Tower

Health:
6632/7000
Mana:
3250/4050

Status:
Bleeding






Dennis sword was far too short to actually strike the Trainer, but at least he was able to move his limbs in the binding. He was tempted to slash at the whip that restrained him, but one of the weird dogs jumped him and started to scratch him repeatedly. Dennis was well aware of the damage he took, but the pain was pretty minimal, all things considered. Rather than focus on the initial strikes, the steady flow of blood felt much more jarring and took his attention. Dennis never suffered from a status effect like that so far...

A blast of darkness launched the beast from Dennis' vicinity - Naomi was thankfully doing, uh... Crowd Command? Yeah, that's close enough. River used one of his spells, and Dennis could feel most of his wounds closing. That Bleed was really troubling, but he couldn't deal with it at the moment.

He didn't recognize he was released before he was hit in the face with a whip, a second shot leaving a glowing red gash across his face. Luckily, that meant that Dennis wasn't locked up anymore - He nearly tackled the Trainer when Prome launched two fire-based projectiles at the monster. It was followed shortly by a combination of lightning and sword strikes. Dennis eyes briefly flashed towards the only remaining warg, but it was too far for him to strike from his current location.

He couldn't pull away and risk leaving Naomi or River open to attack. Rather than strike, he put himself between the warg and the casters. He prepared himself to use Living Wall at a moments notice, followed shortly by Repel the Enemy.

---

Summary:
Move between the Warg and Naomi/River, ignore Trainer.
Prepare to use Living wall if Warg 2 attacks anyone in Dennis' range.
Follow with Repel the enemy.

The fight was over without much flair. Almost anti-climatic as one might say. The Goblin was an easy prey once the flanking canines were dealt with; indeed Goblins were a race who took advantage of numbers. It was an easy fight but a good warm-up, putting the party on the right edge to deal with more challenges to come. Now, the time to reap the rewards of effort well spent (All players receive the following);

- 5,000 EXP
- 1 Mithril coin, 1 Gold coins, 4 Silver coins, D10 Copper coins.

Following items are dropped.

- 3 Wolf Pelt (Rare)
- 2 Crystals (Uncommon)
- 5 Iron Ring (Common)

---

And as if to mark the end of the initial fight, ZKs66 made his appearance, bursting literally out of nowhere from a bush nearby.

"Hey guys~ Lovely day for a stroll."

ZKs66 flicked a card between his fingers, playing around with it for a moment before continuing.

"Know what you are all thinking... BUT before you kill my ass," He almost physically turned around to pat his own butt. "I scouted ahead and found the totem they are talking about. How about that eh~?"

---

---

---

>>Health:
(2600/2600)
>>Mana:
(3500/3950)

---

The fight had finally ended, or so River had thought. A sound came from their right, a rustling in the bushes, as soon as ZK stepped out of the bush, River cracked his whip by Zks feet, signaling a warning. His eyes finally realised who it was and his expression completely changed. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Zeke! I didnt know it was you!" there was a slight pause as he then realized his absence in the entire fight. "Sorry I didnt hit you! Where were you?! You could've been killed! What if those wargs and Trainer appeared at you and not us? Youd be dead! D.E.A.D. Dont you dare rush ahead of us like that again...but good job on finding the totem. Saved Pepper and me some time I suppose. Did you destroy it or just find it and report back?"

Health: 2700/2700
Mana: 3350/3550(+450)









Willow watched as River, Kira, and Cecilia mopped up the mob. She tapped her finger on her wand absently, thinking. Obviously, focusing so heavily into one attribute early on wasn’t the worst idea but she would definitely need to start pouring more points into agility and stamina if she wanted to maintain any degree of relevance further on. The rate she was popping heals out at wasn’t bad now but the choice between a heal and crowd control wasn’t one she wanted to dwell on too hard so perhaps more was better than harder. Would have been back then but the floor boss would be a better indicator. "Oh, let me top off your mana really quick River. That way I can cap your mana next fight. Chakra Magic, Greater Chakra Magic!" River was engulfed in a pair of crystal blue lights, restoring 450 MP.

“May I have one of the wolf pelts?” Willow asked as she swiped away the reward screen with a sigh and smiled at herself ruefully. She was getting greedy if that much Renn from a trash mob didn’t balance out the subpar bonus from her bounty lines. She shook her head and then jumped as River cracked his whip at Zk’s feet. She silently berated herself for not noticing his absence as he spoke, nodding along with River’s rant. While everything may have worked out this time, communication was a must moving forward. Willow fully expected to get everyone out alive and his vanishing act set her on edge.

