Kei – Tolbana Tavern - Floor 1

Kei nodded and made is way to the shelves. He maneuvered through the kitchen without missing a single beat. After stopping in front of the shelves he opened it up and brought out three plates.「These should do.」He set the plates down and then closed the shelf door. Without much hesitation he moved to the drawer that contained all the silverware, for a moment he stared down at all the different pieces of silverware and then finally just decided on spoons and forks. Grabbing enough for three people he placed them on top of the stack of three plates and proceeded to where Siren was waiting.「Now all that is left to do is to wait for it to finish it seems.」The aroma quickly filled the kitchen room. Right away Kei’s mouth started to water, he knew it was all virtual food but he couldn’t wait until it was done as all he had eaten up until this point was stale bread and soup that was served by the NPCs in the various taverns that he visited along the way.「I am guessing you know how to Siren?」Shifting his attention from his hunger to Siren, he gave her a curious look.「Considering you knew how to prepare all that it would be surprising if you didn’t know how to cook in real life.」

Titan - Dire Forest - Floor 1

A screeching scream tore through the air.

Titan glanced up through thick wisps of long, dark black hair, ethereal crimson orbs piercing through the sky with a steady, experienced gaze. In a flash of dusky crimson pixels, a large, relatively thin metal spear with an extremely sharp black metal tip was clenched securely in the titan's mottled gray right gauntlet, while a large crimson and black kite shield was tightened onto his left forearm not a second later. Scarred lips curved up into a bloodthirsty smirk...and Titan leaped, just as another screech pierced the air, and a horde of Mutant Bats flew in from the pinnacle of Dire Mountain. Air whistled through his helmet as the man focused, his spear exploding into a fiery crimson light, while his shield shined with a suffocatingly black aura. The first three bats were abruptly skewered by a blurred barrage of pure steel, each pierce exploding the annoying mobs into shards of blue pixel. Still in the misty air, Titan rolled over, his shield arm slamming into another two bats, crushing their heads with a disgusting squelch of skull-mushing, while his spear flicked through the air, piercing through another bat's chest and killing it instantly.

CRACK

The thunderous splintering of cobble echoed throughout the clearing, rattling off of the dead white Aspen Trees and upsetting the glowing crimson eyes that stalked through the nearby bushes. Titan slowly stood up, bringing his right arm into the air, just in time to catch his massive spear by the hilt. He twisted around his fingers with practiced ease, as a few experience boxes began to pop up, along with loot and col amounts. He clicked out of the menus, blinking slightly at the high-pitched ping of his experience bar topping off and 'blessing' him with another level. He glanced into the right-hand corner of his vision. Level 16.

"Hm...I should probably keep going." Titan muttered deeply, but a quick glance at the half-hidden sun showed that it was getting quite a bit later into the day. He should probably head back into town, cash in his loot and maybe see about getting some new equipment. The meeting about the boss sounded good, although he didn't really think that he could work good in a group, or in a large building with more than ten people. He would be more prone to gutting someone, rather than helping them. No matter, however. He would try not to be a PKer; at least keep a shred of humanity. But, other than that....

Titan grinned, turning around and brandishing his spear and shield. Slowly, a pack of Dire Wolves surrounded him on all sides.

"I've always wanted to be a hunter."

He lunged.

---

Titan - Starting City Tavern - Floor 1

The wooden doors to the Starting City's one, of potentially many taverns swung open abruptly, as if from some sort of high, pressurized gale of wind. The wood splintered momentarily once it slammed against the opposite wall, before repairing itself in a haze of pixels and digital numbers. Shortly after, a tall, intimidating figure in mottled black, gray and crimson steel and leather armor calmly ducked into the bar, standing at least 7 feet tall with his armor, although you can tell that he was only a few inches shorter without the armor. A massive steel spear sat calmly on his back, tied to an equally large kite shield. From under his Spartan-esque helmet, angry crimson irises stared around swiftly, before resting on a specific red-haired figure.

"Boss meeting, hm?" A deep, admittedly demonic-sounding voice echoed from the shadows of the steel helmet as the titan walked over to the table with startling grace and ease despite his armor and stature. He sat in one of the chairs, leaning back and folding his muscular arms over his chest. His helmet disappeared in a hail of pixels, showing long, thick black hair that fell away from a dark, scarred, and chiseled face. The hair even had a few war braids sewn in.

Titan leaned forward, stapling his fingers together. "I can only guess that you are going as well, Whimsical?"

