---

@ERode
"Fuckin' shit fuck on a fuck sticking a fuck on a fuck."


"Just’f’n because’n rrrrrrg! Good luck finding a healer who knows how to properly manage their mana!"

“Just head to one of the clan recruiting posts. You know about those right?”


"Of course I do.. And I was just heading there now!"


"Where’s the closest clan office? I’ll head there now."

“Right here, actually... This is the Gaku-Rei building here to our left.”



"Thanks, I guess."


"Recruit me, fat man!"

aмeℓιa

_{HP: 610/610 - MP: 610/610 - SP: 610/610}
^{_________________} _[] ^{_________________}
The consensus was diving back into the Grove to get some leveling in, and just as Ames said she had no problem with it. She was even looking forward to using her cool new bracelets. Not only did they look really pretty, but the fire effect they had was pretty much the aesthetic she was aiming for. Or would eventually be aiming for anyway.

At the town's gate, Ames sent another message to one of their missing party members.

[Ames] to [Lugh Dysphoria]: hey when u stop pouting can u instroudce me to the temple later
[Ames] to [Lugh Dysphoria]: introduce* lol
[Ames] to [Lugh Dysphoria]: maybe we invite u to hot spring w us later if u do (´｡• ω •｡`)

It was not a big deal if Lew didn't agree, but it would be nice to have a familiar face around when she visited for the first time. These were thoughts for later though, for now it was time to focus on beating stuff up and gaining experience.

Their trip through the mist didn't seem to take as long as last time, and soon enough they were staring at a group of oni. They didn't seem quite the same as the last oni she and Mags had spoken with. Where before their colors were deep reds and blues, these were leaning pinkish and pale.

"Oh, onis... a different type you think?" Ames thought aloud. She glanced at Magpie, but found the girl was in full fight mode. When the brawler met her eyes, her question was definitely rhetorical - and then she was gone. One by one the others jumped into battle as well. Ames blinked, a little conflicted. Rashasta, the oni chieftain they'd met with, didn't really seem to have an qualms about killing to get stronger, but now it felt kind of weird when facing oni.

However. There was something not right about these oni.

Ames watched the start of the battle with an expression of vague disgust. They seemed seriously gross, way more so than normal - or at least from the limited experience Ames had with what was "normal" for an oni. One even flung it's arm off, and Ames shrieked when the limb sailed passed her on it's way straight to Amulak. "Ugh, what the hell!"

Were these even sentient creatures? Maybe there was a monster version and an intelligent version of different species in CaCo? She'd think about that later. Two oni were heading their way.

The warrior drew her sword and shield, her feet shifting into the dirt as she grounded herself. With a [combat stance] to raise her strength, Ames began charging a [power attack]. As soon as one of the rotting oni got close enough she lashed out with the blade, intent on stopping it's advance with a slash to it's legs.

---

<Shit.> Raime muttered to himself as his regular arrows didn't perform as effectively as he expected them to. The scout took a mental note regarding procuring or producing special arrows in the near future whilst backpedaling away from the incoming pale oni. For the lack of energy behind his arrows, he had to compensate by targetting softer and more vulnerable areas of the monsters. But judging by their appearance and smell? They were likely undead. Shooting vital organs like the heart, lungs, or liver wouldn't do anything significant. But if he learned something from playing zombie games, headshots were a staple in keeping the undead...well...dead.

Nocking four arrows, Raime took aim at the charging oni's head just as their red-haired defender intercepted its charge. "Eat this!"

---

---

[Ranger]Ari Reina Caladis(Theresa)

---

Her ears twitched as the crystal was brought out onto the table. Stretching across the table, she pawed at the crystal.

"Yeah a palace. Full of stone guards too. It was pretty creepy. Like that uh, that old movie with all the mist in it. It was pretty cool though, it had a huge wall fresco and everything but... It seemed more like a prison, from the presence of the huge monsters in the walls. That or it was made to contain the monsters? I'll have to ask them again if I go back there, but I think I have to be stronger and bring some sort of tribute to them."