“Zk and I will have a heart to heart after the dungeon. It’s important we stay focused and together going forward however.” Willow said with a sharp smile at Zk. “Do you have a status report as well? Mobs, traps, hidden loot because I like stuff?”

As the warg’s corpse pixelated into nothing, leaving behind only EXP and loot, Cecilia let out a sigh, wrenching her spear out from the tree and inspecting its edge. No nicks, no bend. Her leather armor was inspected as well, only spiderweb marks left by the claws of the beasts. Good. She can continue on without any repairs, and it looked like Zks was back as well.

Or well, as ‘back’ as someone could be when they weren’t even present for the orientation at the start of the dungeon.

“Understood,” Cecilia spoke, tossing one of the Wolf Pelts over to Willow. “I’ll take the other two, if no one has objections. And Willow, River, calm yourselves. For scouting purposes, a Rogue works best alone, and our fight created a perfect diversion.”

A pause, and then she flashed a small, cheeky smile, switching easily to a cheekier persona, her eyes widening slightly, her posture become more light and active, her tone brightening like a blooming sunflower.

“Not that I couldn’t have found the totem three times faster than Zks if I wasn’t doing my job as a warrior, neh?” Cecilia winked, her enhanced eyes glowing softly in the daylight.

Health: 3000/3000
Mana: 3900/3900
Renn: 7013 Renn
STATs Tree:



Dubstepp opened up his menu, looking at his now updated statistics. He read the experience bar and frowned; the musician noticed he still had a long way to go until he became level 15. Closing the menu, he spoke out. "No, he did not destroy it." Dubstepp chose to answer River's question that was originally directed to Zeke. The trainer nodded his head once he began speaking.

"If he did destroy the totem, that would've been the first thing he would've led with." Dubstepp shrugged his shoulder."Then again, he very well may have but is waiting to surprise us with the accomplishment though he would be more enthusiastic in that case." The giant rabbit hopped over to its trainer's side. Dubs put his hands out as not to stumble over from the vibration of his hops.

"So Zeke, where is the totem? We're on an easy streak and I hope it stays that way." Dubstepp honestly spoke to Zeke. He adjusted his hat, looking out in the distance to see if any other monsters could be spotted.

Dubstepp speaks to Zeke.

---

_{Interacting with:
@Trainerblue192@HueMan}

Health: 1000/1000
Mana: 1700/2000

---

When the last mob fell, Prome walked over the drops and picked up a crystal "Ohh...shiny." He put it in his inventory as he looked over his gauntlets "But yes, these are going to need a serious upgrade, because my damage output just isn't going to cut it." And suddenly, ideas started to come to him, and he became blind to the outside world "...Should I add a new spell or two, or would it be better to add additional instances of Fire Strike, each with their own cooldown? The second would most likely be cheaper, and I am going to need all the money I can get to keep my arsenal up to date. Hummmmm...should I just redesign the Zenith from the ground up while I'm at it? Maybe I should look into stat boosting gear? Could I find some way to incorporate things like that into the Mark 2? Or maybe I'd have to find out how to make them myself, so I could apply that process to the Mark 2. So many irons, not enough fire."

---

---

---

>>Health:
(2600/2600)
>>Mana:
(3950/3950)

---

River stood there slightly agitated by not only ZKs recklessness, but also Cecilias agreeance with him, and what's more...that she wasnt wrong. He watched at Willow and her civally traded and discussed the wolf pelts while Prome snatched away a crystal before his mind was snagged by ideas of grandeur again. He snapped his fingers loudly to get everyones attention, including Prome. If there was one thing his last guild taught him, it was that some semblance of structure is needed. "Alright. Moving forward I think it's best that all loot is discussed before we go pawing at it. Any loot that isnt needed may go into the guild chest, and our lovely leader Karuu here can help settle any disputes. That sound reasonable to everyone?" River walked over to the last remaining crystal and tossed it towards Karuu "Think fast! Crystals are a vital item, they help casters, like me and Willow, repair our gear. That includes our wands that are crucial to casting. Things like this we may want to keep in guild storage so that we can use them as needed to repair gear."

ZKs66 flinched slightly at Willow's jab. She could be scary if she wanted to be, although he did have the good excuse of doing a Rogue job; something at least Cecilia acknowledged.

"Yes, yes I'm sure CC would have done a much faster job than I have." He waved her off casually, as he often did. River snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention. Good opportunity for ZKs66 to discuss his discoveries. Afterall, he was the self-elected scout of the party and what good is information if it wasn't available to the right people?