「I see I see well that’s good to know, being able to cook must be really handy, I will be sure to pick it up when we get out of this world.」Kei watched Siren as she skillfully pulled the dish out and then proceeded to grab a knife to evenly cut the noodles so that they could be transferred to the plates.「Definitely want to be able to learn to cook like that in real life.」Kei chuckled as he grabbed the last plate along with the forks and spoons and followed behind Siren back up to the room. It didn’t take a long time to get back up to the room in the time of two minutes we were already standing in front of the door about to enter.「Kiyomi is probably asleep so let's go in quietly.」Kei took hold of the door handle and turned it quietly opening the door to the room. Holding the door open Siren followed in and then he came in silently closing the door behind him.「Just as I expected.」Kei set the plate down and with soft footsteps walked over to where Kiyomi was curled up and pulled a blanket over making sure not to cover her face.「She seemed exhausted ever since we saved you earlier today.」He sat down in a chair near the table and closed his eyes whilst resting his head on his arm that was leaning on the table.「I would feel bad for waking her up.」He opened her eyes and looked over at Siren.「I say we let her sleep yeah?」

Ellien just nods as the man speaks, "Well... alright... I'll see what I can do I guess..." she says, reaching up to tap the -new message- indicator that had appeared on her display. She didn't hear what he said next, as she was already reading the message, but her concentration was broken by the whooshing sound of an activating crystal "W-wait! I didn't-" she didn't even get to finish the sentence before the man completely vanished, "Get... your... name..." she finishes, before mumbling as she rubs her face "Wow... ignorant... could have at least said goodbye first... she always hated it when people did that... try to talk to you and just *poof* gone... whether it's just roaming off or teleporting away.

"Asshole.." she grumbles, kicking a stone down the little outcropping and watches it bounce down the rocks towards the ground, and she just stands there, staring for a moment before something catches her attentio from in the forest just out of the corner of her eye, one of the mountain's many wolves seemed to have... flown? out of the patch of brush and she couldn't help but be curious as to just what was going on... It took her roughly three jumps to make it down to the bottom of the outcropping, at that time she noticed the wolf burst, the little crystals dispursing out into the air, "well... that's.... interesting..." she mumbles to herself as she approaches the patch of woods where the wolf had come flying out of... With her cloak billowing out around her, she drops to the ground at the base of the tree, allowing the cloak to just bunch up around her, distorting her outline as she huddled over to watch what exactly was going on... At the center of the clearing, stood a rather attractive looking woman with the most terrifying spear she had seen, and in front of her was the largest wolf she had ever seen in the area... it easily dwarfed the tiny ones she had seen in her travels through the mountain... Was this woman the one who decided to shot-put with a wolf? No... she could see that she wasn't worried abou the wolves all that much... but of course that nasty looking spear could probably keep them at bay... Ellien was so distracted by the giant wolf... which she could practically SWEAR was the creature she had been hunting for so long... it's jaws were large enough to just tear the head right off of one of the giant rams.... that she didn't see the smaller wolf flying through the air RIGHT at her. As the wolf slammed into the tree, she recoiled back out of reflex, "ho... holy shit...." she squeaks as she falls backwards away from the tree and looks around frantically before finally notices the man that had punted the wolves... and he definitely noticed the man seem to tackle the large wolf right out from under the woman's spear, somehow managing to pin it to the ground... before just bashing away at it's skull with his his fists until there was nothing left behind "What... the... fuck? she silently asks herself as the wolves littering the ground burst into clouds of data...followed closely by the giant one.

NO!!!! she mentally shriels, no! you can't have killed it! damn it!

She just stares in belief at the wolf that she had just spent well over a WEEK trying to track down...

Frowning, she just stares atr the wolf as it seems to slowly degrade into data... something about this isn't right... something had to have fucked up... that thing had to have been at least mini-boss rank from it's size and level... yet it had dropped jack shit from the looks of it. Her gut was telling her something was up... and since this game started, that had to have been her best friend to go to for advice... She brought up her menu and faced the woman with the spear, and sent her a message saying

Don't you just fucking HATE poachers? I saw you were fighting that thing.. and he just seemed to have randomly been there... Ive been tracking that big bitch for over a week... and I have located a few spawn points... give me a hand and we could split the loot....Party up? and about two minutes after that, she brings up another menu, and this time sends a party requists. once the requests was sent, she'd start climbing the tree, reaching the top and pulling out her pic recorder crystal to take a picture of the giant carcass of the dire wolf.

