Lilly scoffed, and shook her head. This guy was actually telling her off for saving his life.
"Ok, so I have spent half my life on MMos and racked up a fair knowledge about them. One of them things is something you have missed, I.E how to use potions. Without me helping you, you'd be dead. And yes, I know this game kills people. You really think that out of all ten thousand players in this game, you are the only person to lose someone close to you?!" She demanded, her façade of calm cracking in the face of this assault. And then, the threat came. The threat of Death. Wordlessly, Lilly drew her massive blade, and glared at Bachus.
"If your willing to kill me, then you are willing to kill another, and I can't let you go that. I will not lose another person to you psychopathic murderers! So let me tell you this. the situation right now is a victory either way. I get rid of one of you bastards-" The word was spat with such venom it could melt rocks "-Or I die and don't have to deal with this shit any longer!" She screamed at him, slamming the visor down on her tears and gripping the blade in both hands.

Bachus turned. "I wouldn't do that. Look at our stats. You wouldn't last long." He grunted. "I dont want to kill you. So I'd prefer it if you moved along." He drew his sword with both hands. "If this is what you really want, come at me, and take your death. You can turn around, and we can forget this thing ever happened." He narrowed his eyes. "Nothing will stand in my way. You included, please dont make me kill you."

Lilly laughed, loudly. Almost, hysterically.
"Stats? We aren't in a party, so all that is visible is the person's health. For all you know, I could have better stats than you. I have a full set of enhanced gear. Plus, there is one thing better than stats in this universe. And that, is skill" she told him, the tears still rolling down her eyes. "And if you don't want to kill me, why even suggest it?" She demanded, clenching her sword tightly, and then her health went down. Only by a little bit, but it still went down.

Turning, with eyes behind the visor blazing in anger, she smashed the small mook creature, a lower level that the mobs that attacked them beforehand, across the field with the flat of her blade, and then charged up to it, smashing the blade-edge into it again and again, anger flowing from her to it.
"I was having a conversation you rude bint!" She screamed, seemingly forgetting Bachus for the time, and smashing the creaturesome more.

Bachus had kept his weapon drawn. After observing her nature, it didn't seem like she was intending to stand in her way. After all, she didn't know what he knew. He sheathed his blade, sighing. "You said you ran a smith, those people I was talking about earlier will need a reliable one." He folded his arms. "I dont want you getting in my way, but let me take you to them at least." He grunted. "I've kept track of their locations since the first boss door meeting." He showed her. "We can go now if you want." He glanced at her coldly.

Lilly finished smashing the ground, and collapsed to her knees, sobbing softly as Bachus called her a 'reliable smith'.
"I'm not a reliable anything. I couldn't even save my own friend, I just stood there and did nothing as they killed her. And now she is dead, and it's all my fault" Lilly muttered, hugging her sword tightly and trembling on the floor. Why did emotions have to be added into this dam game? It was horrible! "I'm just going to stay here and kill things till I die. It sounds like a much better alternative for everyone" she muttered again, her head on the large slab of metal that was her sword.

Following Thessalia's question, a second of silence followed as she'd caught ReivaX mid-mouthful - though his answer thereafter didn't surprise her much; it being much the same reason as her own. Thinking about what to say in return, Thessalia couldn't find much more than a simple "I see" in return - and falling into silence after that; the only sounds coming from the players all around or the cutlery being used. Despite this very thing - a quiet lunchtime break - having been exactly what she'd been hoping for, the kind of quiet that hung between two people at the same table was quite a different thing from what she'd been anticipating. Passing off the silence by simply continuing with her meal, she occasionaly glanced up at the other table occupant or the other patrons of the inn - even as she realised that, despite having been stuck here in Aincraf for over a month now, she had yet to really hold much of a conversation or spend time with other people. An inaudible sigh came over her lips at that realisation - and the next one thereafter: she was still her quiet old self that felt uncomfortable around strangers.

