[IC] Log Horizon: The Kyoto Expanse

[Suku]

It has been two long weeks since the 12th expansion of the game that somehow managed to literally trap them into the actual game. Homesteading the Noosphere was supposed to be the next installment of elder tales yet it became something more something far worse than any could have imagined. IT was released at midnight May 3 2018 promised to be the greatest expansion yet of the game raising the level cap form 90 to a 100 along with a lot of new things released items, quests and the like. Well they delivered it was definately a release she wont forget anytime soon.

Kyoto was covered in tall Torii gates going into the sky while the Shrines and shops and other buildings was more rustic in feel granting a more serene setting compared to the ruined skyscraper landscape that was known in Tokyo and Akihabara. Kyoto was known as the place to go for japanese styled equipment due to the large amount of kannagi quests and the like it was often a source of large guilds and the like taking advantage of the influx of players coming here for the quests and unique equipment. Kyoto was truly one of the more unique cities in Elder tales. Before the catastrophe and the fairy gates was working it wasn't odd to see things such as players coming and going and sending out party requests and or offering their services to a party. It got to the point that sometimes players from a foreign server would log on and check out the sights and take a few quests.

Nozomi sighed as she leaned back against a Torii gate things changed its been 2 weeks since the release and she getting a bit stir crazy. Vel was out gathering information from the players while Nay was talking to the npc's correction she corrected herself the Landers to gather information on any strange occurance on the day the release. She was supposed to look at books to find anything but that was done already nothing mentioned this. Beyond a few "World level spells" that is said to be able to change the course of the world good or bad. Each note of a level spell being used coincided with a major event that occured as part of a major release. Jumping up and patting herself down to get rid of the dust and dirt that was on her clothes she set out. With a small sigh she set out till she was in the town square and once more plopped down with a loud exaggerated sigh. Her bright blonde hair covering her face from her sudden action as she blew at it to get it out of her face with a harrumph. Perhaps it was time to head out again and explore the area and start taking quests once more.

[Guess Who]

Convel McConnor

"Like a long forgotten zit you're here to pester me once again, you pustule lookin' motherfucker. I swear, you limp dick son of a bitch, you better not be standing outside my store because you need that stupid fucking shield repaired again," the blacksmith said, not even looking up from the anvil he was smashing his hammer against to see who's shadow it was that was blocking his light. His poor customer service had driven away most of his previous customers, despite his admittedly high quality craftsmanship, with the exception of one adventurer who didn't seem to mind being the target of his insults. Perhaps he was a masochist.

"Sorry, Barry," Convel replied, taking off his helmet and tucking it underneath his arm. The former player of Elder Tale, now turned resident of what was once one of the most popular MMOs of all time, swept back his snow white hair and wolf ears with his free hand to get the stray strands out of the way of his eyes. "I underestimated Murkteeth the Malformed and thought I could take him on all on my own. Had to use Vicarious Shield or risk losing a lot of XP."

Barry let out a sigh as Convel handed over his shield, getting started on repairing the destroyed piece of equipment. "You do this one more time and I swear to the fucking gods, both those of our world and of this one, that I will turn your internal organs into external ones."

"That seems a bit excessive."

"Don't you fucking talk back to me," Barry replied angrily. "Do you know much time it takes to fully repair a completely destroyed piece of equipment? This is going to take me for fucking ever. Don't expect me to give you a discount for this like I did last time. In fact, I'm almost tempted to make you pay twice as much."

Convel merely shrugged in response before replying back, "I had been saving a lot of my gold before the expansion to buy whatever new stuff came out on the market, so I've got plenty to pay you back."

"Then maybe I'll make you pay five times as much."

"I'll shut up now."

"Good. Now get out of my sight, so I can focus on my work. I don't want to even hear your voice again until after I send you a message saying I'm done."

"Alright, see ya' around, Barry."

As Convel was walking away from the blacksmith's shop, he could hear the man screaming out more insults. The Wolf Fang Adventurer didn't catch everything he said, but it was somewhere along the lines of being denser than a neutron star and wishing that his mother had swallowed him back when he was conceived. Very vulgar and derogatory stuff.

After reaching the town square, the wolf-like Guardian began to look for any possible parties with unfilled spots, specifically in need of a tank. He needed to look for a small group who would probably need more than just him before heading out on any quests since he still needed some time before his shield was completely ready. It seemed that today was not his lucky day though since a majority of people seemed to have already grouped up with the people they knew. With few other options present for him, Convel approached the defeated looking blond sorceress sitting on her own.

"Excuse me, miss. You wouldn't happen to be in need of a Level 86 Guardian would you?" he asked Nozomi, placing his foot on the seat next to her and resting his chin on his open palm while his elbow dug into his knee.

[Rekaigan]

It had been awhile since Yuuko, or rather, Matsuko was brought into the world of Elder Tale. She remembered the widespread panic that ensued in the streets of Kyoto. She couldn't believe it at first, but she felt that it was another way to escape the expectations of her family; because of this she wasn't homesick at all. There was nothing she missed back at home. All that time spent studying.. Going to cram school.. Being isolated from the rest of her classmates because of baseless rumors.. All of it was now nothing. Perhaps this was all a dream and she'd soon wake up to the continuing nightmare that was her life? Only time will tell.

