Xenos woke up that morning shaking. It wasn't immediately noticeable, just a faint tremor in his hands mostly. Images of gnashing teeth and bloody wounds, himself just before he died, words dying in the woods, sobbing in the dark. Nightmares. He slid out of bed and stood on shaky feet.He brushed away the wet staining his cheeks and a sob almost escaped but he stepped down on that. Hard. Apparently the situation affected him more than he thought. A dry chuckle escaped him as he equipped his gear and slipped into the baths in the early morning, nodding to the few others that were also early risers as he scrubbed away the tears.
He wandered into the dining room but quickly decided he wasn’t hungry. He walked out into the early morning, just past six according to the dashboard, and watched as people started their days. Normally he’d interact but today he stayed quiet. It was only a nightmare but still...it felt so real. He took a breath and forced his hands to stop trembling. Shaking his head, he continued on towards the central square. For now, he’d focus on the new item. Drowning his issues in work should help.
He found an out of the way spot in the central square and pulled out his materials, running through the process of creating the grenade launcher again.
When the crowd thickened past a comfortable point, Xenos stashed away his work and he stood to watch the meeting with interest. He passingly noticed Reylan and Alisae take their places at a table and then turned his attention to the rest. The tables filled quickly. There were definitely more guilds than he originally expected. A ton must have formed after Data’s newsletter a few days prior. He crossed his arms and leaned against one of the pillars circling the square. Xenos scoffed at the players breaking out food and drink. You’d think this was a talent show, not a discussion that could impact the rest of their lives.
‘I really am in a shitty mood today aren’t I.’ He thought to himself ruefully. ‘Maybe I should take it easy on the drinking tonight. Find something else to occupy my time.' He turned his attention back to the set up as the leader of the Astral Blade spoke. And he found he didn’t particularly care for what the man was saying.
It had been ten days. Ten days in a prison that they could barely tell was one. But nevertheless, it was still only ten days. Coming together to work past a dungeon and help those struggling made sense, arguably even the very basic responsibility of them as comrades. But a full government? Law and order, all based on the minority vote. The vast minority. And every player in the game would agree to whatever they decided. Did no one else see the absolute insanity in that idea? He watched with dismay as Armano’s proposal went practically uncontested.
Maybe his opinion was skewed because of what he knew but from where he was standing, it sounded much more like a power play by the Astral Blades. Securing a massive income source, securing a top seat in a new government of confused and disoriented players- it seemed they were pushing everything incredibly quickly and mainly to their benefit. Xenos, never able to keep his emotions off his face, scowled as he watched.
Shiba woke at his usual time, hopping out of bed with a bounce in his step. He pulled up the dashboard to confirm and yep, three hours he can work in his shop without distractions. Reylan and Alisae were the only two allowed to actively participate so why not make the most of that time. You didn't get better by standing around after all. He stepped out of the room and out into the morning air, pausing to snag a quick bite. After a deep breath, Shiba smiled as he headed for his shop.
Why couldn't they understand what i was doing? Why did they have to interfere? River thought as he made his way outside of the city towards the small lake that connect to Crystal Lake via a river. He plopped himself down by the bed of the lake as he let the warm grass hit his back and the cool breeze combined with the suns kiss to caress his face. He layed there for a while as Pots flew over head of the Lake, dipping down every so often to try and catch a fish within her claws. Every once in a while she would run a singular claw across the water as she flew, making a gentle gliding noise in the water before a large splash would be heard from her attempt to grab the fish. After some time passed River opened up the new guild chat and hovered over it for quite some time before closing it all together then letting out a large sigh. The sun was getting low and he should make his way into town again... He sat up, whistling for Pepper to come back towards him. "Lets go girl, time to get some rest." River waited till Xenos should have been asleep before slipping into the room and propping himself up on the floor against the foot of the bed.
The following morning was unlike the previous nine; River woke up much earlier than he had ever previously to attempt to ensure that Xenos didn't see him, that no one did for that matter. As he left the room he opened up the guild chat and sent a message for all to see
Guild Chat
>> I just wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I meant no disrespect to you all but we do not all share the same story here in Talrae and i cannot simply abide by red players who kill for the sake of fun. These are, after all, actual lives at stake here. I shall be behind Reylan and the meeting today to show support for our guild. From there River made his way over to where the guild's would be holding their first mass meeting. I wonder what they'll talk about today? What their plans are. He walked around the large table, eating away at a bun he had got with Alisea previously then turned to Pots " I'm going to need you more than ever today Pots. Fly above and circle the table, if anyone or anything attempts to harm someone at this table i want you to heal the hurt attack the hostile got it? I'll call you if i need you by my side." with a small chirp Pots flew up into the air perching on a nearby lamp post until the meeting started as River awaited for the rest to come.
A new government huh? How will the effect the players? the people of this town? the already established government in the game? No, there must be a bigger plan at play here. I don't see how they could sit there and believe that only one third of a population of people should have the right to press their ideas on the remaining two thirds. I'm sure they have their angles somewhere and i intend to find that out. River sat unimpressed with the voting done thus far. The very idea that the first order of business was to agree to set up a governing body without an actual concrete plan to be displayed first just didn't sit right with him. Sure the argument could be made that they could all set it up together at a later date or through out the meeting but then why not vote on those ideas first before the hard vote on a government? No, something wasn't right to him, but then again he wasn't chosen to sit in on this meeting.
✧ DAY 10 - Central Square of Genesis City - 10:30AM ✧
6/25/2076
"Excellent... I thank you for your cooperation. I'm sure we could come up with a better title in the future but as for the moment for documentation purposes, let us call ourselves The Counsel. Now we come to the next part; determining some basic guidelines and rules." A wave of groans and a few jeers rose out from the crowd gathered around. Aramo rode it out calmly. "I assure everyone here honestly that these are meant to be fairly basic for the most part; some may even consider these common sense but a declaration is necessary for symbolic purposes. Here are the terms that were roughly drafted:
1. As we cannot ascertain the truth behind Malgoth's declaration on Day 1, all PKing is forbidden as it may be potential murder. Those who already are guilty of any crimes will be pardoned, as this rule has not been established for the last 9 days.
2. Friendly-NPC killing is forbidden, as we require NPCs to survive in this world.
3. The Counsel meeting will be held every 10 days, with next meeting being on Day 20. Guildmaster or appointed delegate / ambassador must be present in order to take advantage of The Counsel's bureaucracy.
4. In order to practice egalitarian governing and prevent Guild monopoly over anything, each Guild will possess exactly 1 vote during The Counsel meetings, regardless of Guild size and influence. Non-Guild players may send a delegate who will possess 1 vote for every 100 non-Guild players that endorse the said delegate.
5. All Guilds present at this current meeting are responsible of keeping peace and enforcing the laws above until a proper policing force can be organized and commissioned."
Aramo took a moment as players around the tables thought over the rules and wrote them down as notes.
"Very basic as you can all see. We do not seek to infringe upon your private choices, as we all have our own rights to attempt to survive in our new reality. However, needless to say some lines must be drawn in order to prevent unwanted situations. Any questions before we vote to instate it?"
An older fellow with cropped blonde hair raised his hand. Sound amp was transferred over to him quickly. He took it, stood up and made his introduction. "I'm Keon, Guildmaster of the Obsidian Crusaders." He sat back down and scratched his chin. "What will the violations of the rules incur? And what of other structures of governing that we may be able to set up? Such as financials and dungeon raid organizations? Clearly we have strength in numbers and it would be... shameful to lose any more of us to mere Monsters. Needless to say, we must at least be organized for Floor Dungeon clears, as they are bound to be significantly more difficult than your average ones."
A morbid looking girl who was nearly hiding behind the desk rose up. Keon tossed the Sound Amp to her, which landed safely in her hand. She scanned her surrounding with shifty eyes draped in dark circles before speaking. "... he's right." She paused for a moment before realizing everyone was waiting for her to make an introduction. "Viktoreya. Taskforce Shadow." She gestured towards her aid, another thin Rogue dressed like a crow, to bring her a scroll of notes. "Our initial scouts of the Floor Dungeon here on Genesis indicates that... average Monster level is between 10 to 15... outside of the Dungeon is inhabited by Level 5 mobs..." Viktoreya finished her part passed on the Sound Amp.
"Thank you Viktoreya for that information, I'm sure it's already saved lives, in case anyone was attempting to attack the Floor Dungeon in the near future. Aramo nodded towards his aid to take further notes on the scroll he was holding. "Going back to Keon's inquiries... until we can set up more solid branches, all violations regarding PKing and NPC killing will be punishable by imprisonment until we can set up a proper judicial branch, at which point they can be fairly tried and sentenced." Aramo looked down on his notes, finding the next point he wanted to make. "The tedious work of setting up the branches will occur until our next meeting on Day 20. Do check your Dashboard for additional news and reports, anyone and everyone is welcome to participate with The Counsel on this."
Reylan returned to his room shortly after escorting Kyo to hers, she didn't seem to understand why everyone was getting in a huff about the skull-mask girl. The last thing he needed was Kyo to wander off looking for the skull-mask girl and get into trouble, that curiosity of hers was beginning to grow the more she felt comfortable being among the guild. The weight of his clothes and equipment was lifted as he went through the menu, leaving nothing but a plain pair of dark purple boxers and a white t-shirt. He sat down at the desk and pulled out the blank book he had been using to sketch in.