Labyrinth - level 2; Floor 1

Their strategy seemed to be working well for the first minute or so. In fact, it seemed to be working too well. All of their attacks connected and the Primg didn’t appear to be attempting to defend itself. That was Namora’s first clue that things were about to go very wrong. Before the girl could call out a warning, or even react to it properly, Saul had launched himself into the air ready to plunge his sword into the creature. The blade was gleaming with the telltale sign of a sword skill as Saul descended towards the Primg and time seemed to slow down. She was vaguely aware that Nick yelled out a warning, his words becoming distorted as they echoed through the hallway.

But by then it was already too late. The Primg flipped itself over so that it’s wickedly sharp stinger was pointed at Saul, extending it and impaling the boy through his chest in one swift motion. All of this happened within the breadth of a second, far too quickly for anyone to have prevented it. Saul’s HP bar which had been in the green range plummeted instantly to the red zone in the one hit he’d just taken. A blinking status effect showed that not only had the Primg delivered a critical attack, but it had also poisoned him. Frozen with the shock of what had just occurred, she barely had time to jump back as the creature charged toward the two remaining upright.

Namora – 9385/10,340

The charging attack had taken a good chunk of her HP, but it helped to snap her out of her moment of shock and terror. Still clearly shaken, Namora forced herself to focus on the battle at hand. If she got too emotional and let herself slip, she could very well end up dead. The girl raised her blade to parry an incoming strike, the Primg now relentless in its attacks as if having sensed that it’s victory was near. She could hear Rig behind her, obviously trying to heal his friend. It took all of her concentration and more to keep the creature from outright slaughtering her as she danced and weaved, her blade moving to parry the Primg’s continuous strikes. Purely on the defensive now that it had focused all of it’s aggro on her, she didn’t dare look back to see how Saul was faring. It seemed bleak and hopeless, from the sound of things.

"Don't. You know you do not have an item to heal toxic..." A snippet of conversation drifted over to her ears and she opened her mouth to state that she had an antidote. Realizing that she could not transfer it over to him without getting herself and Rig killed, she snapped her mouth closed. Namora felt as if she’d suddenly swallowed a thousand tiny shards of ice. Saul was going to die. His life would blink out forever, all because he died in a game. The thought was terrifying enough to make her slip again, missing a parry and resulting in a strike connecting with her shoulder.

Namora – 9203/10,340 || Primg - ????????/????????

The force of the blow pushed her back several feet, closer to Rig and Saul. She’d have been in a lot more trouble if it weren’t for her Battle Healing which gave her a constant and sizeable regeneration.

"Beat this nightmare, don't let these lives go in vain." Saul’s tone was full of determination even if his voice seemed to be fading.

The faint, almost gentle sound of something shattering confirmed that Saul had died. It was ironic that something as dark and impacting as death left no more than the soft sound of a crystal shattering. The tinkling sound and sparkling burst of crystals seemed insignificant to herald something as valuable as a life, a person’s soul winking out forever.

Namora parried and dodged as if on autopilot, her mind numb and almost completely detached from her actions. Saul, a boy who’d been alive only moments before was just.. gone. In a matter of seconds. She knew that the game was life or death. Of course she knew it. But the boy’s death had served as a very visible reminder, driving the point across more clearly than any warning ever could have. If it weren’t for the blessed numbness that had settled onto her mind like a freezing blanket of ice, she’d have been rooted to the spot with terror and as such bringing forth her death as well.

Namora – 8902/10,340 || Primg - ????????/????????

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Rig walk up next to her. His deceptively sharp sword seemed to be shrouded in a strange glow, one she was certain she hadn’t seen during the battle. Just then, a new figure charged at the Primg and attacked it with a truly impressive speed.

"Calm down. Losing your cool won't do you any good - especially against Primg. I've damaged it somewhat, though it." The newcomer turned to address Rig and sheathed his blade.

Did he just turn his back on the Primg and leave himself completely unguarded? Namora thought to herself in disbelief. And he just sheathed his sword. In the middle of a battle. Her incredulity at the young man’s cockiness and utter disregard for common sense knew no bounds. As expected, the creature landed a couple of hits on him before he turned around and attacked it again. He was fast, she’d give him that. He managed to sever the stinger, one of the most dangerous weapons the Primg possessed and leaped back to land beside her.

"You see, you should disarm an opponent whom you know has a lethal weapon. If you do so, and if that is his only weapon, you should find him much easier to beat."

“Thank you for that brilliant deduction, Mr. Holmes.” Namora found herself shooting back at him. “Any more words of wisdom to impart?” She wondered if the guy was too dense to read the situation. Their party member had just died and it was a safe bet to assume that such comments would only make things worse.

