### Aren and Jaegar Aren watched as Jaegar knelled in front of shrine of some sort, almost like a memorial. He was whispering and Aren sighed, putting her hands on her head. These whole month had been the hardest on the big guy, which only made it harder for her to think positive._ Between losing a lot of members, one's he had trained with and saved from the beginning of the game, and seeing that blasted girl suicide, he's been so quiet..._ she thought to herself as she turned on her heels and watched from the hill the forest move and animals live their lives. Seeing this made Aren's mind clear up and bit and she took a deep breath. Hearing Tanner stand up, she turned around and he bowed again before looking up to Aren and glumly smiling. Aren walked over and stood on her tippy toes, hugging him "I really am sorry Tanner, seriously" he patted her head and nodded, looking up and to the sky. "Cant protect or help everyone, people were destined to die in this game, but it still...hurts ya' know?" Aren let go of him and patted his arm. "Dont worry, I'm sure they are in a much better place then this hell, and if you keep doing this, then im sure they'll be watching over you" she joked slightly and got a small chuckle out of him "Good to know that you can still laugh, now shall we head back to town and figure out where to go from there?" "Do you still want to go get Lilith's Demise enchanted?" he pointed to Aren's waist, where her red bladed Katana sat in it's sheath. "I was but i realized it already has a speed enchant, there is no reason for me to get much else" she put her hand on her blade almost like she was defending the blade. Jaegar nodded as the two started down the path and began making their way into town to order a room and talk over plans. "I think I might look into what it takes for an armor enchant on this set, last time I looked I nearly fainted from the price. The set is amazing but holy hell is it expensive to do anything to it" Aren chuckled. "You just gotta find someone who is willing to do it, instead of the NPC smiths, they ask for some pretty outlandish amounts of Col. If we cant find someone in town, then I'll spot you the Col" he looked at her through the slits of his helmet. "You'll do no such thing, it's my fault for not stocking up on Col and doing that quest before it got fixed. That was so much Col you earned it's not even funny" Aren laughed and the two went on talking like they use to. In the back of Aren's head she was happy for the moment, she missed talking to the big guy. They had only met back up a month and a half ago, funny enough they met each other in a random dungeon that actually turned out to be one of the hardest hidden ones on the floor at that time. They ended up getting some pretty sweet gear from it, shortly after that was the whole accident that wiped out the guild and it was renamed after that. Their guild's purpose is to help other guilds and players struggling, though Aren pretty much just let Jaegar handle everything while she earned gold for the guild for the two. --- In town the two quickly made their way around it, looking for a decent priced inn. Walking into the tenth inn that day, Jaegar decided to talk, seeing as Aren had just finished a duel between her and the last Innkeeper who had amazing prices but kept hitting on Tanner, then called Aren a prune. Of course it was an easily beat match, taking no more then three seconds and Jaegar apologizing to the girl "Can you freaking believe that BS, she had the audacity to call me and then challenge me, oh I should of embarrassed her, AND THEN YOU HAD THE NERVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR ME?! WHO THE FU!-" Jaegar put his hand on her mouth and took off his helmet with his free hand, revealing his teal hair and eyes. He smiled at Ann as charming as he could "I'm terribly sorry for causing a disturbance in your Inn, I heard you had really good prices for rooms and smithing? OW...one moment please" he turned his head to Aren who had bit him and he gave her a chilling look that made her stop in her tracks, it was actually a pretty funny sight the two to anyone around "Please stop being difficult and sit down for a moment please!?" it was more a command then a request and she took his hand off her mouth, walking over to a free table and going into her inventory. He turned and sighed, putting his hand on his temple, thinking for a moment "Again I'm sorry about that child of a gi-" a rock hit his head and he turned angrily towards Aren, who was looking at her nails with her arms crossed "...sometime I just want to ERRGGG!" he made a strangling motion and breathed out calmly, looking back up he bowed slightly "How much would it be for a single room and I have some questions about this armor if you don't mind me asking" Aren looked at a paper on the table and then saw a huge add for a front line meeting, usually she just ignored them, seeing as the bigger guilds were always there. But the thing that drew to her attention was that the Braziers guild had been killed off, leaving only Hawke, the guild leader alive. That was an interesting fact, she had seen the guild in action before, and they were nothing to play around with, the number of times she had been on the front lines, she had seen how strong the guys were. The fact that a field boss killed off the guild was extremely concerning to her. She made a mental note to talk to Jaegar about it, no doubt he would want to help out at the meeting.