Many complained about the food when they arrived in Elder Tale. "It's bland! It tastes like nothing!" They shouted, bickering about how their drinks tasted like stale water and how their food tasted like air. Matsuko didn't really understand what everyone was talking about as everything she ate tasted like it should. She concluded that it must've had something to do with her Subclass, <Food Fighter>. Over the past fortnight, her guild 'The Silver Spoon' had been look for a way to make food palatable outside of making it a salty or sweet mush. It wasn't long before many people discovered that chefs were required to prepare food manually. However such things were not really her concern due to her passive ability.

Despite all this panic, they smiled. Those from The Silver Spoon smiled as they greeted her, as if nothing ever changed. Her guild was still itself, which gave her hope to carry on. Had they collapsed from the Apocalypse, she'd be lost. Interestingly, she hadn't even thought of contacting her brother at all.

---

Sandwich in hand, she walked out of the protective bounds of Kyoto through the large Torii gate that stood proudly at the city's edge. Matsuko merely wanted to go out hunting to practice her combat skills. Combat was different now that she as in the body of her character. Throughout her time spent in this place, she had discovered that using the original controls wasn't an option anymore. She had to do it through 'feeling'.

In the forest she spent hours slaying Goblins and boars, it was getting easier for her to get a handle of her skills.. Although she would've gotten used to them earlier had she not spent the last week stuffing her face full of newly discovered foods. "Havin' fun there, princess? How bout sharing some of your items with us?" A voice called out from tree line. She turned to the source of the voice, only to see two men emerge from behind the trees. A level 45 Guardian and a level 36 Kannagi; they've been tailing her for awhile now. Matsuko merely stared at their smug expressions blankly before taking a bite out of a riceball that she brought out of her bag, 'PKers?' She thought to herself as she sheathed her Carver, 'How.. dishonest'. She kept eye contact for a moment before turning away from them again, deciding whether or not she should just run back to town. These two were probably hoping that she hadn't figured out combat works; they must be getting a little greedy now after maybe killing one other higher level. She could've just walked back to town, but these PKers interrupted her meal. Nobody interrupts Matsuko's meal. Also she was kind of sick of being attacked, it's happened three times already.

"Don't ignore us, you bitch!" The Guardian shouted as he charged toward her, unsheathing his sword. In one movement she stuffed the rest of the riceball into her mouth, turning on the balls of her feet. She propelled herself towards the charging Guardian, performing her initiating attack, <Iaijutsu>. Drawing her sword in a swift motion, she simultaneously ducked under the Guardian's slash as her blade clashed with his armor. Or so she thought. The Kannagi had placed a barrier spell before Matsuko had struck, however the barrier shattered the moment her blade stuck it. The Samurai was a much higher level than these two hooligans, but it didn't mean this fight would be a cake walk. Looks like she won't be going back until the battle ends.

[ClocktowerEchos]

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Galahad

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

A clay cup. A banner. Several small candles. A string of bells. An alter made of vine-covered stone. This had been Galahad's prayer alter these past few days that sat upon a cliff edge overlooking a small lake. The lake actually belonged to a Lander Shinto priest but with the help of the <Noble> subclass, Galahad had managed to allow his small shrine to be tolerated at an old cliff. Every single day without fail he had come to this rock and prayed to the Lady of the Lake who watched over his noble deeds.

"I give my heart, body, and soul to the Lady whom I seek." the knight dropped down on one and places his right hand over his heart as he bowed his head down in prayer. "No plead for help shall find me wanting. No obstacle will stand before me. No evil will taint the lands bequeathed unto me. When the clarion call is sounded, I shall ride out and fight, in name of liege and Lady. That which is sacrament, I shall preserve. That which is sublime, I will protect. That which threatens, I will destroy. For my holy wraith, shall know now bounds. Honor is all. Chivalry is all. Fear not, for I, Galahad, shall be thy shield."

The water in the mock grail shimmered and glowed ever so slightly in the sunlight causing a smile to spread on Galahad's face. The Lady had heard his prayers. With an outstretched hand, the knight picked up the vessel and drank deeply from it as he had back in death when he first met his protector. Galahad would never forget that moment as from then on there, no longer was he simply Kusanagi Yuuta, but Duke Galahad, the Questing Knight, Slayer of Beasts, Exemplar of the Joust, and Champion of the Lady. Having drank the contents of the cup, he stowed away his belongings and quickly left the lake out of respect for the priest there.

With the gentle rattling of armor with every step he took, Galahad plopped down the main street of Kyoto as he looked around. He still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing or feeling. He had been to Kyoto before, but seeing it in person in such a ruined, run down state was something else. The armor and equipment he wore would have easily given any real bodybuilder a run for their money, but yet they felt light on Galahad. Even the two handed sword which he used as a primary weapon only felt like a weighted stick instead of a massive blade. With his character's stamina, he felt like he could walk or even fight for a day straight and not feel tired at all or have any lactic acid build up.