Her expression darkened for a moment, her ears flattening slightly.

"If I do get stronger. My friend died from the guards there, and they broke a piece of my equipment I was still paying for. I... probably should go get more money first to pay him off then apologize after."

She sighed a deep sigh, sinking onto the table as she did so. They probably won't be pleased to meet her again, and the rest probably won't be too. Not that Ari was going to say that out loud.

Oh, that hurt. The collision of bone on bone made that weird visual effect that could only be described as a real life glitch. A bright spark of light, followed by immediate darkness in her periphery. Things had a weird aura around them. Not of the useful variety; it was more of the "it makes things hard to see because eyes don't work" sort. She had completely lost her plan of attack. It was a good thing that the plan of attack that she just thought up was the exact same plan. Turns out, when your plan is just "hit shit, win", then it's fairly easy to figure out what you're supposed to be doing.

The stench was her only clue to her new plan. If they were rotting out in the inside, then punching more out would be useless. She needed to do something wild.

Uncaring to her current position or any sort of fundamentals in grappling, she leapt off the ground to wrap her legs around his torso. A better position? Probably not. But she grabbed on tightly to the base of the oni's skull.

Then proceeded to attempt to rip his fucking head off.

---

"Klein, 86 on my lead and pop them."

Wait, what 86? Pop what? Klein shouted, visible confusion on Klein's face as he attempts to work out what their leader just asked. Is 86 an angle? Or 8 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the military? And pop what? Like what is there to pop.

Even though a few seconds behind Magpie, Klein followed her charge and leaped toward one of the two onis. And like an angry gorilla, if such comparison is suitable to compare a man to a beast, Klein raised his fist into the air before bringing it crashing down onto the awaiting oni.

"Fucking Died." He shouts, feeling the bloody mess sensation from his palm.

Unintercepted by any other member of the party, the flying arm struck Amulak right in the face. The force of the blow was almost enough to knock him right over, but once again, his investment in his defensive stats paid off, receiving only 58 damage. As he shook off the dizziness from such a high-speed impact, however, the man felt a strange weight on his face, followed by a sudden inability to move his jaw. The oni’s arm, detached from his body, had wrapped its massive hand over Amulak’s face and now gripped it there. From the putrid stump, something wiggled beneath, but the mage couldn’t make out what it was before him.

And the hand continued squeezing, tighter and tighter, until Amulak could feel his jaw begin to creak, his teeth begin with crack.

If the mage had been expecting any assistance however, it was unlikely that he’d have found it. With Klein skirting around the rampaging oni to assist Magpie with the three further away, it was up to Ames to take on the two that came at him. Raime, for all his dextrous arrow-slinging, still lacked the power needed to inflict any significant damage to the monsters, nor did he have any tools for stopping them in their tracks. His four arrows shot past Ames’s head, three sticking into one oni’s skull and one other deflected by his horn, but they did not pierce through. No doubt, just as the scout’s agility and accuracy were superhuman, so was the onis’ own resilience, regardless of whether they were dead or alive. It came down then, to Ames’s own capabilities.

Power surged out from the core of his body, through his arms, into his sword, and with a burst of light, the warrior’s weapon sliced into the first monster’s legs, sending them toppling forward…right onto Ames himself. Momentum was conserved and his opponents had no fear. The legless one bodyslammed into him, and was enough to topple Ames over. He may have been a warrior, but he had distributed his stats evenly. Against the physically-focused behemoths that he faced, Ames had neither the might to match them, nor the versatility to outskill them at the moment. The warrior was pinned down to the ground by one, while the other oni leapt up into the air and delivered a two-footed flying stomp right on Ames’s skull. The Battlerider’s Cowl, made of tougher fabrics than the fashionable wear of the real world, prevented the toenails of the pale-skinned monstrosity from tearing into his flesh, but the sheer impact of the blow was enough to stun, and with pain set at 40%?

