ScoutThe rest of the guild members present didn’t bat an eye as the scene unfolded before them – now eerily familiar with the feeling that came with watching a player die. In the end, most of them felt the same way about all of it; it wasn’t their fault that things turned out like this. There were three people to blame for how much they were changing.
Kayaba Akihiko, the Masked Man and Rose.
As soon as one of those three crossed the minds of any of the guild members, their expressions would stiffen as though they were remembering something terrible that happened not too long ago. Of course, Nero was going to become the exact same in that regard – his girlfriend and initial best friend now no longer a part of this world, due to Rose’s actions. The only person he had left was Jet, whom was luckily a little too preoccupied with grinding on the floor beneath to witness what had just transpired on the newly opened floor.
Once Nero asked whether Alice would join him for the night, she found herself smiling gently at him – the smile itself almost too dazzling for words, as she always seemed to look her very best once she’d smile after crying. It was the accenting redness under her eyes that made it look as though she was blushing that completed the look, probably.
“No, you’re coming with us tonight. It won’t do you any good just to talk to me all night – you should speak with everyone here and the others of the Guild about what has happened. I guarantee that you’re not alone in this world.” With that said, she offered him her hand – guiding him away once he’d taken it and the group of players with red icons above their heads slowly disappeared via teleportation; back to a lower floor, where they could buy a few rooms in an Inn together.
The majority of the night was spent in each member explaining what had happened to them during their time in Aincrad. Both the ups and downs; whether they lose a sibling, find a friend, kill to defend themselves or fall in love. Each person had a fairly unique story to tell, but the only person who didn’t participate was Alice. She seemed very much occupied simply listening, offering people consoling words that probably didn’t seem like her, to Nero. But that was the gift she had been born with; to make people smile and feel motivated to move on in life. If only those same words could affect her in the same way.
Days soon turned into weeks. The people that joined the Guild after having lost something due to Rose’s actions were beginning to increase in volume with every passing fortnight. But as time passed, so did the duo’s strength. By now, the player base was almost entirely split in two; those who favoured Rose’s absolute power and her continuous victories and those whom had been burned by the path she was forging. The side in favour had taken up the act of always wearing a red bandana around their arm in show – of course, these red bandanas had actually been given out by the Masked Man to be distributed; what was their importance? It seemed that those that wore them found new comrades all the easier, with their admiration of Rose being a common point to meet on. However, Jet hadn’t told anybody of the unease he felt every time he saw one of those bandanas.
With Alice’s prowess in motivational speeches and Nero’s intellect which he could use once he’d calmed down some, the Guild’s renown grew – people flooding in faster than ever once players began disappearing randomly. Apparently, Rose knew something about these disappearances, but didn’t say anything more than that they were necessary sacrifices one would have to make for the greater good. Of course, these words came from her mouth but were thought up by the man behind her; the one with the mask.
Two months had passed since Yuna’s death, when the Masked Man called all of Rose’s followers out to the new floor’s opening. The 40th floor’s boss had been defeated promptly, without any help once again – the red-head’s level shooting up exponentially high in a short period of time. It was almost as though something was giving her speed and strength from beyond the game itself. Everyone adorned their red bandanas as they gathered in the new town’s main court, where things seemed eerily quiet considering. No NPCs were around and the store fronts looked deserted. Alice and company had attended the event, hiding away just a few hundred meters to avoid detection and find out what was happening here; something was going to go wrong, she could feel it.
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As Nero’s psyche began to break down around the idea that his girlfriend and friend were murdered over a simple misconception, Rose slowly drew her sword as well once he had, preparing for a fight that wouldn’t go anywhere. If he really wanted to hurt them, why didn’t he try to take them to a danger zone? Nikolai placed his hand on her shoulder, reaffirming her need to stand fast – Nero most likely being the only player in the game capable of harming her in any case.
Flashes of white light began to appear around them as other players ported into the new town to check it out and prepare for their next party, which seemed like a daily routine by now. Only, they were each met with an odd sight upon reaching the town – Nero, the boy they’d heard of who was easily the richest of players and one of the few to own his own home by now, was currently charging at the Masked Man, Rose stepping forwards to take him on instead. As his sword came down, it collided with her own – before being thrust aside and away, her body moving inwards with a single step to stab the end of her blade at his stomach; blowing him back a few steps with the strike.
“It is time, Rose.” Nikolai spoke softly, crossing either arm over his chest and simply watching as she nodded in acknowledgment. She stood upright and raised her blade to call people’s attention, before directing it at the boy before her.
“This boy has just declared to us that he will stop us from freeing you all from this hell. He wants to personally damn you to this place for eternity out of his personal spite for losing his friends in the Red Guild. Is it not his fault for having dealings with those monsters?! Is it not his own undoing that he’s sewn?! Show him what happens to traitorous, dastardly, cold humans like him!” she announced loudly, people slowly moving forwards from the crowd. These were no ordinary players who now surrounded him; they were all devoted followers to the false prophet that was Rose, their minds already encapsulated by the idea that she was a Goddess sent from their world to free them. They would do anything for her at this point.
Before he could react, they had tackled and grabbed at him – pinning him to the floor roughly before each grabbing different parts of his body to hoist him from the ground and begin dragging him away, the silver-haired boy kicking and screaming in defiance as they did so – barking obscenities at the duo as he trailed away into the distance, a thick group of devotees chattering amongst themselves over how to deal with him.
He was forced to his knees, three male players holding his arms and shoulders to keep him from defending himself whilst another stepped in front of him. A morning star raised high, the player checking with the others for confirmation on whether he should actually do it or not – that moment of hesitation enough for the first half of a blade to lurch from within his chest and stick outwards; its red, glowing hue slowly fading as the skill ended. The group flinched at the sight – the man who had been stabbed slowly falling to his knees as the pain sank in, revealing a head of blonde hair atop the attacker’s frame. A red cursor now stood above her, indicating her PK – the man before her slowly sputtering his confusion as his form collapsed to the ground and slowly dissipated into naught but particles of information.
“And you shout at me for being stupid.” She sighed aloud, gazing down at his form with heavy hues. It was clear from the redness just beneath each eye that she’d been crying for some time, though had mustered her strength to attend the new town’s reveal. Indeed, she was a part of the crowd that had been surrounding the incident at the portal – but did not make her move in case the Masked Man had drawn attention to her as well to put her in a tight spot. Without a second’s more hesitation on her behalf, she swung her sword again; knocking two more away and continuing to another strike to further cut her way into the group of lower-leveled players. By this time they’d begun to defend themselves, but it was too late; another few members of her guild had shown up to aid her in the conflict – cutting down the devotees like they were nothing, but each slowly getting themselves a red icon over their heads to indicate their deeds. Before long, there were only one or two left – the ones that had been holding Nero down, which released him to take up arms and defend themselves against the coming attacks. Though they found that Alice and her Guild members did not attack again, instead helping Nero to his feet and silently allowing him to decide what to do with them. As he thought it over, he received a Guild invite from Alice – who was staring at him sternly; not through anger, fear or sadness – but with a determination to live that she had not shown before.
Flashes of white light began to appear around them as other players ported into the new town to check it out and prepare for their next party, which seemed like a daily routine by now. Only, they were each met with an odd sight upon reaching the town – Nero, the boy they’d heard of who was easily the richest of players and one of the few to own his own home by now, was currently charging at the Masked Man, Rose stepping forwards to take him on instead. As his sword came down, it collided with her own – before being thrust aside and away, her body moving inwards with a single step to stab the end of her blade at his stomach; blowing him back a few steps with the strike.
“It is time, Rose.” Nikolai spoke softly, crossing either arm over his chest and simply watching as she nodded in acknowledgment. She stood upright and raised her blade to call people’s attention, before directing it at the boy before her.
“This boy has just declared to us that he will stop us from freeing you all from this hell. He wants to personally damn you to this place for eternity out of his personal spite for losing his friends in the Red Guild. Is it not his fault for having dealings with those monsters?! Is it not his own undoing that he’s sewn?! Show him what happens to traitorous, dastardly, cold humans like him!” she announced loudly, people slowly moving forwards from the crowd. These were no ordinary players who now surrounded him; they were all devoted followers to the false prophet that was Rose, their minds already encapsulated by the idea that she was a Goddess sent from their world to free them. They would do anything for her at this point.