Glancing over the various other tables as another guest passed the table she was sitting at, she wondered if it might not be better to try and actually go about making some friends - after all, it could hardly be that absolutely everyone in the world harboured ill intentions; even in such a life-or-death environment - and after some had already showed the opposite to be true. For a moment, she considered the option - but then, with a small shake of her head as if to clear it of such thoughts, decided against it. It really just wasn't something for her, it seemed, asThessalia concluded. It was only then that she also noticed her own plate had lost most of the meal it had carried - a large portion having been eaten as she wasn't paying attention. Seeing that, she looked up across the table - unsure if the other occupant, the black-haired swordsman, had, in her longer-than-anticipated state of being lost in thought, broken the silence or perhaps even simply left the table altogether.

As ReivaX sat there the awkward silence between the two lingered. ReivaX looked to his plate, finishing the last bit of the meal that used to be there. "Ahh! that was good." He said rather comfortably. Closing his eyes and throwing his arms above his head as he held his hands. Looking forward once a again to see Thessalia sitting across from him, for a second here he had completely forgot she was there due to how quiet it was. "Oh... Uh... How is yours? There food is pretty good here wouldn't ya say?" ReivaX asked her curiously, no longer being able to make out what meal she had. He would fold his arms at his chest while resting his back to the back of the chair, slouching slightly on his seat. He turned and tilted his head in various directions as he admired the way the Inn looked on the inside, ReivaX seemed to like the way a lot of the buildings looked on the inside. Reivax notice the Inn becoming less and less occupied as he looked around, as he watched the players leave one by one he remembered that he wanted to get back out grind some more to level his skills. Before Thessalia could answer the first set of questions, ReivaX would be asking her more. Taking in a deep breath he would close his eyes, this being his own way of preparing himself to ask her. "Do you want to train skills with me since we were both going to do that anyway?" He asked as he kept his eyes closed, only to open them as he finished asking. "I mean... if you want to, It was only a suggestion, you don't have to... you don't have to do anything if you din't want to... Nobody does realistically..." ReivaX added, seeming to be rambling on a bit as he felt a little awkward asking her that. They had only really encountered a few times within the month after they met.

Cash remained silent as the 4 Pk-ers slowly approached him, they made it quite obvious that there was no point in negotiating. Cash, starring at the four men, felt helpless. A quick examination would prove that two of the 4 men about to attack him had a sword and shield combo. Two people with the One-handed straight sword skill and a shield, no doubt they would attack first and block a the counter attack. The one Pk-er had a massive two-handed straight sword, probably having the respected skill to wield it. The fourth and last Pk-er had a two handed assault spear, this was the person Cash really had to look out for. Cash thought of a series of attacks they would try according to their skills, it went something this; The two-handed assault spear would attack him, obvious that he doesn't have a shield, Cash would have to dodge it. In mid dodge, Cash would be vulnerable to the two sword and shield attacks, if either of them land a hit on cash, the other person would attack with their sword shortly after. If the second attack hits Cash his HP would already be in low yellow or high red, depending on their attack power. All it would take now would be the huge sword weilder to land a single blow and Cash is dead. Cash thought it over, he couldn't win this, all he could hope for was escaping and making his way back to the town. The closest safe zone. Cash tried to remember his skills and how any of them could be useful at this moment, Cash could only think of his medicine mixing skill. He had raised his blade throwing skill slightly over the few months, and at this range, he was confident he could apply his medicine mixing to a blade and throw it at them.

Cash reached behind him to the small leather pouch that perched on his hip, The Pk-ers were rattle by this, they knew Cash was going to attack. They tightened their grips and readied their weapons, waiting for Cash to do something stupid. Cash pulled out four blades from the pouch, but he couldn't just throw them, they would do little to no damage with his skill. Cash didn't let the Pk-ers see the throwing blades by keeping his hand behind his back. Cash's sprint skill was activated, but instead of Cash's normal use of sprint, which is to dodge, he actually use it for it's practical use, to sprint. Cash turned around, now facing away from the town, and darted out towards the open fields. The Pk-ers were ready for something like this and without any hesitation they sprinted after him. They must have had lots of kills after a chase, becasue they were gaining on Cash quite quickly. While he ran, Cash opened his menu and took out a bottle of freezing poison, a poison that slowed the movements of monsters. Cash applied the bottle of poison to the four blades, and only seconds after the bottle of poison exploded into data pieces, her turned around and threw the blades at the Pk-ers.