Mythrilite sighed. Floor 37... finally. Being a front liner, he was glad that another floor was cleared. After seeing the main town for the floor, though, he decided that it wasn't worth sticking around and to go back to his home to take a break. Going over to the teleport gate, he said, "Teleport, Town of Beginnings." He shined with a bright blue light for a second before disappearing and reappearing at the teleport gate on the First Floor. Mythrilite liked the first floor. Not too many people were here anymore, and those that were were far below his level. Of course, the place did have downsides too. Before Mythrilite could walk through the town entrance, he was immediately surrounded by 6 players, 5 of which had orange cursors. He had already seen them coming, his Searching skill high enough to detect them while they were hiding, but he decided that he might as well spring the trap before some unfortunate passerby did instead. One of the orange players, who was using a poleaxe, yelled out, "Drop your entire inventory, and we might consider letting you go!" The other players snickered, but Mythrilite showed no response at first. Then he sighed and said, "Give it your best shot, then." They were hesitant at first, obviously not expecting that response from their victims, then yelled out their battle cries at charged at him, slicing and piercing his body with their combos. Mythrilite waited 10 seconds, and he gave them credit for actually taking out a quarter of his HP, then decided he let them have enough fun and went on the offensive. One orange player got close to strike again, and Mythrilite used his hand to deflect his attacker's blade. The orange player stumbled, and Mythrilite kicked his back, forcing him down to the ground. The others were quick to retaliate, but Mythrilite was quicker still, using his hands and feet to deflect their weapons and counterattack. In seconds, the orange players' health bars were all in the red zone, while his wasn't even at yellow yet. "In case none of you have recognized me yet, know my name," Mythrilite said. "My name is Mythrilite, a front liner." The orange players had shocked looks on their faces, finally recognizing the man in front of them, and ran away while yelling things like "Run away!" or "Ahhh!". Mythrilite sighed again, then turned around to look at a bush. "You can come out now," he said to it. The bush rustled, and a pair of little girls, twins by the looks of it, came out of hiding. "_Um, thank you,_" one of the girls said. "_They like to hide there sometimes and attack people like that._" Mythrilite nodded and replied, "I know, and I highly doubt it'll be the last time. Still, it's safe now." He extended a hand to them and said, "Let's get you girls back home." --- Mythrilite finally returned to his home after dropping off the kids, and decided to go look at the news, picking up a sheet of paper. Hmm... a guild was wiped out. He heard that story in the front lines too, something about them being trapped in a boss room and only 1 guy came out alive. There were rumors that the last guy standing was the murderer, but most people thought that was false. As for Mythrilite, well, he'll keep an open mind.

It's been half a year and the nerds still haven't beaten the game. Aren't those really obsessive guys supposed to beat the game in like, a day? And how come someone on the outside hasn't figured something out yet? Well, there's not much she could do besides wait. The early days of the game were rough for Carmilla, since she isn't much of a gamer. But thru trial and error, and a handy in game pdf, she managed to get a hang of things (its not like she had better things to do). But living in this virtual world still felt off to her. Even tho the avatar mirrored her actual appearance, Carmilla felt like she was wearing someone else's skin. Her roommate Laura's to be precise, since this was technically Laura's game, Laura's account, and Laura's character. Whenever Carmilla met someone new they'd call her Melody, since that was the character name by her HP bar. Princess Melody to be precise. It's gotten to the point where Carmilla has learned to just accept the cutesy name that isn't fitting for her at all. With an inventory full of junk, her Highness Princess Melody followed a dirt trail that lead back to town. Okay Melody was one thing, but "princess"? The only thing she's princess of is sarcasm. And why is her amour a weird kimono-type thing? Damn, this is really not her style. Even after seven months she can't get used to it. Why doesn't this game have something simple, like a flannel and some jeans? At this point Melody has been occupying her time by farming gold. She usually collected ingredients and raw materials as her pet panther-cat-thing, Carmi, watched her back. Normally this sort of thing would extend well out of her lazy-comfort-zone, but boredom has a way of persuading