Before he could react, they had tackled and grabbed at him – pinning him to the floor roughly before each grabbing different parts of his body to hoist him from the ground and begin dragging him away, the silver-haired boy kicking and screaming in defiance as they did so – barking obscenities at the duo as he trailed away into the distance, a thick group of devotees chattering amongst themselves over how to deal with him.
He was forced to his knees, three male players holding his arms and shoulders to keep him from defending himself whilst another stepped in front of him. A morning star raised high, the player checking with the others for confirmation on whether he should actually do it or not – that moment of hesitation enough for the first half of a blade to lurch from within his chest and stick outwards; its red, glowing hue slowly fading as the skill ended. The group flinched at the sight – the man who had been stabbed slowly falling to his knees as the pain sank in, revealing a head of blonde hair atop the attacker’s frame. A red cursor now stood above her, indicating her PK – the man before her slowly sputtering his confusion as his form collapsed to the ground and slowly dissipated into naught but particles of information.
“And you shout at me for being stupid.” She sighed aloud, gazing down at his form with heavy hues. It was clear from the redness just beneath each eye that she’d been crying for some time, though had mustered her strength to attend the new town’s reveal. Indeed, she was a part of the crowd that had been surrounding the incident at the portal – but did not make her move in case the Masked Man had drawn attention to her as well to put her in a tight spot. Without a second’s more hesitation on her behalf, she swung her sword again; knocking two more away and continuing to another strike to further cut her way into the group of lower-leveled players. By this time they’d begun to defend themselves, but it was too late; another few members of her guild had shown up to aid her in the conflict – cutting down the devotees like they were nothing, but each slowly getting themselves a red icon over their heads to indicate their deeds. Before long, there were only one or two left – the ones that had been holding Nero down, which released him to take up arms and defend themselves against the coming attacks. Though they found that Alice and her Guild members did not attack again, instead helping Nero to his feet and silently allowing him to decide what to do with them. As he thought it over, he received a Guild invite from Alice – who was staring at him sternly; not through anger, fear or sadness – but with a determination to live that she had not shown before.
As the days passed by and Nero kept to himself, Jet was forced to work by himself for a time. Perhaps now would be as good a time as any to begin proper training to one day face off with Rose? Surely, now that he had this cloak he’d be able to keep up with her – right? In any case, he began seeking out other players to duel with – taking the time to learn their movements and compare them with the red-head’s own, finding that nobody seemed to have the same power, speed and finesse as she did. And even more worrying was the fact that he only seemed to be an okay fighter when it came to clashing swords with Rose herself. Any other fighter and Jet was tripping over himself, fumbling with his sword and getting stabbed all over the place. Why?
It took him some time and the aid of a few observers to figure out that his abilities stemmed from the ridiculous nature of his attacks. To the trained eye, his movements were so impossibly obscure and illogical that they caused any professional sword-fighter to lose a second as their mind leapt through the processes to keep up. But, when it came to others who weren’t nearly as well disciplined as Rose was, they could react like normal and easily deal with him. If he was going to be able to fight her on equal grounds, he’d need to expand upon that odd strength and try to minimise the level of weakness to the same ability.
Meanwhile, Alice was busy gathering further supporters for her cause. Of course, the rumours of her constant losses against the ‘Goddess’ Rose were not helping her at all in this. But, with some determination and a few instances where she avoided losing her cool, a few more people were convinced to join her regime to try and stop Rose’s abuse of her strength. The jailing system was not being utilised at all, after all; the duo simply killing any that disrupt their reign. It was around this time that she founded a new group of people dedicated to proper justice – rather than simply rebelling against the Masked Man and Rose.
Rose’s gauntlet slammed into the side of Nero’s jaw once he’d pushed Nikolai to the ground, causing the male to suddenly be thrust off of him and roll over the cobblestone floor – the red-head offering her hand to the blonde, helping him back up to his feet. He dusted his robes down slowly, clearing his throat and turning to face the fallen male – chuckling at him quietly, making sure it reached his ears.
“What do you mean? The Guild has been taken care of. I found them, as you requested of me – but I took the initiative and let Rose handle them.” He explained himself casually, tilting his head to one side. His tone of voice was almost mocking; baffled by his question.
“Seems your friends died in the conflict, Nero.” He began again, shaking his head slowly, “Too bad they were around when Rose was on clean-up duty. If I recall, Rose – “ He turned to face her, gesturing for her to be a part of the conversation, “There was a little girl there, right? You told me of her once the job was done.
Rose nodded slowly, before crossing either arm over her chest thoughtfully.
“Yeah. After I’d killed most of the Guild, there was a guy and some of his friends dragging a girl away from the battle. I chased and cut down most of the guys but all she did was cry at me. I asked if she was a prisoner, she didn’t respond – I then asked if she was part of the guild and she started crying louder. So I killed her too.”
Nikolai nodded gently, before turning back about to face their interrogator, placing a hand on his hip gently. “There you have it – they did not inform her of their allegiances and paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time… Or perhaps they were a part of the red guild and didn’t tell you?” he chuckled again, as though it were a game.
Rose stepped forwards, hand on the hilt of her blade and scowl adorned over her features.
“Is there anything else?” she asked not so politely.
It took him some time and the aid of a few observers to figure out that his abilities stemmed from the ridiculous nature of his attacks. To the trained eye, his movements were so impossibly obscure and illogical that they caused any professional sword-fighter to lose a second as their mind leapt through the processes to keep up. But, when it came to others who weren’t nearly as well disciplined as Rose was, they could react like normal and easily deal with him. If he was going to be able to fight her on equal grounds, he’d need to expand upon that odd strength and try to minimise the level of weakness to the same ability.
Meanwhile, Alice was busy gathering further supporters for her cause. Of course, the rumours of her constant losses against the ‘Goddess’ Rose were not helping her at all in this. But, with some determination and a few instances where she avoided losing her cool, a few more people were convinced to join her regime to try and stop Rose’s abuse of her strength. The jailing system was not being utilised at all, after all; the duo simply killing any that disrupt their reign. It was around this time that she founded a new group of people dedicated to proper justice – rather than simply rebelling against the Masked Man and Rose.
Rose’s gauntlet slammed into the side of Nero’s jaw once he’d pushed Nikolai to the ground, causing the male to suddenly be thrust off of him and roll over the cobblestone floor – the red-head offering her hand to the blonde, helping him back up to his feet. He dusted his robes down slowly, clearing his throat and turning to face the fallen male – chuckling at him quietly, making sure it reached his ears.
“What do you mean? The Guild has been taken care of. I found them, as you requested of me – but I took the initiative and let Rose handle them.” He explained himself casually, tilting his head to one side. His tone of voice was almost mocking; baffled by his question.
“Seems your friends died in the conflict, Nero.” He began again, shaking his head slowly, “Too bad they were around when Rose was on clean-up duty. If I recall, Rose – “ He turned to face her, gesturing for her to be a part of the conversation, “There was a little girl there, right? You told me of her once the job was done.
Rose nodded slowly, before crossing either arm over her chest thoughtfully.
“Yeah. After I’d killed most of the Guild, there was a guy and some of his friends dragging a girl away from the battle. I chased and cut down most of the guys but all she did was cry at me. I asked if she was a prisoner, she didn’t respond – I then asked if she was part of the guild and she started crying louder. So I killed her too.”
Nikolai nodded gently, before turning back about to face their interrogator, placing a hand on his hip gently. “There you have it – they did not inform her of their allegiances and paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time… Or perhaps they were a part of the red guild and didn’t tell you?” he chuckled again, as though it were a game.
Rose stepped forwards, hand on the hilt of her blade and scowl adorned over her features.
“Is there anything else?” she asked not so politely.
And in the end Alice was left by herself. The only person that had ever tried to reassure her when things went this sour was Yuna herself – but she was now nowhere to be found, in utter danger and the rest were making their own efforts to find her. Perhaps it was time to stop using her sword to fight – but her voice instead. The only thing she’d ever done right was make people believe that they were doing the right thing – raise their spirits. Slowly getting back to her feet, she sheathed her sword and curled either arm around the other meekly before making her way back to the festival to think on what it is she could do to help them in their endeavour.
