Kokoma

---

"A-ah hey you're still hurt!" The Shenke would shout in an obviously concerned manner as she'd watch the cub stumble as it'd attempt to leave. "Jeez, that leg of yours is still broken. Stop moving!" She'd gather a few pieces of wood from the felled tree, just some twigs and smaller branches as Eunice would walk over saying something about healing it and setting the limb. "A-ah! Right. That's probably a good idea, thanks Eunie. I'll take this guy back to camp so we can work there."

She could make a temporary splint with some branches and some threads of silk, so it'd be easy to heal...probably. She was still somewhat concerned she hadn't seen any parents yet, but if they hadn't shown up by now...well...they probably weren't. She'd walk over to the downed cub.

"Hey! Hey. I'm Kokoma." Now, whether the cub liked it or not she'd grab the thing by its waist, gently if she could so she could bring it with her. A few scratches or bites would be fine as far as she was concerned. She'd hold it in her arms, cradling it perhaps a bit like one might a baby - somewhat unsure how to hold it that would stop its leg from hurting otherwise so this was the best thing she could come up with. "No worries, I can do my thing later. Just wanna get it safe for now. Sides, I doubt I could just...eheh, beat some sense into it." Unless there was anything else to do here, she'd grab a few more branches and then head back to their campsite.

---

---

At her request, Yui stood back and left everything to her, watching as she tore up the skies and the hobgoblins, only to let them rain down in every direction other than them. The rain only of screaming and the sudden 'thud' was both horrific and comical. "Good work." Yui nodded. The battle was over before it started, so it left Yui a little hollow. She could still feel the faintest of adrenaline coursing through her body, and she left wanting.

Yui took a deep breath in. The opportunity will arise. For now, the most important thing was - "Are you okay, you two?", Yui turned towards the girls. They might be fine with what happened, but it never hurt to check up. "We should eat before it gets darker."

At least they'd managed to bring plenty of fish back...

But walking back while soaking wet and covered in whatever slime was at the bottom of that body of water was not exactly a fun time.

"Don't mention it," responded Sefira, scowling at Yu as she spoke, feeling a glob of something drip from her hair. Aaah, she needed a bath so badly...!

"... I... need somewhere private where I can wash all... a-all of this off," she said, flatly, after finding a spot to deposit all the fish. There were a considerable number of complications when it came to the matter of cleaning herself up, but at the same time the petite elf absolutely could not tolerate sitting around like this.

Sefira could feel the goo on her skin, under her clothing.

It felt horrendous.

@Sho Minazuki@PKMNB0Y

@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR

---

Upon return to camp, he had already set about putting down the fish and setting them in an orderly manner. They had managed to come back with a combination of some small to medium-sized fish, and two very large fish, perhaps the size of an arm or a bit more. As he began to settle he removed his coat, which was also similarly covered in the lake slime from the creature they had encountered.

"Yes, me too, although just the coat. It seems the rest of me is fine", he added on.

"Furthermore, I think we may have a bit too much fish. Do we have the means to preserve any leftovers for later?", his inquiry was sound. Assuming food here now perished like real life, then this would be a legitimate concern, and could save them energy from needing to find food later down the line.

Should he find his coat be able to be tended to he would sit down and examine his blade. Though it was not used in any extent earlier, he wondered if the changes to their landscape also affected his weapons. Durability was a function of the game, but it was really just a gauge and didn't really show visuals of any kind. But how about now he wondered.

"Uh... Huh. Well, I assume going back to the lake where you ended up like that isn't the best of choices," the swordsman began, glancing briefly at the muck-covered elf, "but there's probably a body of water feeding into that which would be of some use. Probably."

Of course, seeing that Saito had only come out of it with naught but a dirty coat, Yu could only wonder what sort of bad luck Sefira had to have had in order to end up in her current state.

"As for the fish... Uh... Preserving... Salt, I guess?" he half-asked, half-responded as he rifled through his inventory. Other than the food he already had in his inventory (which, Yu considered, was probably worth checking the integrity of), there didn't seem to be anything to use to help with preservation...

Or even to season the fish with...