It felt just like being curbstomped in real life; such was the agony that would’ve accompanied such a blow. The warrior’s health dropped 118 from the combined attacks, and if he couldn’t find a way to escape the situation, there would certainly be more to follow.

Magpie, perhaps due to her own commitment to raising her strength or perhaps just because she only had to worry about a single oni, had much more success in her endeavors. Grasping either side of the monster’s head with a grip strength easily beyond half a ton, she shook past the disorientation of having her own head bashed in and through the mask of blood, the brawler bent back and did exactly what she had planned to do. With the snapping of rotted tendon and muscle, the twisting and cracking of bone, the head was raised up high, splattering gore over Magpie’s face. There was a sense of elation there, a sense of accomplishment. She may have been a STR-focused bonobo, but feats like this justified the validity of her build, at least for now.

Then, Magpie heard something burst, right up against her own torso.

Looking down at the headless oni’s chest, she saw it: dozens of wriggling, black worms, tearing out of the desiccated corpse’s flesh and launching themselves right at her. She had entangled herself already to the monster, lacked the ability to get out of the way with expediency, and within an instant, countless pinpricks of pain lit up her navel, 37 damage dealt for the 37 worms beginning to burrow themselves into her. Another meal. Another host.

And as for Klein, rushing in to take on another oni?

His fist swung through the air, smashing into the one-armed oni’s head, cracking the skull beneath the flesh. There was no feedback though. No head movement, no acknowledgement. The oni looked at him with its dead-eyed glare, and then…

…Klein found himself upside down, half his vision gone, jaw strangely loose, and his whole person hanging from the broken branches of the second tree he had crashed through. Amulak, below him, struggled with an animate arm around his own head, while in the distance, he could see the body of bull-lifting oni begin to glow ominously with a golden aura.

What exactly had happened to him?

His mind could still not process it, but there was one thing for certain: he was missing 263 HP.
_{@Shovel@Searat@Psyker Landshark@OwO@Yankee}

---

The crystal was cool to the touch and vibrated slightly as she pawed at it, but other than that, did not respond to Ari’s movements. Zhi-Toren was also still as Ari explained more and more, but her eyes were filled with a curious intensity. Occasionally, they’d flicker with a blue light, only to be blinked away moments later. Finally, the woman folded her hands on the table, right as a waiter came up with their order. A glistening pile of syrup-drenched pancakes was placed before them, as well as some truly insta-worthy bubble tea, held in handcrafted glassware. She motioned briefly for Ari to start eating, and then said, “Ari, what would you say to an offer to join my guild? I could put in a good word for you to management just based off what you’ve told me, and the sense of responsibility and determination you have reflects well on your character.”

With an expert flick of her knife, she cut a star into the first pancake and transferred it over to her plate.

“Anyone can gain levels, after all, but, in Horogi especially, so few are willing to explore, and even fewer are willing to explore without seeking treasure. That, my dear, makes you unique. And that makes you desirable.”
_@Greengoat

---

The Gakui-Re clan’s recruitment office was ostentatiously decorated and wholly distasteful. Longcoats emblazoned with vaguely inspiring mottos were framed, while paintings of the King of Brigands, a ruggedly handsome man with a sick fade, a skull mask, and a goddamn motorcycle was plastered everywhere. The merchandising available for the sole Superior of the Gakui-Re clan was certainly intense, ranging from pillows to fans to all sorts of clothing in all sorts of sizes, and the clash of vibes, from fanclub to gang of criminals to elusive Robin Hood-types was almost disorientating. Adding to the confusion were the other paintings present to advertise what exactly the Gakui-Re had to offer. Stampeding horses against a sunset, juxtaposed with a motorcycle gang racing down switchbacks. Cozy wild life in yurts, juxtaposed with drunks living it up in bawdy taverns. Perhaps this had to do, in part, with the ‘freedom’ espoused by the Gakui-Re clan, but on the other hand…this really just felt like someone took all the things they thought were cool and jammed them into one messy collage of an office.

