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Fantasy [Closed] For This World We Love: Defending a VR MMO

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spacepirate

space dragons in space
Server Time:
18:32:03 UTC
APRIL 17, 2042

The battle was over. The Worldenders had lost, and their Guild Hall in Stage 6 was nothing more than rubble and data caches.

In Stage 1, the Kingdom of Chartreuse, the moon of Andaros watched over players old and new. The server-wide guild event had lasted a full eight hours, a normal duration that most veteran players had gotten used to at this point. Promoted as the “Guild War to end all Guild Wars”, the server event was formally titled “Last Hall Standing”, and it was the first server event to directly involve the guids’ halls themselves. Rather than featuring raid bosses, hazardous environments, or cursed equipment, the danger came solely from the game‘s fellow players. The rules were simple: using any items, skills, tames, or anything else that the game had to offer, protect your own guild hall and destroy as many others as you could. The one caveat was that once the event started, any items not in a player’s inventory or in a guild’s building couldn’t be accessed, and all monster drops and merchants were disabled, too. If the materials weren’t stockpiled within the guild, then they were plain out of luck for crafting anything else. Unique to this event was that the prize, other than rankings points, included looting and pillaging anything you could from another guild’s storerooms. Anything left within the guild hall was fair game, other than players’ inventories, of course— even though there had been rumors of player looting, the event didn’t go so far.

Perhaps some of the more casual players would take shifts or even just front-load their preparations by crafting a whole guild’s worth of awesome gear, but any veteran player would stay on for the full duration of the event, likely running on empty after pulling more than a few all-nighters just for good measure.

Still, even with the most skilled players of the game, the Worldenders faced a multi-pronged war… pay-to-win powerhouses like the Domin8ers, leagues of new players spurred by the bounty-and-discounts super savings that EZ Buy was offering for their retail locations to anyone who could show proof they damaged the Worldenders’ Guild hall, and mercenary armies of professional raiders rumored to be hired by the devs themselves combined to make the raging onslaught all but a fool’s gambit. Then again, a group of players so bitterly attached to a world that no longer existed could be characterized as little more than fools, even as they died a thousand deaths. Levels were reduced, buildings were levelled, mounts and tames dismantled or looted

Perhaps the Worldenders and their fans had been too optimistic. After all, they were a guild united in spite and anger towards the corporations pouring into Andaros, and most of them had been rivals of some sort prior to their meager alliance.

The sun shone like it always did over the virtual dreamscape, and even though parts of the city of Chartreuse were filled with cornerstores and dead-eyed employees where there were once dragon egg stalls and enchanted smitheries, the game continued for most players like it always did. For any remaining Worldenders, they would find themselves scattered in a random starting spawn in Stage 1, reduced to level 1, without the bulk of their stock or the reassurance of numbers. Indeed, any attempts to even view their guild chat rendered the following message:

Error: Guild does not exist. Please join a guild to use Guild Chat. Guilds may be joined from the [Social] menu.

Was this an aftershock of the event, or could the guild admins like ZenRikka really have dismantled the guild after such a devastating loss, and without another word? Any attempts to send messages to ZenRikka would go through, but it looked like she was offline. For ex-Worldwnders who stepped back into Andaros after the chaos, they would find a personal message from Sic_Semper_Slimes just a few hours until the dust settled. While everyone was free to do as they wished, this was perhaps the one lead they had of regrouping with the rest of the guild.

Sic_Semper_Slimes: Meet @ Valley Lows. Greenmark Dungeon,

The message could definitely be clearer, but Sic never really was one for exposition. Either way, Valley Lows was a region of Stage 1 to the south, with relatively limited drops and resources. It would be relatively easy to get there unharassed, especially since dungeons were currently open to all players, unlike many of the ‘Premium Experiences’ created in collaboration with one of Andaros’ new sponsors.
 
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The sky above the Kingdom of Chartreuse faded back into view as Mona Tsai logged back into her account after instinctively logging out in her frustration, facing the defeat of her chosen allies. It was time to take measure, a post-mortem of sorts

In a swirl of butterflies and flower petals, Heartpiercer emerged on the grassy plains that were charred and shorn by the spectacle of battle and would remain so until the next server reset. Wisps of smoke and shell casings persisted, the remains of the battle waged there.

As the Last Guild Standing event raged, Heartpiercer had assembled a small fireteam of Worldenders and their sympathizers to range out of the immediate vicinity of their Guild Hall, hitting their assailants where they hurt and making sure they could not advance or flee without considerable losses. (Of course, the latter outcome was preferred.)