---

OOC: Teleport, your character got hit when he turned his back. As his battle healing is pretty low, he'd be in trouble if he does not drink a potion soon. Also, please do not auto dodge the Primg's attacks. It's a sub-boss, please treat it accordingly.

Also, for the rest of this encounter, Tiberious and Teleport, I suggest we do a collab on titanpad. Much more hassle free and easier to coordinate.

Kiyomi - Tolbana Tavern - Floor one

When sleep finally claimed her, Kiyomi went with open arms in the hope that on this night, her dreams would be magical.

"Kiyomi chan! It's time for bed now." The voice of her little brother was so calming, though...Kiyomi wondered where it had come from. Opening her eyes, she looked around and noticed she was lying down on the floor in her kitchen....her kitchen! Jumping up, Kiyomi ran to the place where she heard her brother Kaito's voice. "Kiyomi, time for bed now." was heard again, with a little giggle and the light patter of footsteps.

"Kaito....!" she called. "Where...? Where are you?" As she walked through her house, just the same as she remembered it, towards her brothers room. As she stepped in, he saw her and hopped up from his bed. "Kiyomi! Come quick, Mommy's gonna sing a song!" he ran up to her as if about to hug her, and she reached for him, her eyes tear-filled. Her hand ran through his hair before he moved completely through her, as if she was a ghost. Stunned, she stood, unmoving. "Woah, Kaito your getting to big to jump on me like that. And-- what happened to 'im too big for lullabys', huh?" That was...her voice! Whipping around, Kiyomi saw a slighty blurred version of herself...actually everything here was slightly blurred. Suddenly, Kiyomi realized...this was not happening now, it was just a memory. "I'm a big boy! I'm six years old remember, and you're my little sister." he said, running back to the bed. Six....so this was three years ago. Yes...I remember now." she spoke, but her words did not affect the scene before her.

"Come here, my children. Let me sing you a song. It's one i learned in my travels." her mother had said, patting the bed. They both went and got comfortable before her mom smiled and started to sing.

"Lay down your head and i'll sing you a lullaby. Back to the years of loo-li-lai-lay. And i'll sing you to sleep, and i'll sing you tomorrow. Bless you with love for the road that you go."

Kiyomi gasped and raised her hands to her mouth. This was her favorite one... She listened as a few tears overflowed from her lids,

"May you sail fair to the far fields of fortune, with diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet. And may you need never to banish misfortune. May you find kindness in all that you meet.

"May there always be angels to watch over you, to guide you each step of the way. To hold you and keep you, safe from all harm. Loo-li-loo-li-lai-lay."

Taking a few slow steps forward, Kiyomi went to kneel at the feet of her mom. She looked up at her and reached for her hand that rested on her mothers leg, only to pass right through it. "Momma..." she whimpered.

"May you bring love and may you bring happiness. Be loved in return to the end of your days. Now fall off to sleep, i'm not meaning to keep you. I'll just stay for a while and sing loo-li-lai-lay. Loo-li-loo-li-lai-lay."

As her mother said the last few words, she seemed to look down directly into Kiyomi's eyes. "I love you my daughter." was all she said before looking back up to her kids on the bed. Slowly the image started to fade, a bit of blackess crept in on the edges and slowly moved to the center.

"Loo-li-loo-li-lail-lay."

Loo-li-lai-lay.

Loo-li-lai-lay...

"Loo-li-lai-lay..." Kiyomi blinked and looked around with her eyes before realizing she was back at the Tavern. Sighing, she stay lying down and wiped at her eyes. Mom...Kaito...i'm coming back. I promise. But...i have to help some get back too. Just dont lose hope...and dont give up on me. It was her last thought before she slipped back into sleep. This time, she did not dream.

Unfortunately, Skye had been slightly scathed from a scratch from the creature - and perhaps he had endured such a loss in health simply because he was a bit too laid-back when fighting against Primg.

[Skye:] 10,382/10,544 HP

The young swordsman was brought back to his senses by a remarkably sarcastic comment from the female adjacent to him. “Thank you for that brilliant deduction, Mr. Holmes." She paused for a moment, as if to wonder why Skye would even say such a thing, but continued nonetheless. "Any more words of wisdom to impart?" Her cyan eyes seemed to tell Skye that she assumed he was dense - and that such comments would only make things worse.

