under their gear rather than a full new suit. However, in a certain point of view, you had the luxury of being able to wear any kind of clothing without fearing that it would interfere with your gear. With another huff, you hurry over to the market district. You were going clothes shopping.
---
The Frostfire District was as busy as always. Named after the fact it started as a smithing district in the game's lore, where the fires of the forges met the cold frost of winter, it had grown into Valford's market district. Due to more and more shops opening there, the nobility began sending their servants there more often for fineries and the like. As such, the "ugly" forges were moved to another section of the city and the district gained a more prestigious distinction. Even know, though more worn than you remember, it still had a certain luster and sense of luxury. You can see fancily dressed citizens and discerning players wandering around. The citizens turn their nose at you as you walk by and the players give you strange looks as they see a random man walking around in the cold without a coat. You half stumble into the nearest tailor and feel your limbs relax as a wave of heat envelopes you.
You feel a heavy sigh escape your lips as a tiredness tries to overcome you. You force yourself to remain alert as you glance around what looks to be an empty shop. Not only in terms of customers and staff but in clothing. A few mannequins litter the floor, each wearing immaculate suits and coats. The walls are lined with beautiful cloth but very little in terms of clothing. On the sales desk, you can see a small blackboard with the words "Sapphire Skies Tailors" written in old chalk. You sigh once more as feeling slowly comes back into your limbs and your muscles seem to relax. You wander around the shop a bit, trying to measure what little clothing there was to your size.
12favbsd
md5: aaf294f462795429a62be933d9583b58
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"Well, well, well...what manner of creature is this?" You hear a soft, effeminate voice behind you. You nearly jump and quickly turn around. The warmth of the shop as dulled your senses enough that you didn't hear anyone approach you. A tall slender man with sharp features stands before you. His eyes are sharp and his hair cut short with long bangs. You'd confuse him for an elf if his ears weren't rounded. A large sash goes over his shoulder, riddled with needles and pins. In one of the pockets of his silk pants is what looks to be a measuring tape. With a few steps, he's right in front of you and he grabs you by the chin lifting your face to meet his eyes. His long slender fingers are much stronger than you expected. "Wonderful eyes." He mutters in awe. "Beautiful fiery hair. Oh, if only you hadn't butchered it so with that cut." The man steps back and sizes you up. His face contorts into one of disgust and for a moment you fear he'd be sick to his stomach. "And a serious lack of care for your appearance. Tell me creature. What do you call yourself?"
"I-" You begin, half gasping and half whispering as your body is fighting off the cold. You clear your throat but the man shakes his head.
"No no. This simply will not do. I shan't have you dying in my shop because of this cold and I simply cannot let you die in those rags. No, no. Wait one moment, and try not die while I'm gone." The man says with a tone of dramatic exasperation. He quickly, and with surprising elegance, walks into the back of the shop. Moments later he returns with a tray containing a large kettle and a single cup. He delicately pours a hot tea into the cup slowly filling the room with a scent that you could only describe as...tea like. He quickly hands you the cup by it's saucer. "Now...we shall try again from the beginning, shall we? To put it rather indelicately, who are you?" He asks slowly.
>Do you drink the man's tea?
>Yes
>No
>How do you introduce yourself?
>Introduce yourself as The Traveler. It would be fun to keep the mysterious bit going.
>Give the man your name. Regal. Perhaps it will make him think you're some kind of noble.
>Ask the man his his name instead. He did surprise you. The least he could do is introduce himself.
>Ask about his shop. There doesn't seem to be much clothing here.
>Write in.
>>6263878>Yes>Give the man your name. Regal. Perhaps it will make him think you're some kind of noble.
>>6263878>Yes>Give the man your name, Regal
>>6263878>Yes.>Introduce yourself as The Traveler. It would be fun to keep the mysterious bit going.
>>6263878>Yes>Introduce yourself as The Traveler. It would be fun to keep the mysterious bit going.
>>6263878>Yes>Give the man your name. Regal. Perhaps it will make him think you're some kind of noble.Then ask for his name and about the shop.
>>6263878>Yes>Introduce yourself as The Traveler. It would be fun to keep the mysterious bit going.
>>6263878>Yes>Introduce yourself as The Traveler. It would be fun to keep the mysterious bit going.I request thy finest drip, lanky homosexual.
>>6263931>>6263916>>6263911>>6263906We have no name. People just calls us the doctor- I mean The Traveler. Writing.
You take a polite sip of the tea. It's warmth seeps into your belly and slowly spreads through your body. You're not sure what kind of herb or leaf is used for it but you can taste a touch of honey in it. It puzzles you slightly, you though honey was meant to be added afterwards. "People call me The Traveler." You say after you manage to find your voice. The man wrinkles his nose at that.
"Please spare me the pseudonyms. We have enough dark brooding types in the city as it is." He says with a dramatic sigh. You shrug and take another sip of tea. It was starting to grow on you or perhaps it was just the warmth.
"Sorry. But that's what I'm called." You insist. The tailor rolls his eyes and makes a dismissive gesture at you. As you place your cup on the saucer, he pours you some more tea. At the very least he seemed like a decent host.
"Very well then, Mr. Traveler." He begins, placing the pot down and drawing up a chair to sit in. "What brings you to my little shop? A new set of armor? Perhaps a 'cool looking cape'?" He asks, now appraising your clothing. "I'm not a miracle worker you know. Oh don't give me that look, I'm simply being modest." He adds when you give him a raised eyebrow.
"I don't need armor. I just need some clothes for the cold." You say as you look around. "I'll buy anything you have ready."
"Have ready?" The man repeats incredulously. "First you threaten to die in my shop in that outfit and now you treat me like some common general store. Have ready?" He scoffs. "No, no. Florent Beaumont does not do premade garbage." Florent drums his fingers on the countertop clearly offended. He then sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Oh those eyes...I swear you're like a lost puppy. Listen well, Mr. Traveler as I'll only say it one time. A gentlemen who strives to make a name for himself does not simply buy off the rack trash. He only wears what is made for his fit. Hand made, custom fit. How do you expect to be comfortable with yourself if you are fighting your clothing with every step?"
"Actually, I'm trying to keep a low profile." You admit. Florent shakes his head.
"One does not give oneself a title such as 'The Traveler' if they wish to keep a low profile. You want to be mysterious and that mystery will attract eyes. Therefore, if you wish to make a name for yourself I am compelled to help you." He explains, getting up and pulling the measuring tape. He pulls the cup out of your hands and motions for you to stretch your arms out. "I simply could not live with myself knowing you'll look like this while you become famous. Let's see...we'll need to get some leather to at least give you some defense..."
"No armor." You insist and it's Florent's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I mean...I appreciate your help but this simply has to be regular clothing."
"You call yourself The Traveler and yet you do not want protection for your namesake? Perhaps you should be called The Foolish."
"I can protect myself. I assure you but I don't want any armored clothing." You repeat. "You're right that I'll more than likely run into trouble while traveling but I can defend myself. Maybe the clothing should be durable to resist wear and tear but it can't be armored or double as armor. It has to be regular clothing for the cold. At least for now." You explain. Florent's eyes seem to glint with excitement.
"You simply love to vex me. Durable clothing but not armored? It needs to look good but you don't want to stand out." He says with a smirk.
"I didn't say anything about looking goo-"
"Quiet! No one who commissions me will ever leave my shop looking terrible." The tailor announces. "And now that you have placed this challenge at my feet I simply cannot let this go. Yes, you vex me...but you are not like other 'adventurers'." He makes a rude gesture and a grimace. "They all demand the same thing. Something for the cold, something that doesn't interfere with their armor, something that looks good." He yawns. "They have no vision. No desire to explore. And don't get me started on those in guilds. They think matching colors suffices for a uniform. Oh no...but then you come in here with these rags and demand that I, a tailor, do actual tailoring! That I must create something that isn't an adjustment?" He lets out a laugh that sounds like he's half crying and half maniacal. "Now, if I could only do something about that hair..."
>What do you say?
>Offer some of the pelts you have as payment. Maybe he can use them for something.
>Say nothing for now. The man seems happy enough to make you clothing. Maybe he doesn't care about the money. The challenge seems to be enough for him.