They'd taken out several groups in this way, but their luck could only last so long. As they withdrew to the guild hall to recuperate, they were set upon by a similar but considerably more numerous team led by Kenshi, one of the top members of the Blood Moon Guild and an occassional rival of Heartpiercer.

And they lost.

If only she had taken his head off at that moment...the warcry aura buff his Shogun class gave his party members would have been lost, and they would have had a chance to break through the encirclement. But...she missed the decisive shot. It wasn't some kind of deflection ability or evasion buff. She just...missed. Dropped the ball when it mattered most. Just like that day. And the cavalry was able to sweep in and wipe them out.

She sighed, audibly in meatspace.

None of the other members of that fireteam had logged back in just yet. And who would blame them? She wasn't a member either. She could have sat it out. Or even thrown in with one of the Worldenders' enemies who made it worth her while...but she didn't. She wanted to help them stand up for something. Prove they couldn't be knocked off their perch so easily. And now...

It wasn't too late to uninstall. Maybe spend more time playing Threadista. Or Headlock.

But...she couldn't just ditch them after this. At least stay on just a little longer...help them pick up the pieces.

Just then, Sic_Semper_Slimes' message popped into view. Despite herself, she smiled. She let the speech to text function send her reply.

"Now don't you worry your slimy little head. I'm here, and I'll be right there."

She reached down, checking the machine pistol in her thigh holster. Fully loaded, with one spare mag. She pulled her coat around herself. Still some lower level healing and buff items that had yet to be used in the battle. A good fallback. And she patted her head. Super cute bow still in place. Good.

With a woosh, Heartpiercer leapt into the trees, dashing towards the rendezvous point.
 

  • Race: [ Northern Dragonkin ]
    Level: [ 1 ]
    Class: [ Reclaimer ]
    Equipment Tags:
    [ Cloth Armor ] [ Light Armor ] [ Medium Armor ] [ Spiritual Armor ] [ Broken ] [ Ancient ] [ Lost ] [ One Handed Melee - Small ] [ Grimoires ] [ Two Handed Melee ] [ Tool Weapons ] [ Traps ]


    HP

    MP

    Statuses
    N/A
    116164038_p0_master1200.jpg
    = = O_NeedleStew_O = =



    It was... over.

    She didn't have to, but O_NeedleStew_O clenched the floating chains to her side nonetheless. Her teeth were clenched so hard they would hurt if this wasn't a video game, though she wouldn't have those tiny fangs of the dragonoid races outside of a game either.

    They were almost out of the consumables they had saved, once a mountain now reduced to a sandcastle. Their frontline was destroyed, only a few tanks either running away or being turned into sandbags for the enjoyment of the players that ordinarily would stand in line for a chance to talk to them. The damage dealers were being picked off or pushed back, but even that seemed futile as the massive assault had managed to first flank then surround them, cutting off their escape and reaching the long-range forces. Needlestew could hear the cacophony of skills outside, flashing and bursting and freezing and cracking and drowning out the screams and cusses... Andaros Online was realistic enough to see and hear the windows shaking in their frames.

    Outside GarosXM, one of their last few lines of defense, was slammed into a window and squeaked as he slid down the wall. The human was a pretty ordinary tank if not for his excellent use of equipment, but you couldn't be in WorldEnders unless you were the cream of the crop. But not everyone here was the top in combat. You only needed to look as far as NeedleStew herself to figure that out.

    The sounds were approaching.

    NeedleStew took a step back. The act of a coward, she knew that much. Maybe she should stand here and meet her face alongside her WorldEnders comrades. Would they still be willing to stand up together after this defeat if NeedleStew left now?... Would they even be able to stand up again regardless?

    Back when NeedleStew first started playing she didn't care much if she lost everything back to square one. Back then it was just a means to pretty vague end. But it had changed. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating. How long it had been since the last time... but now, in her first time experiencing anything like this in this kind of game, she felt how much this could cost her. She never imagined it'd get to this point, not by the hands of their fellow players. Weren't they all here to have fun? To live these virtual lives? To take a chance on something that couldn't be?

    "REVEAL GLORIAM!!!"

    NeedleStew covered her eyes, a huge flash of light illuminating the entrance through the windows. That was Heroist's self-sacrifice skill he obtained from that ascension from the angel race. Another tank fallen. How many were even left? The loud knocking sounds and bouncing of the door gave a plausible answer.

