VitaVitaAR

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

The samurai had expanded his attack. The rain of lightning arrows was devastating, any single one that struck an unprotected target would surely deal grievous injury at best.

However---

The fight was nearing its end. Now left with only the onna-bushi as an ally, who herself was being attacked from multiple angles, the samurai had chosen to try and saturate the ruins with as many arrows as possible.

Arisa sucked in a deep breath.

"Ifrit!"

The blade raised back over her shoulder. Her grip tightened as she sent magical energy surging down her arms. She finally had a window of direct attack.

The heat passed through her fingetips, surging as leaping flames up Ifrit's wide, heavy blade, coating the weapon in fire. It grew brighter, casting a brilliant red-white glow across the ruined mansion as it surged upwards into the night sky and singed the crumbling wood behind her.

Gather it. Compress it. Concentrate it. Lock it as tightly to the blade as possible.

The leaping flames constricted and grew denser, hugging the shape of the enormous sword as they did. Despite it being fire generated from her own mana, Arisa could feel the heat washing over her body.

Tighter. Tighter.

She had to make sure she could reach the target in a single motion, or else she'd risk being struck by the arrows. There wasn't any defending to be done like this.

A single, final, decisive blow.

That's what she had to achieve.

In almost the same instant as Agent Amano fired his pistol---

"Release!"

The surging inferno exploded behind Arisa, turning a swathe of the ruined mansion to ash in an instant and leaving nothing further to burn.

The explosion of heat and sound sent the redheaded Agent rocketing forward, her feet leaving the ground as she hurtled directly for the samurai. She finally had an opening. She finally had a moment to prepare.

And finally---!

Ifrit slammed downwards, tearing through the air and trailing fire as it tore a path right for the ghostly warrior---!

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Forest Shrine

---

The ruined shrine was surrounded by green. The forest was fairly dense and flush with life.

It'd be a peaceful, serene location, if not for the complete absence of wildlife sounds.

Indeed, all that could be heard was that scraping sound, and the rhythmic thudding of footsteps.

The former sounded clearer, now, as if something was rattling branches or scrapping against the side of the trees.

Suddenly, the forest looked darker. Despite the fact it was daylight, no longer could anything be determined from between branches and trunks.

It was almost pitch black. It was like peering into a moonless night.

And yet it wasn't completely dark. Indeed, nothing could truly be discerned in the blackness of the forest, but there was a source of light.

Two glowing orbs. A pallid, sickly green shade, they were fixed upon the clearing ahead, and in particular on the medusa that had just exited the shrine.

And they were moving closer.

Slowly, with the sound of each thudding footfall, the scraping of bark and the rattling of branches, whatever those sickly balls of light belonged to was coming closer.

As it did, a scent began fill the air. At first it was almost sweet, but the stronger it became the more unpleasant. A grotesque, putrid aroma that brought to mind rotting flesh.

There was a shape now in the darkness, just beyond the balls of light. Something taller than any human.

Another sound reached the ears of the unusual trio. A ragged, heavy breathing, that seemed to come from every direction at once.

The shape moved closer.

Now the fallen leaflitter rustled.

From the same direction as the shape in the darkness's approach, came centipedes. Hundreds upon hundreds of centipedes, seemingly made of shadow themselves, emerging from the leaflitter and scuttling across the clearing, a seething wave of the creatures.

The air felt heavier. Stagnant. As if rot had set in.

Whatever it was---

---it was coming.

@Rune_Alchemist@Rin@Pyromania99

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

It was clear how Prince Erion's retinue had gained their fame.

The Last Prince of Talderia's personal knights were nothing if not disciplined. Individually, Fanilly was certain they were at a disadvantage, but their formation held tight. They swiftly compensated for weaknesses and closed off any clear points of attack, aside from the caustic mist that had been deployed by Sir Rolan.

But they weren't able to take advantage of that, either. Not without exposing themselves to the mist themselves.

Fanilly took a deep breath.

Attacking individually was foolish. That much she'd known from the beginning. But putting that aside, the trick had to be to pull them apart from one another. To force them to thin out their formation.

Gertrude's assault wasn't breaking past their shields, but it was forcing them to a halt in order to defend themselves.

In that case...