And of course, sitting cross-legged was the bulky Rien known as Gan’Bol, who looked at Calace, picked his nose, flicked the booger off to the side, took a hearty swig from his gourd, and said, “Sorry girl, our rides have height restrictions. Come back after you've grown a couple more feet, ye?”
_@Haha

Mags moment of triumph had been cut short. Worms burst out of the oni and went to burrow inside of her. Oh, that made sense. Dead oni being controlled by worms. Well, back to the plains after this. She liked the plains. She got to fight karate frogs in the plains. She just had to not think about it. Her pain setting was set low enough so that it wasn't that bad.

Well, all she had to do was keep calm, deal with it, and not think too hard about it. She's been through worse pain. Just think of it like a cramp. That's all she had to do. She had cramps all the time.

"Blow me the fuck up, magic man!" She screamed as she desperately tried to untangle herself from the corpse and run. Her hands frantically went to rip out the worms by any means. A mixture of claps, slaps, tears, and grips from an over-strengthened ape.

Oh no, she thought about it.

What came out of her mouth was a scream that couldn't be called human.

---

Still not enough.

Raime grit his teeth hard as he rationalized that these undead onis were more of the necromorph variety than the classic reanimated corpse. Made more apparent now that there was a severed arm trying to crush their caster's skull. Their tanks and front line combatants were taking an ass-whopping, with Klein taking the hardest one judging from how far he went. To make matters even worse, the one hefting the bull began to glow ominously. With everybody else dealing with their own respective problems, it seemed that Raime was the only one free enough to deal with the glowing one. In the brief moment he had to move to a better shooting position, he already formulated a new tactic.

He first primed [Dive N Strike] and dodge rolled sidelong before taking a shot at the glowing one's head. Hoping that the skill activated and the Dewsilk Bow Dex buff stacked, he repeated the process as many times as the game allowed him to do so. In a desperate attempt to disturb whatever channeling the undead oni was trying to do with the Phantasmal Bull corpse.

---

---

[Ranger]Ari Reina Caladis(Theresa)

---

She perked up at the compliment, but almost immediately remembered where she was. Remembering her rather... rustic, appearance she glanced over to her host to see if she's eating before doing so herself. Just looking at the contrast of her own dusty hand holding the fancy glass the boba came in with was enough to make her nervous.

The compliments she received didn't help either. It made her giddy with excitement, but also filled her with some guilt.

"Hmm... exploring huh? That sounds great. But I have a debt to pay off first." Ari stuffed a large piece of the pancake into her mouth. "I'll join you after, if that's ok."

There was no telling what they'd ask her to do after all; she might be sent far away judging from the clothing on Zhi. Just up and disappearing on the merchant after she missed that meeting with him was... not a behaviour she wanted herself to be associated with.

Zhi-Toren nodded. A sense of responsibility was another quality that she liked to see in prospective agents, after all. Sipping at her own beverage, the woman said, "That's fine then. I'm not certain if it'll cover your debts, but new agents get a signing bonus of 200,000 rishi anyhow. Just a little bit of change to help fund their travel expenses to begin with, you see. Just need you to place your index finger here..."

From her pockets, she drew out a scroll of creamy papyrus and unfurled it. Various complicated words were used, but the sum of the contents was essentially for Ari to join the 'Cacophony Concord Connect' guild. At the bottom, in lieu of a line for signatures, was a box that Zhi-Toren gestured the catgirl to touch.

Ari looked blankly at the paper for a moment. Was there any reason to hesitate? She could pay off the man immediately, then apologize. With the rest of the money... well... She would have to think better on what to use it on; having another weapon break on her wasn't something she wanted to happen again.

"I see. W-Well I guess I can join immediately then." She tried not to seem too excited, but her tail twitching erratically betrayed her. Seeing as the woman was already holding out the piece of paper out to her, she pressed a finger on the spot indicated.