    "Hey, where are you going Needle?!"

    This time it wasn't just one step. NeedleStew turned around and ran towards the lower floor of the guild base.

    Fighting a losing battle and letting them take it all was a stupid decision. Especially for someone who couldn't make a big difference like herself, and she had realized the outcome was decided long ago. The door sounds were somehow getting louder behind her. Pretty soon a cloud of smoke erupted at the top of the stairs, accompanied by raging wind. The raiders had broken in.

    NeedleStew ignored the sounds above. She wasn't going to be able to do much in a fight, but she could still make sure they saved as many chairs from this sinking ship as possible.

    She swapped out some items as she ran, just in case something went wrong after respawning. Didn't want to be caught without proper items due to their level cap. The only one she kept was her main weapon.

    There was barely any time to lock the doors behind her, let alone reset the puzzles and traps she solved or disabled as she made her way through the corridors to a room of utmost importance to her: Her vault. It was filled with valuable items because her skill required it, but if it was going to be destroyed and raided anyway, she could at least save as much of it as possible and prevent their enemies from having the loot as well as the glory... no, victory. There was no glory for them, and how they could have self-respect was beyond her too. Disgracefully like a thief hearing sirens outside, she began desperately grabbing items from her own vault and stuffing them into her inventory. Fortunately a good chunk of it had been cleared as they spent consumables on the fight above.

    The sound of clashing weapons and rushing footsteps was the new ambient sound. Some were making it to the lower floors too. It felt way too soon. There was too much left to grab. The panic only made it harder to think of what to prioritize.

    Two players borderline dressed in awful, horrible mismatched rags broke through the last door to her vault. They couldn't be described as anything but mid-level cannon fodder among the raiders. Well, in the end of the day this was just a designated location, not an actual bank vault. The hope had been that, since it was in their guild base, no one would ever think to even try to rob it. Even now, NeedleStew wasn't sure such a hope was a mistake, but she did wish she had less stuff in there. There was no time left to hesitate. NeedleStew conjured a piece of rolled parchment from her inventory. The spell scroll's sigils glowed and arcane blue before evaporating.

    "Peaceful Domain!" The shout was the last sound in the room, as a transparent bubble covered them. All it did was block sound, but it would be enough to prevent those grinning pricks from getting any reinforcements. As a bonus it even confused them a little, buying NeedleStew a precious couple of moments.

    Terrain interactions were not the solely the domain of lore hunters, but because of the way lore hunters did things, they often happened to stumble upon such interactions, and because of the way they were, they catalogued them and tried to find the rules behind them. For example, in some buildings there was a small piece visible on a ceiling in disrepair which if pulled would cause it to collapse. Of course only the programmed parts of the ceiling would fall and this method still left collision that prevent players from getting to the floor above this way, plus only the pre-set collapsible objects would actually fall from the ceiling after triggering this. But nonetheless, they fell with a player's active action and there were ways to play with that.

    NeedleStew took her chance and raised an arm quickly, launching her telekinetic chain at the ceiling by the threshold to grab hold of a small piece of half-rotten wood. As she did, the ceiling rumbled soundlessly and collapsed on top of one of the invaders, taking nearly all of their HP. It took only a second for the other bandit to glare at Needle with vengefulness before the bomb items hidden by the area of the collapse were set off, blasting both enemies into the ceiling and leaving a pile of rubble by the entrance. Enemies kept rushing past the tunnels, but now that they saw the rubble on the way it should seem less wortwhile. NeedleStew turned back around and breathed a sigh of half-relief, before slapping her own cheeks and continuing to collect the items in the vault.

    Suddenly, footsteps. Incredibly fast footsteps. No sooner did NeedleStew turn than her face was nearly split in two by a semitransparent redhead with a bandana and a nasty grin. At least this bandit wasn't without some sense of style, even if his choice of theme was still horrid, probably matching his insides.

    Still, what was her luck? A speedster dwarf with a phasing skill had found his way here. Fortunately his taunts still fell on a deaf world since the silence was still in effect. NeedleStew raised her hands to try to recast it (the spell scroll gave access to the spell inscribed in it, but only for a minute and they were one-use), but was unable as the enemy lunged at her, nearly skewering the small northern dragonkin with his knives. Almost in reflex, NeedleStew launched her chains with their last-resort effect, gambling on the high chance of trapping the guy. She knew it succeeded as he fell to the floor, every limb wrapped up in the holy chains.