Jacob on the other hand seemed unnaturally calm – though the unnatural nature of that feeling was merely due to his maturity. He understood that there was no way to safely rescue Yuna without proper information beforehand. This meant that he needed to mobilize his guild in such a manner as to get as much information as possible in the smallest amount of time. Hopefully, with some luck, he’d be able to find their hideout and perform a rescue mission before long.
It did not take Nero too long to find his way to Nikolai’s and Rose’s location, as they were currently clearing the majority of the areas in the newly opened up danger zones on the current level. They did this every time a new floor opened, checking to see which monster would give them the most efficient exp gain of them all. As soon as Nero had entered the area, the two stopped what they were doing and faced him – their awareness skill levels apparently growing very high indeed. Rose sheathed her weapon and crossed her arms with a silent sigh, waiting for the silver-haired boy to approach.
“Can we help you, Nero?” Nikolai asked from a few paces behind Rose, his arms hidden behind his long, flappy sleeves. Even his equipment seemed to be changing for the better – although nobody had ever seen him grind monsters before. In fact, not many knew of his weapon of choice either; the single dagger that remained hidden beyond his sleeve.
Nero looked to the pair emotionlessly; despite appearing so strong-willed, he felt as though he was falling apart inside. "I believe you can, yes. You fancy yourselves a pair of bounty hunters, I imagine? Or Rose does..." He took a slow breath to steady his own words, keeping himself mentally under control as he continued, "Anyway, I have little doubt you've heard about the new red guild which has been causing quite a problem recently?" He asked, looking to Nikolai - the clear businessman of the pair.
“Bounty hunters kill for money.” Rose retorted, her expression showing off the fact that she didn’t enjoy his interruption of their work. Nikolai shook his head gently, before nodding towards Nero – hoping he’d ignore the red-head.
“I’ve heard of them in name only. I am not aware of their deeds. Nobody has seen fit to describe them to us just yet.” He answered honestly, slowly lifting one arm to rub gently at the very base of his mask. His next word was the most powerful – people’s understatement of his very aura now coming into focus.
“Why?” the tone of his voice alone would give anyone pause – as though they were dealing with a higher being and pleading for a favour.
Nero looked to Rose flatly and nearly rebutted but stopped himself, remembering that the man in the mask was in charge more so. He held his blade pointed downward beside him - it was curious that they had not yet heard much of the guild, but the basic idea was quite simple.
"They've been taking players and ransoming them in exchange for not killing them. A few have been killed, some have been paid for... You two are perhaps the most efficient and well-versed in Aincrad. I was hoping that by bringing this to your attention, you might be able to aid us in finding them."
The three were surrounded in a silence not befitting that of a group’s interaction – Nikolai having looked away and begun gently stroking the underside of his mask. Rose, having known Nikolai for long enough now to notice his habits, knew he was intrigued by the news. And when something caught his attention, it would almost always be resolved within the next day. There were very few who had the same abilities in problem solving as he did – his gears churning out answers in seconds. It was all a matter of finding the best solution.
After what would have felt like an eternity, Nikolai hummed to himself gently, before turning to face Nero again.
“I’ll find them.” He assured the boy, before gesturing for Rose to follow him. The two brushed by without another word – as though the favour he’d just gotten from this otherworldly being was not a favour at all, but an event that would come to pass no matter what interference came about. Nero would never be able to shake the feeling that he’d made a mistake – putting his trust in such a mysterious and cold individual.
Jacob on the other hand seemed unnaturally calm – though the unnatural nature of that feeling was merely due to his maturity. He understood that there was no way to safely rescue Yuna without proper information beforehand. This meant that he needed to mobilize his guild in such a manner as to get as much information as possible in the smallest amount of time. Hopefully, with some luck, he’d be able to find their hideout and perform a rescue mission before long.
It did not take Nero too long to find his way to Nikolai’s and Rose’s location, as they were currently clearing the majority of the areas in the newly opened up danger zones on the current level. They did this every time a new floor opened, checking to see which monster would give them the most efficient exp gain of them all. As soon as Nero had entered the area, the two stopped what they were doing and faced him – their awareness skill levels apparently growing very high indeed. Rose sheathed her weapon and crossed her arms with a silent sigh, waiting for the silver-haired boy to approach.
“Can we help you, Nero?” Nikolai asked from a few paces behind Rose, his arms hidden behind his long, flappy sleeves. Even his equipment seemed to be changing for the better – although nobody had ever seen him grind monsters before. In fact, not many knew of his weapon of choice either; the single dagger that remained hidden beyond his sleeve.
Nero looked to the pair emotionlessly; despite appearing so strong-willed, he felt as though he was falling apart inside. "I believe you can, yes. You fancy yourselves a pair of bounty hunters, I imagine? Or Rose does..." He took a slow breath to steady his own words, keeping himself mentally under control as he continued, "Anyway, I have little doubt you've heard about the new red guild which has been causing quite a problem recently?" He asked, looking to Nikolai - the clear businessman of the pair.
“Bounty hunters kill for money.” Rose retorted, her expression showing off the fact that she didn’t enjoy his interruption of their work. Nikolai shook his head gently, before nodding towards Nero – hoping he’d ignore the red-head.
“I’ve heard of them in name only. I am not aware of their deeds. Nobody has seen fit to describe them to us just yet.” He answered honestly, slowly lifting one arm to rub gently at the very base of his mask. His next word was the most powerful – people’s understatement of his very aura now coming into focus.
“Why?” the tone of his voice alone would give anyone pause – as though they were dealing with a higher being and pleading for a favour.
Nero looked to Rose flatly and nearly rebutted but stopped himself, remembering that the man in the mask was in charge more so. He held his blade pointed downward beside him - it was curious that they had not yet heard much of the guild, but the basic idea was quite simple.
"They've been taking players and ransoming them in exchange for not killing them. A few have been killed, some have been paid for... You two are perhaps the most efficient and well-versed in Aincrad. I was hoping that by bringing this to your attention, you might be able to aid us in finding them."
The three were surrounded in a silence not befitting that of a group’s interaction – Nikolai having looked away and begun gently stroking the underside of his mask. Rose, having known Nikolai for long enough now to notice his habits, knew he was intrigued by the news. And when something caught his attention, it would almost always be resolved within the next day. There were very few who had the same abilities in problem solving as he did – his gears churning out answers in seconds. It was all a matter of finding the best solution.
After what would have felt like an eternity, Nikolai hummed to himself gently, before turning to face Nero again.
“I’ll find them.” He assured the boy, before gesturing for Rose to follow him. The two brushed by without another word – as though the favour he’d just gotten from this otherworldly being was not a favour at all, but an event that would come to pass no matter what interference came about. Nero would never be able to shake the feeling that he’d made a mistake – putting his trust in such a mysterious and cold individual.
The blonde was visibly shaken by the news of the Red Guild, which nobody had given her information about to date. The fact that they were an issue people were talking about and word of it hadn’t reached her sooner rather than later, meant that some people didn’t trust her to react responsibly to it. The only person who knew her well enough to think that way and also handle the amount of information she received was the same man who was also running around like a headless chicken, searching for Yuna. Clicking her tongue in irritation, she glanced back at Nero in order to give him her response – but they were interrupted by Marius once he’d approached. Even through his second explanation, Alice seemed to only get fiercer in her desire to lead the search party herself. If Nero was the type to think things out better the longer he spent on the subject, Alice was the opposite. Her first answer was usually the best in her case – but further thought would almost always eventually lead to a less-than-perfect solution.
Turning quickly, she followed Nero as he led the way towards where Jacob had gone – wanting to have words with him almost as much as she wanted to save Yuna from a potentially deadly fate. The trio soon found Jacob, who was standing right at the edge of the town – a gate leading out into the wilderness standing just in front of him. Two other guild members were there, serious expressions upon their faces. As they approached him, they could discern the words ‘taken’ and ‘alive’.
