Health: 2117/3000
Mana: 250/3900
Renn: 7013 Renn
STATs Tree:




Arsene
Health: 800/800
Mana: 1100/1100 150/1100
STATS Tree



A loud bang caught him off guard and he immediately became defensive. After a few seconds, the trainer realized it was nothing to be worried about. Dubstepp pressed his palms onto the floor, picking himself up as all the players began gathering around the entrance to the next room. His nerves were dying down. He pinched the stem of his nose, embarrassed how useless he was throughout this first dungeon battle. The intensity of this boss rush was unlike what he had faced before. Boars, wolves, and wolfmen weren't something that struck worries in his heart. The vast amount of goblins made him trip up multiple times and forget the essentials of combat.

Dubstepp rotated his head when he felt a gust of warm air on the back of his neck. Totoro was breathing down his master's neck. "You're breathing on me. Stop that," he spoke seriously which briefly turned into a laugh. The giant rabbit began headbutting his trainer. Dubstepp retaliated by pushing him away. "Thanks, Totoro."

Placing his arms on his hips, he forced a small grin. "This was only the first level. I'll get used to this. I know I will." Pausing his sentence and taking a short breath, he lightly tapped the bunny on his stomach. "Let's go. You too, Arsene." Dubstepp patted the cat thief on his head and began walking toward the crowd.

Dubstepp jerked his head to the crowd and signaled to Totoro to get in front of him. Using the rabbit's mass body, it was easy to pass through the other players gathered around the decorative object that spawned in the middle of the field. With the help of Totoro, Dubstepp managed to capture sight of what gathered everyone's attention. An eerie door just stood in front of the players; incredible detail could easily be noticed at first glance.

"Is this what made that loud noise earlier? Is it the next floor?" Dubstepp asked out loud. He watched a player make a brave choice to touch the mysterious door. Dubstepp took a step back, but couldn't move anymore because of the surrounding users. He hoped the game master wasn't a huge prick and unleash something foul onto the already exhausted combatants. Touching the door released multiple accounts of weather.

First, an ominous cloud covered everyone's legs. Then it was followed by the crackle of thunder and rhythmic rain. Dubstepp shielding his eyes as he began approaching the door. The musician had no choice since everyone behind him began stepping forward. Jumping into the door, his suspicions were correct. Another world appeared before him. Dubstepp bit his lower lip, he was not certain how to react.

Seeing another environment with exceptional graphics was almost breathtaking. The lush, green rainforest truly overwhelmed him. The humidity of the place caused him to perspire. "I already feel sticky," he wiped his arms off as they collected moisture. More thunder erupted the sky which only brought rain to come down the already moist ecosystem. A bit of relief was made when Dubstepp figured out the flashes of light were only lightning strikes.

Another bright flash lit up the sky and Dubstepp noticed a town in the distance. He began utilizing the group chat to speak to the other players. [To Group: "Yeah, so Totes and I are pretty much wiped dry. I think the best choice is to go to this floor's town. I doubt we have the proper clothing to go out in this rainforest, anyway. Oh, and I figured that since this is a rainforest and all--If we are fighting giant ass mosquitos, I am punching someone."

---

SUMMARY:

Dubstepp calmed his nerves down after the battle ended. Realizing death was so close, he realized he needed to get used to dangerous and stressful situations. The trainer and his pets reached the door to the next floor. There, they met a wet rainforest. Knowing his limit was met, Dubstepp messaged everyone in his group and suggested that they head over to the civilization before exploring.

[To Group: "Yeah, so Totes and I are pretty much wiped dry. I think the best choice is to go to this floor's town. I doubt we have the proper clothing to go out in this rainforest, anyway. Oh, and I figured that since this is a rainforest and all--If we are fighting giant ass mosquitos, I am punching someone."

_{Interacting with:
Everybody}

---

Holly heard a very loud earth shattering thud behind her, which made her a bit shocked at what happened and looked at the loud noise. However, before that she heard Dubstepp being his usual self and the fact he’s really good at the rhyming made her smile a bit. ”The Musician strikes again with another excellent lyric it seems.” Holly said with a bit of an acknowledgment to his prowess with lyrics. She constantly tried to aspire to be something in this game world but her friends are always definitely a big thing to keep close. They are all amazing in their own little ways, even though some are a bit more reckless than others.