On the left side he drew Uchaka's mask but in a far more sinister design, one befitting of a ruthless murderer. However on the right side he drew something different. Painstakingly he drew the image of Uchakah sitting alone at her table, a bright red name tag marking her for all to see. Dark shadows drawn whispering to each other were slowly closing in as Uchaka looked down solemnly at the table. Reylan took a moment to look at both sides of the picture, trying to see the truth of his own thoughts in them.
The person he saw looked more like the picture on the right. Marked. Tagged. Alone. A soft sigh escaped him as he closed the sketch book. Murder was something he just couldn't stand knowing the stakes of this game. However...perhaps that's why she committed the murder in the first place. It was possible that she had been put in a position where the only way to survive...was to kill. A pang of anger went through Reylan at the thought.
He moved towards the bed now far more tired than he previously was. Tomorrow was going to be long day...then again every day was now. People continued to rely on his for leadership and he would never betray that trust. No matter what happened in the future, he would guarantee that his guild-mates, his friends were taken care of. With that last thought, he drifted off to sleep.
Reylan and Alisea were seated at their spot amidst the numerous tables. He might not always agree with Alisea's point of view but she knew how to dissect a person's intentions like a surgeon...and that was why she was there, that and he trusted her the most. He watched carefully as Aramo took the stage and introduced himself. So this was the guildmaser of the Astral Blades? He thought as Aramo began to speak. All of Talrae? It seemed to him like a good portion of the players were missing from this meeting. Basic laws and guidelines? The game already had that established within the in-game governments, though a support system was a more viable addition.
When the time came to vote to approve this organization, it came all too quickly and all too fast. Reylan had actually been one of the few who raised their hands and despite the pressure from the room, remained true to his vote. It was not that he directly objected to the concept of a player-run government running alongside the game's but this was moving along too quickly and with far too reservations. The next thing said particularly grabbed his attention that confirmed a observation. A whole two-thirds of the players were not here and he wanted to establish the organization BEFORE getting the rest of their votes? Suddenly a bad feeling pooled in his stomach about this whole idea.
"Clever. Using Aramo's special drop item and this rare gathering of essentially everyone in Talrae, Reinor took the opportunity to advertise their guild. The more players who feel indebted to the Imperial Saints, the more power his guild will have."
"We don't have that kind of leverage but I think it would be a mistake to sit here without a word, don't you?"
"It would. Everyone is going to use this chance to claim more power, be it control or wealth. This is a golden opportunity. For example, one entrepreneuring Guild-master might try to establish a private military which would supersede the town guard."
A combined player base would easily be able to take over whatever in-game government there was and in the process create a dangerous split from the rules of the game, which excluding the death part had been fair. The only part of this whole facade that sat right with him was the joint front for clearly floor dungeons. That made the most sense out of everything stated so far. In any case, he could stay silent no longer.
"I have to agree with you on that. I'd rather not be tying our hands and feet just to be part of this. I believe its time I made the Legion of the Wolf's voice heard." With that he stood from his seat "Aramo, I would like to say something." Reylan was done messing around being leader. It was time for him to grow a true spine "My name is Reylan, guildmaster of the Legion of the Wolf. While I'm still in favor of this organization, I have to admit I have my reservations. First off, I don't believe it is a good idea to rush establishing a government without the consent of the other players. A vote based purely on just the guild-masters? That is foolish. Secondly, I must ask how will these 'public finances' be obtained? Finally, who will be in charge of this group? A collective without some kind of speaker is hardly effective at actual decision making." Somehow he already knew Aramo would suggest himself as the figure head.
@Trainerblue192 Kyo sat silently alongside River as the meeting began, eyes fixated on the stage. She managed to understand some of the concepts that were being talked about, having picked up it from the guild. It appeared to amaze her that so many 'adventurers' were gathered one place then she suddenly broke her silence after they talked about attacking the floor dungeon "River." She said with almost hopeful eyes "Are you going to go?" Her voice carrying that excitable softness it tended to.
✧ DAY 10 - Central Square of Genesis City - 11AM ✧
6/25/2076
"I understand your concern Reylan, I'm sure this is something that's been on many minds since this meeting has started." Aramo looked at Reylan with a raised eyebrow. "But the matter of the truth is... we must start somewhere. We do not have many conveniences of the real world, such as computing power, established bureaucracy or easy mass communication. Here we stand, with what I assume to be the vast majority of the remaining player population, with about a third of us represented properly in the form of Guildmasters who have been voting. If you can tell me how we can better process such large population's will before we set up anything... please do let me know." Aramo tapped his fingers on the table, with seemingly slight impatience. "I'm sure you can understand that it would be rather unrealistic to go ahead and obtain 9000+ individual opinions within a reasonable span of time. And how will those opinions be accounted for? Who will be trusted and be held responsible to undertake such an important task? Lastly, the longer we delay setting up a structure for ourselves, more likely it is that less informed and less fortunate players will meet their end due to poor skills and lack of information. And I for one think it would be foolish to lose any more of us when it is perfectly preventable." A murmur of consent rose up from the group gathered on the podium. A few nodded approvingly while others stood still, contemplating the points of both sides. A player dressed in blue robes, rather than armor, rose up from her chair.
"Miraa of Central District Commerce. As for the problem of funding... it is a good point. There are several options I could think of at the moment but it would have to depend on how we wish to set ourselves up. Most feasible way would be... well this is going to sound awful but to pay tax of sorts." A wave of sighs and jeers rose out from the square. "Like I said, this would depend on how we decide to make this happen. It's unlikely that The Council will start forcing tributes from unwilling players all of a sudden... am I right Aramo?"
"Of course." Aramo waved his hand in an act of assurance. "We must remember we are all doing this to help each other and for ourselves. Afterall, survival in this game should be our ultimate goal at all times. Everyone in this square can rest assured that all of us up here are in the exact same situation as everyone else and we do not wish to create any trouble among ourselves when we have safety in numbers." Aramo took a moment to swallow. He continued a second later. "As for Reylan's final question... I would like to say it's a decision that should be made later. It has been barely more than a week since being stuck in Talrae. We've lost more than a hundred of us to what seems like actual death and it is likely that there are many of us still who are confused, terrified and generally not adjusting to our new lives yet." Aramo sat back down after finishing his last comment. "We'll elect on a leader when we need one. Until then, I believe this collective gathering of Guildmasters is a good start. As stated earlier for non-Guild players, please do select a delegate among yourselves and send them to our next meeting on Day 20. As Reylan has pointed out earlier, it would only be proper to hear representation from all players remaining in this game."
Xenos nodded in approval as Reylan voiced his dissent. Now that's he confirmed the leader of the guild he joined wouldn't be bowled over by popular opinion, he decided it was best to skip the rest of the meeting. Finishing his project would hopefully put him in better spirits for the festival. Though still no alcohol tonight. If things went the way he wanted, he’d have plenty of work to do tomorrow. He pulled up his messages, quickly sent short PMs to Reylan and Alisea, and left the square whistling, not quite out of his funk but definitely on the up and up.
Since neither of you particularly indulge in alcohol and I’ve decided to somewhat behave today, let's meet up after the festival to talk about prepping for the dungeon. I have some ideas and would like an early start tomorrow.
Xenos made his way through the market area, hands in his pocket and whistling to himself. He made his way back to Sebastian’s stall and laughed as he endured Marie’s angry questions, wanting to know where he’s been and why he hasn’t visited her. Xenos told her about running into a guild, going on a quest through the sewers and finding a lonely girl they brought back into to the guild, about scouting a dungeon full of goblins, about losing a drinking game- “It was completely intentional!”- with a red haired woman, about the dungeon they’d planned on taking down next, and about the project he was struggling with.
“I wanna see the project!” Marie said, hands clapping excitedly and bouncing in the crate she used as a seat. He laughed, the last of his foul mood drifting away with the sound.
“Only if you promise to show me your paintings too.” Xenos replied as he pulled out his book and flipped it open. Marie studied the pictures intently for a while, staying silent long enough that Xenos took notice. She frowned as she traced the lines with her finger, tapping here and there, and she looked up with a sort of fierce determination and pursed her lips.
“This just looks like scribbles.” Marie said in a matter of fact tone. Xenos blinked for a second. He’d been sure she was going to impart some sort of system information about the repeated failures of his invention but no. She just didn’t understand them. “What does any of this mean?” Xenos leaned over.
“Okay so, this part is where you load the grenade into, this is where it exits, this is where you put the…” Xenos trailed off as he looked intently where his finger hovered. There was no way to load the powder into the chamber. Xenos blinked. Blinked again. Blinked once more. And laughed as he adjusted his idea. He checked it once more. It should work perfectly this time.
“Alrighty! Lets see how this works.” Xenos said, tapping the paper. “Action: Invent!” The schematics glowed blue faintly and then returned to normal. “Well that's new.” Xenos muttered as he looked at the papers. Nothing seemed different. A notification popped across his field of view.
Grenade Launcher: 2 Iron, 1 Wood. Consumes 1 grenade, 1 gunpowder. Small increase to grenade damage.
Crafting schematic added. View your class inventions under Actions: Invention: Schematics
“And looks like I can try and make it now!” Xenos told Marie excitedly. “Now show me your paintings like you promised before I head to the festival."