Skye grinned slightly. That woman was very interesting; he had never received such comments from a female in his entire life. "In fact, I do. Losing your rationality during a battle is the worst possible thing one could do - it not only clouds your judgement, but it renders you unable to think sensibly as well. Attempting to do that against a boss - or even a sub-boss would be like depriving yourself of oxygen." The charming swordsman smiled before removing a health potion from his inventory. "If your logic requires you to send yourself into an emotional fury only to lose your rationality, I would much rather be Sherlock Holmes than a fool who would lead himself to his own demise."

He took a sip from the red potion, and it subsequently dissipated into a myriad of crystal shards. "Now then. Let's take things seriously, shall we?" Grasping his sword tightly with his right hand as it seemed to sharpen itself even further within its aura of blue, he prepared to take on the creature once more.

[Items - Consumable and Misc-]
1 Antidote Crystal
3 Teleport Crystals
3 Healing Crystals
5 Healing Potions
4 Antidote Potions
1 Message Record Crystal
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OOC: This post was pretty short. :P Also, could you elaborate on what we should do with Titanpad?

Lillium, my character is classified under the 'Paper Ram'. Trading his health for immense damage and speed, he focuses on landing blindingly quick slashes that deal a whole lot of damage in swift movements - though he can't take many hits. This means that without his superior agility and power put into play, he wouldn't be himself. If my character got hit badly during a sub-boss fight, he would literally be considered useless(as his speed would not exceed the sub-boss's and he takes a lot of damage). As quoted from TV Tropes:

TV Tropes said Being fast is cool, but hardly sufficient in many settings to make a difference. Being able to make a lot of damage is great but not so much if you are a sitting duck while doing so. Enter the Paper Ram, who trades his health for damage and speed.

But of course, that is not to say that he won't be hit in actual boss fights - I definitely plan on having him taking a lot of damage.

Whimsical - Starting City, Tavern - Floor 1

Whimsical didn't even had to look back to know it was Titan who had just stormed through the tavern, it was just his signature: Being brutish and intimidating. He was the kind of guy you'd not pick a fight with in a tavern, the kind of biker who walked in with such confidence, that even other bikers felt useless. Yep, that sort of man. Great companion. As Titan approached Whimsical, inquiring about the boss meeting before leaning and asking if Whimsical would be going, the amber eyes focused up at Titan's face, a shrug of his shoulders being given as response before he raised a gloved hand and gestured towards a chair, nodding towards it. His gaze felt on the empty plate in front of him right after.

"Take a seat, Titan." He spoke, pushing the plate to the side. He wasn't exactly sure about the meeting, himself. The woman who told him about it was highly... unreliable, nearly out of her mind. And there was the fact that she was being followed- for what, by who? The questions were quite difficult and Whimsical wasn't entirely sure he could trust her. Much less risk his companions' life trusting in a girl who could barely protect herself. Finally, coming to a conclusion which, in Whimsical's eyes was the most plausible one, the red-haired man looked up at the large man, managing a smile of sorts. "I'm not entirely sure, Titan. The woman who told me about it was... inconsistent. Not exactly reliable; weak." He spoke the last word with a firm tone.

"If we have the opportunity to fight this floor's boss, I would certainly be the first to march into combat. But I need to make sure it's not some sort of trap or self assigned death sentence."

Kei – Tolbana Tavern - Floor 1

Kei slowly ate the noodles that Siren had prepared they were amazing, he knew that it was only virtual but he wanted to persuade himself that what he was eating right then was real, but in the end he could not convince himself. He knew that in the real world he was living only because some unknown clear liquid was being dripped into him making sure that his body got the nutrients it needed to survive. He sighed to himself and then looked up to where Siren was. She was sitting at the edge of the bed while Kiyomi was right behind her fast asleep. Kei took a moment and then realized that it was time for him to move on back to his room for the night seeing as it was really late and it was rude for a boy to be in a girl’s room when they are trying to sleep. Kei coughed dryly. Standing up quickly he darted quickly to the door. Opening it before him he looked back and gave an awkward but sincere smile.「Sleep well tonight you two.」He softly shut the door behind him and proceeded down the hall.

As he walked all he could hear was the night and his footsteps that echoed down the hall. It was peaceful but it had a certain air to it that made it hard for him to legitimately relax as if he were in his room. He shook the feeling off and entered his room. Letting the door close shut behind him he face planted the bed and then looked up into the window, staring at it long enough the system focus kicked in allowing him to see the stars from where he was. He carefully picked himself up and walked towards the window to get closer. Staring at the stars long and hard he closed his eyes and started to remember all the things he had during the night in the real world. He stayed up long nights tinkering with his computer, playing video games, and just browsing the web. Opening his eyes he yawned slightly and fell back onto the bed staring up at the ceiling.