"...Hm. This... Might be a problem," he muttered to himself as the sound of footsteps approaching from another direction caught his notice. The return of both Eunice and Kokoma, it seemed—and with a new guest to boot.

"I see you've helped resolve the food problem," Eunice said, looking at the fish both Saito and Sefira had gathered before looking at the two of them proper, "though there seems to be a new one in its place."

After placing the firewood and tinder she had gathered off to the side before beginning to set up the fire pit, the white-haired girl held one hand out towards what she had prepared and, rather than lighting the campfire immediately, began to heat the wood to draw what moisture remained out of it.

There was a pause before Yu turned to look at Saito's coat again and, having finished with the tents, found himself with little else to do beyond checking the situation out. Equipment maintenancce, especially with regards to clothing, would have to be up his alley, right...?

"Uh... Hm. Well, assuming that there is a river near that lake, I could probably wash all this gunk out and dry it. Never did laundry by hand before, but it's probably better than letting it set, right?" he asked before turning towards Sefira again. "Though, uh... I assume you'd rather wash your own clothes, if possible."

All the while, of course, the cat that Kokoma had found continued fidgeting around in her arms. The animal seemed uncomfortable with being carried as it was, and coupled with a broken limb, the stress it seemed to be experiencing was but a given. Once it caught wind of the fish, though, and saw the amount that the pair of adventurers had managed to gather, its eyes seemed to widen in shock. Though it did not seem to yearn for any, the sight of it all seemed to keep it from scratching Kokoma.

Or, at the very least, any more than it already had.

@VitaVitaAR@Sho Minazuki@Rune_Alchemist

---

It went without saying that the hobgoblins that had been thrown into the air by the tornado had unceremoniously rained down from the skies above onto the ground, their bodies battered and broken. If they weren't dead before, they most certainly were now—and if not then, they would be soon enough.

"I-I'm fine..." Anastasia said, glancing between the two other girls at her side before looking again towards the carnage they had unleashed, her face paling slightly before she turned away with on hand on her chest. "But... Right. Food. Could we maybe... Move camp a bit away from here before that...?"

Though caught up in the heat of the moment during the short battle, it seemed that the young woman took seeing the results of combat in less stride than she did the butchery of animals, dangerous though the situation had been.

@Hammerman@Operator Luna

"Yay, we won!" Esther jumped and punched the air with her left hand. "See! I told you there's nothing to worry about!" She flashed a grin to Anastasia.

"Y-yes…" The girl timidly answered. "I-I guess not…"

"Of course not! They're no match for my magic after all!" Myrtle laughed, twirling her staff before pointing it towards where the hobgoblins used to be.

When Agaue asked when they should eat, Anastasia suggested they moved their camp somewhere else.

"Hmm," Esther scrunched her face for a bit. "You got a point, Anny!' She flashed her pearly white teeth to her. "There might be other hobgoblins nearby that we don't know of! Agaue, what do you think?" She turned to face the paladin. "Though it will only get darker from now on…" She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side.

@PKMNB0Y@Operator Luna

Magnificus the Ingenious
\\: Location: Sen Rynta | Windy Plains - Outskirts

_
Out in the fields it was a strange sight indeed. A wizard clad in finely stitched navy blue robes with a matching color wizard's hat stood by a strange floating device made of angular stones. From his magitech multitool glove, a smooth yet piecemeal looking panel set into a thick glove with a number of conduit tubes running out of it and up into his sleeve, he was firing a mystical blue laser into the boar's carcass. From a similarly designed emitter extension resting atop his knuckles this strange laser seemed to be readily cutting into it's hide and flesh, crudely cutting it with the precision of a clumsy laser pointer.

"Ha~ What a bore. Heheh... Boar." The strange looking man with the spindly mustache laughed at his own pun. "I'll tell ya what Pretzel, getting pulled into a video game sounds like a dream come true but you never really think about the little details."

It seemed in the isolation of his material gathering ol' Magnificus here had taken to talking to his trusty little floating mine setter drone. It was comprised of a floating series of rectangular bricks and cubes with glowing cobalt inscriptions, except these cubes were arranged around a central core. The core appeared to be a glowing cobalt blue gem that was perfectly round and as smooth as polished glass. It thrummed with arcane energy which it seemed to feed into the various inscribed blocks which were attached to it.