She saw the thing that made the thud, which was a large ornate door that appeared in the direct center of the field. It was beautifully crafted, which kinda reminds her of her mansion at home just a bit different since it’s in a game. The exact doors in her home were exactly French in design. She saw everyone going towards it, which in essence made her walk to it too. However, what she saw was a bit strange, which was a completely different landscape ala, a rainforest is the second floor. It felt definitely real as if she was in the Amazon Rainforest, since she a bit hot under the collar because of what she was wearing. ”Great… This game is amazing but jeez, didn’t think we went to the Amazonian Rainforest to get heat exhaustion. I really hate humidity...” Holly said with an annoyance in her tone of voice. She doesn’t really enjoy the heat as much as other people and because of her fairer complexion.

The one thing that made her definitely happy was to see a city in the distance and wanted to specifically get more supplies. It was primarily because of the fact civilization is required for her because that three to four hour battle against goblins have made her anti-goblin for the rest of her life. ”Good lord, I have to not play games that involve those ankle biters for awhile, whenever we are able to get out of this prison...” Holly thought to herself, with a sigh at the fact of they are still prisoners in a video game. She was a bit shocked at everything, but did like hearing the sounds of lightning and thunder in the distance. It calmed her nerves, which were a bit still recovering from the battle because of the fact they were.

Holly couldn’t help but sigh but noticed the Dubstepp’s to group thing. She couldn’t help but felt a bit annoyed that her hair was soaked, however, that made her laugh a little bit. [To Group: “Why did you have to mention Giant Ass Mosquitoes? Dubstepp… Are you trying to jinx us this game is basically the creator’s oyster… And yeah I agree with you about going to town. Because I would love to get dry and get some proper clothes for a Rainforest, which feels like the Amazonian Rainforest. I haven’t been there but my parents had… and to buy more arrows since I am plum out of them.”

---

Summary:

Holly dislikes humanity and is happy that they completed their first leg of their journey to floor 100. She needs to resupply her items that were completely depleted by the long battle, which includes arrows and other such essentials. As well need to get proper clothing for a rainforest so to combat the humanity that she hates so much, it usually tires her out most of the times. Her complexion in real life is fairer than most and usually gets sunburn easy.

[To Group: “Why did you have to mention Giant Ass Mosquitoes? Dubstepp… Are you trying to jinx us this game is basically the creator’s oyster… And yeah I agree with you about going to town. Because I would love to get dry and get some proper clothes for a Rainforest, which feels like the Amazonian Rainforest. I haven’t been there but my parents had… and to buy more arrows since I am plum out of them.”

_{Interacting with:
Everybody}

As the last fragments of the Warchief dissolved from the tip of her spear, Cecilia felt a weight being lifted off her shoulder. It was a small weight, one weight out of one hundred, but it was relief, nonetheless. She was still alive, and they had still won.

The girl pinched her cheek weakly, before grinning foolishly at the pointlessness of the action. It may be a game, or it may be real life, but this virtual world may as well be a dream. Pinching wouldn’t wake her up, would it?

Others were similarly mystified, the euphoria of the first victory washing over them even as the adrenaline seeped away, leaving them hollow and exhausted.

Skygod heaved himself up onto his feet, only for his knees to wobble and send him flat on his ass again. The middle aged man laughed and laid on his back completely, his eyes gazing up towards the sunset-sky.

From the mass of players in the distance, a girl in clerics’ robes sprinted the three kilometer distance to tackle-hug Nagi, rubbing her cheek against the older girl’s as the martial artist half-heartedly fended her off.

Arata, followed quickly by Tada, was already heading towards the next floor, seeking his next foe and ignoring the brash, proud vocalizations of his junior Marauder. Off in the distance, the less battle-inclined members of their party waved at them, and the ordinary schoolboy with an unordinary smile waved back.

Taleisen’s expression was less than happy. The raid had chewed into his finances the most, and the meager reward they received in exchange had the dapper Mind Aspect looking relatively undapper. Alongside a rugged warrior hold an abacus and a kid with a too-large backpack, he talked business at the jibber-jabber pace of an auctioneer, already plotting out how to play the market again.