As he reached the great Tori Gates at the city enterance, Galahad pulled out a whislte and blew on it. Although only few people travelled in or out of the city with most content with wallowing in their misery in taverns or alley ways, there were those who still went out to hunt. The target of their hunts varied greatly from simple goblins to other players. And inaccordance of his knightly vows, Galahad would ride out and put such PKers to the sword. From his left, a green misty vortex churred in the air before a demigryph in battle armor lept out of its center, letting loose a wild roar of valor as the beast ran to its master's side. Bucephalus the knight had named the beast, after the most noble mount of Alexander the Great.

"Ready for another foray into the forests?" Galahad rubbed the demigryph's back as it gave a reassuring screech. Those nearby came out to see the knight mounting his exotic mount as it made its way down the path into the woods beyond. Drawing his sword and raising his shield, the knight kept and open ear for any sounds of trouble which he was honor bound to intervene in.

[The Red Seelie]

Meren, The Shieldmaiden

_{Interacting with:@Rekaigan}

Clink, Clink, Clink. The sound of metal against at hammer that was what Meren herself was found off. There was not a day she didn't dislike being in the forge working her craft in order to produce such splendid and in her honest opinion, varied, pieces of art. Honestly the sound of metal on metal was as riveting to her ears as the finished product itself. The sound of the forge. Honestly she had to take some shelter in something its not like she could go back to her previous life as a shut-in losing track of where one day ends and another begins. Still its not like she was in the forge now.

Meren brushed away some of the undergrowth in front of her. She was in the forest outside of town trying to get some of the necessary low quality goods in order to be stocked up in case any requests came through. She thought back to her small shop in the side alley. The guilds always took the prime spot in the town centre and she was effectively guildless currently, not that it was a bad way to live. The inn had some hospitality to adventurers even if it was run by Lander's. Meren liked to chalk this up to the whole 'the customer is always right' motif. Still she hoped that she wasn't bothering them too much. She didn't want to be a complete nuisance. She had to make sure she was supporting everyone and that was why she was here. She had to get some <Yew Branches> and some <Fairy Grass> in order to be able to produce some higher quality bows for people if they needed them.

Meren picked up another clump of <Fairy Grass> adding it to her slowly filling inventory. She was almost done just a few more and then- Meren heard a sound she knew better then anyone, the sound of metal sliding against a surface nearby. Just beyond the treeline. It seemed there was someone getting into a fight on the other side...
She stood up straight and stretched her arms. Her dark purple and black coloured armour reflecting slightly in the light as it made the gentle clicking of metal moving as she drew herself up to her full height. She had to check this out, they might be interested in healing. Their was an obvious sound of a commotion, was the group fighting in a particularly difficult scenario or was it... Meren gasped to herself. If it was PK's she had to act fast no time for thinking. Her hand reached out and gripped her now manifested shield the weight of which already appeared as she heaved it in front of her.

Clink, clink, clink. She reminded herself to think of the nice peaceful forge in the backally as she moved herself forward. She braced herself, right foot behind the left. Body tensed and... <Shield Charge>. The Skill activated with a slight hum as she lurched forward like a cannonball crashed through the treeline and colliding with some sort of samurai pushing them to the far end of the opening with an audible crack as she made the collision. She hoped she didn't hurt the person too badly.

She backed away to her own corner with the three people before her untimely introduction. "Salutations, how are you all doing and is there for this commotion?" She said getting her question out as fast as possible before this escalated further. She was in her own corner cause she didn't know who to trust. Was the high level bullying the lower levels or were the lower levels getting too greedy and trying to take on a high level player.

Clink, Clink, Clink. The sound of the hammer against metal was really sounding appealing right now...

[Artymis]

Aries

Arthur was partially pissed off. His day had not gone to plan, in fact, none of his plans had gone the way that he wanted ever since he was trapped in the blasted game. It had been a common fantasy of Arthur but when he came to actually experiencing it, it changed his perspective on the matter. To him, this wasn't what he expected, and he wasn't too fond of it. Especially considering that he had no friends in which he could speak to. Things were pretty grim for him.

To try and take his mind off the isolation, Arthur decided that he'd venture into the forest, and find somebody to PvP, or perhaps he'd go kill something. The first thing that he laid his eyes on was going to get fought. He'd already got the hang of the combat system that had taken place within the game, it came as second nature to him. He was able to somewhat deduce how to produce food, as it seemed fairly obvious how it would work due to the way that the combat system worked. Needless to say, he still missed some of the food that he had back in Britain such as roast dinner, even with his love of Japanese cuisine. He was upset that other people had to make it for him as well, as he was quite used to cooking for himself, and honestly considered himself a pretty decent chef.

Upon arriving at the gate, he had saw somebody with a fairly rare mount entering the forest. He wasn't all that interested, but it proved to him that those on the Japanese server were definitely capable of raiding. He hadn't seen all that many high level players so far, so it was interesting for him. He figured he'd head out into the forest and look for someone to fight. He was fairly sure that the first person he saw, he was going to fight.

Unfortunately for him, the first people that he encountered was a complete and utter clusterfuck. Analysing the situation, he realized that two PKers were attempting to kill somebody at least 30 entire levels over them, so the only reaction that he could muster was a facepalm. The more interesting figure to him was a shield user with high level gear that was definitely level 90. He figured that he could probably get a good fight out of the situation, so he decided to stop the shield user intervening in the fight.