"Speaking of settling disputes, let me first show you what I've been up to. And yes to answer some questions I have managed to identify the path and surroundings. If you check your minimaps," ZKs66 tapped in mid-air to bring up his menu, selecting the map feature in order to point out the locations.

"North West corner of our position, near the ruins of some old buildings is where the totem is located. It's covered by debris and broken walls but fairly well shielded by it so we can't simply snipe it out using range." ZKs66 paused briefly before continuing. Implications weren't enough at times he supposed. "Totem itself is like wet paper, it has only 100HP. Just about any ranged attack or spell will kill it. But it's got a lot of Goblins guarding it."

ZKs66 pointed towards the middle of the minimap, over where a small stream was located. "Obviously the fastest path there would be over the bridge in the middle and going straight in between Hill 2 and Hill 3 but..." He paused briefly, scratched his chin in a dubious manner. "The whole area is full of Goblin archers. Once we hit the bridge's bottleneck we'll be peppered with arrows."

"So..." ZKs66 closed his menu and shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, implying he didn't care either way. He was a free character without much seriousness. He technically did buy Talrae to enjoy it. "We've got 2 choices; we can either push up the center through the bridge and hope that we can tank the damage or... we can go straight west, crossover the Small Islands, and try to sneak towards Hill 2 without being seen. By the way, I do think that is highly unlikely. I managed to sneak by unseen because... well because."

---

Before Karuu could think fast, Cecilia’s hand snapped out instead, catching the Crystal before handing it over to the Marauder. “Just in case, Mr. Leader,” she winked, before turning her golden eyes back towards Zks as he did the other part of his job: reporting.

So the ruins were the suspicious part after all, and they had the option of either heading to the bridge, which was filled to the brim with Goblin archers, or to head off through the detour instead, hoping that everyone was stealthy enough to make it through without trouble. Cecilia looked at Tower and Prome, before grinning and shaking her head.

“Nope, definitely not happening,” she sang, twirling around on her toes, “Let’s go straight through the bridge then. It’s short enough to cross almost instantly for the Great Demon and I, while the sides of this bridge serve as partial cover from archers on the side…not that we’d actually get hit by those arrows, neh, Akumu? River can send Pepper in as a quick aerial distraction, the melees can all Accelerate in and run amok, while Tower does what Tower does to deliver our cute lifeline closer.”

“Destroying the totem alone won’t make these monsters disappear, after all. I’d rather get rid of them before they sandwich us when we go for the totem, you know? And…”

She stabbed the spear into the ground before doing some jazz hands shenanigans with a soft giggle.

“Think about all that tasty loot as we descend upon a mob of archers!”

Health: 5500/5500
Mana: 200/200

---

"I agree with Cecilia on this one. Speed is important right now, and having everyone cross the river is a bad idea." Karuu cast a short glance at Prome, but tried to look away quickly before it was noticeable. "We can rush the bridge. Kira and I will lead, with Cecilia right behind. I'll split right, you two split left; just cut down everything. Tower, escort the healers across the bridge. Willow, left to help those two; River with me on the right. Tower, Prome, Dub: if anything else shows up that's your job; if nothing does, pick a side and zap some archers. Lastly, Zeke. Think you can ford the stream and flank the archers? One at their backs will cause confusion; just don't engage until you hear us hit their front. Any concerns?"

Tower

Health:
6632/7000
Mana:
3250/4050

Status:

---

It seemed like having Dennis keep up his shielding was not really needed - shortly after he got between the healers and the Warg, the creature was bombarded again with attacks, while the trainer was ripped apart by Akumi. Dennis lowered his guard as the last pixels evaporated from the enemies, still surprised that they died so quickly. The DPS did such a good job - comparatively, Dennis was barely able to do anything...

Shaking his head, Dennis tried to focus on the positives - 5,000 exp and 1250 renn! Dennis almost felt bad taking that much, since his help was pretty minimal, but he definitely could use the money. He already started thinking about all the things he could but - obviously some more actions and spells, maybe see if mounts were a thing, and if he saved up enough Dennis definitely had his eyes on buying a house!

No, first things first, Dennis needed to see if he could find any more of his friends to join the guild. The last thing he wanted was for someone like Vince to be out on his own. Maybe contact Data Link 66 and pay them to look at their subscribers?