>Politely decline and head to a different shop. Maybe you can find a different tailor that's a lot less dramatic.
>Write in.
>If you do accept his offer for clothing. Feel free to post what you want final clothing to look like. Another chance to customize your outfit.
hongo
md5: ed8903ef9e633e25003ecb22c6c03a88
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>>6264233>Offer some of the pelts you have as payment. Maybe he can use them for something.I don't know what I want the final clothing to look like, but the Hongo look with the red scarf is very important.
>>6264233>Say nothing for now. The man seems happy enough to make you clothing. Maybe he doesn't care about the money. The challenge seems to be enough for him.
Dettlaff
md5: 9457ce32fdd1a5ec8171749b529a1dcb
🔍
>>6264233>Offer some of the pelts you have as payment. Maybe he can use them for something.Might as well give them to a tailor.
>If you do accept his offer for clothing. Feel free to post what you want final clothing to look like. Another chance to customize your outfit.I was playing the Witcher 3 recently so Dettlaff's outfit came to mind. Just get rid of the bee broach and add a red scarf.
>>6264233>Say nothing for now. The man seems happy enough to make you clothing. Maybe he doesn't care about the money. The challenge seems to be enough for him.
>>6264233>Offer some of the pelts you have as payment. Maybe he can use them for something.Grey wool fedora, car coat, vest, and pants with reinforced knees. A red silk scarf, beige dress shirt, and matching knee high brown leather boots and gloves. Low profile enough, but stylish.
>>6264233>Offer some of the pelts you have as payment. Maybe he can use them for something.
>>6264233>Offer some of the pelts you have as payment. Maybe he can use them for something.The alpha boar hide? I guess that should interest him. I don't think a tusk will fit well unless he can make the knee spikes or shoes. Maybe elbow spikes?
Aside from the usual kamen rider fare, maybe a little bit of command mission drip
>>6264438>spikesDoesn't that count as armor?
>>6264514the spurs don't. Whatever will fit within the game's restrictions. Or not at all, because a tusk is a pretty massive thing to work into those.
>>6264353Sounds like a certain half-boiled detective of a certain windy city. But I'm guessing you mean something like this? Let me round up some images and I'll put it to a vote.
clothes
md5: 8f07ae314f689909608b4eb67a2d972c
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Alrighty, here are the proposed the outfits (or as close as I could find them, and 2 extra I had laying around that looked cool. But all of them will have a red scarf because that's out thing. Didn't really know how to incorporate the megaman x look though.
>What's the final look?
>1
>2
>3
>4
>>6264796I fuck with 4 heavy.
>>6264796>1I prefer the cleaner look of number 1 but number 4 looks pretty good too. I could go for either one.
>>6264796>4I'm fine either way.
I guess for the mmx look I mean a little slimmer on the vests and pants to make space for the belt, but still covered by the coat most of the time.
Also you know. Scarf. Gotta have the scarf.
>>6264796>1Its growing on me.
>>6264841>>6264895>>6264918>>6264919Outfit #4 wins by 1 vote. I'll get to writing.
"If it helps, I have this?" You say as remove the Alpha Boar hide from your inventory and hold it out. Florent tries to wave away the material.
"Please, I do not work with just mundane ingredients..." His voice trails off when he gets a better look at the material. "What do we have here?" He mutters as he takes the pelt from you and holds it up in the light. "Magnificent. Spectacular. Mr. Traveler, you are indeed a most vexing customer! I can feel inspiration welling up in me. I've not felt this excitement since I first picked up a needle! You shall wait here and I shall outfit you as the gentleman that you are." Florent takes a few more measurements and begins to hurry to the back of the shop.
"Is that enough to cover a new outfit?" You call out. The tailor stops and gives you a large smile.
"Mr. Traveler, with materials such as this you could afford a dozen outfits from me! Consider me your personal tailor, nay, your only tailor from now own, promise to bring me more wonderous materials such as this and you shall have my services for free forevermore!" He shouts back before dipping behind a door and out of sight.
Item(s) lost:
Alpha Boar Hide x1
You stand there for a moment a bit dumbfounded at what you suppose is now your tailor's newfound enthusiasm before you grab a nearby stool and take a seat. NPCs generally didn't take too long to craft things. Unlike players, they were not beholden to follow many of the same steps players did when creating items. Still, it would probably take a while as it wasn't instant. You pour yourself another drink and look out the window at the darkening street. Every so often, Florent would emerge from his workshop to take more measurements. "That is not a seat Mr. Traveler. Stand on it and I'll take some measurements." He says motioning you to stand up and, once finished with his tape, pulls a chair for you to sit in.
As you wait in your newly acquired chair, you continue to watch the streets. People came and went, adventurers were now a bit more obvious to pick out from the crowd. After a bit, you notice a person wandering around and looking around. You stand up and move to the window. Could that be Gloria? The person was a woman and was wearing the appropriate gear. She wore a dress like robe, more tight around the hips with puffy shoulders, and on her back was her folded star globe, a magical contraption channeled magic and allowed the class's cards to be drawn from. You move over to open the door and wave with a loud, "Hey!"
The woman and everyone else on the street turn around to look in your direction in confusion. Your embarrassment is slightly abated by the look of recognition on her face. She hurries over to you, snowflakes catching in her hair, "Hey...uhh...you?" She says awkwardly.
>What do you say?
>Tell her to call you by your player name. Regal_20
>Tell her to call you The Traveler.
>Tell her to call you by your real name. John.
>Ask if she's really Gloria. She might be confusing you for someone else.
>Ask her how long she's been here. Did she run into wyverns too?
>Write in.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you The Traveler.Commit to the bit.
>>6265329>Ask her to come in first>Ask if she's really Gloria. She might be confusing you for someone else.I feel like randomly calling out to someone is a terrible way to meet an IRL player
>>6265341Not gonna lie here, I kinda wrote myself into a corner by forgetting to have John and Gloria communicate a way to distinguish one another in game. She knows what your character looks like but since she just made hers, John wouldn't know what to look for. That's my mistake. Sorry about that.
>>6265348I figured there was an off-game messaging service, but I guess there's a deliberate lack of compatibility
>>6265329>Tell her to call you by your real name. John.Its all good.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you by your real name. John.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you The Traveler.This is who we are meant to be.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you The Traveler.if she doesnt want to play into it she could call us "J"
that way our identity also stays hidden
>>6265329>Tell her to call you by your real name. John.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you by your real name. John.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you The Traveler.
>>6265329>Tell her to call you by your player name. Regal_20
>>6265329>Tell her to call you The Traveler.
>>6265840>>6265442>>6265408>>6265374>>6265338The Traveler wins by one vote. Guess we're just gonna be the server's traveling hero with a companion. Oh and a kick ass scarf. Writing.
You motion for Gloria to enter the shop. "Just call me The Traveler." You say. Gloria pauses for a moment and bursts out laughing.
"No." She says with a smirk. "Just, no."
"Come on. I think it's kinda cool." You argue. "Besides, it's just like any other username except with not numbers. Also, it helps keep me anonymous."
"Come on. Everyone in Valford knows who you are. I was just at the Aurora's Gaze and everyone was trading stories between drinks about The Traveler and how he lead a small squad against an army of dragons." Gloria says. "Not much for anonymity."
"Hey, it's like those hero stories. The man without a name, stopping evil and helping the helpless." You protest. "Like, it's not my real name so I'll just be a story. Plausible deniability." Gloria shakes her head and shrugs.
"Alright Traveler. Just add me to your party." She sighs and pulls up her friend and party windows. It was slightly jarring to see someone know how to navigate the menus but it was also reassuring. You quickly open your menu and accept the friend request and party invite.
Irene d'Ange has joined your party.
"So, what are we doing?" Irene asks. "We running the Frost Caverns for some loot? Maybe a secret boss?"
"Right now I'm waiting for some clothes. Otherwise I'm gonna freeze to death." You say, motioning to the tailor shop. "Might take a bit. I traded that Alpha Boar hide for it. The tailor says he's willing to be my personal clothier if I keep giving him materials." You grin. "But I gotta ask, did you run into wyverns on your way here from tutorial island?" Irene shakes her head.