"Hey. Let the girl fight. If she loses to low level trash like this, then she deserves to be sent to the cathedral." he spoke with a somewhat bitter tone. If the Samurai could fight, he would help her heal up and have her duel him. If she died, then he'd have wasted his time stopping wannabe heroes. To stop the shield user from intervening further, he unsheathed his scythe and held it out blocking the path of the cleric that lay in front of him.

( Interacting with: @1Charak2 @Rekaigan )

[Suku]

@Guess Who

Sen

"Lookie loo I spy a soggy shoe name is Sen you can call me Nozomi. I suppose though that for a soggy shoe you can provide me enough protection." Nozomi said a grin spreading across her face as she spoke she was a bit odd to many people but it was ok life was no fun without any cheer. "I shall hire you oh noble knight to escort and protect me as I traverse the forest over yonder to sharpen my sight and learn to aim right. If you can do so this here witch shall gift thee a spot of coins that you can bugger off at some tavern or flight of fancy." She continued going on with her act as her smile widened she loved speaking like this look of their faces was priceless and oh so much fun. Her clown outfit was odd even for most adventurers that and her make shift skirt of grimoires and tomes spoke greatly of her class and occupation if you wish to call it that.

[Rekaigan]

_{@1Charak2@Artymis}

---

After her strike she had gotten close enough to both the Guardian and the Kannagi to use <Samurai Challenge>, but suddenly a giant circle of steel smashed into her, dragging her across the clearing like a raging bull. The force of the blow was so powerful that her body felled a tree. "Salutations, how are you all doing and is there for this commotion?", the shield maiden asked. Matsuko would've been more grateful for the assistance if it didn't come crashing into her. The two would-be PKers looked around in confusion as another player emerged from the trees.

"Hey. Let the girl fight. If she loses to low level trash like this, then she deserves to be sent to the cathedral.", he said with a bitter tone. She couldn't help but feel a little upset by his tone of voice, but his presence allowed her to sheath her sword once more, getting up from the rubble that was the tree.

"H-hey don't get in our way! Her items are ours!" shouted the Kannagi. He seemed quite unsure of himself since they were the lowest levels in the small clearing. Matsuko glanced between the two newcomers. Meren is someone that she's heard of, but never really spoke to. The Shieldmaiden was pretty famous among the tank players. Whereas, she's never heard of this Aries player... She mentally shrugged as she wordlessly advanced toward the PKers. She looked at Meren as she walked passed her, "I'm just being attacked, that's all." she stated plainly.

Her HP had taken a little bit of a hit from the Shieldmaiden, but it wasn't all that much so it shouldn't be too much of a hindrance. She suddenly sprinted forward toward the Kannagi who instinctively put a barrier on himself in fear, however this was a feint. She quickly pivoted and drew her sword, scoring a clean <Iaijutsu> hit on the Guardian. there was no barrier this time and the tank too a large hit to his health due to his much lower level. The Kannagi panicked "<Healing prayer>!" He shouted in desperation, healing his Guardian with the weak healing that his class had.

"<Cross Slash>!", the Guardian bellowed as he raised his sword. Matsuko smirked ever so slightly as her blade collided with his. Using <Kaeshi>, she blocked and countered the man's attack with perfect timing, dealing an immense amount of damage as her blade passed through his armor, truly a fool for not using any protective skills. The samurai turned as her momentum moved her behind the Guardian; she grabbed his shoulder and pushed the Carver through his spine. "Better luck next time." She whispered as his body dissipated into sparkling bubbles, his health had hit zero within seconds. The Great Gourmand turned her gaze toward the Kannagi; he had frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. After a moment he screamed, running back into the forest. A waste of time.

She sheathed her Carver once more before looking at the other two. She gave them a nod in acknowledgement before bringing yet another sandwich out of her magic bag. "That was unnecessary, Meren." She said in slight amusement as she bit into the hearty piece of food. The Samurai couldn't help but eye the Assassin. His motives were unclear to her, much like his reputation.

[Artymis]

Aries

Aries grinned at the sight that had befallen him. He had expected the Samurai to finish before the shieldmaiden ended up intervening once more, but with the amount of speed and the lack of remorse she showed, it impressed the man greatly. The fact that she could casually take a bite out of a sandwich so easily after staining her hands with blood was something that had piqued his interest as well. Truly, this was an interesting human and he wanted to converse with her.

"I must say, you took them out a lot easier than I expected you to. Sorry for intervening in your duel, but I don't believe idiocy like that should be taught with a get out of jail card. It should be punished. I sincerely doubt that the pair of PKers will try that again, at least on a foe that has this much of a level discrepancy." He spoke in a much more sincere tone than previously, yet still held a undertone of displeasure.

Taking his scythe back out of the ground and sheathing it, he eyed the people that lay before him. It seemed as if the Samurai had a connection, or at least knowledge of the shield maiden, perhaps making her somewhat of a public figure on the server. This made him feel uneasy, as if he had just pissed off and intervened in something that they were doing, it could set him back quite a bit. At the same time, he didn't feel like making amends with wannabe vigilantes who think that they are the police of the world. His mind was simply too muddled to think as he decided to pull out a flask of vodka out of his magic bag and take a swig.