"Sir Rolan is right!" Fanilly called, as she sprinted towards the Prince Erion's knights, opting to take the flank nearest her own knights' assault to try and pull a little attention away from the attack, "Follow Lady Gertrude's attacks! Strike right after they'd blocked one of her spells!"

But that wasn't all.

"Lady Gertrude, once we've attacked, follow our assault with another spell as soon as you have a clear line of fire!" she called to the mage, before hesitating a moment. It seemed as if the caster responded to praise, so---

"Sh-show them your true might!"

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Dirt Road

---

The carriage's attackers hadn't been prepared to be attacked themselves.

While they'd managed to put together a hasty defense of their own, it was clear that they were taken aback by the pressure that was suddenly being placed upon them.

With the green-cloaked men who had gone to meet the new arrivals dead or fatally injured, injured, the carriage's attackers could no longer afford to focus solely on breaching its defense.

"Shit!" snapped one of the green-cloaked figures, "Who are these people!? Hurry up and---"

He was cut off with a strangled cry as the Zweihander-wielding maid rushed him during his momentary lapse of focused, bringing her blade down so swiftly between his neck and shoulder that she nearly split him in half diagonally across his torso.

As she tore her weapon free from his body, she twisted her frame and brought the blade across another attacker in mid-swing, hacking his right arm from his body and sending him screaming to the ground.

Despite her frame, it was clear that a considerable amount of power was behind each swing. No wonder she had remained standing as the carriage defenders had been worn down.

A swift downward stab ended the green-cloaked figure whose arm she had just severed.

While they were still outnumbered, it was clear the sudden appearance of unexpected assistance had shaken the green-cloaks resolve.

"Grrr... retreat!"

Indeed, now that the tide was turning, it seemed they no longer fancied their chances, turning and vanishing back into the tall grass as swiftly as they could manage.

"... Thank goodness..." the petite maid with a sword and shield said, before slumping against the side of the carriage with a sigh.

"Linie!"

The taller maid rushed to her side, swiftly kneeling and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay, Shiela... don't worry..." she half-murmured.

It was hard to tell just how bad the shield maid's injury was, but it was certainly deep enough to tear through the leather padding on her waist.

"M-Mistress, you don't know that it's safe---!"

There was a voice from within the carriage. Moments later, the door opened.

From within emerged a blonde girl of around seventeen years old in fine clothing, a grim expression on her face.

"How dare they assault a carriage belonging to my family," she narrowed her eyes, though she was clearly avoiding looking directly at the carnage, "I-I'll have these bandits exterminated for this."

Though her tone was sharp, the hitch in her voice as she surveyed the violence around the carriage revealed a considerable amount of her true feelings.

"Mistress, Linie is hurt," the zweihander maid, Shiela, said as she remained close to the smaller girl, "And some of the others... they're..."

She trailed off.

"... I see," the young woman said, averting her eyes after a moment, "... I'll make sure they pay for that, on my honor as Duke Darnell's daughter."

After a moment's pause, she spoke again.

"How bad are Linie's injuries?"

Sheila hesitated for a moment.

"I-I'm not sure, I---"

"I-I'm fine, Mistress," chimed in the smaller maid, "S-so, you don't need to wo-"

"That's nonsense and you know it, don't behave so foolishly," asserted the young woman, "Do you wish to reflect badly upon me? Hmph. Rest until you can be administered first aid at the very least."

With that, her gaze briefly left the maids to fall upon the newcomers, the armored man and the two kitsune.

"... I take it you assisted in driving off those rotten boors?" she asked, cocking her head.

@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y@Sir Lurksalot

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

It was hard getting over such a sharp response.

Robin sighed heavily to herself.

Aah, she'd just been trying to be polite, what did she do wrong? She realized she hadn't really thought about the potential relations between her own homeland and the neighboring nation and its residents, but at the same time she'd been so use to having such pleasantries be well-received...

The pretty baker lady just a few days ago loved it!

"Aaah, I really upset her..." Robin lamented aloud, mostly to herself. All she'd wanted to do was give a good first impression and show that she respected the shinobi, too.

Her tone of voice had let her know everything she'd needed to hear, though. It wasn't as if the brunette was oblivious.

Sagging forward where she sat, she let out a heavy sigh.