even the mightiest of sloths. During her long and dull walk to civilization she ran into a player who asked her to party-up, to which she responded "Two is hardly a party". When she got back into town she started making her rounds, visiting the notable smiths, cooks, and other artificers to sell her goods. Common raw materials may not be worth much, but they're always in demand. Eventually she found her way to the Whitewood Inn to sell the last of her wares. "Hey, no pets allowed" the innkeeper announced as Melody and Carmi entered. Carmi growled before reluctantly stepping out on her own. "Oh I'm sorry, wouldn't want anyone virtually allergic to fictional animals to get sick, now would we?" "My inn, my rules, princess. Now what can I do fer 'ya?" Melody winced when he said the 'P' word. "You can take these 70 wood planks off my hands for, let's say... 700 Col." "Ha! Doll, what am I gonna do with planks? I'll give you 400 Col for the lot." "You can build an actual inn for starters. 600 Col take it or leave it." "Arrg, fine. I'm gonna regret this." Melody watched as her wallet got that much bigger. She was still a fair ways from her goal, but she was getting there. At that moment Carmi pawed at the window that peeked into the inn. A small gesture that most would overlook, but Melody knew Carmi was warning her about something. Right on queue a well armored warrior stumbled in with knives in his back, he asked for a room before collapsing on the floor. Everyone just sort of stood around, mumbling to themselves. "Well, are you guys just gonna stand there twiddling your thumbs, or is someone gonna get this guy to a room?" At her words a couple guys dragged Romulus to an unused bed. "Ahem" the innkeeper said, rubbing his thumb and index finger together. "One room, that would be 450 Col." "Hey, I'm not the one laying on the bed buddy. Bill him when he wakes." "This is a "pay upfront" kind of inn. Since you got him to the room, you gotta pay." With great displeasure Melody paid the man. This is why she didn't join a guild and hardly parties up. Now she had to stick around to get her money back from wounded stranger. In the newly rented room, the two guys stood there not knowing what to do. Melody told them to post a message in the paper while she made sure he was healthy enough to pay his debts. Without grace, she casually yanked the knives from his back, which chipped his health bar just a tad bit more. She then used two healing crystals on him, and not the cheap kind either. Damn, with all the trouble she's going thru, she was gonna charge extra for services. Time passed, and the a message was posted in the paper along with a picture. It read "If anyone knows this man, come to the Whitewood Inn on floor 32. He has been hurt, and has no known friends." Melody sat by the window, watching the more youthful players down below pet Carmi. Eventually Romulus stirred awake, his health now back in the green. "Morning, sleeping beauty. Have a nice nap?"

Romulus sat up in his bed. "A-are the hostages ok? I walked here from floor 25, and don't know if they made it." He opened his inventory and took out some Beef Jerky. A young man in the corner of the room said "You're a frontliner, what are you doing on floor 25?" Romulus turned to him and asked "How did you know I was a frontliner?" The young man was taken aback. "Y-your armor. That's the armor of a Vanguard. That and your level, I just assumed..." Romulus nodded "It's alright. Yes, I am a frontliner. I was on floor 25 because I heard the Darkwaters were holding hostages in their base, so I went to save them." Romulus said swallowing the Beef Jerky. "I don't know if they escaped, or not." Romulus was alerted to a coughing in the corner of the room. He turned and saw a young woman in a kimono with a cat. "Can I help you?" Romulus asked. --- Remus's POV: Remus stood in the busy city. He looked at his paper. "The Whitewood Inn." He said to himself. "I'll need to ask someone." He walked over to an artificier's stall. "Excuse me, do you know where the Whitewood Inn is?" The artificer laughed and said "Why would you want to go there? It's owned by a sleazy pig who wants nothing but money." Remus nodded and showed the man the ad. The man pointed down the street and went back to his forge. Remus was alerted to a sound behind him. "Hey! Turn around!" It said. This made Remus nervous because this was how some muggings a began. He drew his sword and turned around. "I'm armed." He replied. When he turned around he was greeted by four young players. Everybody's cursors were green except for one who was orange and wore the Darkwater's uniform. Remus slowly began to back away when a girl spoke up. "We just wanted to thank you for saving us!" She said. "We were going to be killed." Remus laughed. "That was probably my brother. I'm going to meet him. Thank him personally." They nodded and followed Remus.