Striding over to his kill, the body looking real gruesome now that it's been mutilated with a laser, he pressed a few buttons on his multitool which opened up a screen showing his inventory. The button pressing was a formality really since the screen can be opened regardless of what equipment he's got on. Then again, he was always one for doing things purely out of fashion.

_
With a click the collectable materials he'd hacked away from the dead boar were sucked away into his quote en quote "Bag Space", disappearing out of sight and appearing in the little square panels in handy little stacks with item tooltips popping up whenever he hovered his finger over them. The bounty was quite small, all likely the result of not being a skinner or a hunter. He sighed, shaking his head slightly in disappointment.

He was shook out from his introspection as the falling screaming body of a hobgoblin suddenly plummeted from above, hitting the ground like a bag of wet cement. His turrets elicited an alarmed flash from the glowing orb of pure arcane power which sat at the center of their three rings. These devices while inactive simply appeared to be steel plated rings of black stone etched along the surface but when activated would glow a cobalt blue along the etchings, each ring lifting a set distance from the ground before manifesting a singular orb of concentrated mana which would float a short distance above the topmost ring, manipulated from below by these very rings which were in turn given a limited will by their runes.

Magnificus himself was equally as surprised by the sudden body hitting the dirt, having jumped up whilst raising his arms in defense towards whatever this was. He stood frozen with shock for an uncomfortably long moment as he watched for any movement from the hobgoblin imbedded in the dirt before him.

_
"Is... Is it dead?" He wondered aloud. As if registering his concern his left turret elicited forth a pulse of arcane energy along a tracking beam focused on the hobgoblin. The pulse lanced into the body, piercing it like a spear tip would before fizzling out of existence. These pulses weren't terribly fast but couldn't miss so long as the tracking beam remained fixed on their target. Given the turret's mechanical efficiency so long as there was any part of their target still visible the tracking beams would remain firmly on target. No matter how fast this goblin was dodging, which it wasn't, there was no chance of these turrets missing their shots. Cover on the other hand was still an issue, though not an issue here since the only cover for this hobgoblin's corpse was the few centimeters of dirt it was currently imbedded in.

Nonetheless the now freshly shot corpse of the hobgoblin was very much clearly dead as his turret readily confirmed.

"Thanks Sinny." With a motion he recalled his left turret, the device returning to an inactive state as the rings collapsed into a disk which flew up into his hand before disappearing into his inventory. With the right turret however he spoke a few words of of arcane power, extending his multitool towards the gently humming turret. Instead of collapsing like the other turret did the rings simply lifted up, hovering over and shrinking down until it sat right in his palm. This was a technomancer spell which allowed him to "Pick up" a turret while in combat, saving him the mana cost of re-deployment as well as bypassing the turret ability's relatively long cooldown. Overall it was the main weakness of the turrets: Their static nature. Whilst his specialty helped mitigate this weakness it didn't eliminate it completely, still forcing him to intelligently consider his structure's placement during combat.

With a turret in hand he strolled on off towards the direction the body appeared to have fallen from, Pretzel peacefully hovering after him. He wanted to be ready just in case whatever did this to the hobgoblin wasn't friendly to his sort either, hence why he was carrying a turret like so.

What he discovered at the source of this phenomenon was...

_
@PKMNB0Y@Hammerman@Operator Luna

Fiddling with her staff nervously, Sefira didn't exactly know how to respond to being asked if she wanted her clothing washed. It definitely needed it, literally everything was soaked in gunk. And she didn't want to try doing it herself. But that meant... Not being clothed. Even sooner then she intended.

But damn it, she couldn't just stand here like this!

"Y-yes that's... just... just get them clean," she said, finally, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. Given the fact that there was goo in her boots, this made some unpleasant squelching noises.

"Did... did anyone see any clear water on the way here?" asked the petite blonde elf. She hadn't been looking, herself, but it was only obvious that she badly needed the most thorough bath she could get. Something like a real bath would have been the best, but Sefira doubted that the game world becoming real had somewhat spawned bathing areas out in the wild. Thus, clean, clear water would have to suffice.