✧ DAY 10 - Central Square of Genesis City - 12:30PM ✧
6/25/2076
The rest of the meeting was relatively uneventful. A few odd questions here and there with a general open-floor discussion regarding how to actually set up the The Council. Meeting ended by high noon, which suited most folks just fine as Solace Festival began exactly then. The massive crowd of people began to dissipate throughout the city, eager to join the festivities. A good portion of them remained in the central square, as NPCs began to set up shops, tables, chairs, etc. The large stage used by The Council earlier was being re-decorated and built to support a large, open-air theater where performances could be held.
Solace Festival lasted from noon to midnight... or so the players heard from NPCs. It was the first major break anyone was getting since the fateful first day of Talrae. Food... drinks... entertainment... everything was free for everyone. Perfect time for everyone to forget what's really happening in reality. Music was already echoing throughout the city, bands and singers spread throughout practicing their talents. Some NPCs were dancing in the open spaces, moving their bodies along the beat.
Passive Abilities: Inspiring Presence: Whenever user takes damage, they have a small chance to either recover 100HP or have target nearby friendly gain 50HP. Vengeful Smite: User has a low chance to deal magic damage to target that has managed to deal melee damage against user. Fortress of Wood: User gains a small, permanent, irremovable damage reduction. Works for all kinds of damages.
Shield [Round] (Equipped) Full Plate Armor (Equipped) Longsword [Uncommon] (Equipped) Rosary of Courage (Equipped)
Interactions: None
The day started like the prior had, with no distinction between them - Theo awoke, paid for a bath, the same pie that he had eaten every single meal, and talking with Hans and Julia. The morning itself had very little in the way of special occasions or unique occurrences. Upon finishing his meal and saying goodbye to the NPCs who were some of his closest friends, he made his way to the Data Link 66 Guild house. Theo had realized just the previous night that the subscription he purchased was for a single week, and he silently kicked himself for not realizing this sooner. He quickly paid for 4 more weeks, the gold coin he slid to the secretary of the guild gleaming gently in the light. It was only in there that he realized how much he'd like for the Legion of the Wolves to have their own guild house - a nice place of their own to hang out and live, without a constant drain on their expenses.
But then again, if they did have a guild house, Theo would have no excuse to see Julia and Hans anymore. That helped ease his jealousy a little.
As he left the guild house, Theo saw the bulletin board they had set up in their lobby area. The player count, in only 9 days, had dropped by more than 200. Theo's blood ran cold at this, and it took a great deal of effort to keep walking. He just kept his head down, quickly making his way to the Shopping District, where he met the Holy spell teacher - A large man, gruff, older. He wore extremely large and immaculate armor, with a massive shield in hand as well. He was the very definition of a pillar, a monster of defense and safety. Just looking at the man had always intimidated Theo. He had spent the majority of Renn he had earned on the spells that the man taught, and he was about to flush another 275 Renn down the drain. Theo disliked spending time with the man - Theo's grandparents were dead on his mother's side, and the ones on his father's side lived in a state on the other side of the country. This older man simply reminded Theo that he would not see his family for a long time - potentially forever.
As he learned Greater Bless, Theo left the market palce entirely. The thought of searching for a new piece of equipment - maybe a new shield or some add-on's to his armor - crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He had already spent a decent chunk of his Renn, and he wanted to save a decent amount for the Festival tomorrow.
It was only 3 PM when Theo returned back to the Inn, deciding to rest for the remainder of the day. It was only when he rested his head on his pillow when his mind cleared, and he finally had a chance to think. Thoughts turned on the companions in the guild, his newfound friends. Well, perhaps acquaintances was more appropriate - none of them knew each other's real names, after all. Theo chuckled slightly, glad that he didn't have to lie even more than he already had to them by making up some false persona and fake life. A fake life that would have been far more fitting of a real hero, a life fitting Dirk. Quickly, he dismissed the thoughts - he'd cross that bridge when it came up.
Reylan was a good leader - or, at the very least, he was able to keep the guild in check, and he was willing to keep everyone in line. Theo was grateful that he didn't need to take the leadership position, even if Dirk may have preferred to be the big shot hero - Theo could barely handle the stress of protecting everyone in combat as the tank, so being the one to lead the party must have been an incredible burden.
Aster was skilled in her swordplay, and she definitely was useful in combat. Theo appreciated having someone up close and personal in melee along with him. Out of the entire group, it was a tough call between her, Reylan, and Karma when it came to who Theo would call the most trustworthy.
Alisea was reckless, and in all honesty, Theo couldn't get behind her in that regard. Dirk was supposed to be the badass hero, but Theo could never manage to through caution to the wind, and he always made plans, or at the very least evaluated hi options... Hell, what was Theo thinking. He hardly knew Alisea, he was just still nervous about the boss fight. He was nervous about causing another death.
Well, Theo couldn't fault Alisea for that. There was that guy, Paralyze - he was definitely one of the most brutal - and frankly disturbing - people that Theo had ever met. Like someone you would see mumbling to himself in the corner of the classroom during school - he just rubbed Theo the wrong-
Theo immediately rose out of bed, pacing in his room for what felt like an eternity. After what could only have been several minutes at most, Theo rushed to the bathroom, and vomited his lunch - the second time in only a few days that he had barfed up his food. Theo could easily hear his heartbeat in his ears, his head pounding in tune with the constant, slowly increasing pressure. Theo hadn't realized it in the last few days because of how busy and hectic things had been, especially with the festival around the corner. Paralyze hadn't shown up to the inn in days, never ate with the guild members, and while Theo rarely spent his free time around the others, it was clear that there was only a single possibility left.
Paralyze had died.
Paralyze had died and Theo had only just realized it. One of the more than 200 deaths were him. A real person, someone that Theo had known. Just like Kajin.
The fact that Theo knew these people only made the number of deaths feel more impactful - he had known only two of them, and he couldn't imagine the weight of all those lives.
When the guild met together to decide their future, Theo barely paid attention. The others had to have realized that Paralyze wasn't around and simply weren't talking about it - why? Then again, Theo couldn't say anything. He hadn't even realized till earlier in the day. Theo hardly paid attention to the meeting, only really coming to his sense when Hans pointed out another player in the inn.
Theo left as soon as he finished eating - he needed time to sleep. Moving to his equipment screen, he equipped the Rosary of Courage - if only for a few moments. It gave him comfort - Paralyze was gone, and there was nothing that he could do about it. He simply had to let it go. Theo removed the Rosary as he fell to sleep, doing his best not to focus on the loss of his teammate, another life lost to the game that Theo felt would be the crowning moment of his life to play.
Theo woke up late on the Tenth day. It was already 11:00 AM by the time he rose from bed, and it was already 11:30 once he finished his same, monotonous morning rituals. He had missed the meeting of the guilds, but in all honesty, he didn't really care. That sort of thing really wasn't something that interested Theo.
Theo quickly made his way over to Hans and Julia, eager to partake in the festivities. It was the perfect distraction from what he had been realized yesterday.
"Congratulations - you guys get to hang out with me of all people for the Solar Festival! Now hurry up and get ready, the festival starts in only 30 minutes, and we need to have as much fun as possible."
Julia was very animated in her eagerness to respond, quickly setting down the empty tray she was returning to the kitchen.
"I can't believe it's so late already! I need to take a bath, fix my hair, grab some spending money, change into nicer clothes-"
Hans interrupted her as she rattled off the various preparatory activities she still needed to finish before she could have nay fun at the festival.
"You also need to clam down. The festival lasts all day, there's no reason to rush into it and end up with nothing left to do by the end of the day."
Julia groaned so realistically, that Theo had to remind himself that these two were lines of code and not real, genuine people.
"You say that, but I know you're itching to close shop for the day and have fun like everyone else."
"We can't have fun without you there Hans - You're the coolest guy I know!"
Theo didn't really know what would be sadder - if he was lying to one of the people he felt closest too in the game or, the more likely possibility, he was telling the truth and Hans was the coolest person he knew in the game. Hans appeared deep in thought for several seconds before sighing.
"Alright, Alright - I'd be lying if I wasn't excited to spend the day outside of the old inn. I'll take you up on your offer, Theo."
Julia must have told Hans about Theo's name - well, he probably would have told him the truth anyways. It was a little hard to explain, but the fact that they weren't "Real" people made them... easier to talk to? Or maybe Theo just didn't like people from the real world as much. Whatever the case, by Noon, the trio had exited the Inn, eager to partake in the celebrations going on.
It was a passing thought, initially, but Theo hadn't seen the barkeep there that morning - Theo never really interacted with him since he did not drink, but it was most certainly rude of him to take away his coworkers during the festival, without even inviting him. Theo resigned to introduce himself, and to offer to take him around the city as well.
That meeting had been the most excruciating thing that she had sit through, granted she was at the very back to avoid getting eyes on her. Though, it did allow her time to sort through her previous hauls and see what she did and did not need. A long sword was definitely something she did not need, not specifically wanting to start down a new skill tree when she had already decided on her path as it seemed the most logical. Even better though, she did have money, money meant hat she could acquire more spells and more spells meant she had a more likely chance to survive.
However, Uchaka did wonder if she should begin to go down another spell tree to up her damage, however choosing a new tree was a bit ways away unless she found a mage trainer. Granted the only reason that she wanted to go down another tree was because she couldn’t quite figure out how to configure a spell that was both lightning and darkness, it was a hard enough task to come up with a spell but with two things that were almost opposite was even harder.