As the warm alcohol moved to the back of his throat and throughout his body, he got a clearer image of the path that he should take within the situation that he was currently in. He was interested in the Samurai and the Shieldmaiden, so he figured that if he went adventuring with them for a short amount of time, he'd have an idea whether they'd stay in his interest.

"This is a perfect opportunity actually. I'm rather interested in the both of you, as you seem to be very combat competent which is a rarity in what I've seen so far, especially considering that many haven't adjusted to the new method of combat. How about we settle our differences over a walk, and maybe I can make you forgive me for not stopping that fight." Aries spoke in the kindest tone that he could muster, yet it did not sound that convincing. It was almost a pattern filled with grimace, or the type of talk that you'd expect someone to say when recieving a gift that they didn't quite want.

[Guess Who]

Convel McConnor

_@Suku

"Soggy... shoe?" Convel asked aloud, raising an eyebrow in the strange girl's direction as the wolf ears atop his head twitched in confusion. As he listened to the girl talk more though, and took a glance at her chosen sub-class, the Guardian realized a possible reason why she spoke so strangely. She must be an RPer. A very avid one considering that she's continuing to put up her act even after the Apocalypse. That or she's gone crazy after being trapped within this game for two weeks and I've now gotten myself in heaps of trouble.

The young lad took his foot off the perch he'd been using as a foot rest and stood at attention like some noble knight of old would. "Um... Yes! Thank you my lady. You honor me with your... uh..." Convel replied, attempting to roleplay back and failing terribly. He had very little experience doing it and, even less so when it wasn't over a forum. This was more akin to LARPing, which required coming up with responses on the fly instead of giving yourself as much time as you needed to think of something decent. This was exactly why he often avoided taking a leadership position in parties, the man preferred to think long and hard on his possible choices which was never a good quality to have in the middle of combat. That didn't mean he was terrible at giving orders per se, he just had a preference toward following orders.

"Ah, screw it. Thank you, miss. I appreciate you giving me the chance," he finally said, breaking character but also ending his seemingly endless linguistic filler. "So do you have anywhere in mind? I personally would like to go farming for some XP so I can finally get that few hundred more that I need to get to level 87, but if you were already planning something I don't mind."

As he awaited her response, the adventurer continued to look over the girl's profile and stats, finally noticing the name of the guild she was a part of. Bud Virgin Logic? Uhh... I really hope this girl isn't into the more... erotic forms of roleplaying. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

[The Red Seelie]

Meren, The Shieldmaiden

Meren was still in her own protective corner observing the situation, trying to calm it down when... This dumb assassin player walks right out into the clearing and messes up anything she could have even done to calm down the situation. Sure, tell them to fight. She was trying to advocate a peaceful solution... even though she had accidently crashed into the presumed victim of the attack. Something she would have to apologise for once this situation calmed down.

She hoisted up her shield about to go back into to block both shields from fighting and- She was prevented by the scythe wielding Assassin. Who the hell did he think he was? Meren was scowled at him with a large look of disappointment as a fight unfolded in front of her. She wasn't powerless to stop it but she couldn't prove anything by smashing the Assassin out of the way. This was a complete and utter bother. It was only a few more moments before an outcome had been reached, the likely one. The guardian was obliterated into a shower of blueish golden particles. Another person forced to reincarnate at the Cathedral because people just couldn't see sense.

At least the Kannagi was smart to run away before Matsuko stabbed him in the face and speaking of Matsuko, once the fight had ended Meren had casually brushed the Assassin aside so she could walk over. Its not like he could do anything threatening to her right now, any backstabbing he could do would be met with immediate response from her and she could likely enlist the aid of Matsuko to help her. Even though Matsuko had said her help was unnecessary it didn't matter.

"Just what in the world were you thinking!" Meren cried flustered as she looked at Matsuko with a rather peeved look. "You're obviously a higher level then them, you just had to scare them off, you already had them on the ropes..." Meren paused suddenly as she was interrupted by the scythe wielding assassin referred to as, she quickly glanced at his username, Aries.

"Although I must say, you took them out a lot easier than I expected you to. Sorry for intervening in your duel, but I don't believe idiocy like that should be taught with a get out of jail card. It should be punished. I sincerely doubt that the pair of PK'ers will try that again, at least on a foe that has this much of a level discrepancy." He said. Meren almost choked on the air, she hadn't seen that level of coldness since she last looked into a freezer. This type of thinking is why Player killers existed in the first place. Nobody needed to die. Respawning existed certainly but she didn't know how death felt like and even so she didn't want to wish that upon anyone unless they had stopped listening to all reason... Which wasn't the case here and this Scythe guy was therefore grating on her nerves more then a cheese grater on cheese.

Meren sighed heavily. She didn't want to fight and she wasn't going to. Now she was done with her chewing out she had to fix something, placing her shield down she used her <heal> on Matsuko in order to speed up the process and top off her health again. [color=Violet]"Sorry for smashing into you, that was my bad." Meren said with a smile that showed no ill will or hate towards the samurai because at the end of the day they were acting in self defence. "There, all done." Meren smiled before pulling away from Matsuko before picking back up the large full body shield that she owned and also the reason for the shield-maiden naming.