"Next time I see her, I'll have to apologize if she'll let me..." she murmured.

This was someone they were meeting with, so it was important to at least try and have a good relationship. She hadn't intended to offend her at all, so the fact it went like this---

She was a hero! And a hero tried to fix things when they made mistakes!

Most of the time, at least, but she was hopefully not going the route of one of those tragic heroes who only works out what they've done wrong when it's too late.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Ruined Inn

---

I don't really know how to respond to my face being described as kind of like an adult's.

What does that mean, really? If you look close enough you can barely figure it out?

It's not exactly reassuring is what I'm saying.

The fact that the other girl describes staying with me as 'babysitting' earns her a sharp glare. Urk, I'll find a way to pay her back for that. I might not even know her name yet, but I'm definitely not going to forget that little joke until then.

Glancing at the windows again, I sigh.

There's no point in dawdling anymore. It's clear that something unpleasant is going on here, beyond just the undead outside. Seriously, what's with that scratching down below?

The disturbing possibility of it being the age-old nemesis of any seasoned veteran of a certain game series, the undead dog, fills my mind for a moment before I dismiss it.

Not that it might not be an undead dog, but rather because I don't want to think of this in terms of a game. Sure, plenty of isekai protagonists treat it like that, but I can already feel the air on my skin. I have a full sense of my body, as awkward as that is given my new form.

To put it simply, this isn't a game. Treating it like one is something only an idiot would do.

We've been dumped into a ruin surrounded by undead, so I can't exactly say this feels like the lighthearted game universe isekai that suits that kind of behavior. And even then, when written by better authors, those are the ones that hit the protagonists in the face with the reality of their new world eventually.

That's right, you'd have to be an idiot to treat this like---

I stare blankly at the dragonman for a moment.

Status? Why would you even expect that to work? Why---

Hold it.

"... Status."

It's still hard to get used to my own voice as it is now. Seriously, it's exactly like I imagined Sephily talking.

But it's going to be even more difficult to get used to the screen that just materialized in front of my face.

"Seriously!? This is one of those kinds of settings?!"

No way, that can't be it, right? Is this something only the reborn people can do? It'd have to be, right? This definitely isn't the sort of start a lighthearted game isekai would take.

Right?!

Right?!

It's all there, including my race(High Elf) and my stats(1s in everything but dex and magic). I even have a level.

I'm only level 1, but still.

What kind of tone is this world anyway?!

I inhale deeply. No, I can't think of it like that. There's no inherent 'tone' to another world.

Even if it sure feels like a bit of a cruel comedy right now.

---What's this?

Star Mirror?

It's a skill. A skill with a description explaining a certain sort of magic that uses the stars.

...

I probably shouldn't be excited in this situation, but I was only making a guess when I picked up the staff, thinking I was going to be a mage.

But this seems like it confirms it?!

Despite everything, I actually have magic!? That'd be a silver lining, no doubt!

Only---

How do I even use it?

Is there incantations? Do I need some sort of ritual?

Urggh, of course there's no instruction manual. There's a status screen but no tutorial.

If this is a game world, it's starting to feel a bit more like that certain series. Surrounded by undead with no instructions in some ruined hellhole?

Familiar in a concerning way.

"Start a fire?"

The other elf is back, this time asking about fire. The dragonman's managed to conjure up some flames, too.

What, did he get a tutorial and I didn't? Is this some kind of joke?!

Trying not to show any envy that he figured it out that fast, I take a deep breath.

"Well, it looks like we don't need to know the conventional way," I begin, "But if you're talking about fighting the undead with fire, you can't just light them up and that's that."

Just lighting a corpse on fire isn't the end of things, after all.

"First, if they're not dried out it's going to take a while to burn them until they can't move," I continue, "Which means now you've got an attacker that's trying to kill you while also being on fire. Congratulations, you've just made your situation worse."

I wave my hand, to illustrate the leaping flames that would presumably be coating the undead's body.

"Plus, some of the undead outside clearly have armor, which is going to be a problem. Unless you can make fire hot enough to cook them inside, in which case you can probably burn the unarmored ones fast enough to kill them outright."

Or, well, whatever you want to call permanently disabling a shambling corpse.