Uchaka walked away from the meeting just in time to begin to enjoy the festival, yet, she was still alone and she knew people would continue to look at her strangely for player killing, despite being pardoned. So, the mage opened her menu and began to type out PMs to two different individuals, one to Alisea and the other to Miss Tress. The message was quite simple, ”Hey, want to hang?”
River turned to face Kyo while still paying attention to the meeting taking place. "Well, yeah. We're going to need all the help we can get if we want to get out of here. I'd like to believe I'm a great support, so naturally my help will be needed to keep Reylan and the others alive through our the fight"
That's so cool!" Her hands balled into fists as she raised to her chest, voice deceptively quiet for her expressed excitement "You must be a hero keeping people alive!" Her eyes were bright for a few moments before a sad expression overtook it You're not gonna leave me behind, right?"
There was a slight, low chuckle "Ofcourse we arent going to leave you behind. Once we beat this floor you can come with us to explore what more this place has to offer."
Immediately her attitude perked back up "Okay. Do you promise?" She asked hopefully "I want to be an adventurer like all of you!"
River held some worry about making empty promises. She was hardly an NPC but she also didnt seem to be a player. Would Kyo even be able to advance into other floors? "I'm sure you'll make an amazing adventurer!"
Her eyes went wide with pure joy "You really think so? That makes me so happy!" She brushed the hair out of her eyes "I still dont remember much but I know I want to explore the whole world along with you all."A soft smile appearing on her lips
River smiled at her brightly, hiding the sorrow he felt Hero? Huh, some hero. After last night I feel more like a villain. He ruffled Kyos hair before speaking " Thank you. I have to go right some wrongs now"
As River got up to leave, Kyo grabbed ahold of his sleeve. "River. You're a good person." She looked up at him sincerely.
After having some words with Kyo River realised something he had to do. He got up and whistled for Pepper to come to him. "Hey girl, gonna need you to do me a favour. Fly up and scout the town, if you spot a player with a red tag stop and hover above them so I know where to go ok?" he gestured towards this player tag and then a red apple by a stand that was beginning to set up for the festival. He was nervous about confronting Uchaka but it was something that had to be done. After some time had passed River noticed Pepper began to slow down and then finally halted. Hovering above a portion in town and flying in a circle.
Good girl! Now it's my turn River made his way through the streets of the bustling town, watching out for all the NPCs setting up for the festival and taking a few detours along the way due to event streets being blocked off in some sections. Finally she was in sight. His heart began to eat like war drums, loud and fast as each step he took towards her reverberated inside his head. Tears began to pool at the inner corners of his eyes as his nerves began to take control making him want to turn around and leave. This had to be done. Finally behind her he choke out his words. "I'm sorry for yesterday." silence clung into the air after he spoke. He wanted to say more but was still processing the interaction " I'm sorry I sounded so accusatory. I just...I didnt have such a great introduction to this game and sometimes it gets the better of me but that's no excuse for my actions. I realised you could of done it for the sake of living and although it doesn't excuse murder...it doesnt give me the right to treat you poorly either. We're all in this game together and we need to start acting like it. So instead of meeting you with malice, I meet you with kindness, something I'm sure you weren't met with in the beginning which may have lead to your current position."
Shiba had heard about the meeting and was intent on being a successful businessman in this world. As a result, he has gotten into the habit of waking up as the rooster crows. Shiba woke up early that morning and knew that the meeting would be taking place and that there would be a huge crowd of players around listening in on the festivities and he could cash in on the numbers alone. He had woke up at the crack of dawn in the shop since he practically lived there at this point he had grabbed a couple of his best pieces to sell there.
He had left and went to the meeting in his own way and carried 3 heavy bags filled with different weapons and found an empty spot across from the stage to set up in the main square. He had listened to everything and couldn't help but grin as Reylan stuck up for the little guys so to speak in saying everyone should have a vote in some form or another. He kept himself quiet though and remained that way until the meeting was concluded. he gave a small clap at the end and once it was over he started to talk saying that nobody should be out without a weapon and a light one provides the best speed. Shiba praised his works and saying they will be great and wouldn't they want a piece of original gear from a soon to be legendary smith? Of course, he came off as arrogant but he was confident and proud and that alone would get people's attention...
Reylan left the meeting with mixed feelings. This was more or less what he wanted but something just didn't sit right with him. The way he viewed it, the council as it was could be manipulated into giving one guild favor over the entire player-base. Time would be the only way to tell if this loose alliance would serve its intended purpose or be abused by guilds looking for power.
Everyone had just left the meeting and were going their separate ways, likely to enjoy the festival. Alisea left him as well stating something about an important matter to attend to. His eyes were filled with green names passing by as he tried to navigate the crowd to reach Kyo. That was when something caught his eye moving towards him...a red name plate. They seemed to navigate the crowd with ease, passing-by everyone with little to no interest. A long black over-coat covered most of his body. The indiviual stopped right in front of Reylan with a look that sent a chill down his spine. This was not like the skull-mask girl last night.
"I must thank you for your strong opposition to this so-called 'council'." What might be called a smile formed at the corners of the stranger's lips, but it felt more intimidating than that.
Reylan looked up at person, who seemed to wear his red tag like a badge of honor "I am not opposed to the council, I just don't want it abused." He stated strongly, meanwhile wondering why this red-player approached him. "Now, excuse me." Reylan began to walk past when the guy grabbed his arm, tightly.
"Now, now Reylan. Our little conversation has just started. I've been dying to meet with you for so long! I gotta say I'm your biggest fan!" His voice expressed excitement but with clear darker undertones.
Was he really trying this here? With all of the guilds leaving this area? Now that Reylan looked around, the place was now filled with a dense crowd. His free hand shook ash as grabbed the arm of his so-called 'fan' and remove it "Let me go now. I have plans with my guild." He stated firmly, ready to call for help if this weirdo didn't oblige.
After yanking his arm a bit, the stranger let go of him clearly expressing disappointment "Oh I get it, we'll meet up later then?" His smile persisted as he took something from his inventory and gave it to Reylan "I'll leave, but please take this! I wrote it just for you!" The item was a single letter in an envelope, that Reylan hesitantly took. The moment it was in Reylan's possession, the stranger disappeared into the crowd.
Thoroughly creeped out, Reylan at last made his way over to Kyo with the letter in his hand "Who was that?" Kyo asked with concern written over her face. Reylan looked back into the crowd "I don't know but I have a feeling I will see him again." Against his better judgement, he decided to open the letter to look inside. Inside was a simple piece of parchment with words written sloppily on it....and a ring with paint on it. His chest tightened as he lifted the ring out of the envelope, his eyes widening fully as his worst fears came true. It was one of the original guild rings Alisea had made and he painted. His hand now shaking, he reached in the envelope and took out the letter:
"Karma made a great play-thing. It turns out a healer can't really do much without his party. I hope we can play next!"
It took a few moment to realize it and suddenly the words crushed his heart. As quickly as he could, he sent a message through the new council chat while his mind writhed in both grief and anger "There's a bastard named Valentine in Genesis City right now. He murdered one of my guild. He needs to be captured." The message was sent without a second thought. He grabbed Kyo's hand and began running "Mister Reylan? O-ow, you're pulling too hard! Where are we going?" She asked, her teeth gritted due to the pain. Reylan stopped upon realizing just what he was doing "I...I'm sorry Kyo. We're....we're going to meet Aster..." A pained looked crossed his face. Karma....That bastard was going to pay.
Alisea was eager. It was such a refreshing feeling after that meeting of Guildmasters. Receiving a PM from Uchaka so soon had been a surprise, made all the sweeter when it was a direct invitation to spend time together. With the crowd dispersing, Alisea had excused herself from Reylan's side ("I have something I need to do. Go show Aster a good time, and I'll meet up with you later, okay?") and exchanged a few more PMs with Uchaka to decide on a meeting place.
When she arrived, the magess found another surprise. Uchaka wasn't alone; River had already approached her. Alisea quickened her steps to reach the pair before he did anything foolish, but when she was finally close enough to hear him over the din of the busy street, she was shocked by yet another unexpected event. He was apologizing. Today was shaping up to be the most interesting day since the first in this new world.
"...together and we need to start acting like it. So instead of meeting you with malice, I meet you with kindness, something I'm sure you weren't met with in the beginning which may have lead to your current position."
Alisea couldn't help but smile to herself. It may have been her words that caused him to think along those lines. It just as well may have been himself, though. What an earnest child he was. The magess withdrew a pace, staying out of sight long enough for Uchaka to deliver her reply before she approached.
After Uchaka had spoken to River, Alisea stepped forward. "Uchaka! Oh? River! How good to see you here! Enjoying the festival so far? All these decorations give the town so much color!" She cast a glance from one player to the other, then gave a shy, little smile. "Oh, I apologize. I can come back a little later if you two need..."
Marked the tenth day ever since this young PhD student had been stuck in this treacherous game that he ever so anticipated ever since its release. To most people’s surprise, he was surprisingly adaptive to the current situation. In just a span of a week, he had managed to get his entire life normal again, from being a poor man at day 1 to someone who could easily hold his own and to expand his properties. Well, it was not really something special, simply because he did not participate in any, at least large combat, during those days, so his actions are now hopelessly behind.
Until now.