Piggybacking on Willow’s slender back, Insomnant cut an odd figure as the armored fire-titan slumped in fatigue, unresponsive to the bladeless Duelist’s bad jokes. They headed away from massive dungeon door, and as the couple passed, Cecilia caught fragments of a vacation in the Flower Fields.

Killer Gram, on the other hand, hadn’t moved at all, and was instead making various motions in the air, no doubt sending messages to everyone he knew. For all his swashbuckling, cavalier attitude during the fight, the emotions on his face were easy to read in the aftermath. It grew graver and graver as his invisible communications continued, a stark contrast to the jubilations that other survivors felt.

Cecilia turned away before she could see any tears fall, and with a Sprint, she shot off, in search of familiar faces.

…

A new world opened up before them, one of storm and shadow, as humid as if they were in a sauna. Tropical was the term she’d use to describe it, and the stickiness that she felt only amplified the original grossness that lingered from four hours of non-stop combat. It was night time, and the light from her magic-enhanced eyes faded as a result, but flashes of lightning illuminated the backdrop of a city easily enough, and the ambient light reflected from the white sand beach helped too.

Just a couple of steps, relatively speaking, and they’d be able to recover fully from the cost that the boss fight took.

But before then, Cecilia had another job to do.

Though more than a few Trainers were present with their large, tamed monsters, Dubbstep’s Totoro was still fluffy enough to stand out amongst them. Sliding through the crowd and vaulting up with her new spear, Cecilia landed neatly on the bunny-beast’s head, before closing her eyes.

Another mask slid on easily, one that was totally unashamed and definitely saccharine.

“Hai hai, this is Last Genesis’s favorite idol, Ceci~” The girl struck a pose, balancing on one leg while both her hands formed v-signs by her cheeks. “Me and Dubbs are over here, so for the rest of my adorable fans, don’t be shy and c’mon over! And don’t be a stranger, cause I see you all lurking in group chat~!”

She struck another cutesy pose, and added a ‘kira-kira’ to it, before Redeeming Glow ensured that she really did light up, a star against the stormy light.

Health: 800/2700
Mana: 1150/3550(+450)









The explosions quieted and the earth stilled. The breath between one blast and the lack of another was eerily still, in Willow’s mind at least, and the pounding of her heart overwhelmed her. Her wand finally still, her knees gave out and Willow gulped in air. The battlefield seemed to spin as everything ground to a halt. She sighed and struggled back to her feet, pulling up the status screen she’d dropped to check on everyone.

‘Prome, 1HP damn. Okay, a few heals should bring everyone up…’ Willow’s finger paused as she checked people off. She closed the menu, looked around for a familiar figure amongst the crowd, and opened the menu again. That wasn’t right. Karuu wasn’t on her screen anymore. She closed it one more time and opened it again. And again. And again. Her movements became more and more frantic as something chewed away inside her chest. She closed it one last time. A glitch, that’s all it was. Just a nasty glitch. It had only been out a month or so. There were bound to be some issues.

She’d just meet up with the rest of the group. That’s all. Get people healed up, get everyone put back together, and then they’d meet up with Karuu in town. That’s all. He probably just got split and the party monitoring system was probably just glitching. Everything’s fine.

It took her a few minutes but Cecila’s redeeming glow caught her eye and she hustled to her. Her heart sank when she couldn’t find Karuu but she was relieved to see everyone else. They’d meet up with Karuu in town, thats all. He’s in town.

“Okay, lets get everyone all picked up. Healing Beam for Prome, Restore vitality for everyone else.” Willow whipped the spells out as the group moved. Her eyesight sharpened drastically but she had eyes for only one thing where Karuu definitely was.