"So uh... What's to be expected of me?"

aмeℓιa

_{HP: 392/610 - MP: 610/610 - SP: 610/610}
^{_________________} _[] ^{_________________}
Wide eyes and alarm replaced Ames' extremely brief feeling of success when her sword connected with the oni's legs and sent it to the ground. Unfortunately it had taken her with it, which led to her current predicament. Her head cracked against the ground, but she wouldn't have felt it even if her pain setting was set to one hundred. She was focused on the oni keeping her trapped there, glaring and struggling. Before she could even think about calling for help from one of her party members, she caught a glimpse of a second oni in the air above her - then, pain exploded in her head and face. One blinding, intense moment of hurt before it washed over her, throbbing and still extremely painful. She was dazed, blinking away the blur in her eyes.

A bone rattling scream from nearby startled Ames out of her stupor. She was still stuck with two ugly, pungent oni over her. Ames clenched her fists, preparing to thrash with all her might like she had against the frogman a few days ago, but her fingers curled around the hilt of her sword. Oh yeah, the sword!

Ames' grip on the weapon tightened even more, and her HP drained further as the bracelets on her arms glowed hot and flames danced from her wrist onto the sword, igniting it. She lurched to one side under the oni's grasp, aiming to stab the thing in it's stomach. Given her view was obscured, she could only guess as to the status of everyone else in the party. Hopefully one was around to deal with the second oni lumbering menacingly above her, and to that end Ames screamed, "Hey, I'm outnumbered here! Help!"

---

Was it only a punch or two? Klein thinks to himself while slowly sliding down from the tree's branches. His status right now can be describe as less desirable with multiple huge cuts on the body. The left shoulder was bend out of its normal position. In the back, the purple color reigns predominant. And while he has long change the pain settings back to 1 or 0, Klein could still felt his virtual body begging him for its to rest. What its need right now is maintenance, is time, is a bath with some sope inside it to disinfectant, some meat to regain the energy for the next fight. His eyelids feels heavy. His body felt out of place with every steps taken. At the very least, the [b]Mountain Wind [b] seems to somewhat relieving himself from this sluggish feels.

"Stand still," Klein told Amulak before using his right arm to attempt to pull the crushing detach arm out of his comrade's head.

"We need fire. Have any fire spell?" Klein asked.

Amulak al Acturus (Stanislaw)
HP:942/1000 MP:1220/1440 SP: 216/216





"Oh what the fu-" Was all Amulak managed to get out upon seeing the arm literally rip itself off the oni and fly at him, the hand wrapping around his head as it squeezed for all it was worth.

"Mnnnnnnnnnf!" Amulak screamed in equal parts rage and pain as he attempted to pry it off, failing to do so until Klein managed to do it for him.

After a few moments of catching his breath from all of it that he'd lost in the oni's grip, Amulak managed to right himself up, shaking his head at his savior.

"No fire, entire mage spell list is non-elemental shit. I do what I can." He grunted out, taking a moment to survey the state of the battlefield. Mags covered in worms, Raime taking what potshots he could, and Ames getting double teamed. Great. Just great. "I will help Ames, deal with Mags's shit or Raime's!" Amulak barked towards Klein, already turning in Ames's direction.

One incantation later, and a Mana Boosted Spell Spear plunged down towards the second oni that was busy looming over Ames. Hopefully, it'd give her enough of an opening to do some damage.

(-96 MP)

Individually, each worm that had plunged themselves into Magpie’s body was weak. But collectively? While pain was a sensation that the system could reduce, other tactile sensations, such as the slimy, wriggling grossness of a corpse-puppeteering worm? That remained the same, and as their flesh was squished between the brawler’s incredible strength, she suffered the full extent of that sensation, piecemeal meat sticking to her body. Not just that, but Magpie, in her blind terror, discovered something else.

While teammates could not injure each other, you could always injure yourself.