”Ayyy…” The man in his mid-twenties gave a long sigh, one of his many ways of coping with adverse situation. ”I wonder what people are doing with me in here.”
He was still in the middle of his PhD course. Still haven’t gone anywhere with his thesis yet, and now he is here, trapped with no way out and the threat of death surrounding his neck. He wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to dismiss him entirely while he was still in here. The game’s progression had not really proceeded anywhere near floor 100. It may take years to accomplish the game. The real threat is that we only have ten thousand players. Once you’re dead, that number shrink by a small margin. Although he tried to be as optimistic as possible, if the game proved too difficult for the players and enough people perish, it would be the end of hope. And there were also the presence of player killers too, those that only dampens the progression. As much as he considers this his second life, (as combat is more of a choice rather than an obligation in most cases) it’s still just as hard to adjust. This was harsher than real life, and no one could blame him, as even more dealt worse.
Strolling to the window of his room, he slid the curtain open, letting the artificial, yet surprisingly realistic sunlight in his room. Oh well, today is a new day. He just couldn’t spend all the time worrying about the too distant future....
”Alright, what will I need for today?”
As the Aether Bow yields him the most profit for every 300 MP spent, followed by the crossbow, the three things he would need for this would be Crystal, Wood and Iron. Wood would be the primary ingredient he needed to buy. That thing is pretty much treasure for every crafter player in this game. It’s extremely cheap but could be made into extremely profitable items for sell. And you can find it almost anywhere in the market.
Wasting no time, Steven went for a NPC stand on the side of the street, and asked for a total of 15 Wood, 6 Iron and 3 Crystals for beginners. That should give him enough for the next few days. The NPC was, at first meeting of this man, a little surprised with the total purchase, but now he is too used to that, to the point that he didn’t even question anything, he just grabbed the woods and add it to his inventory, not before asking for confirmation and transaction. Near 300 Renn is nothing, so Steven clicked Yes to complete the transaction.
As he purchase quite more than his strength level, he had his entire body emptied aside for clothing only. It did feel a little unsafe walking without weapons, but he had been like this for the last 7 days, he was used to it. But still, he should raise the strength level up a little more, or he’d collapse from all the stress he built up from all those carryings.
Or, he could…
Xenos grumbled to himself as he swayed on the chair Sebastian provided. Apparently he was expected to help set up the old man’s festival decorations to “pay back all that time spent loitering around my shop.” Marie just laughed as Xenos tried to half heartedly whine his way out of the situation but the old man already settled the matter and threw a long strand of multicolored flags at him. That's how he ended up one foot on the back rest, the other on tiptoe, and swaying nervously as he tried to tie up the flags.
“Ugh, I’m a designer first and a doer second. In fact, doing anything is very much at the bottom of the list unless I can make it explode or go fast or it gets me drunk.” Xenos grumbled at Sebastian, who just chucked and shook his head, as he finally looped it over the wood. He tipped forward a little more to make the knot and he tumbled forward, hitting the ground with a shout. He groaned before sitting up, glaring at the flags settling on him. “Why don’t you have like a ladder or something?! See this is exactly why I stick with stuff that I make. I am good at exactly one thing and I stuck at everything else. I call that everything else is called Life and Life likes to take me out back and beat me with a baseball just before selling me a few handles.”
Xenos glared at an unsympathetic Sebastian when something caught his eye. Nothing particularly noteworthy, just the username. Steven. It was jarring. A sudden reminder that there were still people outside the game that he knew. That this sham of a world wasn't everything he’d ever known and that his friends and family were still outside going on with their lives in reality. Dread welled up inside him. He’d managed to shrug of these thoughts for these ten days. Guess there had to be a reckoning some-
“Wait a minute.” Xenos shut off his pathetic thoughts for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he watched “Steven” move through the market. There is no way that was…
“Steven!” Xenos leapt from the ground and bolted towards the other player. “Oye, Steven!” He grinned.
Steven was an eccentric guy, according to people who had interacted with him. He was regarded by many as shy, though that was just a social stereotypes, based on the number of social friends he ever had. This was hardly the truth, as Steven did also have a number of friends at his side, that he only allowed to be part of his circle through careful interaction. Almost all of whom he knew and content to know that they wouldn’t be touching the VR Gear for this game anytime soon.
However, that was almost. There were a few exceptions to the rules.
And one of it was…
“Xenos? Oh my goodness.” He never would have wanted anybody he knew to be following the same path as he did, but he just couldn’t deny that the possibility is not zero percent. Nevertheless he gave the man a big smile before extending his hand for a shake, his typical sign for friendliness. Call him pedantic if you will. ”I honestly do not think you’d be in this place.” He deliberately tried not to voice his exact thoughts in his mind. ”It’s marvelous to see you again. How have you been doing in this game?”
Xenos rolled his eyes and laughed, shaking his hand energetically. “And why’d you think that? I would have been insane not to snatch up a copy of this ASAP! Well, that’s what I thought at the time.” Xenos shrugged. “Since then I’ve confirmed mining sucks, they programmed hangovers to exist, joined a guild, and created a grenade launcher which reminds me that I need to advertise that on the dashboard for some extra Renn. Next plan is to get the guild leader to hold onto his horses long enough for me to upgrade most of the guild’s equipment.” Xenos listed off. He relaxed into the familiarity of their interaction, surprisingly thankful he bumped into someone he knew from outside. “So not bad, managing to keep the existential dread at bay with jokes and alcohol. You know, the usual. How about you? Whatcha been up to this whole time?”
”Nothing as exciting as you of course.” He made a remark in a slightly joking manner. ”But it was something. So the first day I drained all my Renn and stayed on the street because Malgoth think it is fun to make virtual starving and sleep a real thing.” He said dryly. ”But then the next day I went for a hunt and investigated the market. Proceeded to spam weapons to sell to NPCs for quick profit. Pretty much the same thing for the last seven days.” He was content enough to use some of the more recent and informal words and joking, albeit in a dry fashion, just to mirror the joy he had upon meeting one of his friend who he had known since university.
”But today I feel obliged to learn some skills along with buying these ingredients. I’m hopelessly behind now.” He said, before paying notice to what Xenos just said about creating a grenade launcher. ”You play as tinker? So am I! I guess great minds do think alike.” He joked again. ”But I’m nowhere near inventing anything yet, which I intend to learn it right now.”
”Oh shit, Tinker buddies! Okay one sec, I gotta finish this thing for a friend and I’ll be right back.” He ran back to the food stall and hurriedly tied up the ribbons, said a quick goodbye to the pair, and slid back next to Steven. ”Okay, alright let’s go see the trainer! But you didn’t pick up invent? It’s literally the best thing about this game let me tell you. I mean, how awesome is it to just change the entirety of the game for 600 mp? I mean, think about all the firepower you can make with that. Just imagine making some giant contraption to carry around like a hundred cannons. Then make the cannon balls explode and boom. Done and done!” He started gesturing wildly as he spoke, getting more and more excited as he went on. “And if I ever get my hands on a guild house, what do you think I’m gunna build in the walls? If you’re thinking cannons, they you are correct! And have them in panels in the outer walls and shit so when some dickbag tries to pillage us, I just pull a lever and sudden WHAM! One hundred explosive cannon balls to the face!” Xenos kept talking, running his mouth a mile a minute as he started walking towards the Tinker trainer.
”Oops, here I am rambling again! So what are your plans from here on forward then?” Xenos asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they walked.
As Xenos walked for his food stall, the man behind the thick glass silently waited. He hadn’t changed much, even after he had been pulled into this hellhole. The man must have a good degree of adaptation there. After a short while, he came back and was ready to go.
”I really do want invent. But the last seven days were all about reining some money, so...” He lightly shrugged his shoulders as Xenos began his long talk about the Invent skill. Man, he couldn’t help but draw comparison between himself, a super quiet person, and Xenos, who just couldn’t seem to stop. But right then, he asked Steven what he had planned for now. He did intend to use invent to, well obviously, invent things. But what he had in mind didn’t really fit the concept of invent. Innovation would rather be a better word.
”Hmm, I am thinking of improving the design of my current weapon. I had a Flintlock Rifle with me for hunting and so on, but the accuracy is...mediocre. The range is just terrible while the reload speed is a pain.” The fact that it mirrored the real flintlock, both in terms of pros and cons, in real life is not something unexpected out of a video game. ”You can probably enhance that, I’m not sure, but I’m confident mechanics like breech-loading or attachments like scopes couldn’t be accessible via that.”
He stopped for a bit, thinking about what his future plans are. ”I think I’d need both Upgrade and Invent for the future, as I may invent something completely new as well, but I’m not entirely sure what is needed at the moment. I’m not sure about this mechanic of the game at this part, really.”
”Yeah, I’ve been playing with the idea of breech-loading for a few days but I had to put it on the backburner to deal with the AoE needs of the next dungeon. Although the reload speed without action assist does suck, you will need to employ invent to create the altered reload style. How do I explain this easiest…” Xenos frowned a little before snapping his fingers. “If you need to change the base materials or design of a concept, you need to use Invent. If you want to add onto a current design, you can use upgrade. For example if you create an iron breech-loading rifle, you’ll have to use Invent again to redesign it since you are changing a base material. If you just want to add a scope, you use upgrade and it gains an accuracy buff.” He stopped the pair in front of a worn down looking shop, display window smudged with soot. The paint was peeling slightly and a cloud of heavy smoke billowed from a crooked chimney. Xenos winked at Steven and threw open the door.