A crack of a whip quickly alerted Dennis to the sounds of Zack coming onto the scene. Luckily, River immediately apologized - It would have been really rude if he didn't! Naomi filled up River's MP, something that he really needed since he was a healer, but it reminded Dennis that he wanted to ask for a refill too. Before he could speak, Zack started up again, describing the ways they could go to the Totem. Dennis really wasn't cut out for stealth, considering his armor clinked everywhere he trudged, so, unfortunately, everyone agreed on the bridge route... Hopefully, no one got hurt because of that.

As Josh explained the plan, Dennis realized that he'll probably need his HP lower for attacking the archers with his Even the Odds. But Prome needed some mana, and Cecilia still had HP damage from earlier!

"I-I'm not sure if it's real important, but shouldn't we make sure that Cecilia is healed up before we start?"

Health: 2700/2700
Mana: 3375/3550(+450)









Cecilia’s comment glanced off her with a shake of her head as she grabbed the wolf pelt and entered it into her inventory. The issue wasn’t the act of disappearing but rather the lack of communication. The only notification that Zk would have been in danger would have been a dropping health bar. They wouldn’t have known where he was or what was attacking him. They probably wouldn’t have made it in time.

The thought sent chills down her spine so she forced herself to pay attention to Karuu. They hadn’t really had a chance to talk about the implications of this situation. Willow went on a violent tirade about being forced down to her actual height when Malgoth “gifted” them their original appearances. She played fantasy games to fantasize about how life could have been, about reaching the top shelf and keeping up with everyone at a reasonable pace. She could feel the irritation at the thought and squashed it. Not the time or place.

But the amazing thing was Karuu could walk. Free from the confines of his wheelchair, Karuu could fight and play and run with everyone. It was exciting and terrifying. Willow worried about what would happen when he had to return after all this. Losing that freedom would hurt at the least.

“Yep, it's important! If it was a mob, I would just heal her up in the fight; it’s more efficient on my cooldowns. Since the archers can get some free hits in though…” she pointed her wand at Cecilia, “Healing Beam.” A beam of light lanced out to Cecilia, restoring 517 health. “Now, let's crush some goblins!”

Health: 1000/1000
Mana: 1700/2000

---

Prome suddenly regretted not building something that let him fly. 'Even some kind of jumpjet would be nice.' He sighed "I suppose the bridge does sound like that safer option; at least there we won't have to worry about our footing." He let out an irritated tisk "I can't believe I didn't prepare for something as obvious as crossing a river. Jumpjets, even something to propel us in the water would be a huge help now. It would give us more options for getting to the other side."

March to the bridge didn't take long, as the guide who has previously been there already had mapped out the prime pathing. Bridge itself was guarded by dozen or so Goblin Warriors (low level mob Monsters who posed no real significant threat) and Goblin Archers (ranged, low level mob Monsters who were equally threatening). Nothing the Player party couldn't stand triumphant over, as they were all rather low Level for the party who were all averaging around Level 14. However as it was natural with the Goblin-type monsters, they did have the number on their side and it was clear that they had to be fought through in order to reach the other side.

Before you rush into combat however, you notice that on the other side of the bridge there are even more Goblin troopers standing guard, ready to support their kin in case there are offenders. The bridge was small, a natural bottleneck. Only 2 or so humans would be able to stand side by side comfortably without smacking each other by swinging. If the Goblins decided to fight on the bridge and pour arrows down from the other side, which it looked like they would, the fight would not be as easy as one might think.

March to the bridge didn't take long, as the guide who has previously been there already had mapped out the prime pathing. Bridge itself was guarded by dozen or so Goblin Warriors (low level mob Monsters who posed no real significant threat) and Goblin Archers (ranged, low level mob Monsters who were equally threatening). Nothing the Player party couldn't stand triumphant over, as they were all rather low Level for the party who were all averaging around Level 14. However as it was natural with the Goblin-type monsters, they did have the number on their side and it was clear that they had to be fought through in order to reach the other side.

Before you rush into combat however, you notice that on the other side of the bridge there is another dozen Goblin troopers (Warriors and Archers) standing guard, ready to support their kin in case there are offenders. The bridge was small, a natural bottleneck. Only 2 or so humans would be able to stand side by side comfortably without smacking each other by swinging. If the Goblins decided to fight on the bridge and pour arrows down from the other side, which it looked like they would, the fight would not be as easy as one might think.

“Thanksies, Wiwi,” Cecilia grinned as her health bar was topped off, saluting the healer lackadaisically, before spinning on her heel towards Prome and his totally un-aerodynamic metal-body self. She wagged her index finger left and right as she leaned forward. “And c’mon now, Prome. We don’t need none of those fancy stuff here. Just, you know…Wiwi’s Telekinetic Move? Or wait, I’ll show you! All you need are a long stick and some good legs!”