Aries was still going on though and Meren listened til he finished. The tid bit about combat was a nice compliment but it also painted a pretty detailed picture about what Aries was into. She would be in half the mind to forgive him on the spot but the way he spoke and the way he looked like he was detesting even saying sorry just didn't sit right with her. "How about we all head back to town and share a round of drinks and food?" Meren suggested, obviously just wanting to get out of the woods. She had already collected more then enough <Fairy Grass> and <Yew Branches> for the day. "To make it more appealing, I'll be paying..." She said leaving it open in the air while making her offer very tempting. "Or you know we could do something else, just trying to be friendly." She finished with a slight hint of timidity as if trying to appeal to a tough crowd. Her Plate Armour suddenly felt very hot.

[Bushman501]

@Guess Who@Suku

Another day, another batch of alcohol made. Sonia wiped her brow as she finally put the last of the alcohol she was making, her new guerrilla special, into flasks and bottles. When the Apocalypse came about, at first Sonia was scared out of her wits and she visibly panicked, which was highly uncharacteristic for her at the time. Then as the days grew past Sonia learned how to deal with it. First, she learned how to fight the lower level monsters. It was then that she figured out how to fight with her body and not with the command prompts. Second, as the food was discovered to be good when hand-made Sonia attempted to do the same with brewing. Amazingly, it worked! At the very least, with the right ingredients she could make anything with that extra kick as long as she had the willpower to make it. Though going out into the forest occasionally to gather ingredients(and sometimes help the poor under levels serve those mean and nasty PKers with some justice) this is how she spent most of the two weeks she had when she was not sitting in bed missing her parents and home or selling the alcohol. Plenty of people strangely wanted this stuff after the Apocalypse, though Sonia guessed she did not need to worry about that.

Today, however, Sonia wanted to get out and take a break from the brewing. Perhaps taking on a few quests and getting with people again. She sorely missed interacting with others. With this decision quickly made Sonia got her...new body up from the seat she was sitting in and did a quick inventory check. When she did so she began to equip her armor, gloves, and her sword. She always wore her ribbon as a trademark. Even when she could have gotten something better to wear, Sonia always refused to do so. She just thought it looked adorable on her every time she looked at herself in a mirror. Other than that, her armor was light, allowing ease of movement while at the same time giving her some protection, at least as far as it looked, and was blue in color. Her gloves were fingerless gloves, allowing her to keep a good grip on her sword. Looking in the mirror one more time, Sonia saw her avatar's reflection once more before clapping her hands together. "Right, let's go!" She said to herself loudly and energetically as she practically skipped out.

After visiting the bank and depositing a lot of her ingredients and other important items such as her gold save for some alcohol and some healing potions Sonia went to explore a bit around Kyoto. Now, where is everyone forming parties at? There, she finally got to the town square! Wow, look at all of these people! She was simply amazed at how many people were here, adventurers and people of the land! She walked among the crowd talking with random adventurers and landers, with no one in particular catching her interest.

That is, until she saw a pointy hat that looked like a jester's hat. The hat, the outfit to go with it, and wow that pretty blonde hair! Oh, and those pointy elf ears! Sonia verbally let out an "Aww" as she looked at the girl talking to the big-buff armored guy she presumed. No matter, she could not stand it any longer. She had to get in closer! That hat was interesting and she zoomed in on the target. Very quickly, hoping no one could react to her swift action, Sonia struck! Immediately, she grabbed the hat of the elf-lady that she later saw on the status screen was Sen and tugged on it somewhat-gently proclaiming with a energetic chirp, a mischievous smile and rapid fire "Bonjour! Wow, so cute! How did you get this hat?! Aww, and those little elf-ears too! You're so adorable in that outfit! Oh and you're a clown too, that makes this even better! Can you juggle?! Do you know clown tricks?! Show me!" Sonia knew she was a stranger to them and didn't know how these two would react to her, but she did not care! She believed they would be good at least to her. She was extremely tempted to hug the elf. Even the armored man, as he was adorable in his own way.

[Suku]

@Guess Who@Bushman501

"Well well well arent you a quirky turkey" Sen spoke up to the new arrival but with a smile she Did a stage bow as she took off her hat showing the hole to everyone in the street showing nothing inside. Before reaching her arm in all the way to the shoulder leaving a comical view of her char before pulling out small brightly colored balls and throwing daggers. With a toss of her hat she started juggling the shown items as the hat flipped multiples times in the air before landing perfectly on her head while doing this she Sen started to perform while juggling jumping around and twisting in odd and near impossible ways all the while juggling with one hand. Seeing her do this had a lot of landers and adventurers come up and start placing coins in a box that appeared as she stamped her feet. With a large grandoise back flip the daggers pierced the balls landing in the perfect shape of a heart landing the dismount of her flip perfectly she clapped her hands as things exploded in small pufts leaving a suddenly teleported and overly confused gaurdian with Sen standing perfectly on his shoulders giving a large grandiose bow once more. "Well my lady was that a performance you forget anytime soon?" She asked the one she labeled as quirky turkey.