"No and it's not something that happens in the other servers either." She says as she draws a deck of cards from a box on her hip and begins to shuffle them. "This is new Jo- err Traveler, to the game entirely." She seems lost in thought for a moment.
"So the city being so worn down, the dragon attacks prior to the game's current timeline. Was that an event in the other servers? Maybe they're doing like a recap sort of event. So that players new to the game can catch up to the other server's progress?"
"No. If it was we'd probably heard it from Roland long ago. Whatever is going on is a completely new thing. Unannounced even." Irene says as she draws a card and shuffles it back in. "Whatever the devs have planned, they're keeping quiet about it. We can ask Roland about it tomorrow. Maybe this kind of stuff is starting to happen in the other servers too." Irene stows her cards away. "Whatever it is, I bet there's a big update that's gonna happen."
"Yeah, there's no way they're just quietly adding new content without it culminating to something. You hear about the other zones? They have their own things going on as well." You explain what the captain told you on the ship before the wyvern attack. Irene's brow furrows at that.
"Nevermore's always been more of a sandbox kind of game. I wonder if they're trying to drum up more activity with the world changing." She hypothesizes. Before you can answer, Florent appears from behind the shop with a neatly folded bundle in his arm.
"Mr. Traveler, I have completed your new ensemble. Please, this way." He announces and leads you towards a changing room. "I assure you, the measurements are perfect. You'll not find better fitting clothes among the shops of the charlatans in this city."
"Thanks. That's Irene, she's with me although I'm not sure if she's looking for clothing." You admit. Florent turns to face Irene, whom he had been ignoring and sizes her up as he did for you.
"Not even a day and you're already recommending me to someone else? And before even trying my work. If I was a lesser artist I would chastise you for being too hasty. Fortunately, male or female, I can make their clothes shine. Come with me madam." He says, turning his back to you and walking towards your friend. Irene gives you a look and you simply shrug at her before ducking into the fitting room.
For all of Florent's boasting, he was right. The clothing he made for you was perfect. You've never worn such well fitting clothes in your life. It was tight on you, leaving very little in the way of excess material hanging off of you and yet there was enough give to it that you could bend and turn without it catching or feeling too tight. It was almost like an extra layer of skin or a well worn glove. It was also incredibly light and yet felt very durable. You felt no fear of tearing it through normal adventuring barring being hit by an attack or spell. You quickly finish changing and step out as you finish slinging your scarf around your neck.
"See? I told you I was being humble. A miracle right there." Florent says as he finishes pouring Irene a drink. "I haven't made something of that caliber in years!"
"Not too bad. It's certainly a step up from starting gear." Irene says.
"Thanks." You say bashfully. You were never one for being trendy or on top of the latest clothing but you had to admit, that these clothes were indeed nice.
"Now remember, if you damage any of it. Come straight to me. I shudder to think how anyone else would butcher those threads." Florent says.
"I will. We'll be on our way then. If we come across some more materials. We'll let you know." You say, motioning for Irene to follow you out into the night. With your new clothing, you barely feel the icy chill from the wind only shuddering slightly as you feel it hit the exposed parts of your face. Your long red scarf flows gently in the wind.
"I never really thought about how cold a person would be without armor." Irene says with a shiver as she closes the door behind her. "We should get moving either way. What do you wanna do tonight?"
>What do you say?
>Go on the hunt for some rumors. Maybe someone has an interesting story you can investigate.
>Recruit some people for a dungeon. Frost Caverns is the only one within your level range. (What classes do you take for a 5 man group)
>Head out into the frozen wilderness. Maybe you'll run into a rare mob...or PKers.
>Go pick up a profession. Players can have 1 crafting and 1 gathering profession. (Write in option, feel free to suggest ideas.)
>Head to the local Guild NPC and ask about the requirements to make a guild.
>Write in.
>>6265965>Go on the hunt for some rumors. Maybe someone has an interesting story you can investigate.profession can wait until after playing with friends.
I want to check out what the NPCs have to say about the dragon attacks. Are they going to recruit gunners for anti air defense?
>>6265965>Go on the hunt for some rumors. Maybe someone has an interesting story you can investigate.
>>6265965>Go on the hunt for some rumors. Maybe someone has an interesting story you can investigate.
>>6265965>Ask an NPC Tinker about your belt. If you are looking to maintain or upgrade it, you need to know if Tinker would be the right profession to take.
>>6265965>Go on the hunt for some rumors. Maybe someone has an interesting story you can investigate.
>>6265965>Go on the hunt for some rumors. Maybe someone has an interesting story you can investigate.
>>6266081>>6265995>>6265986>>6265980>>6265974We have to go socialize and talk to npcs. Writing.
"I wanna look into this dragon stuff. It's something new and maybe some npcs might have a quest for us." You say as you begin to make your way down the cobbled streets. Irene follows suit and walks besides you. She looks up at the starry sky above you.
"Didn't you say that there was supposed to be some kind of magical barrier that was shut down? Why haven't they tried to bring it back up?" She wonders aloud. You rub your chin through your scarf in thought.
"I don't know. Maybe they can't? Could be it's some kind of powerful ritual." You suggest.
"A ritual that can't be done in several years?" Irene asks and she pulls out a map. "Well if we're gonna ask questions we can either start hitting up taverns or we can just wander Frostfire District. They tend to have the most npcs." You lean over and point a the center of the city.
"We can also ask around Fury's Vigil. Valford's knights have their headquarters in that district. Not to mention, the church also has it's main cathedral there." You point out. Irene tilts her head at that.
"We might bring the wrong attention to ourselves if we start there. Inquisition is on high alert for anyone who might be a heretic. If they think we're working with them, they'll hang us or run us out of the city." She says. You frown.
"Have they killed any players?" You ask.
"Not that I know of but I've heard rumors of npcs going missing. Could be that they're working their way up to adventurers or maybe they'll start recruiting in secret?"
"We could work that angle. Surely the city would be looking for Gunners to hire. This is the mecca for them." You say. "Speaking of players, what spells and skills you pick?" You ask. Irene tucks her map away and opens up a window.
"Take a look." She says.
Irene d'Ange
Level 6
Class: Astrologian
HP: Full
MP: Full
Skills/Spells
Starfire: Hurl concentrated starlight at an enemy. Has a small chance to blind the target. [Mana Cost: Low]
Starfall: Cause a series of moon beams to strike down in an area like rain damaging everyone within. [Mana Cost: Medium]
Helios: Restore a small amount of HP to yourself. If a teammate is under the effect of one of your cards, heal them for an equal amount. [Mana Cost: Medium] Cooldown: 30 seconds
Draw: Draw a card of fate from your star globe. You can only have 1 card drawn and drawn cards remain in hand until played. Cool down: 15 seconds
Play [Card]: Throw your card at a target player. Effects depend on the card(s) drawn. All card effects last for 10 seconds.
Redraw: Exchange a currently held card in hand for a new one. The next card drawn is guaranteed to be different. Cooldown 30 seconds
Cards:
The Arrow: Target player's attack and movement speed is increased.
The Spear: Target player's attacks and spells deal increased damage.
The Bole: Target player takes reduced damage and has a higher resistance to debuffs.
The Spire: Target player's defenses are reduced and they become more susceptible to debuffs.
The Shackles: Target player's attack and movement speed is decreased.
The Chains: Target player's attack and spells deal reduced damage.
The Balance: Target player has all effects removed. Positive and negative.
"Figured I'd get an aoe and single target spell. That and what little healing I could pull given that you're going to be running headlong into the fight." Irene explains.
"You'll be able to pull for more healing at later levels. You won't match a cleric but in a pinch you can come in clutch." You say as you study the spells. "When does Astro get lucid dreaming?"
"Not for another level or so. I think we get it at 8. Could get it earlier if you wanna grab a few skill books." Irene says as she checks her class abilities.
"They don't grow on trees." You laugh. Irene grins at you.
"No, but now that I have a retired pro on my side. I figure we could probably grab a few off some dead bodies." She laughs. You shake your head in amusement.