Though her attempts at dislodging the worms manifested often in the form of pulling at the wriggling masses, the few slaps and claps directed at herself did a number on her own HP, dropping it down by another 67. Such was the danger, after all, of having STR that was so much greater than your own END. If nothing else, however, most of the worms had been obliterated during Magpie’s little monkey dance, and only a few still wriggled about, entangled between her fingers or in her hair.

Ames, locked down in a life-or-death situation, struggled as well, with no allies close enough to offer him assistance. The Phantom Flame Bangles ignited at his command though, more HP offered up to the crucible that was combat as ghostly fire wreathed the warriors sword. Above him, the undead oni vibrated at the sight of flame, its flesh wriggling with the worms that controlled its body, before redoubling its efforts to turn Ames into a bloody pulp. Raising its fists up, it struck him with frenzied rage, the force enough to create a crater beneath them. The blackened earth fractured, cracks forming in the hardened dirt. But the warrior remained undaunted. He played Cacophony Concord on Stylish mode, and even if his own mind couldn’t come up with an immediate response, he understood one thing.

He had to dodge.

With rapid head movements almost akin to a boxer, Ames managed to deflect the brunt of the assault, receiving only 83 damage from the combo before they rammed their sword into the rotten stomach of the creature. Fire lit up its insides, revealing a second structure of ‘veins’ where the worms routed, and Ames was struck by another wave of nauseating fumes. But the effects were immediate as well. The creature vibrated grotesquely once more as fire spread from inside out, until its body suddenly went slack. Worms, dozens upon dozens of worms, escaped from whatever part of the body they could, bursting out from festering wounds, wriggling out of the orifices of the face. They left the meatbag behind, and immediately fell upon Ames instead, splattering against his clothing. The worms didn’t infest him yet though; the glow of the flaming sword seemed to be causing some conflict between primal fear and function.

That same primal fear, was what caused the second oni beside Ames to hesitate as well. As it took a step back from the bright light of his sword, Amulak had a perfect opportunity to skewer it. Virtual veins surged with electrifying power, and this time around, he felt something more. An extra beat of energy, an extra pulse of power. Coalescing in the sky, the Spell Spear rocketed downwards, piercing into the monster’s body and discharging its arcane effects. The oni twitched briefly, body wriggling at the curious assault, but then broke loose, its milky eyes turned briefly Amulak and Klein. Had the paralysis effect not taken effect? Or had the spell, single-target in nature, only affected a single worm out of a hundred?

Rather than charge, however, it turned away instead, rushing towards the still-panicked Magpie. At speeds rivaling that of a semi-truck, the monster brought its half-rotten arm out, planning on flat-out tearing the Brawler’s head off with a good old-fashioned clothesline.

Raime would be able to understand why that choice was made though. Like a musician, he continued to send arrows singing through the air, towards the now-incandescent oni, but this time, even that was denied. The one-armed oni moved in defense of its ally, blocking the arrows with its body. This whole fight had been a matter of incompatibility for the Scout. He lacked the magical ability to destroy the worms and lacked the physical ability to destroy the oni, and now, he lacked even the ability to target who he wished. All he could do was watch now.

A thunderous vibration. The consumption of all the SP that lingered unspent within a corpse. The earth giving away in a landmine-esque explosion, as the bull-hoisting oni leapt up. Ten meters. Twenty meters. Fifty meters. One hundred meters. At the apex of its ascent, it shifted downwards, the bus-sized phantasmal bull now pointed towards its quarry: Klein and Amulak.

It was a sight to blot out the sun, if the fog of the Thunderstruck Grove had not already hidden it from view.

The meteor fell, and as it did, it screamed.
_{@Shovel@Searat@Psyker Landshark@OwO@Yankee}

---

There was a thrum of warmth throughout her body and a message box popped up in front of Ari.

Application Accepted.
Welcome to [Cacophony Concord Connect]!