Three were hit, and they slowed down drastically, the fourth one, the spear holder, still ran after him. The same trick wasn't going to work twice, and Cash had already used up his throwing blades. All Cash could do now was run and wait until he ran out of energy. Cash ran towards the end of the field, it grew closer every step Cash took. Cash had to think of a way to shake the Pk-er, and make his way back to the safe-zoned town.

Looking up, Thessalia found ReivaX to be rather aimlessly looking around the inn - having finished his meal, he was probably looking for a quick way to excuse himself and get back to his own training, she wagered; his previous question having gone over her head in the meantime. Following his eyes for a moment, she too noticed that an ever increasing number of guest were either leaving or getting ready to do so - even though one could find people in just about every inn at just about any time of the day, the usual mealtimes still attracted the largest crowds; some habits just being too hard to shake, it seemed. Returning her attention to what little remained of her own meal, it was diverted just seconds later when ReivaX spoke up - unbeknownst to her for the second time in short time - and asked whether she wanted to train skills together with him.

"Huh?" was her immediate response in a questioning tone of voice; her expression turning quizzical too before he continued speak - or rather, trailing off. The question seemed to come out of nowhere - and even more so due to Thessalia having only just put down such a question herself. Yet here were the same unspoken words returned at herself - causing her to reconsider her decision for a moment. Of course, a party would be a lot more efficient in the long term than soloing. Furthermore, it would perhaps be nice to have someone nearby during the long hours out in the field for once. Yet just as she thought that the pros were outweighing the cons by far, she remembered the first boss battle - the sight of the first player that died in that fight; the fear, the pain and the utterly broken despair in his eyes as he burst into light. Not just once - such a scene had been repeated again and again throughout every boss fight and even out in the fields.

Looking back up - inadvertantly having averted her eyes - Thessalia thought for a moment how to answer before casting her eyes down again. "Sorry, I... don't do well with others," she finally said, truthfully - though not for the reasons that would seem obvious from the context they were spoken in.

ReivaX put his hands behind his head, elbows in the air, as he leaned back in his chair. He would close his eyes as he let out a deep breath. "Alright." He said as he opened his eyes and placed his hand on the table. Although Thessalia rejected the offer, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Since he bought the game he went in with hopes that it would help him become more social in one way or another. "Well if you change your mind you can send me a message, and we can grind together." He pushed himself up from his seat, the chair sliding back a bit as he did this. "Either way, I'm heading off to grind some more. So I'll see you around." Pausing for a second before adding. "Be careful out there would ya?" Letting off a light chuckle as he turned around and wave to her while walking towards the doors to the Inn. Pushing the doors open he took in a deep breath and headed out towards the the field outside of town. ReivaX searched through his inventory for a teleport crystal only to remember he used it to get to town earlier. Damn it... I must of used my last one to get town... well isn't that just fabulous! An annoyed look on his face as he thought about it. With an annoyed look on his face he decided he was following through with it and getting back to grinding, walking to the field instead.

Walking out into the field looking for a good group of mobs to kill, ReivaX spotted the perfect group just a little ways away. He broke out into a quick paced jog towards the group, stopping about 25 feet away from them. As he walked closer, ready to use his One-handed curved sword skill at any moment, he noticed someone running in his general direction. ReivaX had no clue just as to why this person might be running, so he decided to watch to see what was going on. The figures became clearer the closer they got. While watching he noticed a familiar face. Is that... no, it cant be... He thought to himself as he looked carefully at the boy running, until he caught a glimpse of his face. It is! It's the kid who was staring at me at the Inn, but what's he running from? ReivaX looked around the blonde haired boy, trying to see what he could be running from. He eventually saw the Pker with the Two-Handed assault spear chasing the Blonde haired boy with three other trailing quite far away. ReivaX started to run towards the Blonde haired boy and the Pker with the assual spear. "Hey!" He shouted out to them. "Hey, What's going on here? Do you need help?!" He cried out, adding to what he said.