The darkness befalls the woods, winds which would make just anyone hyperventilate blew from left to right, but in that instant, it all became quiet. The winds had cooled off and the darkness just a little less brutal. Amongst the trees stood an entity befitting of boss status, should it be a monster, it certainly looked like one, wearing an armour that someone might just dream of. In its right hand was held a powerful blade, befitting of his own appearance, but yet this magnificence was cloaked by a robe darker than the void. Inside the mind of this entity were thoughts outlandish to any mortal man, or well, almost. Out from his brain blew 'pings', much like a destroyer searching for an underwater prey. Any moment that the ping would be returned then he'd know if there was someone on his tail or not. Walking between the branches of the trees, almost as if he walked on air in order to travel from tree to tree, he would look quite excelent if he'd not be riddled with a trail of blood. Just as he took another step in order to traverse onto yet another tree branch a loud voice could be heard from behind him. It sounded like a scream, but not in the way of terror, more as if it had joyous roots. By analyzing the tones of the scream The Guardian was able to see that it had originated some fifty meters behind him, which was far from his view in this forest. He used search and was effectively able to pinpoint their location, could they be traveling after him? He made an almost instantaneous stop, and by using his legs to propel him upwards, he was able to jump up to the next branch level. Much like his suggestions, he was able to see them travel past him on the dusty road just below. But that didn't matter, their appearance did, however. There were three men, one woman, they were equipped with the common gear of Baltus, an Red hunter guild, they saw themselves as justice, how infuriating. ''So... he doesn't seem to be here, does he?'' One of them said, the one who looked most like the leader, walking at the head of the troop, seemingly directing the others along. ''Seems like it, man, I told you that The Guardian is just another myth, just like the Keepers of Secrets! I mean, who would kill players over discovering glitches and exploits?'' The female seemed to carry along with her a foul mouth, her daring attitude put the groups watchful observer on the greatest of edges, he was slowly but surely turning to the side of fury. ''Well, there have been tonnes of reports, and even the inn we were at in the floor's town had plenty of people who'd apparently seen him...'' A new voice, as he spoke he was able to scratch his head, he was apparently pondering. Their observer became restless, after spending weeks with these men on his trail, he was finally on the verge of lashing out on his pursuers. ''Yeah, but they all had different decriptions of him, it's impossible to tell which one is which... MAN, we should've got Kruger, he's got a mean search skill...'' And with those words a sudden voice echoed the dark forest. ''Interlopers, where do you think you stand?'' The voice echoed, distorted from within the armour, but as the troop turned around and met the sight which was The Guardian, they could not help but be put in awe at his appearance, but they quickly understood the situation. ''It's him! It's him!'' Them being caught off-guard echoed the woods, their surprise being easily visible in what they spoke and their hurridly created battle formation. However, unbeknownst to the group, true terror would spring forth. Just as The Guardian spoke, the woods shook, and a chilling scream unlike any other came forth. ''Come, Demon of the Forest...'' The Guardian stood still, just barely holding onto his famed sword in his right hand, it stands stable against the ground. The troop of anti-reds would run, screaming, as the scenery of the 23rd floor would bring them the utmost fear, and as The Guardian stood still, a massive world boss came from the depths of the forest. However, it ignored him, running just over him, missing the Guardian completely. And thus, the Guardian stood still for countless hours, as the Demon in the Forest rampaged on any possible victim. How the Guardian had managed is unknown to all whom live currently, but one fact was known in his own head, it was a forbidden knowledge. After countless days after, he had managed to travel to the 24th floor, a beautiful, colorful place, but he was far too vulnerable, had it not been for town portals being located inside the towns, wouldn't have to worry about the long detours of which he'd been forced to, especially after learning that someone had utilized a forbidden knowledge on the 4th floor a couple weeks ago, which had forced him down the tower to begin with. As the sole guardian of the unknown he is forced to do all kinds of uncertain and unclear things in order to protect that which shouldn't be given to anyone but the worthy. But suddenly, on his path towards the 25th floor he was met with a blinding flash, typical of a certain teleportation item he had seen, or wel, all of the teleportation items give off the same sort of flash. But upon the flash dimming, he was met with a badly wounded girl. Her muscles seemed to have given out somewhat, as she was having trouble walking, or even moving for that matter, in her body was stabbed a blade, one of infamous craft, he'd know such a blade anywhere, after all, his knowledge included the darksides of Aincrad. As he slowly stepped forwards, covered in his all concealing black robe, he reached one of his arms out towards the females shoulder in an attempt to greet her, however, as he began to move closer to her, he began to see the urgency of the matter. As a keeper of knowledge he was uninterested in having to deal with the death of potential Arbiters, therefore, because he, himself, believed himself to be an arbiter, would help this woman. As he slowly reached his arm towards the girl, his mythical, dare to say legendary armour making itself more and more visible. ''You. What occured to you.'' He spoke, the powerful gaze of his royally red eyes eyeing down on her. His height would make a clear difference should the girl face him, but for now, he stood behind her gaze. ''Can you walk?'' He looked at her HP gage, but, he was unwilling to make himself known as a player just yet, much like the Blood Dragon armour exploit that all should know of, this cape held a similar exploit, it made the player look like an NPC, quite an interesting thing.