@PKMNB0Y@Sho Minazuki@Rune_Alchemist

Kokoma

---

"Hihi~!~ back with a new little guest." Kokoma would greet her companions, though not like they had been gone for too long really. While Eunice and the others started on the fire pit and discussing food, Kokoma was already checked out of the discussion and instead, focused in her own little world. Well, hers and the world of this little cat cub. Aaaah, she wanted to snuggle and cuddle and pet it all over but there would be time enough for that later.

"Oya? Hungry? Alright alright, you can eat something once I get this leg of yours fixed up." She'd say, putting the cub down on the ground, holding him tightly. No doubt this was gonna hurt a bit but well, it'd be fiiiiine. So she'd grab a few pieces of wood just the right size to make a splint...and then actually do the limb setting. "I'd say this wasn't gonna hurt, but its totally gonna hurt just a bit." She'd say with a grin. "Annnd-done!"

It was probably a good think Kokoma was busy with the cub and didn't hear Sefira mention something about needing to wash and change clothes. It was around this time, Tatlliya would return...dragging along behind her in a web, was the Arachne's prey. Her bringing something back was less unsual than what exactly she had brought back.

"O-oh? With as many fish I wonder if me bringing this was even worth it." The Arachne would sheepishly laugh...and what exactly had she hunt, you ask? It was a massive two-headed bird, about three times her size. Its entire body was covered in what seemed to be tough, coarse feathers and its neck seemed to be much longer than it initially appeared, with large talons about the size of your average human. "And if its washing clothes, I can help..."

"Hm? Washing Clothes?" Kokoma would tilt her head, of course having picked up on something her friend was saying. "Who needs clothes washing?" She'd look towards Sefira, seeming mostly unfazed by the Arachnes kill.

Oh.

Oh no.

That was the last person Sefira wanted to hear about any part of her current predicament. But now that the arachne's words had caught Kokoma's attention, it was quite impossible for the shenke to miss the state of Sefira's clothing. Utterly soaked, coated in various kinds of pond muck. Even more unpleasantly the petite elf was quite sure there were fish guts intermixed with the goo. Really, the longer she was stuck like this the worse it got.

But Kokoma...

...

What choice did she really have at this point?

"I..." she hesitated for a moment, averting her eyes anxiously as she did, "I'm... I-I... my clothes are a mess so..."

Sefira trailed off. By this point she was growing increasingly desperate to be clean, and yet the daunting prospect of actually seeing herself naked as Sefira was also looming increasingly large in her mind.

@Rune_Alchemist

---

---

The contradicting emotions between Mrytle and Anastasia was clear as day, yet Yui could offer no comforting words. How could she, when this wasn't the worst she's seen? That, and the fact that this is still a game, no-one could really die and there is no real danger. Yui thought that fear is an irrational emotion, but can see the logic behind it. The fight and flight response of a human is intricate, not something that can be wholly controlled. With that in mind, Yui understood Anastasia's reactions, but couldn't have either the sympathy, even pity, for her - but Yui knew better than to stay around the crime scene.

Yui lifted her head to survey the skies, it was rapidly getting darker by the hour. Shelter, food, and avoiding monsters that walk the shadows is the priority right now. "We should move, and swiftly." Yui still wasn't one-hundred percent with her tanking abilities, so there is no guarantee of protection; none to soothe Anastasia's quiet anxiety. If they moved right this moment, they would have a high chance of avoiding the worst of the monsters that lurk these premises.

Yui felt a tingle. Something's wrong. Yui looked around her surroundings to see if she missed another hobgoblin ... or a worse version of them. Yui, high on alert, felt a presence, and turned to face in one particular direction. There was only one opening that wasn't blockaded by the trees. Something was coming, and if Yui squinted her eyes, she could see the silhouette of a human heading their way. With no real way of knowing their intentions, Yui had to assume they were hostile - and they're coming to look for a fight. Lifting her shield and lance, she pointed its direction. She will protect these girls. "Who are you?"