”Hey, old geezer! You ready to impart some knowledge on-” Xenos shouted gleefully before an unexpected cloud of steam hissed out of a contraption and straight into Xenos’ face. He coughed and waved the stream away. ”Damn it Sid! I told you that thing needs to be moved!”
”Hmm...” Steven placed his fingers on his chin. Not so distinct but recognizable mechanic it is. But in that case, he’d need both invent AND upgrade. Steven wasn’t sure if upgrade is purchasable right now, but knowing the root behind it, he could actually come up with an add on but change the design of it, maybe, just maybe, he could put it into one action.
By the time he arrived at the destination, a great sense of oddness loomed over the two. The place stood out among all buildings due to its steampunk style of decoration, lying in the middle of magical fairytales and fantasy. And it wasn’t necessarily great. The dirtiness and seemingly desolation of the place did put his mood down a little, comparing to the energetic sun out there.
As Steven walked into the store, the weird contraption next to him just hissed hot steam into his face like a dragon blowing fire. Hot and humid, his visions were blurred, similar to how he usually walk into the ramen shop during a cold winter’s night. Swiftly, he lifted the glasses off his eyes and proceeded to clean the lens with his clothes before putting it back on again, before anyone could notice.
The shop’s interior reflected its exterior, in slapdash condition and horribly cluttered. A long workbench ran along the backside of the shop while tables littered the rest of the room and shelves seemed to be slapped up on the wall with no particular order. Everything was filled to the brim with trinkets and gizmos, more than some seemingly unfinished. A rickety set of stairs led to the next floor. Xenos rolled his eyes and grabbed a metal pipe and banged on the low ceiling.
“For an NPC trainer, he is stupidly dedicated to avoiding his responsibilities.” Xenos explained to Steven. “First day, he shows up looking somewhat decent and put together. Day ten, he runs like we’re the plague if he can.” From upstairs, there was a muffled shout, a loud BANG, and a string of furious curses as heavy thudding crossed to the stairs.
“I swear I will burn this place down with all of us in it if you don’t stop that racket!” Sid stomped down the stairs, a scowl on his face. He lifted the seeing piece off his eye and ran his hand down his face, groaning. He had dark bags under his eyes and he seemed to sway ever so slightly. “Didn’t I just teach you something yesterday? Go away. I’m busy.”
“Its been four days Sid.” Xenos said dryly, putting down the pipe. He slung his arm over Steven’s shoulders. “This cool cat here is trying to learn some stuff too. So why don’t you do your job, take our money, and then I don’t know, take a nap?” Sid just rolled his eyes and huffed before looking at Steven. He looked him up and down, pulled down his eyeglass, and peered intently at Steven like he was trying to see through the man. He did this for a few minutes, periodically adjusting the lens. He huffed.
“I guess you’ll do.” The man grumbled. “What do you want?” Xenos leaned over and whispered “Oooh, high praise. I had to bribe the guy to teach me.”
”You are certainly helpful, thank you.” The sudden change of tone would certainly be irritating to someone like him, but Steven didn’t care about what this NPC thinks. As the man was peering skeptically at Steven like he was trying to assess him, the man with the heavy glasses were also making his mind-and-body reading back, although through the thick layer of glasses, one could never know what he is scheming.
”I figure you must be very ‘occupied’, so I’ll be brief.” He said, pushing his glasses up with his index finger. ”I wish to learn your marvelous ‘Invent’ action, in addition to Keen Eye and Tinkering About. If that is reasonable with you?”
”Yeah sure kid. 7 Silver and I’ll teach ya.” The man huffed back, arms crossed. A notification popped up in front of Steven.
Learn Tinkering About, Keen Eye, and Invent for 7 silver?
7 Silver. That’s surprisingly cheap…
Steven did not put any hesitation in his choice as he confirmed the transaction, watching as his Renn began to drop.
Xenos pestered the man into teaching him auto-load while Steven did his own things, sobbing dramatically as he watched his Renn total drop.
The process was rather fast. He didn’t even need to spend 5 minutes in this cramped and oil-stenched place. The faster they did, the better. Steven just didn’t feel so comfortable in this place. As soon as he finished, he thanked the instructor before quietly turned around and exited the store, only looking back at Xenos, waiting for him to come out as well.
”Okay! Wanna grab a bite and catch up? I feel like it's been forever since we’ve had a chance to hang!” Xenos exclaimed. ”Plus, who can say no to free food.” He shot Steven a grin. “Let's go see what's on the menu around here.”
Steven comes to the Solace Festival, with his inventory empty, bought 15 Wood, 6 Iron, 3 Crystals, then meet up with Xenos, went on to learn 3 new actions at the Trainer (Tinkering About, Invent and Keen Eye). Currently outside the Tinkering store, going to eat.
Steven’s Renn: 2382 -> 2097 (15 Wood, 6 Iron, 3 Crystals) -> 1922 (Learn Invent, Tinkering About and Keen Eye)
-Fell off a chair -Encountered Steve -Met up with the Tinker Trainer -Spent 25 Renn to learn Auto-Load -Going to eat
Having been so focused on her messages with Alisea, Uchaka had barely noticed River at first until he had started speaking to her directly, and even all it accomplished at first was little more than a blank stare from the Red-tagged. She cocked her head to the side and thought to herself for a moment, wondering why exactly River had decided to apologize to her, even though he made it very clear as to why. When he had finished speaking, her blank stare was still there and for a moment it seemed like she would not make a response, however, she was somewhat moved by someone actually acknowledging her as a human being for once, rather than a murder. The masked mage opened her mouth to speak and delivered a response in her still cold tone, "Apology accepted. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go meet with someone."
As she made her move to step past River, Uchaka heard Alisea approach the two, not ideal as in reality, Uchaka had not entirely forgiven River for his words the other day. "I guess the festival is alright," Uchaka responded, looking into the air before her mind got back on track with what she had wanted to speak to Alisea about. "Anyways, Alisea, what kind of spell do you think I could make by combining darkness and lightning? I am kind of stuck on it, it's been like that for a bit and I want to make something that's a bit unique, she said, bringing up her menu to begin looking at how she could combine things to make the perfect spell with the two trees that she had unlocked.
Yep. That's right. Uchaka had bothered Alisea to talk about menial mage things such as creating a spell that Uchaka could use. Granted, in Uchaka's mind this was something that was best discussed in person as PMs simply did not have the same meaning and she did not want her message to be misinterpreted as someone who wanted to make a spell purely to kill other people. "I was thinking of making something called 'Dark Plasma' and it would operate like a more power fireball that would explode into a big wall of darkness to blind enemies."
Panic struck River at the sound of Alisea's voice. Unsure of whether she would scold him for even being near Uchaka let alone speaking to her. His head ducked low into his shoulders, like a child who's juat heard their mom calling their name. A nervous chuckle came just before he spoke " Haven't had much chance to really pay attention yet to be honest. I was just back there talking to Kyo and then came here. Funny, you two being in the same area. Suppose I'll be on my way then." Just as River began to walk away, he heard Uchaka's question to Alisea. Combining Lightning and Darkness in order to create a new spell. He quickly pulled up his menu in order to check the skills and magic page.
Spells
>>Pure Magic: Combine Disciplines (5) - If the user has access to 2 or more Fundamental Disciplines, user may cast this spell to create a new one. Pick 2 or more Fundamental spells and fabricate a spell that is appropriate and send it to the GM for approval. User may keep only 1 spell created through "Combine Discipline" at any point. 200MP.
River continued to flip through the spells lists to see what options Darkness and Lightning had to offer, taking into account Uchakas mention of a plasma based attack. After a small search River found a combination he was sure would be worth the creation and mana.
>>Electricity Magic: Plasma Burst (4) - User bursts out electric energy, damaging all opponents nearby. 100MP.
>>Electricity Magic: Energize (3) - If the user casts an Electricity Discipline spell when they have maximum mana, the spell replicates to an additional target. Passive.
>>Electricity Magic: Overload (6) - If the user casts 3 Electricity Discipline spells in a short window of time, the 3rd spell deals double damage. Passive.
>>Darkness Magic: Shadow Raze (5) - User razes an area in front of them with shadow energy, dealing damage. 200MP.
With a content plan, River gave himself an approving nod and turned back to face the two girls. " If you don't mind...I have an idea. You can combine Plasma Burst which is an AoE spell with Shadow Raze, another AoE spell, to make a mass damage Plasma field. If used when at max MP you then get the added benefit of having it cast again for free. Each time you cast that spell, or any electric spell, your speed increases which allows you to then use another passive Overload in which if you casted the Plasma field three times in a short bursts the third spell would seal double damage. Combine that with the Darkness magics buff at night and you have a massive blast of energy."
✧ DAY 10 - Central Square of Genesis City - 4:00PM ✧
6/25/2076
Solace Medallion - Given to all Players who buy at least 1 "Solace" item from the vendors during Solace Festival. Increases STR, AGI and INT by 1. (FREE) Solace Cloak - Bright, white cloak laced with golden threads. 'Add-on', reduces all ranged damage taken by 50. (170 Renn) Solace Helmet - Bronze helmet. 'Add-on', reduces all melee damage taken by 25. (150 Renn) Solace Blade - Longsword with a sun emblem. User gains +2 STR, +2 AGI. (150 Renn) Solace Arrows - Arrows with golden tip. Reloads twice as fast.(10)(55 Renn)
✧ DAY 8 - Genesis City, Inn "Eden Hall" - 8AM-12AM ✧
6/23/2076
Dubstepp released a lengthy yawn. For being more than a week stuck in this game, he still had not got used to a few things. He disliked having to wake up early in the morning. In his other life, he usually woke up around mid-afternoon, that is to say, if he did not have to go to work. He hoped he would be able to make it a habit given this is a life or death situation. Pinching his nose stem, he wondered if the moderators or game devs would do anything unfair to the players.