“Have you found them?” Alice questioned brutishly, frowning harshly at the taller male – who turned slowly to stare at her. His expression was not one of eagerness.
“No. They left through this gate then threatened to kill her if she didn’t use a teleport crystal to move to their base.” Jacob explained, crossing his arms slowly. Alice ground her teeth together audibly, before stepping forwards.
“And where is their base?”
“I don’t know. I don’t plan on following them, either.”
“Why not!?” Alice boomed, placing her hand down upon the hilt of her blade – though Jacob didn’t seem phased in the slightest.
“Because if we show that we’re on to their movements, they may very well kill her to cover their tracks. Are you willing to let them kill Yuna purely because of your impatience?” he questioned logically, which caused Alice to falter for a second.
“We can take that chance! If we leave her with them, they could kill her anyway!”
“The chances of that happening are much lower if we don’t act rashly!”
Alice drew her sword, parting her teeth to shout some more – before meeting Jacob’s fist, her frame slinging back and into the dirt with a thud. Grunting beneath his breath, he stepped towards her, before squatting at her side. “It is time for you to stop being a child. Grow up and use your head for once.”
He stood, before glancing towards Nero.
“I will look for their base tomorrow – to avoid suspicion. If they send you a ransom message, you should let me know.”
Turning quickly, she followed Nero as he led the way towards where Jacob had gone – wanting to have words with him almost as much as she wanted to save Yuna from a potentially deadly fate. The trio soon found Jacob, who was standing right at the edge of the town – a gate leading out into the wilderness standing just in front of him. Two other guild members were there, serious expressions upon their faces. As they approached him, they could discern the words ‘taken’ and ‘alive’.
“Have you found them?” Alice questioned brutishly, frowning harshly at the taller male – who turned slowly to stare at her. His expression was not one of eagerness.
“No. They left through this gate then threatened to kill her if she didn’t use a teleport crystal to move to their base.” Jacob explained, crossing his arms slowly. Alice ground her teeth together audibly, before stepping forwards.
“And where is their base?”
“I don’t know. I don’t plan on following them, either.”
“Why not!?” Alice boomed, placing her hand down upon the hilt of her blade – though Jacob didn’t seem phased in the slightest.
“Because if we show that we’re on to their movements, they may very well kill her to cover their tracks. Are you willing to let them kill Yuna purely because of your impatience?” he questioned logically, which caused Alice to falter for a second.
“We can take that chance! If we leave her with them, they could kill her anyway!”
“The chances of that happening are much lower if we don’t act rashly!”
Alice drew her sword, parting her teeth to shout some more – before meeting Jacob’s fist, her frame slinging back and into the dirt with a thud. Grunting beneath his breath, he stepped towards her, before squatting at her side. “It is time for you to stop being a child. Grow up and use your head for once.”
He stood, before glancing towards Nero.
“I will look for their base tomorrow – to avoid suspicion. If they send you a ransom message, you should let me know.”
Jet winced gently as the paralysis crystal took effect – relieving the block that had set between his nervous system and brain. Slowly getting to his feet, shrugging off some of the ache that still lingered between his shoulder blades from the stab, he turned to face the others reaching back to rub the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly. The fact that so many people were giving him praise for standing up to the red-headed monster was a little surprising – he didn’t do all that much more than surprise her with a couple of strikes. As the cloak was placed in his other hand, he glanced down at it curiously – before nodding slowly at the explanation as to why it now belonged to him. The fact that nobody was discussing the point was a little concerning to say the least, but in the end he didn’t mind all that much – knowing that Nero had a better head on his shoulders than Jet himself did. After inspecting it quickly and noting the boost to the DEX stat dependant on its own level, he immediately realised why it was considered powerful. The fast became faster – purely because they were fast. If Rose had gotten her hands on this… He glanced up at the two that disappeared through the portal moments later, swallowing hard. If he had this – he may have a chance against her in the future.
Alice squeaked slightly in shock at being addressed so firmly, straightening up and acknowledging him as if she were in the army. She blinked dumbly at the boy that stood before her, cocking her head some at his words.
“R-… Really?” she stammered quietly, her blue hues slipping to the floor for a moment in shame. If she were really the person to lead everyone here, wouldn’t that make her responsible for those that perished in the fight just now? It took a moment for her courage to return after these thoughts, turning to face the parties that entered – some already weeping over the loss of their friends. Calling them together, she faced them with a strong expression.
“We lost too many today to call this victory… But it was a step in the right direction! We can beat Rose and her master at their game! We will solidify our defences, strengthen our levels and fight the Bosses one after another until they all lay slain at our boots!” she boomed, revealing that forceful charisma of hers once again. The crowd regained some of their composure, the concept that they must move on each time one of their comrades falls daunting but within reach. The blonde led them up the stairs to the portal, taking the first step herself and appearing within the next town – catching sight of the first two as they rounded a corner.
The festivities for this floor were probably the largest they’d had since the opening of the second floor. Rumours of Jet’s prowess in combat spread like wildfire amongst the players that were scared of Rose – many of them clinging to the hope that he might slay the monster that takes lives like they’re nothing. But none seemed to realise that it was mere fluke that he’d bested her in a single strike. There was no hope of him winning that duel in the first place – he could sense it. The praise that was loaded on to him each second felt like more and more weight upon each shoulder, forcing him to hunch over a little out of depression. How could he explain his failure to these bright faces?
“Alright, give him some room. He’s here to relax too, y’know. Stop bugging him.” Alice pushed through the crowd, taking his arm and dragging him away for his own benefit – releasing him a block or so away, closer to the markets.
“Thank you, Alice.” He sighed quietly, rubbing a hand through his spiked hair idly.
“Don’t mention it. I’d do it for anyone.” She replied with a wave of her hand, before turning to leave – bumping into Jacob with the movement. Rubbing her nose after having mashed it into his chest, she glanced up at him with a pout.
“Why weren’t you at the boss battle?” she questioned gruffly, crossing her arms.
He smiled gently, before glancing away to hide from her glare.
“I was looking for something, sorry. I’ll definitely be there in the next one.” He reassured her, petting her head as though she were a child – the blonde slapping his hand with a practiced huff. Apparently they did this often. Just as they were about to continue on to another topic, Nero had sprinted up to them – spouting something about Yuna disappearing from sight. The idea was believable, considering how many players were here. Jacob’s expression hardened as he came up with a conclusion immediately, turning and briskly walking away in order to get another man’s attention.
“Fan out and look for a girl being led away by the arm. Hurry!” the male nodded, before giving out orders to others – the small group dashing off to find others with haste. Jacob himself also moved on, going to search for her himself while leaving Alice to deal with Nero.
“Don’t you think she might have just gotten lost?” she blinked at his desperate expression, having never seen him like this before, “Maybe she even went to get some food for you?” She had not heard about the Red guild yet – as people thought she might do something rash if she did, which was probably true.
Alice squeaked slightly in shock at being addressed so firmly, straightening up and acknowledging him as if she were in the army. She blinked dumbly at the boy that stood before her, cocking her head some at his words.
“R-… Really?” she stammered quietly, her blue hues slipping to the floor for a moment in shame. If she were really the person to lead everyone here, wouldn’t that make her responsible for those that perished in the fight just now? It took a moment for her courage to return after these thoughts, turning to face the parties that entered – some already weeping over the loss of their friends. Calling them together, she faced them with a strong expression.
“We lost too many today to call this victory… But it was a step in the right direction! We can beat Rose and her master at their game! We will solidify our defences, strengthen our levels and fight the Bosses one after another until they all lay slain at our boots!” she boomed, revealing that forceful charisma of hers once again. The crowd regained some of their composure, the concept that they must move on each time one of their comrades falls daunting but within reach. The blonde led them up the stairs to the portal, taking the first step herself and appearing within the next town – catching sight of the first two as they rounded a corner.
The festivities for this floor were probably the largest they’d had since the opening of the second floor. Rumours of Jet’s prowess in combat spread like wildfire amongst the players that were scared of Rose – many of them clinging to the hope that he might slay the monster that takes lives like they’re nothing. But none seemed to realise that it was mere fluke that he’d bested her in a single strike. There was no hope of him winning that duel in the first place – he could sense it. The praise that was loaded on to him each second felt like more and more weight upon each shoulder, forcing him to hunch over a little out of depression. How could he explain his failure to these bright faces?