"Come on, let's go talk to some NPCs." You say.
>Where do you want to inquire about the dragons?
>Here in the Frostfire district. The Nobility is always gossiping about one thing or another.
>Start hitting up some taverns. Nobility gossips but the common man knows the real truth.
>Head to the knights' HQ. If anyone would know about the city's defenses. It'd be them.
>Go to the Church. They basically run the city. They would probably know the most.
>Write in.
>>626649410 second buffs? That's a LOT of card throwing
>Here in the Frostfire district. The Nobility is always gossiping about one thing or another. I don't think we can pass off as a noble to them, but we can still be a well-dressed hero who already knows a bit about the dragons.
>>6266494>Here in the Frostfire district. The Nobility is always gossiping about one thing or another.
>>6266494>Here in the Frostfire district. The Nobility is always gossiping about one thing or another.
>>6266494>Head to the knights' HQ. If anyone would know about the city's defenses. It'd be them.
>>6266659>>6266561>>6266520Busy weekend. Sorry about that folks. We're bothering nobility just like a good adventurer should. Writing.
You and Irene walk around the marketplace as you begin your search for some rumors. There was a measurable decrease in patrons due to the night having fallen but within some of the stores you do see some movement. A few of the more ornately dressed individuals are walking the streets in perhaps a nice nightly stroll. You wonder if that meant the streets were safe due to the increase in knights and inquisitors or perhaps it was just the obliviousness that came with wealth. You think you see worry or anxiety in their eyes but given that they refused to look you straight in yours, you don't think you'd ever truly know.
Nonetheless, you wouldn't learn anything if you didn't start talking so the next set of people would be the target of your inquiries. "Excuse me, but would you mind if we asked you a few questions? We're new to the city." You ask a well dressed couple. The two look at each other for a moment as if they can't believe you were talking to them.
"Look dear, the adventurers want to talk to us. How droll!" The woman says with the level of amusement you expect from a parent receiving their child's first macaroni art.
"Now, now dear. Let's not entertain their idle fancies. The knights indulge them enough as it it." The man chastises his wife. "Please be on your way adventurers. We have nothing to offer you." He says in a bored tone.
"Travelers." Irene corrects. "We're travelers. Nothing more. But we have heard many rumors regarding dragons. I'm sure someone as well off as the two of you would know. After all, I'm sure it's effects over the economy can already be felt." The man seems to resist the urge to roll his eyes but the wife beats him to speaking.
"Oh the dragons! How utterly dreadful! The city hasn't been the same since." The woman bemoans. "Everyone's so on edge. The knights have their handful with those horrid heretics, we're getting less and less traders to our city, and worst of all are these inquisitors demanding answers from everyone."
"Quiet Lillia! That's quite enough." The man barks. He clears his throats and adjusts his outfit. "AS I've said, we have no time to spend on your fantastical inquiries. We simply have to be on our way home."
"Do you know if the knights are hiring adventurers? It seems like they have their hands full." You ask, ignoring the man's interruption. His wife seemed to be the more talkative one. The woman nods, still quite eager to gossip with you.
"Oh yes! There have been various recruitment drives offered by the knights and we've had so many adventurers with those large cannons. But recently, they've dried up." Lillia leans in to whisper as she shares what she considers to be a bit of saucy information. "As I've heard it from a friend, recently all of the contracts have been bought up, so to speak, by a single one of your adventuring guilds. Quite a strange name they had too. They simply went by 3 letters. Oh what were they...E..B...something?"
"E.V.O?" Irene asks.
"Oh yes! That's the name dearie. Are they famous outside of Valford? They seem well known amongst the common folk and foreigners." The woman asks with an eager urge to gather more gossip.
"You could say that. Many adventurers are aware of their existence." You say. E.V.O was the name of Evolution's official in game guild. The fact that they had taken up enough spots that the npcs were no longer recruiting only meant one thing. "We're in Evolution territory." You say to Irene.
"Seems like it. Didn't think they'd move this fast to start claiming territory." Irene admits. "They're not particularly Gunner focused though."
"Not their pro team, no. At least not when I went up against them years ago. That change?" You ask. Irene shakes her head.
"No. They've traded a few players here and there but they haven't done anything drastic like that. I'm guessing they set up here and recruited as many Gunners as possible. They're not the kind of guild to strong arm players into joining. If they have a monopoly in Valford's mercenary army then they're really angling to get as much reputation here as possible." She explains. You nod in agreement. The more goodwill a guild had with a certain city, the better bonuses they got in the way of discounts, unique quests, and even the ability to influence the city's politics to a certain degree. While there was no restrictions on where a guild could build their own hall, being able to build it in a city meant a greater degree of security from would be invasions or thieves given that there would be npc guards to help with that. Though that didn't mean all guilds liked building in the city. Some preferred to find a nice patch of land in the middle of nowhere to build and have the secrecy and protection that the natural surroundings could provide. In the end however, dominating a city was another PR move that professional teams could use to recruit more players to their in game guild or even entice newer pros to consider joining their team. This early in the server, however, simply meant that you'd have to be careful to no to draw their attention too much.
"Excuse me but...are we free to go?" The woman asks as she waits patiently for you two to finish talking.
>What do you say?
>Let the two leave. Go talk to someone else. (What do you ask?)
>Ask about something else. This lady seems eager to share what she knows.
>Let the two leave. Go to another part of town to ask around. (Where do you go?)
>Write in.
>>6268145>Let the two leave. Go to another part of town to ask around. (Where do you go?)>Hit up a tavern. Its night, afterall.
>>6268145>feed the lady some gossip>Oh I'm sure the inquisitors are hunting down the masterminds. Just today I fended off some dragons led by a couple scoundrels. They ran away before I could give them a piece of my mind. We can only hope they don't have friends hiding in here.>Hit up a tavern. Its night, afterall.
>>6268156>>6268220>>6268226>>6268288We'll feed the lady some gossip and then leave. Writing.
"Yes. Sorry about that. I wouldn't worry too much about the city ma'am. I'm sure the Inquisitors are working hard to hunt down those behind it. And soon too, I would hope. Why just today I was forced to fend off a few of those ruffians. We can only hope that there aren't any of their kind here." You say. The woman's face pales and she raises her hand to her mouth in a gasp.
"Good Heavens! How absolutely horrid!" She clasps her partner's arm and clings to it tightly. "I'd like to go home now. Who knows what might be out in the shadows." She says. The man glares at the two of you and his lips tighten in a scowl.
"Yes...quite." He says through gritted teeth and the two of them depart. Irene let's out a sigh and rubs her temple as she shakes her head.
"I'm glad I don't need to deal with those kinds of people anymore." She mutters.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind." She says and straightens out her dress. "Where too next? We got a bit of info but not much we can act on." You think for a moment.
"We should hit up a tavern. With the cold out, I'm sure that's were most people will be at right now. Good mix of npcs and players. Definitely can find something more tangible there." You suggest.
"Sounds good to me. I could do with something warm as well. Let's go hit The Forgotten Knight." Irene replies as she starts to rub some warmth in her arms. "Hopefully we can find a good quest and make some money. I could use a fancy outfit like yours."
"If we can find that secret boss your so keen on finding, I'm sure Florent will be your personal tailor as well." You laugh.
---
The ancient door creaks and protests against being opened as you and Irene step through the threshold and into the warm tavern air. Even at the top of the stairs that led to the basement tavern, you can see the inviting orange glow of the place's large hearth flickering in the dark. "That's much better." Irene says with a shiver as she pushes the door shut. By the time the two of you had reached the establishment, the light snow had become heavier and the temperature had fallen to dangerously low levels. The sounds of chatting and eating can be heard as the two of you make your you way down the steps. The Forgotten Knight was not what one would call a premier eatery. The floor boards creaked, the tables and chairs were well worn from years of use, and the sparse decorations on the walls were covered in a thin layer of dust. At first glance, the place looked like it was a home for the common ne'er-do-well and it was this atmosphere that invited the player base. For the RP crowd it was the perfect atmosphere for them to live out their fantasy of being a dark, brooding adventurer with some tragic backstory. For the casual player, it was the location to easily party up or trade information. For NPCs, it was the perfect place to get cheap food and drink or to hide away form the prying eyes of the law. The fact that the place was filled with adventurers only meant they had chances to find people to do work for them or to trade their goods.