---

Summary:

• Discover a glitch in the party monitoring system.
• Find party
• Cast healing Beam on Prome. + 611 HP
• Cast Restore Vitality on group. + 386 HP

---

Somehow during the rain of death, Kira lost track of Karuu. She normally wouldn't keep track of that but they were competing after all and she wanted to make sure he didn't cheat. Turning in place, she scoured the battlefield looking for his unmistakable appearance that she could recognize any time of the day. Goblins were coming in from seemingly every direction. Where was her great adversary? It was true she had pushed up a little too far but it didn't make sense she couldn't see him. It he didn't show himself she would utter a curse that would burn him from the inside out and make go bald. After furiously searching, while fending off goblins, she found the beserker. He was surrounded by a large group of them and was looking pretty wounded. There was nothing to fear anymore, for Kira was here to save the day "Give thanks to the great Akumi, for she has deigned to assist you! Your soul will be sufficient payment!" Fearlessly she charged forward, with the notion that he would owe her his life in return. Without support. Without mana. It was not meant to be.

The green-skins overwhelmed Karuu as he fought to the very end taking out a good number of them in the process. A jagged blade pierced his back, draining what remained of his health away. Kira watched it all transpire, her bright, green eyes opened wide "Karuu!" She screamed so hard the muscles in her throat began to ache while his body fell to the ground and shattered into a cloud of pixels. It sounded nothing like Kira and for once fear made its way into her tone. Provoked into a rage, she recklessly assaulted all of the goblins using her actions without restraint as she cried out a roar of pain. The suddeness of his death was more than what Akumi could handle, and for the first time in years a bit of Ryu emerged from her inner sanctum of darkness. Her hands all the way up her arm couldnt' stop shaking as she finished the last one, tears forming in her eyes and slowly dripped down her cheeks.

Kira moved over to the spot where Karuu had been slain, crying awfully but with a somber smile as she knelt on the ground where only his items remained "T-there's no...need..to fear. I'll...I'll just let you stay with me. Please!....just stay. It might be...a little dark inside but..! Akumi will protect us both now. Its okay. It will be nice to have company. I...always liked you, so it will be fine. Just....please...don't leave." This was far too much for her. She didn't want to have control anymore! This was why she stayed inside. The dark. The cold. It was comforting. She reached out and retrieved his items as her smile grew a little "There you go. Now we will be together and I won't have to say goodbye. You'll like being with me, nothing will hurt us." A intense, burning sensation erupted in her chest that nearly prevented her from moving at all. She couldn't bear this! As her fingers dug into chest, Akumi relieved her of the pain and once again asserted itself as the dominant personality.

The tears. The burning. The pain. It all went away and she stood up no longer shaking. Kira eyes closed in honor of her fallen pawn, he had been most useful to her in getting this far. Now his soul was absorbed into her own and she would use his power against the false god of this world and assert herself, Akumi, as the only being worthy of worship. The master of this world had taken one of her favorite pets from her, a slight that he would pay with life. This world needed to burn. Everyone associated with it deserved eternal suffering. Her eyes opened possessing a darkness that Kira did not express before. A serious killer intent. An ice cold gaze of resentment. They had taken something precious to her, and she intended to take everything from them. Any mercy she might have granted them was tossed aside like they tossed aside Karuu's life.

Bidding a final farewell, she moved towards the ornate gates that separated her from the next area for her to conquer. Floor 2. Kira remained strangely silent as she arrived in the expansive rain-forest. She hardly thought about the brutal conditions as she marched forward with a grim look on her face that she did not usually wear. Despite all things she says, Kira was generally full of energy and very expressive. Yet here she was looking like she was about to murder the next person that rubbed her the wrong way. Inside the dark room of her mind, Ryu sat on her legs across from her mental image of Karuu. How many times she had sat here watching him through Akumi's eyes, wishing that it could be her speaking to him? If only the world was not so terrifying outside of her walls. It all worked out, cause he was with her now in this place of sanctuary with all the time in the world. It was a darker than usual in her room, but it was alright. She was used to it by now and Karuu will be too in time.

Akumi ignored the rest of the guild and simply began moving towards the city as she had no time to waste to mess around. Power. She needed more power to destroy the world. The pact she made with Ryu had to be upheld. That she would protect her in exchange for her body. Never again would let her control slip and have that pathetic little girl out of her cage. It was for her own good. She would not last outside of her dark room. As long as she had Karuu's soul within her, she would give him a new body when her true powers awakened.