Dec 1, 2022
Floor 1-Labyrinth Level 2

I... This can't be... I promised... Nick's anger began to overpower every other emotion, his face twisting in rage. There was a twitching emanated from his two-handed weapon as his eyes adjusted to what was going on around him. He remembers an arrogant prick saying something, not knowing the situation. The kid was fast, but probably could not take a hit. Namora fended the murderous creature off valiantly while Mr. Showoff tried to play the hero. With his back turned, Primg launched a strike, but the computer gods favoured the speedster, letting speed counter most of the blow. Luck will not allows be on his side, or anyones side for that matter. Together they pushed the creature back for a moment, not knowing Primg's true strength, though no stinger help a bit. This was a fight not meant to be one by casual players, only those worthy were meant to defeat this monster.

That is when something popped up on his HUD, a new sword skill. "Blazing... Charge" Nick unintentionally spoke. The others were now bittering, but just went in one ear and out the other. Primg let out a strange roar, a sound not heard from earlier in the battle. Scratching could be heard above them followed by shadows moving. No matter Primg, your youngling will not be able to save you from me. Smaller, mob spiders lowered from the ceiling, gathering in front of their mother. Six stood guard, willing to defend their parent no matter what. The glow from Nick's sword had caught fire to match his rage. "Namora, Douche, teleport out of here." He took several steps forward as they tried to speak back, but Nick cut them off, turning part way to them. Sadness and rage now rested in Nick's face with a stream of tears to match. "NO ONE ELSE DIES HERE!!! NOW GO!!!" Primg let out a battle cry, signaling her children to charge. Nick stood ready in a battle stand, his weapon in both hands, legs spaced evenly.

For... Saul. The new sword skill began to activate. For Saul. The creatures drew closer. FOR SAUL. In that moment, everything grew still. "FOR SAUL!!!"

In a blast of speed, strength, and rage, Nick made his move. The spiders had split, two on the ground, the other four on either hallway wall. Taking the grounded foes was the best choice as the other four had gone up out of Nick's reach. Their health was low but each one was quick, packing webs and poison into the arsenal. The left spider attacked first, launching itself in hopes of piercing Nick. The bug was smashed into the wall as Nick swung for the fences. Using the momentum from the swing, he spun, coming back around and uppercutting the next mob into the air. The spider fell onto his blade, sliding down before turning to pixel dust. The first foe made its move, striking at Nick's left thigh. Though no pain was felt, a indicator told where the blow came from. Not letting the spider get another hit off, Nick turned around and brought his blade down, tip first. Poof. The second spider defeated, Nick focused on Primg, the friend killer.

Rigsaw's Health 9,405/9,720

Sword Skill Activate: Blazing Charge. Primg struck first, swiping with its left leg. The strike hit, but thanks to Blazing Charge, Nick loss no momentum. "DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" he screamed as he jumped into the air, arms pulled back to one side. Primg's tiny black eyes gleamed, cold and ruthless as it showed no signs of shock when its prey continued to charge. Nick's sword smoothly pierced the Watcher's right eye. With a kick to the face, Nick pulled his sword out and pushed off, landing a few yards away from the now screeching Primg.

Primg's Health ????/????? Rigsaw's Health 6,980/9,720

Amber - Dire Mountain - Floor 1

Amber blankly stared at the carnage occurring around her. It was clear to her that this man was maxing for speed and damage, he had to have been otherwise nothing he was doing would be making any sense. He was lightning quick, and still struck with the force of a thousand suns. She figured in order for him to be doing this his defensive stats must be ridiculously low, a couple of direct hits from these monsters could spell the death of him she assumed. Yet he seemed quick enough to not allow that to happen, as he devastated the entire group.

With a shocked and look of utter confusion on her face, Amber simply turned from him and began to walk away. She lifted her hand and waved dismissively at him, “You seem to have this handled. Have a good night.”

Amber continued on for a ways before a familiar tone caused her to stop. In front of her a small private message window appeared and she slowly opened it, “Don't you just fucking HATE poachers? I saw you were fighting that thing.. and he just seemed to have randomly been there... Ive been tracking that big bitch for over a week... and I have located a few spawn points... give me a hand and we could split the loot....Party up?”

Quickly she turned and began to scan her surroundings. She wasn’t very far from the scene of the wolf fight, yet she still couldn’t see who had sent her that message. Amber kept gazing into the distance, until another message tone rang in her ear and a party invite popped up in front of her. With a sigh she continued to search for her strange, almost stalker level, ‘friend’.