Cash's breath started to become more and more shallow as he continued running, there was no way he was making it back to the town just a mile up. Cash felt like he hit a wall when he came to the realization that he might die right here. No more guild, No more surviving till the end, No more friends, No more family, it would all be gone if Cash gave up here. But he didn't have a choice, his body wasn't made for running this long. If the game master hadn't made the pain tolerance life-like, Cash wouldn't be able to feel the cramps and burning lungs that he is experiencing right now, he would be running without feeling any of that. Cash could feel his legs ready to buckle at any time now. Cash started to slow down slightly, he could tell his end was nigh and he couldn't do anything about it. He hated it. Cash was on the verge of accepting his death, he may have wished for a more glorified ending, but there wasn't anything Cash could do to escape this fate. Cash almost lost all hope for survival until he heard a voice, it wasn't familiar in the slightest but it had a comforting feel to it. Cash's only hope, in the form of a voice, was absolutely relieving. A smile grew on Cash sweaty face, it grew wider when the voice bellowed again, this time offering aid. Cash's head flung up from it's previous slouching position, to his surprise it was the dark haired boy with the curved blade. "Pk-ers!" Cash screamed towards to the boy; Cash couldn't force himself to say more because of his lungs already feeling like they were going to pop.

Cash twisted his head so his face was pointing to the threatening Pk-ers, wondering if they were still following him. There wasn't any doubt in his mind, but it was a dream that Cash chased eagerly. The spear wielder who was only 5-6 meter's behind him, ran relentlessly towards cash. His large ebony spear had a shiny silver spear head that perched intimidatingly on the end of the darkened pole, it bobbed up and down as the PK-er ran; Regardless of which, the spear's aim was never moved off cash's body. "You can't run forever!" The spear wielder shouted, his words being disoriented from the loud clanging of his armour. Cash's face scrunched up in anger, If only it wasn't the spear wielder, I would stop and fight...he's got reach on me, it'd be impossible. Cash thought to himself. While Cash thought about the boy's voice and how it would lead him to safety, his legs gave way. Cash's heart must have skipped a beat. The scare of tripping was apparent and so was the scare of death. Cash must have been quite close to the boy when he tripped because when Cash opened his eyes mid fall, he could see the boy in a very clear light. A smirk hid behind the expression on Cash's face, Cash had a good feeling this boy would help and would possibly save his life.

ReivaX's words after Thessalia's answer came as a surprise - she had expected him to be... actually, she didn't really know what to expect. Rather, he simply took it as a no and left it at that; instead stating that there would be other times if now wasn't convenient. Not really sure what to say, Thessalia didn't speak before he already continued on; standing up as he did. She gave a simple nod as he said that he would be heading out to train some more - only to look up as he then added for her to take care in the field. Perhaps more surprised than at his previous words, she only nodded again; only adding a "Yeah, you too," when he'd already started walking toward the Inn's entrance. Remaining seated for a moment, Thessalia's eyes fell back to the table before her - only to then give a small sigh at the whole conversation. She really still had to start geting used to other people, it seemed.

Deciding to put that to the back of her head, Thessalia instead stood up, her meal finished in the meantime, and turned toward the Inn's entrance. Out of habit that she hadn't even realised she'd started to build, she flicked open her inventory, checking the usual essentials - current amount of col, the state of her equipment and the amount of potions and crystals. Seeing as all of these things were in the green - her small shopping before lunch having done its part nicely - there was little need for her to remain in town any longer. For a moment, she pondered her options - should she go more toward the exp-heavy areas or rather the more col-drop inclined places? Seeing as she wasn't really in an immediate need for an upgrade or other purchase, Thessalia opted for the former - and thus headed toward the town gate.

A certain tension came over Thessalia - as always when she left the safe zone that were the towns of Aincrad - as she left the fourth floor town behind her; heading out toward her currently preferred training area - all the while hoping that no guild or group had decided to take up residene there in the meantime as had been the case occasionally in the past. Being a single soloer, there was little left for her to do but vacate the spot after all - not that she would have wanted to make trouble over such a thing even if she thought there was a chance to be had in it. As she walked, she noticed some figures off her chosen path - three players running toward each other. No, six - one running toward the other two and another three trailing behind the two. They were a ways off so that it was impossible to quite make out who they might be or what they were doing - but as she watched for a second, she noticed the single player draw his weapon as one of the two stumbled and fell. For some reason, the whole scene had an oddly tense feeling about it - as if it wasn't just a group of friends meeting up; even over such a distance.