“Alright, give him some room. He’s here to relax too, y’know. Stop bugging him.” Alice pushed through the crowd, taking his arm and dragging him away for his own benefit – releasing him a block or so away, closer to the markets.
“Thank you, Alice.” He sighed quietly, rubbing a hand through his spiked hair idly.
“Don’t mention it. I’d do it for anyone.” She replied with a wave of her hand, before turning to leave – bumping into Jacob with the movement. Rubbing her nose after having mashed it into his chest, she glanced up at him with a pout.
“Why weren’t you at the boss battle?” she questioned gruffly, crossing her arms.
He smiled gently, before glancing away to hide from her glare.
“I was looking for something, sorry. I’ll definitely be there in the next one.” He reassured her, petting her head as though she were a child – the blonde slapping his hand with a practiced huff. Apparently they did this often. Just as they were about to continue on to another topic, Nero had sprinted up to them – spouting something about Yuna disappearing from sight. The idea was believable, considering how many players were here. Jacob’s expression hardened as he came up with a conclusion immediately, turning and briskly walking away in order to get another man’s attention.
“Fan out and look for a girl being led away by the arm. Hurry!” the male nodded, before giving out orders to others – the small group dashing off to find others with haste. Jacob himself also moved on, going to search for her himself while leaving Alice to deal with Nero.
“Don’t you think she might have just gotten lost?” she blinked at his desperate expression, having never seen him like this before, “Maybe she even went to get some food for you?” She had not heard about the Red guild yet – as people thought she might do something rash if she did, which was probably true.
Alice’s eyes clenched tight as she lay on the ground, surrounded by her friends and some onlookers. Why was it impossible to even touch that girl? Why was Alice forsaken to forever be powerless against her? Slowly, her fingers gripped tight against the cobblestone path beneath her – pushing her torso up in order to seat herself; blonde lengths of hair whipping about in front of her face momentarily.
“They were most likely making their way to the next area for more grinding. They’ve never used the very first day for that before, though.” Jacob sighed flatly, scratching at the side of his head as the sight of the two disappeared beyond the gates leading out into the dangers beyond. Returning his gaze downwards, to the blonde that sat in a defeated heap at his feet, he shook his head slowly.
“How many times have I told you not to attack her blindly? Are you trying to make everyone hate you?” he squatted at her side, cocking his head some to get a view of her expression. Her gaze lowered, as though she were a child that had just been caught stealing from the cookie jar. With a moment of silence falling over the group, Alice slowly pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself down – taking a moment further to calm herself down completely. It was true; she was being stupid. Next time, she would do her best to view the situation as logically as possible. She inwardly promised herself this, returning her blade to her side and following the others as they wandered off – noting that Jet had been staring at her through the corner of his eye.
“What?” she grunted, raising her head some and furrowing her brow at him. His features softened slightly and he glanced away, pretending not to have been found out.
A month zoomed by, the floor’s boss not even touched by Rose or the Masked Man in the meantime. People had the chance to catch up in levels – or at least, that is what they thought. Rose continued grinding at her usual pace, building up quickly and efficiently. The fact that they had been leaving the boss was leading people to believe that even Rose could not handle it alone – at her level.
The Red guild had been extorting more and more people as time crawled onwards, causing more and more of a panic amongst especially weak players. Alice and her followers had since taken it upon themselves to bring them to justice of their own accord – but were currently unable to find any leads on their whereabouts thus far. In the end, they decided to try and take on the Boss without Rose – hoping to get some good experience and drops from the battle.
The door parted, the crowd of near 50 players slowly making their way inside in groups of 7. They had been careful to use the utmost limit of possible players at once; being sure that Rose could not enter with them. As the two-headed creature stepped forth and raised its weaponry, the sheer enormity of its frame and HP bar dawned upon the players. It had been so long since they’d fought anything beyond a field boss that they’d forgotten how perplexing the situation always ended up being.
“Alright! We all know the drill; switch out constantly, make sure the AI can’t keep up and above all else – stay alive!” Alice roared, turning to face her comrades and raising her sword high. Even if she was childish, impulsive and immature – she certainly had the aura to command morale. Returning her attention to the monster that lunged towards the large group, she braced herself for combat.
To put it as simply as possible, it was a massacre. Most of the players were only barely within the safety margin for this Boss, some others a few levels behind and easily left in the dark when it came to experience in battle. Casualties were granted with one each minute they spent there, the giant picking them off when they got careless or made a mistake. They had been fighting for an hour by the time they’d gotten it down to the last bar of HP – having lost easily half of their fighting force in the process.
“Alice! Get back into position! You’re going to aggro it!” Jacob barked, shoving past Jet and Nero to get closer to the blonde who was practically trembling in fear. The fear of losing more of her friends to this monstrosity that Rose probably could have handled without casualties. His club came crashing against her side, swiping the poor girl into the air and sending her hurling into the nearby wall – a small crack appearing in the surface of the solid structure. She crumbled to the ground in a heap with a cry of pain, curling up a little as she nursed at her wound; her HP bar dropping dangerously low.
“Shit!” Jacob cursed, turning and ushering in the remainder of their forces, “We have no choice! It’s do or die here!”
The ogre stopped dead in its tracks as the sound of its domain’s doors creaked open slowly. Rose and the Masked Man slowly stepped inside, the doors slamming shut behind them. The male gazed up at the giant for a moment, humming in wonder to himself as he slowly crossed either arm over his chest.
“Looks like we’re late to the show… Rose, go ahead and show them why they should be waiting for you.” He sighed aloud, slowly leaning back against the door. The red-headed warrior nodded slowly, before striding towards the battle, drawing her blade quickly and tossing the sheath upon the floor. It was only when she had moved a few steps farther did she stop before Jet, whom had intercepted her and blocked off the route to the boss monster.
“Sorry, Flower.” He grimaced quietly, slowly raising his blade before her and taking on a defensive stance, “These guys have been sweating tears of blood to kill this thing. I can’t let you take this away from them.”
Jacob hurried people into once again charging the Boss, hoping that Nero would take on the Boss too to kill it more efficiently in the now waning time remaining before Rose could get to it – while he himself went and checked on Alice, sprinting over to her crumpled form. She had been in the process of healing up slowly. Dragging her to her feet, he sent her off to fight the Boss again – as her hp had filled up enough to take on another couple of hits. It was all up to whether or not Jet could hold Rose off long enough for them to dish out the final damage.
Rose charged first, her sword jabbing forth with a strength known only to those of her level – crashing against Jet’s own blade, causing him to stumble back with the strike. Without hesitation, she followed through with a sideways swipe – her movements slowing as she evidently lowered the amount of effort she put in for him. He grunted aloud, blocking the strike too and using its momentum to carry him through a roll – throwing a leg out and swiping it beneath hers, knocking her from her feet. The sight of her being tricked by someone much weaker than her had caused the Masked Man some concern, leading him to slowly begin walking forwards – drawing his knife.
“Just a little longer Jet!” Alice called, roaring loudly as she struck at the Giant’s side with her sword, deflecting one of his weapons quickly and backing off to let others have a go – turning to watch the duel happening in the sidelines.
Rose slowly got back to her feet, her expression having changed from uncaring, emotionless stoicism to an irate version. Her brow had furrowed and her lips distorted into a scowl. Wings slowly spread form her ankles, revealing that her shoe’s ability was coming into play. She suddenly burst forwards, landing just behind him in an instant – a cut slowly appearing along his chest and through to the other side. His hp, which had been full, dropped down to yellow immediately – Rose having gone easy on him seeing as she didn’t need to kill him. She turned slowly, wishing to inspect his resolve – before nimbly dodging a thrown dagger, readying her weapon again and charging at Jet once more – her sword clashing against his own as he anticipated the strike, utilising the single second of delay he caused with the thrown weapon. Rose grit her teeth as the irritation grew, her sword coming back to strike in again with a stab – only to have Jet spin about and knock it aside from an odd angle, the weirdness of his movements causing her a single moment of flinch – his sword carrying through all the way until it scratched against her cheek; a small, red line streaming along it to indicate damage being taken.