@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR

---

"Well, if there is any salt available to us, could you please start preserving them? I can help should you need it later. If that doesn't work, I think smoking is a thing people do too, and we can definitely get a fire going for that", he said, though he would have no idea how to get a fire for smoking. Someone else might have to help with that. He set down the last of the fish before he would get about to his own business.

As things settled on return to camp, he was trying to hang his coat to see if he could dry it, removing the gunk by hand wasn't difficult, though unpleasant. There wasn't much in way in the camp itself to wash it or wipe it clean either. Fortunately the inside of it was dry, meaning it wasn't soaked through at least. He was soon approached by Yu who recommended maybe taking it to a river.

"That sounds like a better idea, in that case I shall soon be back", he said. He wasted little time in taking that recommendation, taking it from it's hanging spot before heading off towards the aforementioned river.

Unconcerned with the affairs of others at this time he did steal a glance around the camp, seeing a little cat, struggling in the arms of Kokoma.

Glancing between his inventory and the food a few times, Yu found himself grimacing at the prospect of attempting to preserve the fish without salt. It was possible that one of the other (Kokoma, maybe?) had some in reserve, but in all likelihood they were just going to have to see how things would pan out. For what it was worth, the amount of fish that had been retrieved coupled with the newly-hunted bird (whatever the heck monster that was) meant that they most certainly had room to spare on that front.

Failing that, maybe one of them could use ice magic...

...Did any of them have ice magic to begin with, though...?

Seeing the current situation as it was, though, Eunice simply sighed and shook her head, the slightest of smiles on her face as she glanced at how the group was fumbling about.

"I can probably handle starting the preservation process and cooking whatever we have," she said, lighting the campfire with a flick before glancing at Sefira's gunk-covered form again with a frown. "As was assumed prior, there is actually a river nearby—over that way."

"Gotcha; guess I'll go handle those clothes," Yu nodded, following after Saito as he went off towards the aforementioned body of water. Laundry, he could do, at least. "Better than leaving me to cook, at least."

The river itself was fairly pristine, with clear water running downstream towards the lake that had been the source of all the fish left back at the campsite, and the riverbed here was surprisingly shallow—perfect for what they planned to accomplish here. The sun was still hanging over the horizon at this point, but night would be upon them soon enough.

It was that slowly-shifting sun, though, that would reveal a momentary glint of something deeper within the river. Though the water itself could be seen through with ease, whatever had caught the light would likely have gone unnoticed otherwise. The slight form of a hilt of some form could be made out if one focused and the water made itself right for a moment, but beyond that...

@VitaVitaAR@Sho Minazuki@Rune_Alchemist

Magnificus the Ingenious
\\: Location: Sen Rynta | Windy Plains - Outskirts

_
As Yui looked on into the darkness of the woods the mysterious figure emerged, revealing himself to be... A mess. He carried all the hallmarks of a technomancer and was decked out in all sorts of wizarding gear. Past all that was something that could only be adequately described as 'What happens when you try to make Waluigi in the character creator, having only limited success'.

"Who... Am I?" A smooth, rather sinister sounding elven voice returned her question with another, similar question. He let forth a menacing chuckle, like the kind one might rehearse when playing the role of a cheesy supervillain.

"I..."

A gulf of silence settled over the scene, the tension rising. As if rising with the crescendo he boldly raised his multitool glove which was clenched tightly in a powerful fist.

"Am... Crap, hold on."

Immediately his expression went from a villainous smirk to a flustered discombobulation as he was forced to pull up his own stats window because he forgot the name he gave his character. A couple taps and he quickly read over the name before closing it, the screen emitted from his multitool blinking away like the fancy mystical hologram it was.

"Ah, yes! I am Magnificus The Ingenious! The master technomancer! An inventor without equal! The most masculine and handsome- Hhahahah!"

He suddenly cracked up, his fiendish smirk giving way to a humorous smile as he chuckled at his own ridiculousness.

"Ah... I can't say that last part with a straight face. Anyhoo, the name's Magnificus. Folks just call me Mag for short."