'I probably should just keep walking...' Thessalia concluded - even as she veered off from her previous path; picking up the pace as she did. Despite her mind telling her that it was safest not to get involved, a small nagging feeling at the back of her mind just didn't leave her in peace - the thought that, if something really was about to happen, perhaps she could do something to stop it; her speed having reached a full on sprint to try and cover the distance by the time she fully realised what she was doing - though she doubted she'd get there before the trailing three managed to reach the others first.

The clanging of the PKer's heavy metal armour grew louder every second Cash laid on the ground. Cash's face, disoriented from the dirt and blades of grass that clung to it, had a dazed expression on it. Although his head pounded from the sudden impact of the fall, he could still manage to see the dark haired boy in front of him clearly. ReivaX's run turned into the sprint at the sight of Cash falling, the assault spear wielder was closing the gap very quickly. Both Cash and ReivaX knew what was going to happen and only RievaX had the power to change the inevitable. Cash managed to turn his head to face the PKer who was hot on his trial, nearly 6 meters away, his spear only about 4. The spear wielder brought up his weapon into an attack position, the bright green glow was a very clear indicator that he was preforming an attack on Cash. RievaX's eyes widened at the sight of the glowing spear, his window of opportunity was closing and he needed to act fast if he wanted to save Cash in time.

RievaX reached Cash just in time, and without thinking leaped over him. The spear wielder noticed the curved blade wielder in the air and ceased his attack on cash, reducing the green glow of the spear to nothing. The Pker lifted his spear, it was now pointing at the boy in the air. RievaX looked at the PKer from the temporary vantage point and saw him readjust his spear into a position to attack him. He had to dodge the incoming attack while in mid air, but he was to low to the ground to preform any of his acrobatic skills. Again, the spear began to glow the same green had before, the PKer was going to attack. Cash looked back at the boy, but he wasn't in front of him any more. Cash's face turned into a grim expression as fear crept into him when he lost sight of the boy, unaware RievaX was Leaping over him. In a frightened panic Cash tried standing up and running away, but because of his discombobulated disposition, he attempted to do both at the same time. He fumbled upwards, realising where RievaX had gone once he felt his foot dig into his back . A thought came to RievaX when he felt Cash under his foot, an easy way to maneuver away from the head of the spear.

The spear wielder finally lunged at RievaX and at that moment he put he plan into action. RievaX applied pressure to Cash's back, forcing the two away from each other. RievaX pushed off of Cash's back, boosting himself off of him and higher into the air, high enough to preform one of his acrobatic skills. Cash on the other hand, was forced downwards and away from the spear wielder when RievaX jumped off of him. Cash fell forwards again, but this time he rolled slightly, creating a gap between him and the PKer. RievaX saw the spear head speeding towards him, so he quickly activated one of his acrobatic skills, one he hasn't used in quite some time. The acrobatic skill he used aided him in aerial movement. His skill activation pushed his body slightly, just enough to avoid the head of the glowing green spear coming his way. The moment RievaX came to the conclusion that he was no longer in the spear's way, he spun downwards. He threw his arms to the right, making him spin clockwise. Combined with the moment of his jump and his spin, he quickly picked up speed and quickly closed the gap between him and the PKer. Nearly Half way through RievaX's spin, his curved blade started to glow red. RievaX's spin was quickly coming to an end, he could see the PK over his should as he neared completion. Another skill was activated from RievaX, a curved sword skill this time. It was a backhanded slash attack, aimed at the PKer's neck. RievaX swung. His blade glided through the air effortlessly, until it reached the left side of the spear wielders neck. RievaX's aerial spin, helped speed up his extended blade, making the slice quick and easy.