### Hawke – The Burning Hold (24th Floor) Barely a few seconds had passed since Hawke announced he was expecting visitors when a boy in a flashy cloak popped through the door. Hawke’s head snapped towards the newcomer and one of his eyebrows became raised at the sight. There was something about the gentleman’s choice of attire that just looked out of place in the Memorial Chamber – almost insulting even. Hawke was about to greet him when the man barraged him with words. **_"Yo, Hawke. Do you remember me? I hope you do."_** He said, approaching the pair. **_"I came to see you. You must be crushed with what happened to your little guild. It is a pity losing so many good fighters at once."_** His tone was mocking and he was even laughing a bit. **_"Oh, but don't get me wrong. I don't think you did it, but it is still up in the air. That's why I wanna stick around a bit and figure it out, might be good to get some info on you for later. Call me a 'Reserve Brazier'."_** He said, while laughing a bit. Hawke tried to stop the anger showing in his face, resulting in a stony cold glare. Bulby was shocked at the visitor’s lack of tact and stepped away from Hawke, half expecting a fight to ensue. Fortunately it didn’t. “No, I don’t remember you.” Hawke replied as he marched right up to the man, “And if you don’t start to show some respect no one ever will.” “Maybe I should go…” Bulby quietly muttered as he equipped and used a teleport crystal. “What is your name? And what makes you think your Brazier material?” Hawke's eyes scoured the ones before him, looking for any sign of weakness.

##Hazard **"Oh, it hurts deep in my heart that you don't remember me Hawky!"** Hazard was making exaggerated motions of drama and disappointment at Hawke's words. **"After all we've been through... Sniff, sniff."** He even made the sound effect of his tear jerking drama. Then, he shaked his head and went back to being himself. **"Just kidding. Now, unto the real problem now...."** He took out his balisong and started playing around with it. **"Great, no? How you can do this and not have to worry about cutting your fingers. Really convenient if you ask me. anything you get cut off grows back in a few seconds... Still hurts like hell, though."** He finally stopped swinging around his knife and grasped it tightly in his hand before answering to Hawke's question. **"The name's Hazard. I've seen you several times in the boss raids, though you haven't seen me. Wouldn't be doing my job right if I were THAT recognizable. An info broker. Your guild must have bought my services some time before. Not that I remember, though."** He said, leaning his back on the wall as he looked at Hawke below his hood. **"And what makes me think I'm qualified? I'm alive, aren't I? That much speaks for itself, given that I usually go to the boss fights and all. A part of the frontline, if you want to call it that."** He stands back up and takes his hood off, so that Hawke can see his face. **"I'm not really searching to join your guild. It has enough reknown to attract some players anyway. I just want to watch you from a close distance. Detective play, if you want to call it that."** **"Either you are guilty of the deads of your partners, or you are not. Either way, it might sell at a good price. That's the only reason I am here. You don't even have to add me to the guild. It isn't a question whether I'll stay around or not, I'll just stay here."** He walked up to the bench Hawke was in before and took a sit there. **"Proceed with your day as you normally would, oh, great leader."** He says in a mocking tone and smiling at Hawke. --- ##Ann-Biru At the appearance of people in the counter again, Ann changed moods again. **"Oh, yes, you just arrived to the cheapest, bestest in of the floor, were you searching for anything... special?"** Ann was really taken aback when she saw Aren biting Jaegar. Either the two were pretty close friends or enemies. Most likely the former, given that they came in together. Ann smiled at Jaegar when he apologized for his friend. **"Nah, don't worry about it. I've got rowdier customers. There's also a room fro strangling in the back, if you ever feel up for it."** She said, in a joking tone. **"Anyhow, a single room is 200 col. And ask anything you want about the armor, I'm kinda short in metal right now, but I can still make some reallly good weapons and armor with what I have."** Ann started swiping things around in her menu and, before hitting the accept button on one, she asked the guy. **"I'm guessing you want two single rooms, right? Unless you want a single one, in that case, it is none of my business."** She laughed a bit.