He strode forward with a hand outstretch to shake, stopping upon realizing the lady in armor was aiming her lance at him like he was a wild lion or something.

"Oh. Sorry if I snuck up on you somehow. Figured you bunch were hunting mats like me given the number of hobgoblins I saw falling
out of the stratosphere. You are PC's, right?"

If the other group thought him a threat then it was definitely evident he didn't feel the same since he was carrying himself with an almost casual air around them, still minding his distance because pointy stick lady.

_
@Operator Luna@PKMNB0Y@Hammerman

Kokoma
@VitaVitaAR

---

A smug grin would form on the Shenke's face as Sefira would explain her predicament. The Arachne would ask if Eunice needed assistance, so she'd help the other woman with it if needed. The other mounts were lounging idly near the camp.

"Huhu, well as the only other girl here," She'd say with a giggle of dubious intent. "Obviously it's up to me to protect your maidenhood while Eunice takes care of the fish." She'd plop the young cub on the ground, taking her attention from the elf just long enough to give it a pet on the head along with a stern look. "You stay here. Don't cause any trouble, kay? Don't worry I won't be gone long!" She'd run over to Sefira, grinning and pushing the petite elf along. "Just long enough to get some eye can-ahem, help Seffy here~!"

Regardless of how much the elf would struggle, the Shenke would push or pull and otherwise drag the elf along towards where the river had been indicated. Of course, she would make doubly sure to drag her away from the boys. Couldn't have her modesty threatened after all, of course! She would protect that modesty!

...after making sure she got to experience it herself of course.

"Eheheheh, Alright, off with the clothes!" She would then...proceed to strip the Elf. An expected outcome of events really. "Oh also we'll wash them and get you all squeaky clean too." She'd add almost as an afterthought.

Her maidenhood? That was... what kind of subject was that to even...!

...

Sefira's worst fears were realized.

It wasn't as if she could have hid her predicament, that much was certain. But she had hoped, in some way, that maybe she would have had some kind of escape from this scenario. Maybe Kokoma would end up distracted somehow, so at the very least she could come to grips with her new form on her own.

That was not going to be the case.

Sefira stumbled over herself, the petite elf trying and failing to resist the shenke's efforts to drag her over to the river, then further in order to get her away from the other men. If that was it, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but-

"H-hey?!"

The starlight mage squirmed frantically, trying to pull away, but it was too late. Her clothing, down to her underwear, was cast aside, landing in a heap with an unpleasant squelching noise.

Immediately Sefira shut her eyes tightly, unprepared to face the truth of her new form. But shutting her eyes around this weird pervert was surely a terrible idea, wasn't it?

Reluctantly, she opened them again.

Well, there it was.

There was no denying it. No attempting to hide from it. This body was hers. This petite, slender, feminine body was her.

Given the fact she was still covered in goo and next to this weird pervert, there was little opportunity to adjust or even start trying to deal with the fact that this was her now. Not when Sefira feared some kind of overly enthusiastic washing targeted at making her feel as embarrassing as possible.

"... I-I... y-y-you..." she stammered, her cheeks flushed pink as she squirmed where she stood. Why couldn't she just have gotten time alone to adjust instead?!

@Rune_Alchemist@PKMNB0Y

---

---

Any other kind soul would have accepted this man's candid attitude, except Yui is far from a kind soul. She is especially on edge from the scuffle left behind a few minutes ago. Now that there was a certain darkness, this so-called Magnificus' - such an outlandish username, obscurity blended with the shadows. She glanced at the other two, before assuming a neutral stance before Magnificus. It wasn't hostile anymore, but it wasn't far from wary. She'd leave her weapons on her, not just for this strange and crazy-looking stereotypical vagabond, but for what she fears is coming next. As for this man... she'd leave it to Myrtle.

"We can talk later. We need to move out." she repeated the urge to move from this massacre campsite. The amount of blood shed here, all from the hobgoblins, would attract worse, and Yui wanted to be nowhere near it when it does come. Besides... looking at Anastasia, it was clear that she felt the same. Looking out beyond the distance, she made out lit fires and smoke down the path they took earlier. Seeing how other players... played, it was of no doubt that they'd be jumping from a dangerous situation into an equally bad one. Maybe they could find an inn, but this late? They'd have to risk it.