“W-… He just… Landed a hit?” Alice muttered to herself, breath having left her almost entirely at that point. She started his way to try and help, thoughts of beating the red-headed warrior now flooding her mind once she knew of Jet’s potential. But before she could get there, Jet cried out in pain – a knife dug in through the gap between his shoulder blades. He dropped to his knees, HP boiling down to a deep red. The Masked Man stood behind him, slowly sheathing his weapon and hiding it in his sleeve again, sighing to himself.
“Please don’t get ahead of yourself.” He stated firmly, leaning down and over his shoulder to whisper through his mask and into Jet’s ear directly, “Else you’ll find yourself somewhere other than the world of the living.” The silver-haired male whom had just gone toe-to-toe with the best fighter in the game and then taken a sneaky blow from the most secretive man in the game, trembled visibly. But what they took for fear was actually sheer excitement. Rose and the Masked Man left him there in his knelt position, moving on towards the Boss whom as they approached suddenly exploded into beautifully turquoise particles of data – having been defeated by Nero and the others. The two stood in silence, watching as the particles slowly cascaded down around the material hunter, Nikolai humming in wonder once more.
“So there are some capable people here after all.” He chuckled softly, gently patting Rose on the shoulder, “Let’s go. We aren’t needed here.”
The two left as quickly as they’d come, oblivious to how much of an impact they’d had if any at all – returning to their grinding and whatever else it was they did while nobody was watching. Alice rushed over to Jet’s knelt form, bracing his shoulder and back and checking his status to be sure he wouldn’t die from the damage he’d taken. Apparently, the blade he’d been stung with from behind was laced with a poison that inflicted paralysis. Just who was that man? And how did he get his hands on something so deadly?
“Jet, you fool.” She grunted, biting her lower lip. The sight of someone actually making a hit land on Rose was almost salvation to the blonde Russian, her eyes beginning to shimmer with the moisture that clung to them, “You could have died…!” she was the worst person to be saying this, though. Resting her forehead on his shoulder, thanking him silently for not dying and for showing that Rose was not a Goddess in disguise, she wept quietly.
“They were most likely making their way to the next area for more grinding. They’ve never used the very first day for that before, though.” Jacob sighed flatly, scratching at the side of his head as the sight of the two disappeared beyond the gates leading out into the dangers beyond. Returning his gaze downwards, to the blonde that sat in a defeated heap at his feet, he shook his head slowly.
“How many times have I told you not to attack her blindly? Are you trying to make everyone hate you?” he squatted at her side, cocking his head some to get a view of her expression. Her gaze lowered, as though she were a child that had just been caught stealing from the cookie jar. With a moment of silence falling over the group, Alice slowly pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself down – taking a moment further to calm herself down completely. It was true; she was being stupid. Next time, she would do her best to view the situation as logically as possible. She inwardly promised herself this, returning her blade to her side and following the others as they wandered off – noting that Jet had been staring at her through the corner of his eye.
“What?” she grunted, raising her head some and furrowing her brow at him. His features softened slightly and he glanced away, pretending not to have been found out.
A month zoomed by, the floor’s boss not even touched by Rose or the Masked Man in the meantime. People had the chance to catch up in levels – or at least, that is what they thought. Rose continued grinding at her usual pace, building up quickly and efficiently. The fact that they had been leaving the boss was leading people to believe that even Rose could not handle it alone – at her level.
The Red guild had been extorting more and more people as time crawled onwards, causing more and more of a panic amongst especially weak players. Alice and her followers had since taken it upon themselves to bring them to justice of their own accord – but were currently unable to find any leads on their whereabouts thus far. In the end, they decided to try and take on the Boss without Rose – hoping to get some good experience and drops from the battle.
The door parted, the crowd of near 50 players slowly making their way inside in groups of 7. They had been careful to use the utmost limit of possible players at once; being sure that Rose could not enter with them. As the two-headed creature stepped forth and raised its weaponry, the sheer enormity of its frame and HP bar dawned upon the players. It had been so long since they’d fought anything beyond a field boss that they’d forgotten how perplexing the situation always ended up being.
“Alright! We all know the drill; switch out constantly, make sure the AI can’t keep up and above all else – stay alive!” Alice roared, turning to face her comrades and raising her sword high. Even if she was childish, impulsive and immature – she certainly had the aura to command morale. Returning her attention to the monster that lunged towards the large group, she braced herself for combat.
To put it as simply as possible, it was a massacre. Most of the players were only barely within the safety margin for this Boss, some others a few levels behind and easily left in the dark when it came to experience in battle. Casualties were granted with one each minute they spent there, the giant picking them off when they got careless or made a mistake. They had been fighting for an hour by the time they’d gotten it down to the last bar of HP – having lost easily half of their fighting force in the process.
“Alice! Get back into position! You’re going to aggro it!” Jacob barked, shoving past Jet and Nero to get closer to the blonde who was practically trembling in fear. The fear of losing more of her friends to this monstrosity that Rose probably could have handled without casualties. His club came crashing against her side, swiping the poor girl into the air and sending her hurling into the nearby wall – a small crack appearing in the surface of the solid structure. She crumbled to the ground in a heap with a cry of pain, curling up a little as she nursed at her wound; her HP bar dropping dangerously low.
“Shit!” Jacob cursed, turning and ushering in the remainder of their forces, “We have no choice! It’s do or die here!”
The ogre stopped dead in its tracks as the sound of its domain’s doors creaked open slowly. Rose and the Masked Man slowly stepped inside, the doors slamming shut behind them. The male gazed up at the giant for a moment, humming in wonder to himself as he slowly crossed either arm over his chest.
“Looks like we’re late to the show… Rose, go ahead and show them why they should be waiting for you.” He sighed aloud, slowly leaning back against the door. The red-headed warrior nodded slowly, before striding towards the battle, drawing her blade quickly and tossing the sheath upon the floor. It was only when she had moved a few steps farther did she stop before Jet, whom had intercepted her and blocked off the route to the boss monster.
“Sorry, Flower.” He grimaced quietly, slowly raising his blade before her and taking on a defensive stance, “These guys have been sweating tears of blood to kill this thing. I can’t let you take this away from them.”
Jacob hurried people into once again charging the Boss, hoping that Nero would take on the Boss too to kill it more efficiently in the now waning time remaining before Rose could get to it – while he himself went and checked on Alice, sprinting over to her crumpled form. She had been in the process of healing up slowly. Dragging her to her feet, he sent her off to fight the Boss again – as her hp had filled up enough to take on another couple of hits. It was all up to whether or not Jet could hold Rose off long enough for them to dish out the final damage.
Rose charged first, her sword jabbing forth with a strength known only to those of her level – crashing against Jet’s own blade, causing him to stumble back with the strike. Without hesitation, she followed through with a sideways swipe – her movements slowing as she evidently lowered the amount of effort she put in for him. He grunted aloud, blocking the strike too and using its momentum to carry him through a roll – throwing a leg out and swiping it beneath hers, knocking her from her feet. The sight of her being tricked by someone much weaker than her had caused the Masked Man some concern, leading him to slowly begin walking forwards – drawing his knife.
“Just a little longer Jet!” Alice called, roaring loudly as she struck at the Giant’s side with her sword, deflecting one of his weapons quickly and backing off to let others have a go – turning to watch the duel happening in the sidelines.
Rose slowly got back to her feet, her expression having changed from uncaring, emotionless stoicism to an irate version. Her brow had furrowed and her lips distorted into a scowl. Wings slowly spread form her ankles, revealing that her shoe’s ability was coming into play. She suddenly burst forwards, landing just behind him in an instant – a cut slowly appearing along his chest and through to the other side. His hp, which had been full, dropped down to yellow immediately – Rose having gone easy on him seeing as she didn’t need to kill him. She turned slowly, wishing to inspect his resolve – before nimbly dodging a thrown dagger, readying her weapon again and charging at Jet once more – her sword clashing against his own as he anticipated the strike, utilising the single second of delay he caused with the thrown weapon. Rose grit her teeth as the irritation grew, her sword coming back to strike in again with a stab – only to have Jet spin about and knock it aside from an odd angle, the weirdness of his movements causing her a single moment of flinch – his sword carrying through all the way until it scratched against her cheek; a small, red line streaming along it to indicate damage being taken.