Health: 1/2100
Mana: 0/2000

---

Prome began to slowly make his way to the second floor. '...Please...just let me make it' Had he been thinking clearer, he would have remembered that he had never gotten hurt outside of battle, and that the chances of something hurting him before he got to the town were basically zero, he also might have asked someone to heal him. But he wasn't thinking clearly, because of how close to death he was 'Slowly...don't run...too dangerous...' He fought his desire to make a mad dash there, out of fear that such a thing would only doom him.

---

---

---

Somewhere amongst the chaos of the fight there was Karuu. No matter how hard River attempted to scour the fields he couldnt find out where the marauder had gone off to, out of reach of his spells and incapable of receiving any healing he could lash out. His health bar was stable, for now, but for how long? The question was soon answered as the bar began to plummet, his mana running out he must've been incapable of doing any cooldowns and it appeared any Pots he had left of him were gone. I'll send pepper to search for him. No, it was too dangerous, she hadnt yet healed and the rain would surely tear her to pieces. Hot tears began to roll down Rivers cheek as he watched the bar drop further and further. What was there to do? What could he do? Karuu was no where to be seen, away from the group and out of range of his spells. He didnt have Pepper and Ubi couldnt heal. The bar finally stopped and greyed out. Another loss, another sacrifice to this mad man who plays god. The rain began to stop, and while many players cheered and reveled in the defeat of the floor boss, many more wept and mourned alongside River as they lost their companions to what end?

A loud thud could be heard resonating near him, his head slowly turning to face the origin of the noise. There, in the center of the field, was a large ornate door. The hot air that escaped it rushed passed River, wiping one of his tears away and repacing it with the thick hot air of a rainforest. His clothes began to stick to him and fog shrouded his legs from the knees down. River slowly began to stumble forward, a new world. He leaned against the bark of an incredibly large tree, the fights exhaustion hitting him along with the heat of the air. "Its a terrible day for rain" he muttered as he looked up into the nighta sky, large droplets falling onto his face and covering the tears that were there before. River noticed that the plants seemed abnormally large, but figured that was a thought for a later time. For now he put away his wand and whip and pulled out his staff, using it as a walking stick to make his was towards the Lightning lit city.

---

Health: 200/2000
Mana: 3450/3850

---

Kipper was hard at work after the final flares had landed. She was beat, bruised, well, she should have been bruised but the character models weren't exactly built for blemishes in this game. She would have some nasty scars had this game been made more realistically. She had launched spell after spell, keeping the goblins at bay while the more capable adventurers fought around her. She was beginning to understand the difficulty that came with not having a voice in a game built around teamwork, and now that their lives were on the line it was something she would have to seriously consider the benefit of.

She was moving as fast as she could to use her gather skill on the bodies of goblins to get that little extra monster part or ingredient off of the bodies to ensure her eventual foray into alchemy was well prepared for. It was strange. In reality, or, the old world she should say, she was never prepared for anything. She was doing nothing but here she was, running through the dirt and mud to ensure her future was well planned out and prepared.

She made her way toward the gate of the foglands, looking to see if there was any way to see inside but the hot fog clouded her eyes and kept her at bay. If she went in, she wouldn't even be able to tell people what she saw other than bland text. She turned her back, making her way back to the group, hoping she could get a bit of healing and approached her usual translator, River. But he seemed... preoccupied. She walked up behind him, typing a quick message on the in game chat to him but stopping at the current state he was in. He needed time. Instead, she replied to the group message Holly had sent.

"Ｔｏ　Ｇｒｏｕｐ：　"Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｇｉａｎｔ　ｍｏｓｑｕｉｔｏｅｓ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｗｏｎｄｅｒｆｕｌ　ｄｒｏｐｓ　ｆｏｒ　ａｎ　ａｓｐｉｒｉｎｇ　ａｌｃｈｅｍｉｓｔ　ｅｙ？　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｐｌａｃｅ　ｉｓ　ｓｏ．．．　ｏｖｅｒｇｒｏｗｎ　ｉｔ＇ｓ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ．　Ｉ　ｍｉｇｈｔ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｓｅｔｔｌｅ　ｄｏｗｎ　ｈｅｒｅ~ Ａｌｓｏ！　Ｉ　ａｍ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｃｌｏｓｅ　ｔｏ　ｄｅａｔｈ！"

She walked over the plants and remained oblivious to the death of a man she had hardly known.