"What I'm saying is you can't just say fire's going to solve the issue, okay? If they don't feel pain, all you're doing is making a bigger problem for yourself and everyone else."

Not that fire is the worst idea, but I don't want anyone here thinking it's a perfect solution to our problem.

Our problem being the literal zombies outside.

"That girl with the hammer has a good weapon for taking them on, at least," I add with a sigh, "And we'll need it because there's no way staying here for too long is a good idea."

That dragon guy was able to summon fire just by saying a word, so it has to be incantations, right?

But what do I say to cast a spell?

If I could figure that out, then---

I let out another sigh.

Speaking of my skill, though---

"Oh, right, try saying 'status'. It's ridiculous, but it works, it brings up a screen. There's stats and everything."

No reason not to let anyone else know. In fact, I should let that other girl know. And show her I'm not just being babysat.

"I'm going to let her know, too."

I'll just head after her.

@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

@Lord Frostecs: That concept sounds workable to me.

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

@Nyahahameha: Hey sorry for the delay, I've genuinely just had a hard time settling on how I feel about her ability set.

Since you wouldn't be able to join until after this mission's conclusion you haven't missed anything though, so don't worry on that front!

@Lord Frostecs: Depends on what your concept is, but yes you could probably join.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Dirt Road

---

The battle wasn't going well for the defenders.

While those who remained were holding their own, it was clear that the initial ambush had claimed the lives of many of the carriage guard. Several men armored in half-plate lay injured or dead on the dirt road or collapsed into the grass.

Of the remaining defenders, however---

The dark-haired, sword-wielding maid drove her blade through the chest of one of the attackers, a spurt of crimson erupting from the wounds of the green-robed man as he collapsed with a gurgle. But the moment she'd stepped back, she was already being set upon by another attacker, putting up a hasty guard as swiftly as she could as the sound of steel meeting steel rang out across the road.

A shorter maid with a more petite build, with contrastingly white hair, wielding a smaller blade soaked with blood already and a shield was sticking closer to the carriage door, panting heavily.

It was clear she'd been injured, a slash through the leather at her waist, and yet she was still standing ready to fight off any attackers.

Out of the defenders, she was the first to notice the others.

"Ah? Sh-Sheila!"

The zweihander-wielding maid forced her assailant back, a swift slash across his front killing the man and giving her a moment to see what the shield-bearing maid was trying to point out.

"What? Who---"

Before she could comment further, she was already under attack once again.

"Reinforcements?!" snarled one of the green-cloaked men, "There wasn't supposed to be anyone else!"

Still, the green-cloaked attackers by far outnumbered both the newcomers and the carriage's defenders, some of their number breaking off in order to try and halt any attempts to provide assistance.

However, even this took pressure of off the carriage's defense.

@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y@Sir Lurksalot

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Forest Shrine

---

It was perhaps fortunate, at least at first glance, that the medusa, the goblin, and the halfling had awakened in such a peaceful-seeming spot. Sunlight filtered through the ruined, collapsed ceiling and the trees surrounding the long-abandoned site of religious worship, and the ever-present background noise of birdsong continually serenaded their ears.

To put it simply, given the situation they were already experiencing, they could have awakened in a worse spot.

The ruined shrine was overgrown, vines and ivy twisting over the stone, even small shrub and trees finding their way up through gaps in the concrete.

Above them, high atop one of the broken remnants of the roof, a large black bird alighted. It was a raven, no doubt, tilting its head in seeming curiosity for a few moments as it regarded the strange assortment of individuals below. It was an odd group, no doubt, who expected these three to just show up out of no-where?

It'd have to let her know.

Even if they didn't survive.

The raven spread its wings and took flight, cawing once, sharply, as if to try and get their attention.

It was at that moment, perhaps, that it would become clear the birdsong had suddenly ceased.

The forest was dead quiet, in fact. Moments ago it had been flush with life. Even if they hadn't seen any of the animals aside from the raven, there'd clearly been plenty present.

But now all that could be heard was the subtle sound of the wind blowing.

But no.

That wasn't it, was it?

There was something else.

It started faint, but was started to grow in volume.

A scraping sound, as if something was grinding together. Along with it, a rattling sound, and the rustling of foliage.

The thud of footsteps.

Something was getting closer.

@Rune_Alchemist@Rin@Pyromania99