“W-… He just… Landed a hit?” Alice muttered to herself, breath having left her almost entirely at that point. She started his way to try and help, thoughts of beating the red-headed warrior now flooding her mind once she knew of Jet’s potential. But before she could get there, Jet cried out in pain – a knife dug in through the gap between his shoulder blades. He dropped to his knees, HP boiling down to a deep red. The Masked Man stood behind him, slowly sheathing his weapon and hiding it in his sleeve again, sighing to himself.
“Please don’t get ahead of yourself.” He stated firmly, leaning down and over his shoulder to whisper through his mask and into Jet’s ear directly, “Else you’ll find yourself somewhere other than the world of the living.” The silver-haired male whom had just gone toe-to-toe with the best fighter in the game and then taken a sneaky blow from the most secretive man in the game, trembled visibly. But what they took for fear was actually sheer excitement. Rose and the Masked Man left him there in his knelt position, moving on towards the Boss whom as they approached suddenly exploded into beautifully turquoise particles of data – having been defeated by Nero and the others. The two stood in silence, watching as the particles slowly cascaded down around the material hunter, Nikolai humming in wonder once more.
“So there are some capable people here after all.” He chuckled softly, gently patting Rose on the shoulder, “Let’s go. We aren’t needed here.”
The two left as quickly as they’d come, oblivious to how much of an impact they’d had if any at all – returning to their grinding and whatever else it was they did while nobody was watching. Alice rushed over to Jet’s knelt form, bracing his shoulder and back and checking his status to be sure he wouldn’t die from the damage he’d taken. Apparently, the blade he’d been stung with from behind was laced with a poison that inflicted paralysis. Just who was that man? And how did he get his hands on something so deadly?
“Jet, you fool.” She grunted, biting her lower lip. The sight of someone actually making a hit land on Rose was almost salvation to the blonde Russian, her eyes beginning to shimmer with the moisture that clung to them, “You could have died…!” she was the worst person to be saying this, though. Resting her forehead on his shoulder, thanking him silently for not dying and for showing that Rose was not a Goddess in disguise, she wept quietly.
“Hmph. If you’re tired, you should sleep more.” Jet announced, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding to himself in affirmation of his own resolve – completely ignoring the reasoning behind Nero’s lack of sleep. That being said, he was also running on fumes some days himself. Rose was indeed getting bonuses from the Boss battles she took on herself, but at the same time she was also taking on grinding at a level above Nero and Jet’s own. Even if they spent most hours of the day on it, she spent *all* hours of the day on it. Not only that, but it had become apparent that trying to slow her grinding down was an impossible task. Even if you would aggro some of her monsters away from her and attempt to take them out before her, she’d simply kill it before you could get a swing in.
Whipping a few stray strands of his silver hair away from his face, Jet continued after the couple as they progressed towards where they believed Alice and Jacob to be. He hadn’t met either of these people before – rather looking forward to it. Nero had been steadily introducing him to his friends, all of which seemed like nice people and easily ones he could get along with. The trio wandered through the festivities, which were only enhancing in size due to people’s growing abilities when it came to crafting and others becoming merchants. It was most certainly a sight to behold; people growing accustomed to the world they’d become stranded within.
The three found their targets amongst a small group of players, many of whom were a part of their Guild. Jacob had since left his own to join Alice’s cause – but mainly to keep her in check. The blonde Russian was a volcano waiting to erupt at a moment’s notice and it was already very evident that she had the resolve to kill if her logic found it necessary. Now, he was pretty much her counsellor and confidant – using this position to slowly shape her psyche into one where she wouldn’t be so recklessly agitated when it came to speaking of Rose.
The three approached the group of festival-goers, offering their greetings and whatnot – introducing Jet to Alice and Jacob soon after. The blonde didn’t seem nearly as hard-headed and people had let on, Jet concluded after their initial greeting. Her stance was that of a confident woman and her expression one of tranquillity. Perhaps people just had the wrong idea of her?
“I hear you two are together now.” Alice began, her smirk growing into a cunning smile, “Wasting no time on the poor masses eh, Yuna?” she jabbed – laughing quietly to herself at her friend’s shy response. The three men had split off for a moment to talk about how things were going in regards to front-line activity. Jacob explained to the two that their guild would also attempt to participate in Boss battles from now onwards, though it would be difficult to deal with Rose’s complete power over when to strike. Aside from talking about Rose’s ridiculously high level and how she got there, Jacob mentioned that he was also in contact with several other Guilds and was thinking of proposing that they come up with a meeting of some kind in which the leaders could get together and make decisions based on the good of the many, rather than the few. Whether or not this system will work is entirely riding upon how selfish teenagers can be.
As they got into the festivities, something caused a rather large disturbance. If the shouting and crowding was any indication, Rose and the Masked Man had arrived on the scene. They had been merely passing through, but some of her devotee followers caught sight of her fiery red hair and approached her in all due haste.
“Rose! Rose! Please, guide us to salvation!”
“My heart is yours, my lady.”
“Your sword is the only sword that can strike down your oppressors Rose!”
Varieties of cheering, pleading and worshipping resounded from the rather large crowd – though they slowly parted to allow her to continue moving through. Alice now stood before her, the once kind expression now twisted into a desperate snarl of rage. Without even a single word of warning, Alice charged at the warrior with her weapon drawn. Of course, there was no damage calculations in towns such as this, so it was ultimately pointless form the start – but this didn’t stop her from attacking, logic having dissolved from her mind entirely. Before she could even swing once, Rose turned just slightly to grip the blade that had just barely begun pulling back to strike. Without hesitation, her fist closed and collided with the Russian’s cheek, knocking her off her feet and causing her to crumble to the floor. Rose’s thighs braced over her midriff, lowering to Alice’s level before beginning to hammer her with strike after strike of her fists – the crowd having gone entirely silent in awe over the scene unfolding before them. Finally, the Masked Man gently gripped Rose’s shoulder – signalling for her to stop. The two left just as quickly as they’d come, leaving Alice alone in the middle of this crowd; her expression still scrunched up into one of anger and despair. There was no fight any more between her and Rose – there was only Alice making a fool of herself every time.
Whipping a few stray strands of his silver hair away from his face, Jet continued after the couple as they progressed towards where they believed Alice and Jacob to be. He hadn’t met either of these people before – rather looking forward to it. Nero had been steadily introducing him to his friends, all of which seemed like nice people and easily ones he could get along with. The trio wandered through the festivities, which were only enhancing in size due to people’s growing abilities when it came to crafting and others becoming merchants. It was most certainly a sight to behold; people growing accustomed to the world they’d become stranded within.
The three found their targets amongst a small group of players, many of whom were a part of their Guild. Jacob had since left his own to join Alice’s cause – but mainly to keep her in check. The blonde Russian was a volcano waiting to erupt at a moment’s notice and it was already very evident that she had the resolve to kill if her logic found it necessary. Now, he was pretty much her counsellor and confidant – using this position to slowly shape her psyche into one where she wouldn’t be so recklessly agitated when it came to speaking of Rose.
The three approached the group of festival-goers, offering their greetings and whatnot – introducing Jet to Alice and Jacob soon after. The blonde didn’t seem nearly as hard-headed and people had let on, Jet concluded after their initial greeting. Her stance was that of a confident woman and her expression one of tranquillity. Perhaps people just had the wrong idea of her?
“I hear you two are together now.” Alice began, her smirk growing into a cunning smile, “Wasting no time on the poor masses eh, Yuna?” she jabbed – laughing quietly to herself at her friend’s shy response. The three men had split off for a moment to talk about how things were going in regards to front-line activity. Jacob explained to the two that their guild would also attempt to participate in Boss battles from now onwards, though it would be difficult to deal with Rose’s complete power over when to strike. Aside from talking about Rose’s ridiculously high level and how she got there, Jacob mentioned that he was also in contact with several other Guilds and was thinking of proposing that they come up with a meeting of some kind in which the leaders could get together and make decisions based on the good of the many, rather than the few. Whether or not this system will work is entirely riding upon how selfish teenagers can be.