With a sigh, Amber opened up the private message and tapped the reply icon, Who is this? I don’t normally mind partnering with strangers, but at the moment I feel as if I’m being stalked like prey through the hills. Amber kept the party invite screen open but didn’t tap accept, instead she wrote another PM to the mysterious person, If you don’t want to reveal yourself around other people that’s fine. If you head south there’ll be a nice clearing, meet me there and we can talk in person about your “hunting” grounds.

Ellien continues to watch the two from her vantage point.... Seeing the man she couldn't help but be thankful she had a good hiding skill... if he decided to go PVP then she'd be screwed... he had to have been a pure fighter.... With nothing but dump stats in order to hit that hard and move that fast... and it would be best for her to just avoid him by any means necessary... Instead, focusing on the spear wielding woman as she goes to leave. Ellien follows her moving from tree to tree, staying in their shadows, until the woman finally seems to receive her message... The suddenness of the reply ding caused her to flinch a bit before she opened the message.

Who is this? I don’t normally mind partnering with strangers, but at the moment I feel as if I’m being stalked like prey through the hills.

Looking over, she saw the woman hesitating, staring at the invite screen before sending her another message

If you don’t want to reveal yourself around other people that’s fine. If you head south there’ll be a nice clearing, meet me there and we can talk in person about your

A frown crosses her face as she brings up her map and looks at the surrounding area to locate the clearing... it looked like it was a decent distance away... not much chance of encountering the glass cannon again... So, she goes back to the message window and replies.

that works... Sorry... I have a personal thing against poachers and glass cannon players... I see the clearing on my map and will meet you there. She sends, before picking up a stick from the ground under the tree. Being an information broker and theif... she had a thing for theatricals and misleading people... So she decided she could at least play up the interesting character concept a bit to mess with this woman...

She hurls the stick over the woman's head, hoping her perception wasn't high enough to notice, and it lands in the brush a little ways away, causing a rattling as it shakes the bush. The moment it lands, Ellien sprints away, figuring her speed was easily higher than anybody who uses heavy armor.

With her speed, it doesnt take her long to reach the clearing. It was probably about twenty, thirty yards in diameter with a few fallen logs laying across the tree line and into the grassy clearing... At the center, as most games liked to do for scenery like this, there was a single, large mossy rock. Which, of course, Ellie saw as a great opportunity to play up the mysteriousness of herself as she climbs up and looks to the north towards where she had come from. Not seeing anybody she pulls up her inventory, and scrolls down to her lute option, which she taps and holds her hands out. Wish a soft whooshing sound, the lute spawns a few inches above her hands, and drops into them.

She gently slides her fingers down the strings, causing the series of soft notes to ring out into the empty clearing, as she sits there, wracking her brains for the best song for this kind of setting... A small grin crosses her face as she remembers a nice, soft, almost sorrowful song she had heard quite some time ago... You gotta hand it to the Japanese... they have some really good music and cartoons... She didn't need to sing for this one either... so it would really help her mysterious image... And after taking a nice, deep breath, holding for a few seconds, before slowly letting it out... she pulls her hood up and begins to play

Amber - Dire Mountain - Floor 1

Amber waited a few moments before continuing, expecting a message to come sooner than it did from her stalker. When the message finally chimed in Amber was almost surprised by it and moved her foot instinctively to make a step back before catching herself. She raised a finger and opened the message, “that works... Sorry... I have a personal thing against poachers and glass cannon players... I see the clearing on my map and will meet you there.”

With a long sigh, she wondered what she was getting herself in to. Amber didn’t care much for people that went through great lengths to play a role that was unnecessary. As she heard a rustle in the bushes next to her, she began to feel this way even more. If this person was still following her, why not just pop out and say, Oh no, hey! I’m right here! We don’t have to have a secret meeting anymore, I’m just a couple feet away from you after all.

Groaning and scratching the back of her head Amber started to walk forward. Her heavy armor making its usual sound similar to pots banging together in a hectic kitchen as she walked prevented her from being very sneaky, and she was just fine with that. The sneaky game was for people that were either too cowardly to deal with their current situation, or were simply not strong enough to fight. She could respect the latter, as it was difficult to get use to the situation everyone here was involved in, but those that were coward and struck from the shadows simply annoyed her. They had no real honor, and the vast majority of the time just turned out to be player killers that sought fortune in a virtual prison by murdering other innocent inmates.