"Whadda want?" The grumpy tavern owner barks as you and Irene come into view from the stairs. The old man eyes you with his one good eye as he partakes in the tried and true tradition of wiping down a mug. You and your friend approach as quick as you can, pushing past a few people and dancing around the tables. The old man was well known for kicking out anyone who wasn't a patron.
"I'll have a mead and give me the hottest stew and bread you got." Irene says quickly as she stands as close to the fireplace as she could. The old man gives a disapproving grunt at that.
"Ye want fresh bread get yourself to a bakery." He snaps but still writes down the order on a small bit of parchment. He jabs the pencil at you and adds, "Whadda want?"
>What do you want?
>Just ask for a drink. You could do with some fake alcohol.
>Ask for a simple meal and a drink. No need to leave Irene eating alone.
>Ask for the biggest chunk of meat the man has. Like one of those huge ham things you see in cartoons. You always like the absurdity of them.
>Write in.
>Who do you approach for rumors?
>Ask the tavern owner for info. You're not sure if he's the talkative type though.
>Approach the table with a group of sulking adventurers. It's a gamble if they're RPing or something happened to them to upset them.
>Approach the table with people playing cards. Gambling has a way to loosen lips.
>Write in.
>>6268616>>Ask for a simple meal and a drink. No need to leave Irene eating alone.>Ask the tavern owner if he's seen anyone NOT looking for a job
>>6268616>Ask for a simple meal and a drink. No need to leave Irene eating alone.>Ask the tavern owner if he's seen anyone NOT looking for a job.Good strategy.
>>6268616>Ask for the biggest chunk of meat the man has. Like one of those huge ham things you see in cartoons. You always like the absurdity of them.>Ask the tavern owner if he's seen anyone NOT looking for a job
>>6268616>Ask for the biggest chunk of meat the man has. Like one of those huge ham things you see in cartoons. You always like the absurdity of them. >Approach the table with a group of sulking adventurers. It's a gamble if they're RPing or something happened to them to upset them.
>>6268616>Ask for the biggest chunk of meat the man has. Like one of those huge ham things you see in cartoons. You always like the absurdity of them.>Approach the table with a group of sulking adventurers. It's a gamble if they're RPing or something happened to them to upset them.Let's gamble! Introduce ourselves with "Tis I, The Traveler."
>>6268623>>6268687>>6269437>>6268775We're asking about people not looking for work. Writing. Man holiday weeks get busy.
"I'll just have what she's having." You say as you scan the room. The tavern was much of what you expected of it. Full of people wanting to forget their day either via drink or gambling. The bartender returns with your meals and sets them down the just enough force to announce how much of a hassle it was to serve but still keep the contents within the bowl. You turn your attention back to the bartender and take a good look at your food. Various vegetables floated around in your bowl with bits of meat that you couldn't really tell what animal it was from. The soft steam that rose from the bowl gave it the only sense of reassurance in this cold city. You look at Irene who was already putting a spoonful of the dish in her mouth. She chews and seems to savor the dish for a moment before putting the spoon down and winkling her nose a bit. She takes a swig of the mead to wash it down but it doesn't seem to help.
"Not good?" You ask, taking a bite of your own food. The soothing warmth of hot food goes down and starts to spread through your body. It was a bit bland to be sure but you still couldn't pin down what kind of meat you were eating. You wonder if it was dragon. Irene shakes her head.
"No, it's alright I guess. A bit bland but I always forget that artificial after taste everything has at low level." She whispers as she dunks some of her bread into the stew. "I think I'm gonna have to pick up cooking again on this character." She says taking a bite. You take a drink of your mead. It was sweet and though you didn't know much, if anything, about alcohol you could guess this was a honey based drink. You've had enough of them in the game to be able to tell. Just as Irene explained, there was that dull hint of artificiality at the end of it. Some people you spoke to explained it as a strange fuzzy feeling akin to static others say it tastes like the flavor suddenly ends and your brain is forced to make up the missing bit. To you, it was perhaps a bit of the former. It wasn't staticky so to speak but there definitely a feeling of separation between the flavor and you registering it.
"I mean we can find someone to be the party cook." You say. "Maybe you should pick up something else. Like an alchemist?"
"Given how secretive you're being, I think it'd be easier for you to simply announce your true identity than it is to get a new party member." Irene laughs and goes back to eating. You shoot an embarrassed look at Irene before turning to the barkeeper.
"Hey, has there been anyone here who hasn't been looking for a job?" You ask him. He gives you his trademark grunt but actually gives you an answer.
"Plenty of people looking for a job here." He grunts. "Ever since the scale beasts attacked years ago, the city's been going downhill. Good honest folk getting accused, jobs drying up, and with your kind showing up even the military won't take up those desperate enough to throw away their lives."
"Sorry, I said not looking for a job." You repeat. The barkeep scrunches his face up and seems to think about that for a moment. For a moment he seems lost in deep thought before he gives you a slow nod.
"Aye, there was one." The old man says, his voice dropping to a quiet rumble. He shifts his eyes to a corner of the tavern but you resist the urge to turn your head. "That man over there. Just walks in, real quiet like. Don't order nothin' but water. Hasn't moved much in a few hours. Don't talk much to the other adventurers and folk." You shift slightly to look over in the direction indicated. At a lone table not quite in the corner but also not dead center is an armored man. You'd figure he'd be a fighter or perhaps a city guard but the armor was too pristine and his demeanor seemed just enough to keep attention off himself. Every so often, he drinks from his mug but does nothing else.
"Not a local I presume." You mutter back to the barman.
"No. Don't seem like he's waiting on anyone either. Haven't had anyone ask about him. Almost like he ain't there."
>What do you do?
>Go speak to this man. Sit right next to him and strike up a conversation (What do you say?)
>Ask the barkeeper for more information. (What do you want to know?)
>Send Irene to talk to the man. She's good at reading people.
>Make a big announcement about going to a dungeon or perhaps leaving the city. He might be an opportunist.
>Study the man a bit more. Maybe you'll find something the barkeeper missed.
>Write in.
>>6269556>Study the man a bit more. Maybe you'll find something the barkeeper missed. Might as well eat first.
>>6269557>Study the man a bit more. Maybe you'll find something the barkeeper missed.
>>6269557>Ask the barkeeper for more information. (What do you want to know?)Has he ever seen the stranger before or anyone else who acted like him?
>>6269594>>6269636Happy 4th of july guys! Just had my fill of burgers and pizza. Hope everyone is have a good day today even if you're not from the US.
We got some spying to do so I'll get to writing.
You take another gulp of your mead and another bite from your soup. You surreptitiously glance over at the man. Could he be a guild spy? Someone sent over by another of the big guilds to keep tabs on Evolution's plans in Valford? You had your doubts about that. Unless they were a complete novice, a regular spy would have been trying to get into E.V.O or at least party up with one of their members. Something to earn some goodwill. Simply sitting there wouldn't do anything and it had already attracted the attention of an NPC. If it wasn't a player, RPer or not, then what would an NPC be doing? The man takes another drink from his mug and you see his own eyes flick across the room as he lowers his drink. He was clearly looking for something or someone. But what could require a person to remain here for hours without much action? You take another bite and nudge Irene. "Hm?" She stops mid-bite with a brow raised. You make vague gesture towards the man and Irene glances over to look at him.
"What do you think? He's been here for hours. Hasn't done anything but drink water." You mutter, tapping your spoon on the side of the bowl. Irene takes another drink and looks again under the pretense of tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Look at his armor. It's polished, far too polished. So it must have been made just for coming here or as a disguise. If it was stolen there'd be some nicks or scratches. He's not wearing any weapons. If he's a player, he's got them unequipped. If he's an NPC then he doesn't have any. So unless he has some consumable weapons, he's just here for a scouting mission." You whisper, feeding Irene information.