As they got into the festivities, something caused a rather large disturbance. If the shouting and crowding was any indication, Rose and the Masked Man had arrived on the scene. They had been merely passing through, but some of her devotee followers caught sight of her fiery red hair and approached her in all due haste.
“Rose! Rose! Please, guide us to salvation!”
“My heart is yours, my lady.”
“Your sword is the only sword that can strike down your oppressors Rose!”
Varieties of cheering, pleading and worshipping resounded from the rather large crowd – though they slowly parted to allow her to continue moving through. Alice now stood before her, the once kind expression now twisted into a desperate snarl of rage. Without even a single word of warning, Alice charged at the warrior with her weapon drawn. Of course, there was no damage calculations in towns such as this, so it was ultimately pointless form the start – but this didn’t stop her from attacking, logic having dissolved from her mind entirely. Before she could even swing once, Rose turned just slightly to grip the blade that had just barely begun pulling back to strike. Without hesitation, her fist closed and collided with the Russian’s cheek, knocking her off her feet and causing her to crumble to the floor. Rose’s thighs braced over her midriff, lowering to Alice’s level before beginning to hammer her with strike after strike of her fists – the crowd having gone entirely silent in awe over the scene unfolding before them. Finally, the Masked Man gently gripped Rose’s shoulder – signalling for her to stop. The two left just as quickly as they’d come, leaving Alice alone in the middle of this crowd; her expression still scrunched up into one of anger and despair. There was no fight any more between her and Rose – there was only Alice making a fool of herself every time.
Floor 25.
As Rose and the Masked Man single-handedly unlock further floors for the rest of the player-base, the gap between their strength and all other’s steadily increases. A very select few kept pace, though as the red-headed warrior was constantly taking the Bosses for herself and not sharing in any of the spoils, it was becoming much more difficult to stay close in levels and gear alike. It was becoming very distinct which people were supporters of Rose’s campaign against the Bosses and who were clearly against it – Alice and her group of followers being very evidently part of the latter. The first mob she’d formed to face Rose with had since disbanded - their hopes of crushing the red-headed warrior before things got out of hand dashed by her blade. Now, those that followed the Russian were those that understood her unconditional kindness and the reasoning behind her rash actions against Rose. If that woman were not here, Alice most likely would have taken her place as the leader of the player-base – but not holding them in the palm of her hands like mere toys but as companions and friends. What kind of dastardly being put this red-headed creature in the forefront of everyone’s minds and thought it be a good idea?
Not even once had the Masked Man and Rose even joined in on the celebrations taken in the towns unlocked by their efforts – always moving on to the next areas to grind the mobs further and harder than the last. This ever-lasting duty to bring the people their salvation having brought them together in the shape of a cult – their love of the red-head driving them to sing her praises to others as though she were their Goddess. Guilds began to form under the spell of Rose’s cold strength, wishing to protect her from any whom would oppose her ways. These Guilds were beginning to get a little rough with other players, sometimes even killing them for speaking out against their Goddess – earning themselves both fear and respect for their utter faith.
Other Guilds were also becoming more renowned amongst the players; a particularly violent Red guild which has been kidnapping people, extorting others for money and killing anyone as they please. Rose and the Masked Man haven’t had much contact with anyone in a while, meaning they have no idea such a Guild even exists at this point. Another to have popped up is one dedicating its time to training all of the people within and has them grow to levels large enough to take on the bosses and front-lines. Hopefully surpassing Rose in that respect.
In any case, things were starting to get busier and busier for the regular players. The clearing of floors was slowing down, allowing the regulars to catch up in levels and gear soon enough. Jet and Nero were now in their most important phase to date; making a proper name for themselves. Of course, those who enjoyed their work were often calling them in for help – but their deeds were only passed by word of mouth so far. If they were looking for more work, they’d need to get even greater prizes worthy of being talked about.
“Would you like to try it? It is a new recipe only unlocked in the more recent levels!” the cook exclaimed, offering a sweet to the silver-haired, stand-offish warrior. His serious expression did little to help his image, though he wasn’t all that bad to look at. He glared at the small piece of food, before taking it almost shyly. Holding it up close, he inspected in thoroughly, causing the chef a little bit of impatience over his verdict. Finally, popping it into his mouth and chewing on it for a good minute or so, he swallowed audibly and hummed in wonder.
“This is…” he began, the chef and some onlookers having gathered and readied themselves for his review.
“A dessert.”
Silence surrounded him for another minute, before he felt someone tugging on his arm. Glancing down to find Yuna, who desperately began dragging him away before someone got extremely cross with him, he merely blinked dumbly at her.
“Oh, Yuna.” She greeted with a firm nod, which looked a bit silly considering she had been dragging him so hard he was currently bent right over, “You are here for the festivities as well?”
As Rose and the Masked Man single-handedly unlock further floors for the rest of the player-base, the gap between their strength and all other’s steadily increases. A very select few kept pace, though as the red-headed warrior was constantly taking the Bosses for herself and not sharing in any of the spoils, it was becoming much more difficult to stay close in levels and gear alike. It was becoming very distinct which people were supporters of Rose’s campaign against the Bosses and who were clearly against it – Alice and her group of followers being very evidently part of the latter. The first mob she’d formed to face Rose with had since disbanded - their hopes of crushing the red-headed warrior before things got out of hand dashed by her blade. Now, those that followed the Russian were those that understood her unconditional kindness and the reasoning behind her rash actions against Rose. If that woman were not here, Alice most likely would have taken her place as the leader of the player-base – but not holding them in the palm of her hands like mere toys but as companions and friends. What kind of dastardly being put this red-headed creature in the forefront of everyone’s minds and thought it be a good idea?
Not even once had the Masked Man and Rose even joined in on the celebrations taken in the towns unlocked by their efforts – always moving on to the next areas to grind the mobs further and harder than the last. This ever-lasting duty to bring the people their salvation having brought them together in the shape of a cult – their love of the red-head driving them to sing her praises to others as though she were their Goddess. Guilds began to form under the spell of Rose’s cold strength, wishing to protect her from any whom would oppose her ways. These Guilds were beginning to get a little rough with other players, sometimes even killing them for speaking out against their Goddess – earning themselves both fear and respect for their utter faith.
Other Guilds were also becoming more renowned amongst the players; a particularly violent Red guild which has been kidnapping people, extorting others for money and killing anyone as they please. Rose and the Masked Man haven’t had much contact with anyone in a while, meaning they have no idea such a Guild even exists at this point. Another to have popped up is one dedicating its time to training all of the people within and has them grow to levels large enough to take on the bosses and front-lines. Hopefully surpassing Rose in that respect.
In any case, things were starting to get busier and busier for the regular players. The clearing of floors was slowing down, allowing the regulars to catch up in levels and gear soon enough. Jet and Nero were now in their most important phase to date; making a proper name for themselves. Of course, those who enjoyed their work were often calling them in for help – but their deeds were only passed by word of mouth so far. If they were looking for more work, they’d need to get even greater prizes worthy of being talked about.
“Would you like to try it? It is a new recipe only unlocked in the more recent levels!” the cook exclaimed, offering a sweet to the silver-haired, stand-offish warrior. His serious expression did little to help his image, though he wasn’t all that bad to look at. He glared at the small piece of food, before taking it almost shyly. Holding it up close, he inspected in thoroughly, causing the chef a little bit of impatience over his verdict. Finally, popping it into his mouth and chewing on it for a good minute or so, he swallowed audibly and hummed in wonder.
“This is…” he began, the chef and some onlookers having gathered and readied themselves for his review.
“A dessert.”
Silence surrounded him for another minute, before he felt someone tugging on his arm. Glancing down to find Yuna, who desperately began dragging him away before someone got extremely cross with him, he merely blinked dumbly at her.
“Oh, Yuna.” She greeted with a firm nod, which looked a bit silly considering she had been dragging him so hard he was currently bent right over, “You are here for the festivities as well?”
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