Zhi-Toren nodded, content with continuing her own meal. “Well, you’ve got a debt to pay, right? Since you’ve joined and all…here.” From the inner pocket of her suit, the woman drew out a slim, leather card case and popped it open. There was a void-like space within that seemed to swallow up her fingers as she reached inside, before she pulled out a stack of bills, set in denominations of 10,000 rishi. “Here you are, Ari. Once you’re done settling your accounts, meet me up at the address here…” Another extension of her fingers into the void of the card case, and this time a proper business card was removed. “…and I’ll introduce you to the boss properly to go over your duties as a field agent. We can set up an expedition team for the sewer palace after, and if things go well, then you can even look forward to a bonus!”

The woman waved.

“So hey, get out there and get it done, Ari!”
_@Greengoat

[Ranger]Ari Reina Caladis(Theresa)

---

Ari gracefully accepted the money and card, taking a moment to glance at the detail on the card.

"Thanks! I'll be sure to do that."

Feeling a bit more reassured, she renewed her efforts on the pancake with vigor. It was pretty odd eating in a game. Did this mean she can eat anything she wants here and never get fat?

***

Finished with the food and finally out of that posh looking place, Ari seemed more relaxed than before.

"Right, first would be... The merchant. I need to repay him, and apologize."
Next... was supplies. Drown her once, shame on her. Drown her twice, and there obviously was something wrong with her method. A length of rope, any sort of lantern that wasn't affected by water, and a wrist bow for her class skills. Maybe a grapple hook to attach to the rope too, and some poison to help soften up targets.

Feeling a bit fired up, Ari set off at an excited jog, looking for the market.

Mags was essentially at death's door right now. One bad hit and she'd crumble like a piece of toast. If only one of them picked healer. She would probably be able to live longer. Having the great idea of entering a fight with half health didn't help. However, her dangerous mind resulted in something besides the approach of death:

More power.

With her battlemask entering its inanimate frenzy, power coursed through Mags veins. This wasn't any ordinary strength boost; this was a 30% juicer. This wasn't the time for her gamer panic. She had to calm herself. Just a game. That's all it was. She just had to pretend she was one of those freaks with a pet leech. With the immense strength her body possessed, she flicked her hands and hair, a powerful motion to remove any stuck worms.

"Fuck worms." Her rant began. "Fuck the swamp." Her hands reached for the shovel she carried with her. Always on her, but never used. "And fuck you!" With shovel in hand and a stomp on the ground, her position was cemented. The fetid, swampy ground surrounding her had been replaced by a square sandstone platform. Bright ocean water displaced the muck that once covered the ground.

With a great swing, she intended to meet the oni's arm halfway. Only a shovel was standing between a missile of worm meat and her skull.

^[Mentions] @ERode

---

”Listen here you tub-o-lard knock-off buddha looking micreant!”



”Height has nothing to do with my capability in combat! I am a proud and proper healer, and shall be regarded as such whether you like it or not. Now give me some paperwork before I shove spelltags where the sun doesn’t shine.”



”So do you want to square up against someone of my ‘stature’?...”

aмeℓιa

_{HP: 309/610 - MP: 610/610 - SP: 610/610}
^{_________________} _[] ^{_________________}
The smell was probably the worst assault on her nose that Ames had ever experienced in her life. She gagged while holding her blade inside the monster's gut, twisting the sword in revenge for the pummeling it had just given her. When it's insides lit up Ames fought the urge to close her eyes and look away. As disgusting as it was, she was in a dangerous situation, and who knew what could happen while her eyes were shut? Although she ended up really wishing she hadn't seen what happened next. The oni's body suddenly went limp and little wiggling black worms started to make their way out of it, jumping onto her body and the ground around her. Ames screamed bloody murder, throwing the corpse off of her and swatting the worms away as she scrambled to stand up.

"W-what the hell!?" the warrior squeaked, shaking the last (that better be the last of them!!) of the worms off of her and smushing several of the creatures under her boot with an aggressive stomp. Her panicked reaction to the worms made the ideal opening for another attack from the second oni, but thankfully Amulak was there with his spell to keep it off of her back. Ames turned back to the mage and gave him a shaky nod. "Thanks! Now three to go..."