[Rekaigan]

_{@1Charak2@Artymis}

---

Meren's outburst made the Samurai flinch ever so slightly, she hadn't be scolded since before the Apocalypse so it was quite a surprise for her. She couldn't really respond to the Shieldmaiden because she was mostly just shocked. As soon as she opened her mouth to form a response, the Assassin stepped towards them, justifying Matsuko's actions with his own philosophy. 'They were just.. annoying..' She wanted to say, however that probably wouldn't bode well with the Cleric.

"It's okay.." she replied somewhat quietly as Meren apologized to her, taking another bite from her sandwich. The Cleric's smile and healing spell caught Matsuko off guard. She wasn't used to people making a complete 'one eighty' in tone of voice, which made her even more awkward and shy than before. But her expression didn't really change all that much throughout that exchange.

Matusko's gaze moved to Aries as he continued speaking.. He was interested in them? Had she been some typical anime heroine, she would've taken that the wrong way. Fortunately, she wasn't. Although, who could take it the wrong way when this man sounded like he didn't even believe what he was saying in the first place? 'Maybe he's just bad at being nice.' She couldn't help but laugh inwardly, a slight smile forming on her features.

"How about we all head back to town and share a round of drinks and food?" was the sentence that pierced her thoughts. She couldn't tell if it was just the game being weird or if Meren was actually sparkling and shining like a goddess. Within an instant, the Samurai inhaled her sandwich and grabbed the Shieldmaiden's hands, her eyes sparkling like the stars. "I humbly accept your offer! Shall we go eat now?" She asked in an excited tone, her mouth watering slightly; an extreme contrast to the way she was acting just moments before. Food is life, food is love.

[Guess Who]

Convel McConnor

_{@Suku@Bushman501}

Oh please God no. All Convel could think of as a random adventurer asked the clown to perform some tricks for her, was how this could only go bad. She was just so quirky and strange that all his imagination could conjure up was the image of her cutting someone in half with a chainsaw before magically putting them back together the wrong way or maybe she had an acid shooting flower to squirt into the audience somewhere in her metaphorical bag of tricks. Seeing her then pull multiple daggers out of her bottomless hat certainly did not quell his negative thoughts either. The man watched with caution, waiting for the first possible sign of danger, like one of the several knives flying off into a direction it wasn't supposed to, so he could hopefully stop it from injuring her or someone else. He had to admit that she was awfully impressive as a juggler and contortionist though.

Once Sen had finished her routine, landing on his broad shoulders, the Wolf Fang would feel several small coins begin to shower the two of them as the People of the Land tossed their gold pieces their way. Well they were supposed to all be going to the clown, but any that she wasn't catching would land on him as well, making a loud clang as they bounced off his armor. Convel waited until the Landers were finished with their donations before reaching above his head and grabbing onto the girl's waist, picking her up off his shoulders and holding her a couple feet off the ground so the two of them were at eye level. "I know I offered to join your party, miss, but I can't say I remember agreeing to be your mount," he told her with a friendly smile before finally letting her back down on her feet. He was just happy to have not been stabbed.

[Bushman501]

@Guess Who@Suku

---

Sonia was extremely entertained! A performance like that was something that she rarely got to see, with the exceptions being from her scarce trips with her mother or father. Even then, there was always some kind of work involved for it. Though most of the details were admittedly beyond her understanding Sonia had to admit that the clown was quite the contortionist and juggler. What made it all better was that so many other people were entertained by the clown. Everyone deserved to be happy, even if for a moment!

"Yay! Merci beaucoup!" Sonia exclaimed loudly as she clapped her hands in rapid fashion after the performance, forgetting that these people did not know the French language for a second, promptly switching back to Japanese to avoid more confusion. The wolf-fang Guardian, by the looks of him, then lifted the clown off of him and said something with a cute friendly smile in her opinion. That smile was enough to prompt Sonia to take a few steps forward, tiptoe, and give him a good headpat after he put the clown down. "Awww, you're cute too! Are you her assistant?!" Sonia blurted out before thinking once again, giving a few good pets before stepping back with a content smile. That is when she remembered the words the Guardian was saying to the clown. Something about being in a party. What a coincidence, she was also looking for a party! Maybe she could try these people. "Oh, you said something about a party. Can I join?! I'm looking for one!" She chirped as she got out one of her flasks of guerilla special alcohol and tossed it to the clown, Sen. It was for the performance after all, and everyone needed a happy drink.

[Artymis]

Aries

Aries was quite surprised at the variety of reactions that had occured in such a short space of time. Immediately after the fight, the pair that seemed to have some knowledge of each other were for a moment, polar opposites. He noticed the samurai grimacing as she was berated by the shield maiden for sending one of the pkers to the cathedral instead of merely scaring them off. To him, it seemed foolish to care what happened, as it wasn't as if they'd stop living if they died in game. The respawn time might give them some time to think whether acting so foolishly was worth it.

He noticed however, that the first action after the lecture was to immediately heal the samurai. He figured this response necessary, as the Shieldmaiden had done some damage to the girl in her reckless charge, and he admired that, even if he disagreed with many of her prior points. Someone who is not afraid to take responsibility and apologize for their actions was to him, somebody who was worthy of respect, as it was something that he found himself struggling with significantly.

