VitaVitaAR

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

Ruined Inn

---

... Hold it.

I'm halfway there and I've only just realized.

That girl with the hammer was going to check out the scratching in the basement, wasn't she?

I suddenly find myself sprinting.

What am I even going to do?

If there's something down there, it's not like I've figured out how to do magic. And she has a warhammer, she's way better equipped to deal with whatever might be down.

And yet, here I am, sprinting down through the ruined inn towards the basement, gripping my staff in both hands as I turn the corner. I'm lighter than I was before, but my legs are probably a lot shorter given my new height, so I don't think I'm moving that fast.

Seriously, what are you going to do? Don't be stupid. You're not an idiot.

Admonishing myself isn't making me run any slower, though.

And then---

She's there. It's moving.

It's a little different seeing it now. I know I witnessed the shambling shapes on the street, but this is---

It's dried out. Desiccated. It looks like a mummified corpse, like those self-sacrificing monks or a ruler from ancient Egypt. It's dried out and hollow, a blade in one hand, eye sockets empty, and leathery skin clinging to its skeletal frame.

I find myself drawing a sharp intake of breath, my hands clutching at my staff.

I can't move.

I ran here and now I can't move.

Stupid. Why did I even bother? I've just frozen up and she's got a warhammer, what was I even planning on doing?

My heart is pounding. My fingers tightening.

I'm a mage, aren't I? That skill has to mean something, right?

But I can't even start thinking about it.

Suddenly the undead is falling forward.

It's the elf man. I have no idea how he got here first, but he managed to get here and stab it in the back of the neck.

That finally snaps me out of it.

"Are you stupid!? You had a chance to ambush it and you-"

It's back up. It's already moving and raising its blade.

But so is the girl with the warhammer. She's bringing it down as if it's a second nature to her.

There's a spray of dust rather than blood as the undead's skull comes apart. But it doesn't stop there. Its shoulders crack. I think its upper torso caves in on itself too.

It just crumples under the blow of the hammer.

I guess that makes sense given how dried out it is.

If it was fresher corpse, this would have been a lot worse. As it stands, I still feel ill, but at least I barely recognize whatever parts of it are still intact after the hammer blow.

I look away, sucking in quite a bit of air as I try and calm myself and stop feeling quite so nauseous.

But I can't let that stupidity stand, either.

Why would anyone think a knife alone would do the trick here? Against that?

Taking another deep breath, I manage to stand up straight again, my hands still gripping my staff tightly.

"What made you think stabbing it in the neck was going to work? Did you seriously think that thing's breathing? That it's relying on bloodflow? At least if you tried to cut off the head, it would have made more sense!"

I use the tip of my staff to point. The undead's remains aren't quite so bad to look at now, but I'm not going to linger on them any more then I have to.

"We're in a fantasy setting, anyway, so these are probably magical undead," I add, not about to let him get off lightly, "There's no way just stabbing it alone was going to do the trick! Think a little more carefully, unless you want to die a second time!"

Some would call be too harsh, but there's no way I'm going to tolerate someone gleefully throwing themselves into the maximum amount of danger without even the slightest bit of forethought.

We need to get out of here, and dying isn't exactly helpful.

... Besides, it's not like I'd be happy if anyone here died. We're all in the same boat, so losing someone---

I don't really want to think about it, honestly. It's bad enough that I'm tiny and the opposite sex, I don't need to go thinking about witnessing someone die for real.

@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas

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

Dirt Road

---

"Hmph."

The blonde girl folded her arms as she examined the travelers before her for a few moments.

"Regardless of if it was simple circumstance or not, you still gave your assistance. Only an idiot wouldn't recognize your efforts, even if they were just the product of coincidence."

She paused for a moment, glancing towards Linie and Sheila again. Indeed, from here, it was difficult to tell just how badly the petite white-haired maid was injured, but it certainly appeared that there was a significant amount of blood staining her side.

"Milady, you really shouldn't be out here," the voice from inside the carriage said, "They could still be-"

A third maid emerged, though this one lacked armor. Similar in height to her mistress, she cast her green eyes briefly over the travelers, then over Linie and the general state of the carriage defense.

"Who are they?" she asked, her left hand drifting towards the hem of her skirt slowly.

"They assisted us in defending milady," responded Sheila, briefly turning attention away from the injured Linie, "There's no need to be cautious."

Though the third maid didn't respond, her hand returned to her side.

"I-I'm fine, it's not safe for us to stay, s-so-"

When the sword-and-shield bearing maid attempted to rise, Sheila very swiftly held her back down.

"Do you want to die!?" she cried.

"I ordered you to rest," snapped the blonde duke's daughter, before returning her attention to the travelers, and Hikari in specific.

"You said you have some medical knowledge? I'm surprised to see a maid with a pair of travelers like this, but I won't question it if you can stabilize Linie."

On examination, it would become clear the wound was quite deep, and that Linie had lost a considerable amount of blood. However, it didn't appear that it had damaged any organs, her weakened state likely due to her bloodloss.

Meanwhile, the remaining guards were conducting their own examination of the deceased bandits. The mere fact that they were putting effort towards this perhaps implied they suspected something more than mere banditry was behind the assualt.

@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y@Sir Lurksalot

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

There were a lot of things happening very quickly, many of them Robin didn't fully understand. The scope of her heroics had thus far been limited to what she could accomplish for the townsfolk of the villagers in the region.

In volunteering to help these people, some of them legendary, she had thrust herself into the greater conflict against Valheim as a whole. It wasn't as if she had any issues against taking them on, but the way things had changed so quickly---

Were her fingertips shaking?

They shouldn't have been.

They couldn't have been.

She was a hero, after all, and a hero didn't allow themselves to be shaken so easily.

No.

There was only one response she could have.

She didn't know anything, not really. Not beyond the absolute basics of the situation. She'd never even heard of the man's name until this very moment.

And yet, there was only one response she could give. That she could ever give.

"Only the truly callous could turn a blind eye to such a situation when they could intervene," began Robin, one hand placed to her chest as she stepped forward, "I've only just learned of the circumstances, but what kind of person would I be to simply step aside and allow anyone to try and do this alone?"

This time there were no twinkling lights. Even Robin could understand the gravity of the situation, no matter the fact she'd only just been introduced to it.

"I may not know anyone here very well, yet," she continued, "But a true here would not simply allow these things to happen. So, neither will I. I'll help, however I'm able!"

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.