Dubstepp brought his hands together and held his chin up. If anything, him and the other players were just tools. On the first day, without any mercy, the game designer eliminated one player as an example. The musician's eyes went blank as he stared off into the distance. He relived the moment, seeing the scared expression on other players. He heard their screams of terror and witnessed how most of them went into a panic.
Dubstepp snapped out of his flashback. Rubbing his forehead, he knew preparation was the key. He needed to have the best chance against -- Dubstepp let out a sigh as he thought of the word "God." That's basically what the game designer had become. "The power to do anything in the world that you built. Heh, sounds like God," Dubstepp chuckled at the irony of this dilemma. He wanted to be on top of things yet he's just a pawn to someone else in this computer game.
Dubstepp shifted his body a bit. He was taking a seat on the circular stone bench of a fountain. The trainer glanced at passing NPCs and players; they carried on with their daily routines. Groups of players walked by and stayed totally tranced in their conversation. The musician squinted, he wondered if that remained the best option. He chose to Han Solo for a while without chaining himself to a guild. It seemed more trouble than it was worth. Naturally, feelings might become a weakness and there was the matter of dead weight.
The trainer recollected to his past moments with several players he encountered. He did find their assistance in the dungeon helpful though he did have a falling out with a few individuals. Human interactions are a flip of the coin; either way, they are going to end up good or bad. Dubstepp still can't help the fact that the first person he met disappeared without a trace, "Aura." He barely knew the red-headed beauty, but it still annoys the hell out of him. The literal contact that wasn't an NPC managed to 'poof.'
Dubstepp opened up his inbox and began browsing through his emails. "Damn it. Is there really an easy decision to this?" His eyes began moving as his mind tried to concentrate. He closed the inbox when he noticed that he was running from his choice. "I'll make a decision tomorrow. I have to stop putting this off."
✧ DAY 9 - Genesis City, Inn "Eden Hall" - 8AM-12AM ✧
6/24/2076
Dubstepp quietly sat near a fountain again. It frankly was the best place for thoughts. He twiddled his thumbs together; he spent some time thinking about his decision. The benefits did seem promising, but even then, he wasn't sure if it was the "best decision." The ultimate deciding factor was Dubstepp needed to make some sacrifices. He stepped off the fountain parked on the gravel. He looked up at the clear, blue sky. Opening up his menu, he clicked on a past user's name on his friend's list. In actuality, it was one of the few people he met on the first day. Dubstepp sent a message to Reylan that read: "Hey. how's the day going? I would like a moment of your time to chat. Any restaurant you have in mind? I'm kind of hungry."
Reylan was quick to reply to the message "It's going smoothly so far. Sure, we haven't gotten time to talk in awhile it seems. How about the Twisted Fang? Got some pretty good BBQ." He sent it and started to head in that direction, since he figured that's where they would meet. It felt like ever since Aura left and he became guild-leader he just was caught up in so much stuff that he didn't make enough time to talk with Dub. He felt a bit guilty about that after all Dub was one of his first party members. Together they fought their first mobs and won. Whatever he wanted to talk about, Reylan was eager to listen.
Dubstepp raised his eyebrows for a quick second. He did not expect a fast response. He guessed guild leaders must have some time to spare. Writing back, “I don’t really like barbecue, but that’s fine.” He sent the message and began walking to the destination with his arms behind his head. He arrived shortly, after a few days you tend to remember close to all the restaurant names.
He was tempted to reply that it had more than BBQ but decided to simply wait until they were face-to-face. Reylan came to the Twisted Fang a few minutes after Dubstepp "Hey Dub!" He cheerfully called out as he approached. While he still wasn't technically a part of the guild, Reylan would do anything to help him out. Dub was part of his first party and the group that took down their first dungeon, of course, he would feel a little attached "Well, should we head inside?" Even though the answer was obvious, he still asked in a semi-coy manner.
“I didn’t come for nothing,” Dubstepp chose to speak with an obvious answer. He shook his head in the general direction. After a few minutes of waiting and communicating with the server, the two young males sat across from each other in a booth.
"I gotta admit it's kinda nice just to hang out the two of us." Reylan opened with a friendly smile "So.." He rest his elbows in the table, hands laying on top of each other in the center "What did ya want to talk about?" Being the guildmaster, it seemed more and more people had something to discuss with him.
Dubstepp laid his head back on the leather cushion. His eyes were half-way opened. There was light tapping on the wooden table. He thought back to how this situation was going to play out. He certainly didn't believe Reylan would be so cheery. Was he always like this? Has it been that long? Dubstepp coughed as he tried to clear his throat. "I've had some time to think. I've recently received an epiphany."
The words did not bring Reylan any closer to understanding what Dubstepp wanted. It honestly could mean anything, so it was easier to simply ask "I'm here to listen if you want to share it." It was a simple but honest reply. Dub seemed to always be cool-headed and witty, and brought a unique perspective to the group.
Dubstepp leaned forward with his hands clasped together. Bringing his hands to his chins, he spoke again. "I'm interested in joining the guild."
Reylan did his best to suppress the gladness that Dubs words brought him, even if it was not-comittal in his signature fashion "That's great. I'm sure everyone would be happy to have you officially part of it." Small as it was, this guild was family and Dub was a piece of it.
Dubstepp nodded his head in response. "I think I know some of them, but you must have got some new members. I haven't really made a decision yet." The musician tried taming down Reylan's enthusiasm. "I have a few questions. I am joining this based on previous knowledge of you guys. I know you guys from previous adventures. So I am a bit spectacle because there might be better options for me out there. Who know? I guess my first question is how many players are currently in the guild?"
Dubstepp's choice of work had their intended effect, the excitableness he had been expressing faded especially when it was mentioned that there might be better options. While he was a bit sad that their previous times working together didn't guarantee him joining, he was able to understand his mindset. Reylan had been so caught up with his interactions with the others that the threat of death had somewhat faded from his mind "As of right now, there are ten people in the guild. The most of them you will already know." He said, taking a calmer and more serious tone.
Dubstepp tapped his chin and leaned back. "Okay, that's actually not bad. Though I sort of had a feeling given we did have a dungeon run together." Dubstepp chuckled, attempting to ease the table talk. Then he sucked air through his teeth. "Given that you are the leader, I'm guessing you have decided on a second-in-command. Have you and who might that be?" Dubstepp cut his hand through the air.
Dubstepp and Reylan conversed more inside the diner about the guild. Dubstepp took a few minutes to eat. During that time, he thought about the information and accepted Reylan's invitation. "I know I'm a bit late, but I'll go ahead and sign that document now. It's probably in my best interest and best option." He snickered and signed the official document to guarantee himself as a member."I guess you got this meal, right? Given you are the guild master and all."
Dubstepp used no Renn. Dubstepp increased his relationship with player Reylan. Reylan:////////// Dubstepp has 733 Renn left.
SUMMARY
Dubstepp put a lot of thought into joining a guild. He wasted almost an entire day, thinking back to previous experiences. Finally, he came to decision. With a formal invite to Reylan, the two discussed the guild and ate alongside each other. With enough information, Dubstepp was comfortable in becoming a member.
Alone, Reylan sat on a bench in the middle of the festival grounds as cheerful music played in the background and merry people danced to its colorful tune. His elbows dug into his thighs as he leaned over them, hands clasped tightly together as he looked off into the distance. He had met up with Aster but instead of walking around the City and enjoying the festival, he asked her to look after Kyo while he searched for this bastard. Reylan hadn't really given Aster all that much of a choice before he ran off. His eyes kept reading the new chat among guilds, but no one had gotten sight of him.
After non-stop searching, Reylan finally accepted the fact that the killer, Valentine, had escaped the city. That is what up to this point with Reylan looking out of place with a serious look among the happiness around him. He had been so caught up in chasing this Valentine that he hadn't even sent out a message to the other members of the guild, so hesitantly he pulled up his menu:
"Legion of the Wolf. It pains me to say this but...Karma was murdered. I am not sure when, but this bastard named Valentine is responsible. His name tag is red, possibly black now, and if you see it anywhere...bring him in. We will find him and he WILL answer for his crime." He sent the message without a second thought, his anger and grief seeping into the words. A heavy sigh left him as he straightened his posture, looking towards the clear, blue sky. The weather was far too nice for today.
He slowly rose out of his sitting position, an almost blank expression on his face. There was nothing to be done. Nothing he could to bring Karma back and nothing he could to bring Valentine to justice right now. Still, he couldn't bring out the energy to enjoy the festival anymore. Instead, he would try to pick up a few of the special items that were for sale. The first item he had his eyes on was the 'Solace Cloak', it would be useful to have fighting at a distance. Few words were exchanged between him and the merchant who sold it, the energy to hide his feelings was failing.