Yui sighed deeply. She was used to important decisions, but none that staked lives on it.
Then an idea came into her head. Maps! It was a game after all, and even if they had fog of war, they'd be able to discern the closest shelter based from past experience. With a swipe of her hand, Yui pulled up her HUD and brought up her map. From what Yui remembered, south-east was ruins for beginners - it was a holy sanctuary that used to belong to the ancient church, in which a war would see its destruction, leaving it deserted until some called it home. It would provide shelter and monsters don't linger around the entrance, reason being that they avoid the wrath of whatever lurks inside, hence they called it the 'Remnant'. A longer trip directly south would bring them to a church within a small village, which would be the safer and viable option, if only they weren't pressed for time.

She flicked her gaze towards Magnificus. It was possible to travel to the village safely with four people, but given how he appeared out of nowhere, this new character is unsettling to Yui. However, she couldn't place them near the ruins, not with one non-combatant. "We can head towards the friendly village down south, or go to Remnant, south-east of here." she pointed out the directions using the map. For how they dealt with Magnificus, and which direction they headed, she'd let Myrtle and Anastasia decide. "What do you think?"

“Alright! Moving it is!” Myrtle gave an approving nod before turning to face Anastasia. “Anny, help me pack up, would you?”

“A-alright, if we must…” Anastasia gulped, her own smile tinged with nervousness. She didn’t like the idea of walking in the dark where monsters could jump at them at any moment. It was fine when the game was just that, a game, but when it had become a reality like this…

The two quickly packed up their tents and cooking utensils. Thankfully, unlike real life, all they had to do was to touch the item and it would automatically return to their inventory.

"All done!" Esther announced to Agaue with a smile.

"I-I'm ready too…" Anastasia nodded.

Before they could depart, however, Myrtle suddenly froze.

"Hmm?" She turned, facing the same direction Agaue did. "Is something coming?"

Quickly, she readied her staff. Another round of hobgoblins perhaps? Well, whatever they were, they should be no match against a max level weather mage like her!

...Only to find out that it was a person.

Another player?!

He was dressed in armor that suggested he was a technomancer. Sporting a large moustache and a thin, lanky figure, he reminded her of those players who would have joke characters as their toons. Personally, she could never understand why you would want to play like that. The novelty would wear off soon and you'd be stuck with an ugly character.

And, judging by his reply to Agaue’s question, he was still sticking with his roleplaying. Even though this world had now become their reality.

How annoying.

“Yeah, we are PCs alright,” Myrtle answered his question with a huff, putting her free hand on her waist. “And we weren’t hunting mats. We were being ambushed by those hobgoblins.”

Suddenly, she realized something.

“Wait, were you the one who riled the hobgoblins up?” Her eyebrows furrowed. “Maybe it was because of you that we got attacked!” She pointed with her left index finger.

Truth be told, she was absolutely being biased against him here (and she knew it). But she was just so annoyed by his playstyle that she couldn’t in good faith welcome him to their party!

She exchanged a short glance with Agaue. There, she gave her a firm head shake, signaling not to trust him.

As for Anastasia, she had made her way behind Myrtle once more. And, looking at her fearful expression, she wasn’t too fond of the man either.

“Tch, you’re right,” Myrtle replied to Agaue’s declaration that they should move. “But don’t you dare try anything!” She glared at the man. “I might look like this but I’m a capable fighter! And I won’t hesitate to burn or freeze you if you do anything we don’t like!”

Assuming her little spell experiment in the middle of the city early that day, PvP is now always on. Friendly fire too.

She wouldn’t want to know what would happen if your HP reaches zero though.

“Hmm, the village or the sanctuary… choices… choices…” Myrtle closed her eyes to think, though she still kept one eye on the man. “I’d say we go to the village. It’s too risky to camp outside.”

“A-agreed!” Anastasia chimed in, her voice shaking. “I… I don’t want to sleep outside in the wilderness like this… in the dark… surrounded by monsters…” She gulped, glancing at her surroundings.