RievaX landed on his feet in a kneeling position. Behind him, the sound of glass shattering could be heard. No doubt it was the data of the player being released into the game, never to be seen again. From the corner of his eye Cash could see shard of blue and green fly in different direction, from this, he felt at ease. Cash turned to look at RievaX who didn't seem to be harmed from the spear wielder. Cash watched as the dark haired boy rose to his feet, he glanced back at Cash and spoke.

"You good?" He said with airy words, it was clear to Cash that this boy was slightly out of breath.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks..." Cash said hesitantly, trying to piece together what just happened.

Cash would have asked the boy, but beyond him, Cash could see the other three slowly catching up. Cash's freezing poison must be wearing off because they were no longer running in slow motion, in fact, they were doing the opposite. "We should go." Cash said as he looked past RievaX.

"Good Idea." RievaX replied.

Cash managed to rise to his feet, dust himself off, and start running off towards the town. RievaX hastily followed. As they ran towards the town they noticed a girl running towards them. "Thessalia!" RievaX shouted, "PKers!" He added, to out of breath to explain any more.

As Thessalia ran, she was of two minds - one part of her wanted to simply turn around and run in the opposite direction, far away from the scene that was unfolding before her. Another, stronger yet, did not allow her steps to be guided away from the three players some distance before her. As she drew closer, she started to become able to recognise some features of the three - such as one being a two-handed spear-wielder that was about to attack the fallen player whilst the one who drew his sound was jumping in to interrupt the strike. This left only one interpretation to the situation: 'PKer.'

The thought sent a cold shiver down Thessalia's spine - she'd heard of them before, but never actually encountered any. She'd simply assumed that they stayed away from the frontlines, where the strongest players were gathered and insteady preyed on the weaker players on the lower floors. Not without a trace of guilt, a part of her was glad that it was so - she didn't know how she'd fare against a real, human enemy who was after her life and, in turn, whose death would mean the taking of a real life. Even so, however, she pressed on - be that as it may, she couldn't just stand by and pretend to see nothing now that she knew what was going on.

In the meantime, the spear-wielder had let off in his attack, instead focusing on the sword-wielder that was a direct threat to him. From what she could see, the sword-user was defending the fallen player from the spear-wielder - leaving the question open as to whose side the three players further back belonged to. Whilst Thessalia hoped that the spear-wielder was just a singular PKer, she couldn't help but feel that the three weren't about to aid the two others. Drawing closer still, she finally managed to make out enough of the combatants to realise she knew one of them - the sword-wielder turned out to be a curved sword user that she'd met just a short while ago: ReivaX.

"Re-" Thessalia was about to call out - but stopped mid-word when the blackhaired swordsman only barely dodged a spear strike; instead performing breakneck acrobatics to evad the attack and get a slash of his own in - causing the spear-wielder to briefly glow before suddenly exploding into thousands of shining fragments. Thessalia's speed slowed down as her heartbeat sped up at the sight - the first time she, in person, witnessed a player killing another. Unbeknownst to her, her hands began to tremble and cold sweat - or rather, the feeling thereof - spread all across her body as she watched both the unknown third player and ReivaX stand back up and then turn away from the three following players; heading toward town at a full run, and by extension, her.

The confused fear was only broken when she heard her name being shouted - causing her to make the sound split-second decision between trusting that ReivaX had been defending the other from an attacking PKer and that the two were now being pursued by three more rather than that they were the PKers. The sincere anxiety in his voice as he confirmed this with the next word made her pick up the pace once again; only slowing down when she reached the two before turning on the spot in order to meet them in their run back to town - if the pursuing three PKers did manage to catch up, three stood a better chance than two; a simple "Hurry!" being the only thing she said. Rather than demand any further explanation on the spot, Thessalia decided to wait until they were back safely - instead turning to look over her shoulder to see the PKers slowly gaining on them; making her take a sharp breath - not only from the sight but also from the constant running she'd been doing.

Aincrad - floor 50 - 1 year into the game

The game was halfway complete. But over a year had passed, and everybody who had it this far were becoming fewer in numbers, and becoming drained. A meeting between all of the front line players, and even some from the supporting guilds turned up. It was essentially a war meeting, in order to strategize every boss room assault, to reduce the number of casualties greatly.