It was with that sort of cheerful attitude that the lilac-haired Lancer approached the bridge with, her boots kicking against the ground as if she were dancing. What was there to be depressed about, after all? They were going to clear the Floor Dungeon, unlock more content, and get one step closer to getting home. The sky was bright, everyone was in tip-top shape, and the enemies before them were more or less fodder that she’s been clearing out since level one. And with numbers like this…

“Alright, Karuu, Akumu, I’ll see you two on the other side~ Let’s get a good count going again, neh?”

Cecilia had no intention at all of dealing with those Goblin Warriors. Let the slower people play with those frontliners. As for herself…

First Sprint, then Accelerate, and she was off like an arrow, shooting around and then past the first mob of Goblin Warriors. Each step roared in her blood, and each step roared in her ears as Cecilia drove her spear into the river’s bank, jumping up at the same time. Letting out a cry of exhilaration, she sailed over the river and landed in a roll before springing up onto her feet once more and charging straight for the archers. By nature, arrows were ‘points’ rather than ‘lines’ and as long as she kept moving amongst the crowd, using the goblins around her as cover, it would be so much harder to hit her.

And if the warriors guarding the bridge were to give chase?

Cecilia chased down wolves. These stubby bastards didn’t have a chance in hell in catching her.

Mixing in Cleaves, Iron Pulls, Evade Missiles, Pole Jumps, and Redeeming Glows, Cecilia danced the iron waltz, her steps filled with deadly precision as blood, like autumn leaves, fell around her.

---

---

---

>>Health:
(2600/2600)
>>Mana:
(3755/3950)

---

Health: 2700/2700
Mana: 3300/3550(+450)









Willow resisted the urge to sigh as Cecilia launched herself over the river. Willow’s wand hand twitched towards the lancer, tempted to telekinetic move the girl back to the group… or the river, purely out of pettiness but she stopped herself. She needed to set a good example for the group in the dungeon, no lower herself to petty insults or pranks. Outside of here however… She shook her head and opened her inventory, switching her wand for her Staff of Power.

“Well River, let’s give them a light show to remember.” Willow said, casting Empower Mind on him with a purple ray from her fingertips.

River watched as his mana pushed passed his maximum limit. If there was one thing Willow did that he absolutely loved, it was her Empower Mind.

“You got it Willow! Pepper start us off with a little Pepper Spray.”

She flew off his shoulder and above the archers who began to take aim at the small, agile creature. Before their arrows were cast, Pepper spewed out the toxic purple smoke on the archer causing the to shoot wildly. River took this opportunity to attempt to take down as many of the ranged fighters as possible.

River flicked his wand at an Archer and threw a Lightning Shot at one, setting off Energize and having the Archer next to it to be blasted as well. The Goblins arms singed as the electricity crackled against their skin. Giving no room for mercy, River continued his barrage with a Plasma Burst centered at the to Archers for Double Damage,having it Energize to then hit the Goblin Soldiers. Rivers speed rose higher and higher as each spell was cast, causing his movements to become swifter and more fluid.

“Time for the Grande Finale! Get ready Willow!”

Like a conductor waving his baton, River was orchestrating a song of destruction and mayhem for the Goblins. Lightning shot out of his wand and arced into the sky, crashing down at the Goblin Archers and then Energizing for a final time against the remaining 5 Archers. Singed leather, skin, and hair now began to fill the air as a wicked grin spread further and further on Rivers face.

“You’re enjoying this too much.” Willow muttered as her fingertips glowed, leaving behind a shimmering circle. “Copy Magic: Chain Lighting.” Electricity crackled from the circle and slammed into the archers, targeting River’s first five victims again. The thrill of electricity, and the speed boost from the system, ran through her and perhaps there was a reason River enjoyed slinging destructive spells so much. Still, she was glad he didn’t have access to this outside the game.

“Karuu, keep decimate on cooldown. I’ll make sure you have the mana to handle it.” Willow shouted to the Marauder.

Health: 1000/1000
Mana: 1600/2000

---

Even though she was wrong, Prome found Cecilia's attempt to cheer him up very touching 'I'm a Tinker, Fancy stuff is our entire purpose' He shook his head "Thanks for trying Cecilia, but-oh, she's gone." He suddenly realized. "Well then, Let's get started." With the battle now in progress, Prome began to unleash fire on any archer he could see.