---

Holly was shocked when she heard specifically what Kira said to them via group chat. It was definitely a blow to her morale, which was pretty much signifying as she started to cry. She lost a single friend to this horrible game because of the creator holding them here as prisoners against their will. In the moment she couldn’t stop crying at what happened to one of her friends, their death. ”No it can’t be, Karuu was our Guild leader, he can’t be dead.” Holly said, with her body shaking. She was specifically in denial from what the Great Akumi had said since it was too much for her to handle.

In the case, she noticed Dubstepp, Ceci in front of her and decided to catch up with them by walking a bit quicker than she had been. She felt a bit awful for not noticing that Karuu was dead and it took Kira to see it. ”I hate this… more people dying in this game because of the creator.” Holly said, with a sliver of fear in her voice. However, she is a fan of most of her friends since they helped her the most in getting used to mmos in general. Karuu, helped her much too but it doesn’t help that he’s now dead. She wants to protect her other friends that are still alive especially Prome, the Tinker.

Holly couldn’t help to notice the group message sent by Kipper and it gave her a bit of a smile. She sighed a bit and opened up a menu and pulled up Kipper’s name.

”Kipper… you are funny you know that? I have to agree with you that its beautiful. Also I think Willow healed you with a spell to increase your health, so you’re not as dead, I guess?”

She couldn’t help but look through her ‘friends list’ and saw Karuu’s name no longer there. It gave her a bit of depression, to think about it since she was given hope with these people, she’s friends with. She hopes no more of them die since that would definitely give her even more depression. It just caused her to sigh and wished she was back at home and not in this horrible game but hindsight is 20/20 in some cases. ”This outright sucks… one of our friends died during that rain of death those goblins threw at us. I don’t want any more of them to die since they are the reason why I joined this game in the first place. And I don’t want to leave them until we beat this game.” Holly thought to herself, she couldn’t stop crying for what happened to Karuu.

As the other members of Last Genesis approached, with Willow disseminating some much needed healing, Cecilia hopped off Totoro’s shoulders again. Her new spear was, as expected, pretty damn gorgeous and well crafted, and she hummed a cheery tune as she spun it in her hands a couple of times. Light, sturdy, flexible, sharp. Not much more you could ask out of a weapon, for sure.

Well, not that the others were in nearly as cheery of a mood as her.

River wasn’t in a mood at all to stick with the party, Prome was basically shellshocked, Kira had lost her marbles, and Holly was crying up a storm. Predictably, Zks was gone again, and Cecilia almost let out a sigh about how elusive their ‘older brother’ was. Heck, at this point, they might as well just treat him as the ‘distant stepfather’. She latched onto her irritation at the never-present Rogue and drew her own raincoat out of her inventory, draping it over Holly’s form and pulling the hood over the archer’s head. Bending her knees slightly so they were eye to eye, Cecilia gently wiped away her tears, an encouraging smile on her face.

“Save your tears for later, Holly,” she spoke, her tone chirpy and bright, “We’ve got a ways to walk still, and it wouldn’t do good if you got lost with your eyes so blurry, right? C’mon, we can all have a good cry after we get a couple of drinks in town and a nice bed.”

With that, she took the girl by the hand, giving a comforting squeeze before pulling her towards the town in the distance. A burden was lifted, and a shadow was gained. What a fleeting life, huh?

---

Holly couldn’t help but continue to cry until she felt someone putting something on her, which was Ceci’s raincoat specifically. It was a very nice gesture from Ceci to help her to put on a raincoat, which she kinda forgot to get out of her inventory. She saw Ceci’s eyes as she wiped her tears from her eyes, which caused her to smile back at Ceci. It took her awhile to hear what Ceci had spoke to her about saving the tears. She enjoyed the chirpy and bright tone from Ceci, since it helped her relax and stop crying. The additional thing, which Ceci asked specifically made her giggle and nod at it. ”You’re right Ceci. It wouldn’t be a great idea to get lost… That sounds like the best option for us right now to get to town and sleep off the loss of a friend.” Holly responded to Ceci.