Bachus stood near the outside of the gathering, cloaked up, listening somewhat. 'Karen' very rarely appeared for him anymore. He had begun to get over her death. Finally. They were talking about the use of shield groups with rushing groups alternatively. That could work he thought. It was also time for him to stop hiding in the shadows, and actually help complete this game. For Karen's sake. She died so he could live, and he wouldn't throw that chance away. He opened up his menu, and unequipped the cloak. It had been a while since he showed his face at any front liner meeting, perhaps since the 3rd or 4th floor, so he doubted any of the main players would recognize him anyway. "I agree." He grumbled in agreement with the plan, leaning on his large sword.

Floor fifty. How Lilly did not expect to get to this point in the game. Here, and now, she was a well known blacksmith and a decent player, and was often contracted for farming parties or work on equipment, but she still didn't have a guild. Her contacts list was long, and her purse was full, but she never really felt like she had found the right guild. And now she was here, listening to people trying to work out a plan to fight bosses they had no idea about and shouting when someone came up with a terrible plan. Then, while the plan was still coming together, someone grumbled 'I agree' even though there really wasn't anything right now to agree to, other than the stew at one of the inns being much worse than any other inn. So, Lilly looked up to see who was agreeing to nothing, and saw a face she hadn't seen in a long time. Not sure if she wanted to hug Bachus or punch him, she walked over, her armour clanking away as usual.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, out of your Brooding Cave. I am shocked" she told Bachus, not loudly to draw attention, but enough that he could hear her. "So, what'cha doing, walking around in the daylight, being seen amongst people?" she teased, smiling softly at Bachus.

Floor 50

Standing amidst the front row of the strategising leader of the numerous guilds - both front liners and supporting craftsguilds - stood Thessalia, a thoughtful expression on her face as she took in the various points and counterpoints being thrown about between the others whilst remaining silent herself. Not having missed a single Boss Fight in the entire past year, she was, if not known, at least easily recognised among the frontliners; not only for her ceaseless dedication toward raising both her level and skills but also her continued status as an inreasingly rare solo player despite the ever increasing risk this carried - having turned down every single offer to join a guild, including the leading frontline groups.

Over the past months, Thessalia's equipment too had gone through several changes, even if its overall appearance remained the same. Her one-handed curved sword was longer and thinner than before whilst retaining its only slight curvate; its blade dark grey with a brown leather-wrapped grip. Her light metal armour had gone from rather basic leather overlaid with a few thin metal plates to a hardened black leather layer underneath numerous well-crafted and carefully arranged metal plates, a dull grey in colour, that offered good protection without weighing as much as an equivalent set of heavy metal armour. She still disliked the use of either helmets or shields - due to them restricting her field of vision and weighing her down too much, respectively.

Despite her by now well-known presence among the front liners, her friend list was barely any longer than it had been a year ago - owing to the fact that, excepting Boss Fights, the occasional surprise event or spontaneous team-ups in the face of PKers, she still avoided groups to this day. Of course, there were some people that she ran in to on enough occasions to at least remember their names - but by far and wide, she was essentially still the same reclusive solo player that she was a year ago. One difference, however, was clear in the way she carried herself - no longer hiding in the back lines, an entire year of constantly being on edge in this game of life and death had given her a wariness that she never dropped anymore, even as she gave an inaudible sigh at the current round of bickering between the heads of the two largest and foremost frontline guilds about who should take charge in the next Boss Fight.

Looking up and around, Thessalia recognised many of the faces about her - most were seasoned boss fighters and regulars the the front lines; fresh faces being a rarity to join these ranks nowadays. The occasional absence meanwhile generally only could mean one thing - another name added to the memorial back on Floor 1. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, Thessalia focused her attention back at the strategy discussion at hand, her expression bordering boredom at the non-progress as she ran a hand through her long black hair before crossing her arms before her chest as she awaited the conclusion of today's strategy meeting.