Can I help you?" Romulus asked. Melody turned away from the window, where she was watching Carmi play with the children outside in the streets below. The look on her face was one of subtle annoyance. "You can help me to 1500 Col. That's how much you owe me for saving your life." Standing up now, she approaced with an outstretched palm expecting payment. Melody didn't much care for a name or explanation, she just wanted to be reimbursed for the room, healing items, services, and the time wasted that she could've spent farming more Col. Romulus looked at Melody. " How much were the healing items? And how much was the room?" Romulus said. "You can take the Jeweled blades that were in my back. Those collectively are worth about 500 Col." Romulus shifted in his bed. "I have about 300 on me. You have to ask my brother when he gets here for the rest." "What about me?" Remus asked. "I will pay the last 200 Col. That's all. No more, No less." Remus turned to one of the former hostages. "Tell that girl that he saved your lives." The white haired girl laughed. "Don't make him pay anymore!" She shouted. But it was too late. The money had already been transferred. "Listen cupcake," Melody said to the white haired girl "don't expect any virtuous heroic crap from me. I just want my money and you'll never see me again." Taking the money transfer, she saw it only totaled to 1000 Col. She might've overestimated the costs but 1000 was not enough, not after giving that inn keeper the satisfaction of taking her money. "You look pretty high level..." Melody said, tapping the shoulder of Romulus's heavy looking armor. "So you said you're a frontliner? I'll cut you a deal. Instead of paying the rest, how about you let me little 'ol me tag along with a big strong warrior like yourself, and cut me a share of the high level loot. At least until it makes up the difference." Seldom has she ventured to the frontlines, or even higher level areas. Melody wasn't much of a fighter, and Carmi could only do so much on her own. If she could team up with someone like Romulus, she could get her hands on some epic loot, and power-level along the way. Not a bad deal, and much more exciting than farming the same areas over and over. "I'm Car- My name is Melody by the way. I didn't get yours." Romulus nodded. "I think we can make this work. My name is Romulus by the way. Like the founder of Rome. " he said finishing the Beef Jerky. "you'll have to deal with Remus tagging along though." Romulus grabbed his armor, put it in his inventory, then put it on. He flipped up the visor. "But there's kind of a meeting we have to go to..." Romulus said. a voice spoke up from the back of the room. It was the boy Romulus had gotten out of the Darkwaters "I'll join You guys. I don't have anything at The moment." He said silently. Romulus looked at Remus who was flirting with the White Haired Girl from earlier. "Remus, we gotta go To Floor 24 for the meeting. You can talk later!" Romulus bolted out of bed and grabbed his brother. "We're leaving now." _sigh..._ "Very well, I guess it can't be helped. Lead the way Rome-man." As they left the inn, Melody clicked her toungue and tilted her head to let Carmi in on the situation. The big furball didn't seem particularly happy having new teammates, and stuck close to Melody as if protecting her from potential danger. "Oh, don't mind Carmi" Melody notified the two well armored men, "she only bites when I tell her to." Romulus bit his lip. "mm-hmm." He said. "And how many people have you told it to attack? Never mind, I don't want to know. Also, don't call us Rome-man." Romulus kept walking. "So, where are we going?" The Darkwater kid said. "I knid of need to get some supplies, I'll meet you on floor 37." And with that, he was gone. "We need to go to a meeting hall on Floor 24, We have something there. I'm gonna have to abandon the group for a short time though." Romulus drew his sword and twirled it around. They arrived at the portal gate. "Floor 24." He said. When they arrived at the floor, the now group of three, walked slowly to the Burning Hold. "Hawke! So sorry to hear about the guild. Not sure if you remember us, It's Romulus and Remus, and we brought a plus one!" Romulus smiled at his joke. He was the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral because it is too much stress. "Now, where shall I sit down?"