"You really are the God of Battle. You got all the from a single glance?" Irene says in amazement as she looks back at you. "Could be a newbie who doesn't know what they're doing. Takes a bit for them to get the courage to start asking for help or finding parties. Maybe he's looking for someone who looks friendly enough to approach." She draws her deck and starts to play with her cards, shuffling them and dealing them as if the two of you were playing a game of poker. "What else did you catch?"
"His back is to the back door entrance. If it's not a coincidence, then it's an easy escape route. It leads to the lower areas of the city where the poorer classes live. Real easy to lose guards in the various alleys and with the damage done to the city there could be rubble to help with that too." You add. You grab your "hand" and hold them up to hide your face to cast another glance at the man. His routine doesn't change as he waits a moment before taking another drink. Besides the armor and lack of a weapon, all he wore was a simple tunic and pants. No cloak or scarf to keep the cold away. The door upstairs opens and you hear the boisterous sounds of a successful party echo down. They struggle with the door for a moment and cold air comes flowing down before they manage to force the ancient plank of wood into it's frame. Everyone in the room shifts uncomfortably at the sudden shift in temperature including Irene. Everyone, save for the stranger with his water. You motion for another drink. "Just some juice this time please." You order and play a card at random. "He's our mark." You whisper again. "No reaction to the cold."
"He's got magic then. There's no other way. Not unless that armor is enchanted and I didn't see any runes or fine materials." Irene says as she places a card of her own. "I think we're at an impasse here. Unless something changes then we're going to be here for a while. Lock eyes with him. Just for a moment. That might make him do something else." You nod and play another card, shifting your eyes only for a moment just as the man moves to drink again. The two of you meet eye to eye, if only for the briefest of moments. One could almost mistake it for an accident. And yet there's a certain click, a slight tension and glint of recognition between the two of you that this was no mere circumstance that it occurred. The man takes another drink before standing up and starting to make his way to the back door. You catch a glimpse of something, something dark right under the collarbone. A tattoo of some kind you think.
"He's on the move." You say. "Let's go."
>What do you do?
>Call him out. There's no way he can fend off an entire room of players though you don't know if he'd survive the encounter.
>Rush after him. Don't give him a chance to lose you in the alleys.
>Try and tail him. Classic way to find a secret hideout.
>Write in.
>>6269981>Rush after him. Don't give him a chance to lose you in the alleys. Magic users can be slippery.
>>6269981>Rush after him. Don't give him a chance to lose you in the alleys.
>>6269981>Rush after him. Don't give him a chance to lose you in the alleys.
Rolled 6 (1d7)
>>6269995>>6269997>>6270004We're running after him! Let's see if the cards are in our favor.
1.The Arrow: Target player's attack and movement speed is increased.
2.The Spear: Target player's attacks and spells deal increased damage.
3.The Bole: Target player takes reduced damage and has a higher resistance to debuffs.
4.The Spire: Target player's defenses are reduced and they become more susceptible to debuffs.
5. The Shackles: Target player's attack and movement speed is decreased.
6.The Chains: Target player's attack and spells deal reduced damage.
7.The Balance: Target player has all effects removed. Positive and negative
You and Irene stand up, slap some coins on the counter, and begin to push your way through the players. The man reaches the door and as he barely passed through the threshold, breaks into a run. "He's running!" You shout and the two of you break into a sprint. Irene draws her starglobe just as she slides over a table and the cards she had on you and were left on the counter immediately rocket towards it. They come to a halt and slowly begin to orbit the device as soon as they reach it seemingly ignoring the movement and physics of everything besides the globe they belonged to. She rips one free from it's orbit, holding it between two fingers and glances at it. "Damn it! The Chains!" She shouts over the howling wind just as you throw the door open. You see the man leap over the banister onto the city streets that the stairs led to. You and Irene follow suit, jumping over the rails in sync and taking some light fall damage.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP: 97%
MP: Full
Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP: 95%
MP: Full
The man casts a quick glance as he runs. The look on his face shows that he wasn't expecting the two of you to follow his example and certainly didn't expect the blast of starlight coming at him. With surprising speed, he rounds a corner and the spell barely misses him, striking the wall behind him. The wall flares with light and the brick glows brightly with heat that begins to fade quickly in the cold. "Careful! If the guards see us firing wildly they're gonna try and arrest us!" You shout as the two of you scramble down the alley.
"If I can blind him, we'll have a better chance of catching him!" Irene argues and turning her head enough that she doesn't notice the glint of metal in the moonlight.
Skill: Guard activated. 5 seconds remaining.
You thrust your arm out in front of Irene and feel the knife sink deep into your arm. There's a tingle and an unnatural burn before your body seems to fend off the pain. "I think he's got poisoned weapons!" You announce as you tear the knife out of your arm.
Rolled 2 (1d7)
"Is he saving mana?" Irene asks, ducking a brick that the man hurled in your direction. "He's smart enough to focus on our magic users." She growls in response and slows her pace enough to have you as the vanguard. Your quarry races through the city, shoving other npcs, leaping over rubble, and hurling a knife out here and there. Unfortunately for him, you and Gloria were no slouches. Having spent years playing this game competitively, you can easily notice an attack coming and dodge out of the way. Irene uses her ability to read people to keep up with your dodges and avoid anything that flew past you. After what feels like the fifth or sixth time attempt to juke your party but making a sharp turn, you round the corner just as the man swings his fist in a wild swing. You skid to a halt and lean as far back as you can to spot dodge the attack. The man's knuckles miss your nose by a mere inch and shattering the corner of the nearby wall.
Irene crashes into you moments later with a "Holy shit!" just as the rubble pelts her harmlessly. She, be it by instinct or panic, flicks the card in hand right at the man. It strikes him right in the chest and ethereal chains wrap themselves around his limbs and pull tightly upwards like a series of puppet strings. The chains do nothing to slow the man but as he tries to swing at you again, they pull at the last second to lessen the force of the impact if you hadn't ducked under the attack. You ram your shoulder into your opponent and sending him stumbling backwards. Irene gets to her feet, globe floating above her hand, and you step forward to keep between the man and her. "He's not a brawler that's for sure. No weapons." She says, drawing a new card.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP: 94%
MP: Full
>What do you do?
>Engage the man in a pure fist fight. Don't let him reach for anymore hidden weapons.
>Use the narrow alley to your advantage. Leap off walls and limit his attack range.
>Transform. You're not sure what this guy can do but you should probably end the fight quickly.
>Write in.
>What will you have Irene do?
>Have her use her drawn card.
>Use her redraw ability to draw a new one and use it. (roll a d6 ignoring the previously rolled number)
>Have her cast a spell. (which one?)
>Write in.
Irene d'Ange
Skills/Spells
Starfire: Hurl concentrated starlight at an enemy. Has a small chance to blind the target. [Mana Cost: Low]
Starfall: Cause a series of moon beams to strike down in an area like rain damaging everyone within. [Mana Cost: Medium]
Helios: Restore a small amount of HP to yourself. If a teammate is under the effect of one of your cards, heal them for an equal amount. [Mana Cost: Medium] Cooldown: 30 seconds
Draw: Draw a card of fate from your star globe. You can only have 1 card drawn and drawn cards remain in hand until played. Cool down: 15 seconds
Play [Card]: Throw your card at a target player. Effects depend on the card(s) drawn. All card effects last for 10 seconds.
Redraw: Exchange a currently held card in hand for a new one. The next card drawn is guaranteed to be different. Cooldown 30 seconds
Cards:
1.The Arrow: Target player's attack and movement speed is increased.
2.The Spear: Target player's attacks and spells deal increased damage.
3.The Bole: Target player takes reduced damage and has a higher resistance to debuffs.
4.The Spire: Target player's defenses are reduced and they become more susceptible to debuffs.
5. The Shackles: Target player's attack and movement speed is decreased.
6.The Chains: Target player's attack and spells deal reduced damage.
7.The Balance: Target player has all effects removed. Positive and negative
Remind me to make a pastebin with character sheets or skills or something. I'm heading to bed. Good night!
>>6270027>Engage the man in a pure fist fight. Don't let him reach for anymore hidden weapons.>What will you have Irene do?>Have her use her drawn card.