Raven shook his head at the continued bickering that the frontline guilds seemed to insist on having despite a year of floor clearing and boss slaying. They still demanded to be handed the reigns of the next battle, still demanded that they, exclusively, got to make the plans and they still argued that these meetings were pointless. He'd just learned to take it with a grain of salt and listened, occasionally interjecting and even less often making the two stop with reminders about why they were all there. Typically they would listen, and then progress would be made. Occasionally, they gave a big 'fuck you' look at the same time and continued arguing. Sighing, he leaned back and then over to speak with Ryan.

"One whole year and here we are, listening to these two have the same arguments we did at the last boss two months ago. We're among the top five guilds and yet we're more reasonable than the other guild leaders here for the most part." Raven smiled inwardly at the thought of being in the top five. Their guild wasn't large by the standards the two arguing were, but it was effecient, with their philosophy of trust in a small group and in your guild taking root and staying strong. Of all the guilds, they arguably had the lowest casualty rate from any source, especially PKers. At the meeting was the original party from that first day of the game a year ago, all listening or talking. And Raven trusted them with his life.

Ryan had closed his eyes, standing there with his battleaxe pushed into the ground almost like he was using it as a cane. He didn't need to, of course, but he almost never sheathed his weapon unless he was somewhere like a tavern or a legitimate guild building where he knew no one would attack him if, for any reason they could. He listened to the two guilds fighting until he heard Raven speaking to him. He opened one eye, nodding to him, "Whatever makes them happy... All these plans they come up with for the entire group will only lead to people becoming relaxed and then dying... We've had a meeting about tactics basically every floor, and yet, still people die, and yet, we still have almost everyone from our original group... I'm curious why they haven't figured it out yet, and just started working with us..."

Ryan closed the eye for a moment, sighing to himself. The only thing he wanted was for everyone else to live, and as far as his party went, that was almost entirely true... "Almost..." He continued listening to the chatter before suddenly hearing someone say they agree. It seemed odd for a random person to say they agree, thus, he opened his eyes, looking to the source of the words. His eyes widened slightly, "I thought he died... I expected him to follow her at some point... Especially before now... Guess he didn't care as much for her as I thought..." He frowned before pulling his battleaxe up over his shoulder. He glanced to Raven, almost trying to apologize for what he was about to do, and then walked towards Bachus, looking more at the ground. "Last time you called the shots was one of the only times that someone that had joined my party had died... But you think that you can just walk back in here and have a say in all of this a year later?" He looked up, directly at Bachus, imagining the pain that Karen must have felt in her last moments, the pain that anyone who knew her must have had upon hearing about her death. "If you want to do something like that, you better have a damn good reason to think that you won't let that happen again. If you do, welcome back to the front lines... But if you don't... You'll wish you had died with Karen that day."

Bachus somewhat grinned at the colossal woman who had approached him. "I've... had somewhat of an epiphany." He paused. "I don't.... really want to die.... nor do I want other to. So finishing the game has kind of become a priority." He grunted. "Those with skill should devote themselves to the front lines." He looked down at the ground. "I forgot that somewhere along the way.

A familiar voice spoke to him. He knew very well who it was. As a matter of fact it was one of the first people he met in the game. Ryan had spoken about Karen, which unfortunately, caused bachus to snap, and go into overdrive for a brief moment. He facial expression was blank, before walking towards Ryan too. Speeding up, he sprinted and grabbed a hold of Ryan's armour by the collar piece. "You know nothing. Karen didn't need to die. She... she chose to. I offered her my potions and she declined. Before...." He paused. "Before she faded." His voice was grumbling and furious, but he was going from angry, to upset. "I've thought about her every day since...." He looked as though he were about to cry. "We hadn't known each other too long.... just a few weeks into the game. But we were going to get married in game." He smiled a little, before remembering she was dead. "But now.... there's nothing but death all around. So the only thing to do is complete the game, so other people like Karen, with their loved ones can make it back home...." He was very serious, and you could tell by his voice tone. "... and I'm prepared to give up anything.... for that to happen." He let go of ryan and took a step back, before grumbling again. "So dont you dare talk about Karen to me. I loved her. The constant reminder of her death is enough to punish me, dont add to my sin any further." Bachus was now silent, before staring at Ryan.