She felt Ceci take her hand, and giving it a comforting squeeze, which would be leading her towards the town. She felt a bit worried about the other members in the Last Genesis if they were around, however, she did hear Ceci’s sigh before, Ceci helped her calm down. She sighed a bit after because of the fact Zks, is always gone for being a rogue he disappears more than her father on a business trip. It’s mostly because her father specifically checks in while on said business trip and the super intensive trips require him not to give her any information. ”I wish he would stay with us and not vanish on us all the time Ceci.” Holly quietly whispered to Ceci, more or less referencing Zks’ behavior of vanishing. It made her mentally frustrated at that specifically, which caused her a bit of reminiscing about how she joined Last Genesis.

In the back of her mind, she was remembering the first time she met Karuu and all the others of Last Genesis. It was a definitely an interesting meeting in how she joined them. Even though she was distracted with other things, which is why she wasn’t in the first part of the dungeon. She couldn’t help but smile that she’s living with people who care and fighting their hardest for their freedoms. ”Even though I was scared out of my mind… everyone of Last Genesis helped me in every single way possible. Wish I wasn’t shy...” Holly thought to herself in the back of her mind, it was definitely nice to remember the good over what bad had happened.

Tower

Health:
1531/7000
Mana:
0/4050

Status:

---

The battle was won. Thankfully, this was a video game - otherwise, the hundreds of goblin bodies would have made traversing the landscape very difficult. It didn't help the exhaustion that swept over Dennis, his body shaking and barely managing to sheathe his sword. A look at his resources helped to reassure the fact that he did everything he could - all of the tanks around him were feeling the weight of the battle. The war chiefs death was cause for celebration, but Dennis was acutely aware of the lack of praise and triumph in the tanks around him. At best, there were a few sighs of relief, a scattered few muttering under their breath.

Lots of people died. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Looking at a few of the people in the raid showed that Dennis had some of the most HP leftover, a chilling realization for him to make. In the end, spamming his abilities and throwing himself headlong into danger really didn't make too much of a difference.

The door to the next floor simply appeared in the middle of the empty battlefield, promising entry to the next floor. The thought of going straight into what appeared to be a massive jungle of flora and unknown fauna seemed extremely dangerous, especially since the group had just survived a horrible experience. The thought of retreating and waiting for Data Link to send something in their newsletter crossed Dennis' mind before the PMs started coming in. Dubstepp and Holly had already entered the second floor and were recommending they make their way to the next town. Dennis chose to not respond, instead joining the throngs of players who were rushing into the second floor.

Naomi was giving out healing, causing another pang of regret for Dennis. He tried to keep an eye out for the others and keep them safe, but having to stick with the other tanks was pretty restricting in that regard. Still, he needed the health and really didn't want to bring it to attention.

The message that Karru was deceased was a lot less powerful than Dennis thought it would be. While a few weeks ago he might have collapsed and started crying that one of his friends was gone, he was instead left with a coldness that seemed to radiate in his core. Maybe he knew, on some level, that he was lucky that only Karru died? Many players lost their lives in this combat, so only losing a single member of the guild, statistically, was a good thing.

It helped a little. Not enough, but it did help.

The group started their march, and Dennis quickly hurried to catch up. His shield breaking had caused a bit of inconvenience, but at the very least, it weighed him down less. The difficulty the Paladin had in keeping up in the rough terrain was welcome - it proved a good distraction to the fact that their group was one man short.

Health: 998/2100
Mana: 0/2000

---

It was when he looked at the part screen that Prome noticed something; Karuu was dead.

Dead, someone he knew and cared about was gone, and they they were never coming back.

Once that hit Prome, something inside him snapped. "..heh...heheheheheheHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!" As his laughter increased in volume, he began to pick up speed until he was running 'It's not enough! Making armor for myself is not enough! I have to make some for everyone! Outfit all of my friends with the most powerful items possible! IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE! And hey, while I'm at it, I might as well build a tank, because WHY THE FUCK NOT!?' Prome bolted up the second floor, ignoring everyone in his way as he blitzed through every item vender he could find in search of raw materials.