>>6270027>Engage the man in a pure fist fight. Don't let him reach for anymore hidden weapons.>Have her use her drawn card.
>>6270027>Engage the man in a pure fist fight. Don't let him reach for anymore hidden weapons.>Have her use her drawn card.
>>6270033>>6270048>>6270088Going toe to toe with the stranger. Writing.
Your opponent throws another wild haymaker and your body snaps down to avoid it. Your screen flashes a light blue as you step forward to attack.
The Spear: Attack increased
You drive your fist right into the man's side and the pristine armor crumples as you dent it with your fist. Another punch and the front portion guarding his abdomen follows suit. The man doubles over, clearly feeling the impact of your blows and is sent flying as you deliver a finishing blow by uppercutting him. The strike calls him to flip as he falls backwards and he lands awkwardly on his chest. "Stand down." You say, still on guard. "You're out numbered and out matched."
The man makes a heaving noise and you wonder if your powered up attacks caused the armor to pierce his chest. If it did, it certainly didn't slow him down as you press yourself against the wall to avoid a handful of daggers from striking you. "Look out!" Irene shouts as she throws herself around the corner of the building. You turn just in time to see the scarlet replace the whites in the man's eyes and fire erupt from his throat. You throw your arms up to guard yourself and leap. A brief burst of fire hits you but you kick off the wall blindly to get out of the way. The alley fills with a sea of flames as you flip over your attacker.
Skill: Grab activated. 10 seconds remaining
"Stop!" You shout as you put the man into a headlock. Despite the fact that he could not break free, the two of you struggle for control. You feel yourself slam into a wall, feel it crack behind you, and then feel your side smash into another wall. The man screams in pain as starlight streaks through the night sky and strikes him the chest. Your eyes water and you see stars for a few moments as the spell's flash dies. Another blast of starlight arcs from Irene's weapon and you squint to keep most of the flash out of your eyes. You're swing around wildly as the man clutches his face and tries to get rid of the ensuing blindness. You punch him repeatedly in the head and though it wasn't the most elegant technique, your target eventually collapses from the blows. The two of you fall in a heap and you roll off as your skill's effect ends.
"Is he dead?" Irene asks, cautiously making her way towards the body. As if on queue, the man groans as you shake your head and get to your feet.
"No. I knocked him out." You say rubbing your eyes. "Man those starbolts are bright."
"They're not as bad as lightning bolts. I swear I couldn't see light colors properly for a bit after fighting an Elementalist." Irene replies. "So what do we do with him?" She asks, lightly nudging the fallen man with her foot. "Got any rope?" You don't have a chance to respond before a hand locks around Irene's ankle and sends her hurtling through a wall. The man lets out an inhuman roar as one hand punches through his chest plate and rips it off like paper. The torn armor shears through the clothes underneath and you see scales. Thousands of scales line the man's chest like a rash, uneven and patchy. The man clutches his head, roars again and gets unsteadily to his feet. His muscles bulge almost threatening to explode out from under his skin and you hear the sounds of bones creaking and cracking. A third roar and you see him slowly mutate to nearly double his size, roughly 11 feet in height. Fingers grow into claws, face elongates, and the scales take over his body. Before you stood some kind of half man and half dragon hybrid. It's serpent like eyes lock on you and it screeches at you.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP: 85%
MP: Full
Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP: 65%
MP: 88%
>What do you do?
>Grab Irene and make a break for it. You expected magic, not some kind of monster.
>Move in to engage. You can't let this thing free in the main city.
>Try and lead the monster to some guards. Maybe they can help.
>Write in.
>What do you have Irene do?
>Try to have her blind the monster.
>Have her continue to support you with cards.
>Have her cast her limited heal.
>Write in.
>>6270309>Try and lead the monster to some guards. Maybe they can help.>What do you have Irene do?>Try to have her blind the monster.
>>6270309>>6270309>Move in to engage. You can't let this thing free in the main city.>Transform time>>6270309>Try to have her blind the monster.
>>6270309>Move in to engage. You can't let this thing free in the main city.Might be time to go Hero mode.
>Try to have her blind the monster.
>>6270309>Move in to engage. You can't let this thing free in the main city.>Try to have her blind the monster.we need him alive
>>6270309>Move in to engage. You can't let this thing free in the main city.>Try to have her blind the monster.
>>6270311>>6270374>>6270384>>6270447We're gonna transform and go toe to toe with the monster. Kinda like some sort of do-gooder or some such. Writing.
The monster's roar is mixed with the scream of a woman as Irene rises from what would normally have been a person's grave. You look over your shoulder to see a servant woman pointing at both the monster before you and at your teammate who was dusting herself off and, putting it mildly, rather upset. "That's cheating!" Irene shouts charging a spell and hurling a spell right at the beast's face. It flies wide, hitting the building behind it and drawing it's attention towards your support. With little time to act, you shout your transformation phrase,
"Henshin!"
https://youtu.be/QK-kOJs3aso?si=bS2roOeajIOGKrCj
The turbine in your belt roars to life and the small storm whips around you as it draws in the cold air. You feel the armor come to life and wrap itself around you before interlocking. Large gouts of steam are exhausted from underneath your chest plates as it begins to regulate your body temperature. Your coat and scarf billow in the cold wind as you point to the monster. "You're not going anywhere. We're ending this here and now!" With your increased speed you zip forward and kick the monster in the knee before bringing your leg up and driving your heel and it's spurs into the beast's thigh. The dragon man roars in pain and it's leg buckles forcing him to it's knee. "Irene! Focus on blinding it! We can't let this thing loose in the city!" You shout.
"Fine! Keep him off of me!" Irene shouts as she holds her focus in front of her. The cards' orbit increases in speed as it charges up her magic and releases another bolt of starlight. You side step the monster's attempt to crush you under fist and deliver a round house to it's elongated face. Even in your powered up state, it felt like you were kicking a brick wall but the impact of your blows was enough to drive it's face into the bolt of light. It howls and blinks rapidly as it manages to resist the blinding effect but it didn't fend off all of it's debuffs. Black blood oozes freely from where your last blow struck. It was like the old oil you saw when it was changed out of cars. Steam rose from the puddles it made as it landed on the ice cold cobblestone as it got it got it's feet and charged at you. You duck under one arm and attempt avoid the other but it's reach is longer than you anticipated and you find yourself in it's grasp. It's long slender fingers are like a vice and you struggle to break free from their grasp. Before you can react, it lifts you into the air and slams you into the ground with a flicking most. The cobblestone cracks from the impact and your vision darkens for a moment. You see the beast bear it's fangs in a malicious glee as it raises you up once more to meet you eye to eye.
"Let him go you freak!" Irene shouts, hurling another blast of magic at the monster. The starlight flares up in both your eyes but for you the flash is only momentary. For the monster it was far more devastating. It gives out a guttural scream and clamps one hand over it's face, blindness striking it's eyes. You take the opening and rear your fist as far back as you can before slamming it into the joint connecting the thumb to the palm. It buckles and dislocates from the force making it limp and loosening it's grip enough for you to pull yourself free. You flip in the air to right yourself into a proper landing just as you see the tongues of flame start to escape from the monster's elongated mouth.
Party:
Regal_20 (John Doe)
HP: 72%
MP: Full
Irene d'Ange (Gloria)
HP: 65%
MP: 82%
>What do you do?
>Tank the flames and continue fighting.
>Grapple it and try to force the flames in a direction where no one can get hurt.
>Use your new ability to redirect yourself in midair to dodge and attack.
>Write in.
>What do you have your teammate do?
>Write in.
>>6271428>Grapple it and try to force the flames in a direction where no one can get hurt.it's already blind so doublejump won't change much, but firing in the air will call whoever wasn't already on the way.
>Card drawingsince the blind procced, what's left is to debuff movement or defenses for a quick objective completion
>>6271430>Use your new ability to redirect yourself in midair to dodge and attack.Irene
>Draw
>>6271430>Grapple it and try to force the flames in a direction where no one can get hurt.
>>6271430>>6271640Didn't add the instructions for Irene, sorry
>Draw
>>6271430>Grapple it and try to force the flames in a direction where no one can get hurt.>DrawHow big of a deal is dying in-game?