“Sheesh, Anny! You’re such a worrywart!” Myrtle replied with a smile, patting her shoulder. “But I agree. I’d rather not camp outside myself. That means I’d have to take watch! And I don’t want to do that!”

“As for you.” She sent a suspicious glare towards the technomage. “You better behave yourself if you want to come along! Or better yet, go off somewhere else!”

—--------

And so it was that the group marched southward, with an addition of an unexpected new member at that.

The night was dark, with only the dim light of the moon and the stars lighting their way through the grassy fields. The night wind began to pick up, sending chills to their skin and bones. Especially for Myrtle and Anastasia, who were more lightly dressed compared to their paladin companion.

"Atchoooo!"

Myrtle sneezed. Not having any tissue, she had to settle with using a handkerchief she had in her inventory.

Grrr, realism is good and all but I'd prefer not catching a cold inside my video game!

Anastasia, on the other hand, was busy fidgeting with her skirt as she walked behind Myrtle. Unlike her friend, who was more… cavalier about such a thing, she wanted to keep it down nicely, both for warmth and propriety. They now had a man with them after all.

Thankfully, they didn't encounter any monsters on their way to the village. The plains were a low-level area after all so most of the monsters there weren't the type that actively hunted players.

"Halt!"

Their way through the village gates was blocked by what they could only assume was the village sentry. He was a shaggy-haired middle-aged man, wearing leather armor with brown trousers. He wielded a scythe, though it looked more like a farming tool than a weapon, thanks to its dull, rusted blade. It didn't help that he had a straw hat on top of his head.

"What bus'ness ye have this late in the night?"

No fear was drawn on his face. He wasn't intimidated at all by the four of them.

"If ye' want lodgings, ye'r out of luck. The inn's all full. Ye's better camp out here instead." He laughed, showing off his yellow-toothed grin.

Hello?

With the two girls having run off downstream to go wash up, Sho and Saito were left behind near the shallows with little else to worry about. The former, of course, could not actually wash the clothes he said he would without having said clothes, but it was probably only a matter of time before one of them returned to hand them off to him. Hopefully.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing left to do but wait, huh?" he asked, taking a seat near the edge of the water and staring out towards the hills before his gaze panned back towards the river, an odd silhouette briefly catching his attention for naught more than a moment. As he turned to look upstream, though, the sight of something occasionally breaking through the water and diving back down in the distance caused him to cautiously rise back to his feet, one hand on his weapon in caution. Whatever was diving up and down seemed to be coming closer, and even if it was ultimately something harmless, the swordsman thought it was better to be safe than sorry anyways.

Eventually, as whatever it was drew close enough to make out its form, Yu could tell that it was a younger boy—in his young teens, at most—swimming downstream towards them. He seemed to be lingering underwater for longer periods of time as he drew closer, but to what end only he could really tell them.

The boy's attention, though, seemed to be on something else even as he drew closer, and it was only after Yu finally decided to call out to him did he finally seem to notice their presence. Pulling himself ashore, the boy shook himself off and looked at the two, a mix of caution and curiosity in his gaze as he kept his distance from the two present.

"Uh... Hello?" he asked, glancing between the two swordsmen, "Is there... Something you need from me?"

"Nothing in particular; just curious as to why you're swimming around at this time of day. Shouldn't you be... I don't know, back home or something?" Yu responded as he gestured towards the setting sun.

"Oh. Ah... I suppose I should. I was just... Looking for something important."

"Something?"

"A, um... A sword. My dad's. It, uh... It fell in the river a few days ago, and I've been searching for it ever since."

"A sword, huh... I think I saw something odd over there," Yu said, pointing over to where that silhouette had been.

There was a brief pause as the boy glanced between Yu and where he was pointing before nodding and diving back into the water. There was a brief pause, however, before he came back up, scrambling away from the water as some sort of large fish snapped away at his heels.

"That's it, I think. But, uh..." he trailed off, his chest heaving as the fish seemed to pause for a moment before sinking back out of sight. Seeing this, Yu looked the water before turning back towards Saito, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Huh. Any ideas?"

@Sho Minazuki