The special arrows felt like they were just for him, as comforting as that could be. For that reason, he had no choice but to buy 40 of them. It would have been more but the two purchases left him with only 110 renn, which he had to save for food and drinks....though he really wasn't hungry even though he had little to eat so far today. The festival...lost its appeal to him so he decided to go back to the inn and work on the Guild's strategy for the upcoming Dungeon raid. It was tomorrow after all. He hoped that the rest of the guild could still find time to have fun today.
”Sure. How long has it been? Two years? I don’t remember, but it certainly is a long time.” Steven said. ”But anyway, the festival features some good stuff. We’ll walk to see what is up.”
The market was as busy as it could be. Hundreds to thousands of PCs and NPCs are pouring from different corners of the city, trying to sell, buy or just socializing with other people. It is easy to fall behind and get lost in the ocean of people, and certainly not very comfortable for someone like Steven. An introvert at its core, he found life amongst the large body of human relatively tiresome. But even here, as much as he wanted to stay in his room, enjoy some good solitude and work his way up the ladder by himself, he could not. Just like the real world, if you wanted to be successful, you had to work your muscles a bit. The gem that is keeping him charged up until now is his friend here, Xenos.
He did not know Xenos for long. He was a classmate met through some intertwining courses in university. If his memory wasn’t fooling around, he shared three courses, and by the third ones, he had already been one of his close friends that he could chill out and talk openly at any times. Unfortunately though, as Steven began to dig deeper in his journey to the centre of knowledge, Xenos left academia and went on to work. Time began to become sparse for each, so the good old days were pretty much left behind.
He never would’ve thought the time he recollect these memories would be during this dark hour.
”It’s hard to believe it’s so peaceful and normal in here. Humans are adaptive creatures after all, I suppose.” He said, as he glanced around the market. ”I guess my thesis is doomed now.”
Xenos chuckled. “People do what they have to do, ya know? If you let it get to you well… it's just better that you don’t.” He sighed, shaking his head to clear away the thoughts. It was a festival so it was no time to feel all down and about! “Now none of this sad talk beautiful. Its a festival and we should enjoy it! I mean, free food am I right?” He wound his arm into Steven’s. “I know you don’t like crowds much so stick with me and I’ll see what we can do to get out of this mess. God knows I’ve been in the market often enough.” He tugged Steven along, snatching up food from here and drinks from there as the passed through, passing them to the other Tinker to hold. It felt like old times when they were still in college together, Steven stuck in some reading or prepping some study and wandering into the worst parts of the campus and Xenos would have to drag him out before he started scaring everyone away.
Xenos dragged him to the edge of the market, where the crowd had thinned and a single musician played merrily as a few people danced along. “Alrighty! A little quieter than the rest of this mosh pit at least. Gotta say, not a bad way to treat a date huh? Music, dancing, a little food and drink.” He said teasingly as he gestured to the pile he shoved onto Steven on the way through the crowd and then snatched up some and started eating, making himself comfortable on a bench. “You mentioned a thesis before. What were you working on before this? We haven’t really had a chance to hang since… well, a while ago!”
”I must agree. If somebody actually takes an interests in me, this place would be ideal to make the final blow. If. If. Emphasizes if…” Steven joked back, being completely aware of his eccentricities acting as the deterring factor for any women he came to know during his lifetime. He really wondered if his companion for today had any partner yet. He would not be surprised if he did. When he could drag this fellow pedantic but smart individual out to society, picking up someone seemed like just passing by the post office on his way to work.
”Huh? My thesis?” Finally something he could talk freely about. ”I am in a PhD program, and I was working on a thesis that analyzes the effects of us diving into a virtual world like this one. Since VR tech was being the most promising in the world today, there were concerns raised about it, like how every innovations and inventions do. So I figure I should clear out those thoughts, or try to.” This dialogue that he just spewed out in these few seconds was even longer than all of what he said during the entire trip combined. ”This game was intended to be a stone that kills two birds. Both for relaxation and for research purposes. But the moment I think should be for relaxation...well turned out to be this.”
He chuckled in the light of such cruel event. Like Xenos said, no sad talk. ”How about you though? I haven’t heard from you for a while. What have you been doing since?”
”Work, work, and more work. I mean at least I got a job and in my field but they are slave drivers.” Xenos grumbled, sipping at something. What it was, who knows but no better time to try than now. He made a face at it and put it down. ”Once I graduated, I was pretty worried I wouldn’t find anything so I am thankful for it. At least I don’t have to move back in with the family, as much as I love them all. I was with someone for like a year, I really liked them too, but got dumped when they took a scholarship opportunity out of the country. But that’s about it.” He shrugged and tried another thing he grabbed and hummed pleasantly as he bit into it. Much better than the drink.
”Hey, do you think it’s lame we picked Tinker as a class? I mean, we do this kinda shit outside of the game and yet here we are, clinging to the familiar instead trying the fantastical. The whole point of a fantasy game is to be whatever you want and we chose to be us basically.” Xenos spoke thoughtfully as he watch a group of mages meander by, laughing loudly against the music. ”I guess on one hand we’re in a better position than most. Familiar ground and all that shit. But on the other, what does it say about us that we would rather cling to what is and not what could be?”
Steven laughed a little at the work part. Indeed this world wasn’t really meant for him. The way the corporates just tried to suck every ounce of strength and positive outlooks in life with their 9 to 5 cycle. Another part of the reason why Steven abandoned his original post and returned to academia. They had high pays, but everybody knew, even research and psychology had proven, that after a certain point in life, an increase in money does not equal increase in happiness. When certain needs had been met, they just didn’t matter anymore.
He then pondered at the question. His irises eyed the table, hidden behind the thick layer of glasses, as he covered his lip with his hands. ”I never actually thought that before. But it’s a part of the exposure effect that we all have.”
He looked over to another group of friends of different classes, as he sipped his drinks. ”And maybe because it is what we actually and really like ourselves. I mean I could have played as a paladin, but when it comes to hypothesizing new ideas, it is in our blood now. I guess it is a matter of personality. Can’t blame anyone of us for it.”
He placed his cup down before shrugging as well. ”But now it’s a different story. They’d need our expertise. Everybody.” The day was turning redder by the minutes. The sky was switching their outfit, as the sun moved from one corner to the other. It was amazing to think that all of these were made by artificial zeroes and ones that could be formulated by a machine. ”I hear about the guild recruitment. Lots of benefit I hear, but I wonder how do you actually join one?”
Xenos nodded at his explanation and eyed his friend. ”A guild? You weren’t ever one to pledge your serves to anything. Imminent threat of death change your mind on that?” Xenos joked. ”But its easy. Find a guild you wanna join and ask them. Then, the whole group has to vote you in and BLAM! You’re a guildy. Super easy. If you want, I can introduce you to…” Xenos paused as a notification popped up on his dashboard and he gasped.
“Speaking of the guild, a PKer just killed on of our members.” Xenos said grimly. “I didn’t really have a chance to know this Karma guy but damn, no one deserves to get killed in this game. The guildmaster is all fired up about hunting this guy down too.” Xenos didn’t particular hold an opinion of the recently deceased but he could sympathize with Reylan. Losing someone like that… Xenos hissed as his head pounded again and grimaced. ”I wonder if they have painkillers in game.” He muttered to himself. ”Well, I think introducing you to the guildmaster might have to wait but I can introduce you to a few other people in the guild if you want to check ours out.”
”I do not usually align with any guilds, but this time it seems that the benefit of joining one outweighs, so I figure I should...hey, you alright?” The glassed man looked over to see his friend clenching his forehead, as if he was about to break from the anger. ”That would be great. Thanks. But before that, I need to drop my inventory and get my gears first. If you don’t mind accompanying me.”
With that said, Steven quickly but gently finished his drinks and stood up, this time taking the initiative and be at the lead, heading out of the festival for his room. There, excusing himself for a minute or two, he discarded all his woods, irons and crystals he just bought and re-equipped his guns, ammunitions and was ready to meet whoever may be his allies in the near future.
”Alright, let’s go.”
While heading to wherever Xenos was trying to meet him up with his guild, Steven noticed something.
”One moment, if you don’t mind.” He stopped right at the clothing store, as he looked over the samples. His eyes glanced briefly through the sections, seemingly assessing them in his mind. Shortly after he eyes on only one item.
”I wish to buy the white one please, thank you.” He politely requested, as the NPC smiled with courtesy.
”Fancy Clothes? That would be 70 Renn please.”
No big deal.
A message popped up in front of him, notifying him of the purchase. Without much hesitation, he clicked yes. Immediately, another message popped up, confirming the purchase. He quickly got into the menu and went into his profile. Soon, he was flashing up like a wisp for a brief moment before fading back into normal, this time donning a serious-looking yet grand white cloak and suit that merely served as cosmetic. Quite a bit for investment, but Steven just shrugged it off with the explanation
”It feels good to be nicely dressed when you are about to meet someone.”
“Looking snazzy!” Xenos flashed him a grin and a thumbs up and typed out a message to the guild.
Hey, anyone free to meet up during the festival?
”Okay, let's head over towards our usual Inn and see who we can find!” Xenos wrapped his arm back into Steven’s and headed off.
-Dropped all bought items at home -Now carries his weapons and ammunitions -Renn: 1922 -> 1852 (Fancy Clothes) -Heading to the Inn
-Ate food -Pondered Life -Headed to Inn Currently 4:30