>>6272260Dying in game leaves your corpse on the ground for a few in game hours allowing players to loot your inventory and gear. You can bind equipment to your character and thus preventing it from dropping on death. However it's quite expensive and not seen as worth doing besides for high tier weapons such as Serena's upgradable weapon. Dying in a dungeon is a bit different due being booted out on death. You lose access to dungeon rewards, won't get credit for it's completion or secret boss kills, and your gear gets badly damaged. Might be a pain to repair but at least you get to keep it.
Upon dying, you respawn at the last town/city/village you rested. Typically this just means registering at an inn as a guest if the settlement has one. Guilds with a large enough guild hall can set up their own spawn point for their members with some guilds building their HQ near strategic points.
There is a small contingent of players that play the game solely to PK other players and sell their gear on the market. They're typically just called "bandits" and that playstyle is heavily frowned upon by the wider player base. It's not against the rules to play like that but it does tend to make a lot of enemies and thus bandit players are few and far between. The biggest bandits tend to have large player bounties offered by guilds.
There is another subsection of players that are often confused with bandits just called "scavengers". These players tend to hang around world bosses or sites known for big guild vs guild fights waiting for the fighting to end then swoop in to snag some nice pieces of loot. These kinds of players are seen as more of a nuisance as they don't actively participate in fights nor instigate them but given the chaos of battle and the fact you just lost some of your gear to them, they're often confused for bandits.
That's all I got surrounding the death mechanics at the moment. If there's anything more specific you'd like to know feel free to ask! Always love those kinds of questions and thinking up lore tidbits during my day.
Rolled 2 (1d7)
>>6271469>>6271640>>6271642>>6272260We're gonna wrestle a gator...dragon man thing! Does Irene believe in the heart of the cards? Writing.
Cards:
1.The Arrow: Target player's attack and movement speed is increased.
2.The Spear: Target player's attacks and spells deal increased damage.
3.The Bole: Target player takes reduced damage and has a higher resistance to debuffs.
4.The Spire: Target player's defenses are reduced and they become more susceptible to debuffs.
5. The Shackles: Target player's attack and movement speed is decreased.
6.The Chains: Target player's attack and spells deal reduced damage.
7.The Balance: Target player has all effects removed. Positive and negative
"I'll try to mitigate the fire! Irene, swap to support!" You shout as you sprint towards the monster. An errant swipe forces you to slide under it as it attempts to blindly reach for one of the two of you. You pop into a roll to get back on your feet and drive your shoulder into it's chest with all your might. Your opponent staggers backwards but doesn't fall despite the impact. However, it doubles over giving you an opportunity to clamp your hand around a handful of it's thick neck.
Skill: Grab Activated. 10 seconds remaining.
You feel the game lock your digits in place in an almost magnetic fashion and you wrench your arm down to bring the monster's head to shoulder level. With a grunt, you spin and put the beast into a headlock just as fire bursts from it's jaws. The two of you struggle for control as you try to force the fire away from Irene and the hole in the building. "Here!" Irene shouts over the roaring of the fire under your arm. Your screen tints slightly as a card strikes you and you are buffed.
The Spear: Attack increased.
With your left arm hooked around the monster's neck, you slam your elbow down upon the monster's head. With your increased damage, it buckles and with another blow you force him to look downwards. The flames sear the ground and you can smell the stone burn and melt together. Steam explodes around you as the flames also strike the ice and snow that had been building up, enveloping you and blinding you. All you could see was the searing flames and the monster in your arms. Still you continue to punch and rain blow after blow into the beast. The monster tries to wrench free but is unable to due to the force of your attacks and your unbreakable grip. It directs the dying stream of fire straight down in an attempt to engulf the two of you as your skill comes to and end and your grip loosens.
>What do you do?
>Let go and leap back. Try to hide in the steam.
>Keep fighting and tank through it with your guard skill.
>Have Irene use her healing ability. It'll eat some mana but you are currently under one of her card effects so it'll heal you.
>Write in.
Sorry for the shorter update. Had a longer day at work today so I'm a bit more drained than usual.
>>6272299>Let go and leap back. Try to hide in the steam.
>>6272299>Keep fighting and tank through it with your guard skill.
>>6272299>Try to claw out the eyes. If its permanently blind, it's not escaping this town.we might lose some affinity for this? It's not exactly a heroic move
>>6272299>Have Irene use her healing ability. It'll eat some mana but you are currently under one of her card effects so it'll heal you.
You draw your coat around you as best you can as the flames begin to engulf the two of you. There was no doubt in your mind that your opponent would have some kind of intrinsic defense against their own fire but you were not so blessed.
Skill Guard: Activated. 5 Seconds remaining
You let go of the monster but remain as close as you can to continue beating it as hard as you can. Even with your skill and your armor your skin still burns as if touching a piece of metal left out in the hot sun for too long. Gritting your teeth, you drop all pretenses of being fancy and repeatedly drive your fist into the monster's face. The first punch forces knocks it's face back, changing the angle of the flames and sparing you some of the damage. The flames rise and strike the undamaged building to the side. The bricks super heat and some crack while others explode from the high temperatures. You land the next punch and there's a crack as your fist meets it's jaw. The fire breath attack slowly comes to an end and you can see through the steam that it's jaw seems to dangle at an odd angle, dislocated.
The sounds of multiple people approaching in metal armor echo in the distance. It was no surprise that the sounds of your fighting had attracted attention but you couldn't tell if it was players or npcs that were approaching. In either case, you would have to hurry and end this. Your attack bonus was also nearing it's end so with one last grunt, you aim for the closest joint your could see. There's a sickening crunch as you drive your heel into the monster's knee with a stomp. It bends backwards from the impact and then twists in a sickening angle as it collapses from the weight upon it. The monster lets out a mix between a roar and whine as it struggles to stand on it's one good leg. It drops on to the ground and starts to swipe at you with it's long arms. You leap into the air, easily dodging it's attacks now that it could no longer stand and you land behind it's arms.
With out the increased damage from Irene's buffs, your attacks wouldn't break the joints as they did before but you continue strike at them. The monster tries to swing behind itself and turn to grab you but you roll over it's back and continue to strike at whatever seems like a vulnerable spot. You can feel the scales crack and break under the impact of your fists and reveal the soft flesh they were meant to protect. You think you might be able to finish off the beast with your finishing move but you wanted him alive. Clearly he was tied to whatever was going on in the city and he couldn't talk if he was dead.
The monsters attacks become slower and slower with every passing assault and as the steam slowly begins to fade away, lances of light begin to join your attacks. "Jeez this thing just won't go down!" Irene shouts as she hurls another spell. The two of you continue the assault and the monsters growls become pants, then whimpers before finally going silent. It gives one last, almost lazy, swipe before it goes still. You and Irene pause and stare at the beast intently for a moment but no third phase comes. With a sigh, Irene puts down her starglobe. You let out a sigh of relief but the moment of peace is brief as you see a squad of knights round the corner, weapons and guns at the ready.
"STOP! BY ORDER OF THE CHURCH!" One shouts before they come to a halt.
"By the Fury..." Another gasps as the monster comes into view.
"What in the Gods is that?" Another says.
"Never mind that. What is that!? Is it a heretic?" Another shouts pointing at you. The guard at the front, who was carrying a large great axe and seemed to be in charge, steadies his weapon.
"You there! By order of the Church, stand down! You're under arrest!" The man shouts. You retract your visor and mouth piece back and the guards flinch.
"He's some kind of shapeshifter! Captain, we must kill him!" Another guard says as he levels his cannon at you. You sigh. This was probably going to be one of those long nights again.
>Thread End
Thanks for playing guys! I'll have the next thread up on Monday. I'm still debating if I want to swap to some kind of rolling system or just keep it as is. That and changing cooldown times from in universe seconds to something like number of posts made after totalled votes. Either way, I'm glad people participated and I hope to see you guys in the next one.
>>6273232Thanks for running, QM.
>>6273232Thanks for running. See you next thread.
>>6273232cool, see you next time
>>6273231Don't forget to archive this
>>6273395Done (in case OP forgets)
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2025/6250632/