Mythrilite was now looking through his cupboards to see if he had anything to eat. Seeing some bread, he decided it was better than nothing and got some cream to go with it. Spreading the cream on the bread, he was about to take a bite out of it when someone knocked on his front door. Still holding his bread, he walked over to the front door and opened it, revealing a small boy of about 10 years old or so. "Hello there, what brings you here?" Mythrilite asked. The boy smiled a toothy smile and said, "There was a man today who wanted me to give you this!" The boy held out a sealed envelope, and continued, "He also gave me a cool sword and hat!" Mythrilite smiled back and replied, "Alright then, thanks." Mythrilite looked at his bread, then back at the boy, and he asked, "You want this bread? It's got cream on it." The boy smiled in delight, which Mythrilite took to be a yes, then gave the boy the bread. Mythrilite took the letter and the boy ran off, presumably back to wherever he came from. Mythrilite then opened the envelope, pulling out a folded piece of paper with a vague message, "Meet me at Floor 37. The location is here." and a blue and red button was down below, with a circle and an "x", respectively. Mythrilite was curious, seeing as Floor 37 was only recently opened. Pushing the blue circle button, he was immediately given the information, as well as a small message that said, "Oh, and make sure you aren't followed." This invitation certainly got Mythrilite's attention, and he wondered who it was from. Opening his menu, he then checked his inventory to see if he had ample crystals and health pots. Satisfied that he did, he began his journey to the swampy mess of a floor. --- Mythrilite looked around. This was definitely the place. Swamp and marsh as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far. He decided to wait a few minutes. After all, someone clearly took the time and trouble to send him the letter, and- wait, did that tree just move? A large object from above moved toward him, and Mythrilite leaped to the side to avoid getting crushed. When he recovered, he saw that he was surrounded by three mobs called "Moss Ent." They were undoubtedly going to be tough, but he would persevere. --- Several minutes and a healing crystal later, the last of the Moss Ents finally died by a swing of his blade. Before he could even check out his loot, he heard some slow clapping. He turned to face the source of the sound to see someone wearing a very recognizable armor. "Bravo, bra-vo. It seems I was right about you," the mysterious player said. Mythrilite asked, "You were testing me?" "Very perceptive," the player said. "I also assume you know who I am, or rather, what I am." Mythrilite nodded. "A Blood Dragon, and I can assume that you wish to recruit me?" "Your fighting style is rather unique, and I wished to see it myself," the Blood Dragon remarked. "Now that I have, I would like to know your response." They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Mythrilite said, "I apologize, but I must decline. I have a... bad history with guilds." The Blood Dragon was silent for a long time. Finally, he replied, "A pity, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Well then, I will take my leave." He turned a complete 180 and started to walk away, then turned his head back to look back and said, "If you change your mind, well, we'll be in touch." The Blood Dragon walked behind a tree and soon disappeared, and not even Mythrilite's Tracking skill could figure out where he'd gone. Mythrilite sighed. Well, that was rather eventful. In any event, as long as he was here, he might as well go gather some info for the next boss. He walked off, heading back to town.

### Hawke – Burning Hold (24th Floor) Hawke listened as Hazard waffled on, mostly unimpressed. He knew information brokers, Bulby being one of them, as after all the Braziers made a lot of money from selling information about the front-line floors. _‘Having an broker so close by would certainly have it’s advantages’_ thought Hawke. However no sooner had Hazard gained some mild level of approval did he then strip it away again, **_“I'm not really searching to join your guild. It has enough reknown to attract some players anyway. I just want to watch you from a close distance. Detective play, if you want to call it that.”_** Hawke didn’t like the idea of being watched, and doubted many could see a positive aspect to the idea. **_“Either you are guilty of the deads of your partners, or you are not. Either way, it might sell at a good price. That's the only reason I am here. You don't even have to add me to the guild. It isn't a question whether I'll stay around or not, I'll just stay here."_** Hazard continued, so nonchalantly that Hawke seriously considered shoving his spear through the boy’s face. Their deaths were still a fresh wound after all, and here they were standing in their memorial. Hawke was about to drag the broker outside when another group appeared in the doorway and interrupted the moment. **_"Hawke! So sorry to hear about the guild. Not sure if you remember us, It's Romulus and Remus, and we brought a plus one!"_** Romulus smiled at his joke. He was the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral because it is too much stress. **_"Now, where shall I sit down?"_** Deciding to simply ignore the man that had been harassing him, Hawke walked over to greet the new visitors. “No…” Hawke replied before turning to Remus, “Though your face is slightly familiar. You’re a part of the Order.” Hawke tiredly rubbed his head, unsure of why people seemed to know him when he had absolutely no idea who they were. Either he just never bothered to remember them (which was likely), or they had heard about him or the guild and decided to just act like they knew him. “Are the three of you looking to join?” he asked, unable to think of another reason why anyone would show-up.