The girl changed his offer of a walk to an offer of food and drink, with her volunteering to pay. Whilst in the real world, it would have been considered pathetic to let a woman pay for the food, he had no such qualms here, especially if she was offering. He figured he'd split the bill with the woman, as merely taking food out of her pocket would have put him in debt in his eyes, and he would not like to deal with that thought. However, the thing that interested him more was Matsuko's immediate change in attitude toward Meren once the offer of food had come up. A complete personality switch had seemed to take place, with the prior cold and annoyed person being quickly replaced with somebody who seemed to be infatuated with the idea of going to eat. I suppose it was evident with the way that the girl was devouring sandwiches prior. He was somebody who ate his meals quickly, but the girl seemed to eat sandwiches in less than a second, which was something he was half disgusted and half infatuated by.

"I'll gladly eat with you, but I cannot allow you to shoulder the cost on your own. Split the bill with me and we have a deal." Aries spoke in the kindest way that he could, which still sounded awkward and out of place given his social skills. It was however, genuine as he held out a hand for Meren to shake.

Interacting with: @1Charak2 @Rekaigan

[Jangel13]

Lorenzo had sighed softly as he walked through the town trying to look for something to do. A butler without a master to serve was no butler but just a overdressed person. His level was high and he could no doubt crate goods own guild if he wanted but that wasn't who he was. He was no leader at best he would be a general but he couldn't be a leader. As he traveled through the streets he wondered if their were any guilds that would accept his application. Lorenzo was a talented assassin and that wasn't him being cocky. He soon found the bank and he decided he needed to deposit his "retirement fund" so to speak. His last guild master decided to let him go since Lorenzo didn't participate in raids and refused to change his butler subclass. He was nice about it though and gave him some money to show that he was still a valued member of the guild. He then went inside and looked for a bank teller to deposit his money.

[Suku]

Sen smiled as she continued bowing having freed herself from the large figure of her guardian companion. Others was slowly gathering into the central square as well a odd group by all accounts. A samurai, a girl with a overly large shield and a assassin with a scythe. Along with a butler exiting a building. The large crowd gathered asking for encore's from the bowing clown. It wasnt long before the gathering crowd split a large figure walking through the gathered crowd his scarlet red armor with a golden trim easily noticed. The head piece the figure wore stylized after a dragon with sweeping horns elegantly combing through the wild hair. Standing in front of the bowing clown he dropped a large sack of coins speaking with strict yet calm voice. "I thank you for your performance but if I may young maiden borrow your stage?" He asked as sen looked up at the samurai themed man in front of her. "People of this land lend me you ears. As you may have heard things changed recently a large gathering of oni has been slowly making there way towards this fair city so I ask adventurers I ask you lend me your skills for a single moment. Fight of this coming menace and I shall reward handsomely your fair share of gold is yours for doing this deed! So I ask are you up for this task?" He called out as he called out standing in the center of the square his white haori flapping as a sudden breeze came through.

Sen having collected her recent riches smirked as she saw the lander and let out a small chuckle that to some may have sounded a bit dark "Kufufufu a lobster he looks like a lobster lord." She muttered to herself though no doubt the gathered people around her heard the remark. A oni gathering wasn't there a event like that before the apocalypse for kyoto. She thought to herself her face lost the look of mischief that was common for her and replaced with a serious look. Onis, demons whatever term you used was often a common mob in a area close by giving good blunt weapons for some players and decent farming monsters all together due to their somewhat varied level and the possibility of summoning one of four oni lord field bosses.

@Guess Who@Jangel13@The Irish Tree@Artymis@ClocktowerEchos@Bushman501@1Charak2@Rekaigan@Guess Who

[Guess Who]

Convel McConnor

Convel's ears perked up upon feeling soft, delicate hands run through his hair and pat his head. As the French woman applauded his cuteness, the Guardian seemed to ignore being called the clown girl's assistant and his bushy wolf tail began to unconsciously wag back and forth behind him in response. It took every bit of the man's self control to not allow his tongue to hang out and drop to all fours. Why did he have to choose a race that suffered from such temptations? Eventually though, the woman stopped to continue discussing whatever business she had, and while part of him was glad that she was no longer embarrassing him by treating him like an overgrown puppy, another more basic instinct inside the adventurer wanted nothing more than for her to continue.

Luckily, a new development began to occur to distract Convel from his animalistic urges when a Samurai in bright red armor approached the area Sen had previously used as a stage. He didn't even need to speak before the man recognized him as being a Person of the Land. Something about those who had once been simple NPCs seemed to give off a certain smell that his Wolf Fang senses instantly picked up, though for anyone who didn't have his sensitive nose he couldn't really explain what it was like. To do so would be similar to someone trying to explain a color to a blind man. It just... worked.

"What do you say, miss? Do you think we should let this French woman join the party and go fight some Oni?" the adventurer asked his companion, nudging her slightly with his elbow so that Sen knew he was talking to her. He may have found her weird and strange, but Convel still saw her as the group leader and therefore would follow whatever orders she gave, within reason. If she asked him to jump off a cliff or try any new potions he didn't recognize, the man would need some serious convincing.