Just before Amber entered the clearing an almost haunting sound started to rise in front of her. It was clear that it was the person she was meeting, and Amber wondered if the song choice had anything to do with trying to act suspicious and try to create some sense of mystery now that they were going to be revealing themselves. Amber just shook her head, and walked out into the clearing, and upon seeing the girl on the stone playing her lute blankly stared at her for a few moments before speaking, “Are we done playing hide and seek? I have a very short patience, some people say it’s a character flaw and makes me a buzz kill.”

Labyrinth; level 2 - Town of beginnings | Floor 1

The newcomer grinned slightly, still as nonplussed as ever causing Namora to wonder if he was more than a little loopy in the head. Either that or he had nerves of steel, bordering on AI level. The first one seemed more likely in her opinion.

"In fact, I do. Losing your rationality during a battle is the worst possible thing one could do - it not only clouds your judgement, but it renders you unable to think sensibly as well. Attempting to do that against a boss - or even a sub-boss would be like depriving yourself of oxygen." He replied in his infuriatingly charming tone.

Does this guy not get what sarcasm is? The raven haired girl wondered as she ignored his latest comment and pressed on with her attacks. Loopy and oblivious to sarcasm or not, the extra support he provided against the Primg helped immensely.

"Now then. Let's take things seriously, shall we?" The swordsman added after taking a drink from a potion vial.

"Take things seriously? What did you think we were doing, waltzing with a monstrous insect the size of a truck? And Saul just happened to trip onto its stinger?" Namora muttered in disgust. She had half a mind to whack the guy on the head. Preferrably with something quite heavy. The girl's temper flared at his words and she felt herself gritting her teeth. Sadly, whacking the newcomer on the head would not be the most productive thing to do at the moment no matter how satisfying it might've been. Channeling her anger into a flurry of strikes, Namora pressed on with the attack. It was easier and gave her enough breathing room now that she had someone at her side.

Just then, Primg let out a bestial roar - this one noticeably different from its previous higher pitched ones. Though she did not speak overly-large-spider-language, she knew it was nothing good when the creature let out its equivalent of a battle cry. As if heeding the call, smaller spiders descended from the ceiling; their number increasing as the seconds ticked by.

"Namora, Douche, teleport out of here." Rig's determined voice rang out from behind them. Namora opened her mouth to say something - whether it was to protest or wish him luck, she did not know.

"NO ONE ELSE DIES HERE!!! NOW GO!!!" His voice cut off any reply she might've made and caused her to flinch. Tears were streaming down the usually stoic man's face. Grief and outrage had twisted his features into something unfamiliar.

"I.. Alright." She answered with a shaky nod, quickly sheathing her blade. Namora wasn't noble enough to stay behind and risk her own death when the logical option was to flee. Sure, Rigsaw was a good person and he certainly didn't desreve to die. She'd have taken him along with her if he would've budged. But it was his choice to make, not hers. Casting one last look at Rigsaw and flicking a glance at the newcomer, she closed her eyes and activated the teleport crystal.

---

Dire Mountain

Ellien couldn't help the scowl that crossed her face as she heard the woman coming a mile away... How could ANYBODY stand to make that much noise? Hell... in the real world when she went for a walk in the woods she was always so paranoid about how much noise she made and who or what could hear her... But apparently some people didnt have that issue... Sometimes having such a high perception was a curse... because every step closer the woman got, the louder and more irritating the sound became... It quickly got to nails-on-a-chalkboard level and then the armor clad figure finally broke through the tree line.

She just silently watched, eyes staring out from under the shadow of her cloak as the woman stared at her blankly before finally speaking “Are we done playing hide and seek? I have a very short patience, some people say it’s a character flaw and makes me a buzz kill.”

Ellien's pursed lips would be visible from under the line of the shadows as she finished her song. Purposefully taking her time opening her menu... then her inventory... then scrolling aaaaaaaaallllll the way down to her lute before finally dismisses it.

"Yes... a character flaw like that won't make you many friends..." she says with a sigh as she re-positions, scootching over to the edge of the rock and crossing her legs before letting them hang down, just a little bit off the ground "And friends will be very useful as we ascend through the levels... so maybe you should try to be a little friendlier? hmm?" she asks, head cocking to the side as she forces a smile, her eyes still hidden in shadow? "As for hide and seek... who's hiding? If I had any intention of hiding I wouldn't be sitting on an elevated position smack dab in the middle of a field and playing a lute to draw attention to myself, would I?" she adds in an overly sarcastic tone before releasing a long, overly dramatic sigh. "Y'know... We may be trapped here.. but the least you can do is at least TRY to enjoy yourself..."

"Let me guess... you're one of those people who have one of those accursed things called 'a life' aren't you?" she asks, she smile becoming more true as she makes the joke,