Honestly Ames didn't even want to get close to these things anymore, but they were in the thick of it and she wasn't about to run blindly away into the fog alone. Could she catch up to the oni making it's way to Magpie? Should she head for Raime instead, who was facing down two oni of his own? ...good luck, Mags! You can do it! With the internal cheer Ames turned to their scout, running over to him. Apparently Mags had taken out an oni already, so she was sure the girl be fine! Or she hoped so anyway.

"Raime!" Ames skidded to a halt beside the man, her flaming sword still in hand. "They - they're weak to fire," she told him, not having missed the way her sword lit up the inside of that monster. "If I give you some fire to light your arrows with, you'll cover me, right?"

Ames' stressed her words, making it clear that if Raime didn't cover her, she would be very upset.

She approached the one-armed oni, feeling like her chances against it were good. However she was hesitant of the one behind it, the one that... was gone now?

There was instead a crater in the ground where it was. Her eyes flickered up into the overcast sky. Holy crap.

That was definitely not good. Ames felt she had to deal with this oni in front of her quickly before that thing came down on one of her friends, or her. With her weapon raised and ready, she took the first opportunity she saw to spring forward and attack, a straight on thrust to the monster's mid-section.

---

The recruitment office for the San-Li looked quite impressive. It seemed like Lew was indeed making a smart choice in joining up with this faction. He did have a few questions regarding the intricacies of membership and what sort of role they would play in the coming battle. At the same time, he was more than eager to just join up and get those formalities out of the way afterwards. He stepped towards the desk, his hand motioning for wherever it is he needed to sign...

That was until Lew glanced at his menus once more, seeing the messages of his friends. Their concerns for him sung to his heart once more. It was then that Lew, in a sense of clarity, realized the true reason why he bought this game. The realistic monster girls was a draw, sure, but if it weren't for his friends' goading, he would have never likely played this game in the first place. It would be a shame if they ended up on opposing sides of the battlefield in the end, more so if this locks them out of adventuring together.

Such a fate was soul-shattering, to say the least.

After standing there for an uncomfortably long time, Lew bowed to the recruitment officer before turning back from whence he came. Perhaps instead of gaining influence through a faction, he would do it in a less restricting matter. Quests from Shin-Yu Temple were likely enough to boost his levels and his fame simultaneously. Before he made his way to the boards, however, he opened his Friends menu once more to see if everyone is still partied up or not. Even Ari was someone Lew was willing to quest with. She might have gotten him killed, but she still is his friend through and through... Though, perhaps Lew will offer to take the lead in that case.

Whatever the case may be, now it was time to seek them out!

---

The frustration he felt was immense. Not only was his tactic proven to be ineffective another time, but all four of his charged shots also didn't even hit their intended target. The one-armed oni intercepted the shots and allowed the glowing oni to finish its charging, causing it to leap dozens of meters into the air and drop the phantasmal bull corpse in a way that reminded him of a vampire from a show about a bizarre adventure. Doubt surfaced in his mind. Causing him to question his decision to balance out his stats instead of min-maxing like the others.

Well, no point crying over missed opportunities.

The best thing to do now is to mitigate the negatives of the situation and make the best of what they have. Ames had called his attention and noted their aversion to fire and proposing that if she helps him overcome his disadvantages, he'd cover her. As if he wouldn't provide covering fire without the buff. With inhuman speed, Raime ripped the fabric of a sleeve of his jinbei. Tearing it into strips and tying them to the base of the arrowhead of four arrows. He was unsure how magic fire worked as it ignited Ames' sword without it having anything to catch fire but just in case that was exclusively for her, the fabric tied would burn rather nicely.

As soon as his arrows caught fire, he would follow through with his part of the bargain with Ames. Shooting the flaming arrows against the oni she was facing to contribute to the damage.

He could only hope that this method of attack would turn the tide in their favor.

---

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