**Floor 35 Mishe, Ray's shop The Arms Reach, Seven months later.** Ray was in the back of her store in the back contained various tools, a forge and an anvil which she had used to build and sell her various weapons. When Floor 35 was finally cleared two months ago or so with the col she had gathered from questing as well as selling and trading her weapons she has forged over time since she felt Floor 1, since opening the shop Ray has been known to make very good weapons and armor. Ray then heard a bell going off at the front desk, sighing to herself as she took off her apron to leave the set of armor she was making for another client. The young woman opened the door and turned around to close it and made sure that it was locked. "What can I help you for?" Ray asked putting on a happy smile, a man who looked like he was in his mid twenties with brown hair and brown eyes had smiled as he took out his weapon which appeared to be very worn out. "How much to repair this?" The player asked, as Ray picked it up it was much taller then she actually was she was also appraising the weapon as well with her skill. "With the look of the weapon looks like a mob drop, and materials to fix it, it will be around 1600 Col." Ray answered he looked up at him for a moment, he appeared to be low on cash doing a thing she would do if anyone was short on cash. "I can lower it down to 1000 if you have the materials on hand." The player smiled and nodded. "Works for me." His eyes went up to look at a black katana mounted on the wall above them he looked interested in it. "How much is it for that sword up there?" He gestured towards it Ray smirked and shook her head at him she went to grab a ladder and climbed up to grab it. "This?" Ray asked as she jumped off the ladder. "Not for sale, sorry." Ray answered showing off her personal weapon which she managed to solo a field boss by herself and her armor as well which was on display behind the counter in the corner. "Come back to me when you have the materials, and i'll patch it up for you." Ray said waving the man off, he grabbed his weapon and started to leave the room, Ray walked over towards the mannequin which held her armor and pulled out the menu in a flash it disappeared from the mannequin and onto her body. Ray walked towards the front of her store turning a sign that said in fancy. 'We are closed come back later.' As Ray opened the door and locked up her shop Ray turned to see a paper that was attached to the side of the door, seeing it was a recruitment poster for the guild The Braizers. Having heard that the guild was recently wiped out the only living member left was a man named Hawke, who she has never met before but heard many things about the guild. Ray took out her teleportation crystal. "Floor 24." Ray said as she was quickly transported to Floor 24, Ray looked around having not been to the floor in quiet sometime since it was cleared Ray started making her way towards Burning Hold Ray approached the entrance and knocked on the door.

This place was strangely a nice place to die. It wasn't the fact that there was a picturesque view of rolling hills with the sun gently trekking over the sky. No, it was the fact that out here, in the middle of nowhere, there was no one to spoil her last moments - she could think clearly and finally, she could work things out with herself. Once she had shifted herself around, the pain began to fade and it just felt awkward. Dying, although it was in one of the most brutal ways, was strangely peaceful. It *was* peaceful, up until the point where she had to listen to some people walk past the road just a few yards from where she laid. Then there was that boss which didn't seem to bother her but very kindly got rid of the other players. She was settling down to watch her life-bar fade away when the light above her was suddenly blocked out by a looming figure. **"You. What occurred to you?"** The disturber of peace suddenly questioned, causing Alex to flick her eyes open in annoyance. "What does it look like?" She murmured weakly, letting out a soft sigh before staring up at him. "I've been stabbed by a poisonous blade that is very high-level so unless you magically have some sort of antidote that would cure this poison then could you please excuse yourself." Strangely enough, as it turned out, he did have a high-level antidote that removed the poison effect from her just in the nick of time. Her life-bar was about to fade into nothingness so she counted it as some strange work of fate. Staying in the same position out of the fear that moving the blades would kill her, she eagerly accepted the health-crystals he offered. Alex didn't know why she never stocked them on her person. Finally, after about twenty minutes, she had the blades removed (with a fair amount of pain) and her health-bar was nearly full. Of course, that didn't stop her from feeling like she had just been hit by a truck. "Thank you. I don't have much Col but I can give you what I have." She offered with a meagre shrug. Turns out, she was lying a little as she had nearly four thousand Col.

Romulus shook his head. "I'm not here to join. My brother is though. He quit the Order to assist with setup, and I don't know about the girl." Romulus bowed his head. "I'm really sorry though. I knew a member. A young man named Joseph. He was an intern at the hospital where I worked. Brilliant young man." Romulus stood silent for another minute. "I believe you didn't kill them because your name is GREEN! why others can't notice that is beyond me, but people will be idiots." Romulus then turned around. He ran towards a plaque with Joseph's name, and he began to cry. Remus's POV: Remus looked at his brother who was now weeping in front of a friend's plaque. "You haven't seen us, because Were members of the group that comes after the scouts known as the Vanguard, but we have seen you at front liner meetings." Remus then said "My brother is correct, I would like to join you."