    NeedleStew had to hurry even more if she was to make this time worth having run away earlier. The least she could do for the comrades she left to be taken down was make sure to keep as much of the spoils away from their enemies was possible. She had to keep the loot from them. It was all she could do. The thoughts spiraled over and over in her head, to the point where they distracting her from her actual objective.

    The silence ended just time to hear the debris being burst to smithereens by a massive black axe with an orc's skull at the center. NeedleStew covered her eyes by instinct even if she knew that without some kind of game mechanic the dust wouldn't do anything to her eyes like it would in real life. The one who made the dust might, however.

    Whirling mechanical sounds preceded a heavy red iron boot making a crack into the floor with sheer weight. The armor had a slight rusty appearance, but covered this foe head to toe, industrial tubes linking the joints and plates in the legs and torso all the way to helmet that practically disappeared inside the armor, and the still-hot cannons with tiny trails of smoke. NeedleStew didn't recognize who she was fighting with, but she was familiar enough even with equipment she couldn't craft to know what she was looking at: Flamethrowers, and not ust the ordinary kind, but ones that could make flame lances as well. The spikes on top of the orc skull on the axe gave a completely different impression now.

    1000.png

    art credit: Samwise Didier

    "In the way." The mechanical giant declared with a deep muffled voice, as he thrust his axe onto the dwarf's belly, lifting him up and throwing him to the wall like someone cleaning the stains from a rag. He held the axe with both hands again.

    This was it. No more defenses. No more time to collect from her vault even though so much was still left behind. She knew it was all lost... But she wouldn't go without at least trying to put up a fight. The drill set appeared on her other left hand and she charged with her secondary weapon, taking flight with her draconic wings, lunging at the-

    She felt a sharp pain on her chest. A spine of molted rock had formed from the ground and stabbed right through her. Two more appeared and impaled NeedleStew as well. The giant dropped his axe with a sigh and pulled NeedleStew out before throwing her at the back wall. She didn't even have time to fall before one of her wings got pinned to the wall by a spear. She raised her gaze while struggling against it, finding her other wing pinned as well. The mechanical armor approached, sounding like someone was wearing an old factory. At closer range, it used smaller spears to pin her two remaining wings, then her arms, then finally her feet.

    "She won't have long. HP drops fast when pierced with this many of my weapons. Say what you want to say already."

    Handler crop.png
    For a moment, NeedleStew thought he was talking about her, until this skinny-looking lady with steampunk goggles over her yellow-ish brown hair and bundled up in tools, gadgets and a winter coat slipped out from behind the armored guy.

    "Wheeew!" She whistled. The slight nudges in the armored guy's helmet made NeedleStew imagine he was rolling his eyes. "You Hazard Company folks sure do live up to your menacing name! So pwincess honeypots, you 'member me? Not that you have to. I remember you, you little sneak."

    Her attitude and tone of voice were barely familiar. She was a merchant that tried messing with NeedleStew back when she first started getting her spine back. Was this woman really holding a grudge from that long ago?

    "To think a twerp like you ruined my business. It was good money too. It was worth splurging some for this though. You look soooo pweeety! Like a butterfly I saw in a museum once. Then again, I guess that's what this place is gonna be when everything's done. So you fit right in. You like when things match don't you?"

    "Take the screenshots already. I don't have forever to waste on a diversion like this. Need I remind you-"

    "Yes, yes, your main job here is dealing with the Worldender. Everyone else is at it anyway, I don't see what's the rush. But I'd hate to ruin good business, so I'll be a good little girl and get to it."

    Seeing her HP gauge gradually dropping while she was stuck to a wall was bad enough. Hearing this one talk was like someone was scratching on the chalkboard and pouring the grains on the wound. And then she was taking screenshots too. But NeedleStew had enough. As the presumed other craftswoman got a little too close, NeedleStew suddenly drew in a breath, a small storm appearing above her head and being sucked inside. The armored guy started to move in an instant, but was only fast enough to block half of the face-full-of-frost the annoying one received. NeedleStew continued to try to release herself, leading to the armored guy suddenly grabbing an axe and slicing the Worldender's crafter in half.

    "What did you do that for?! Her loot! We didn't get any loot out of her!"

    "SHUT IT E-XCEMUS! You won't be able to pay us nothing if you're dead you piece of wet tissue paper."

    "I'll have you know, that I..."

    >You're Dead<






    NeedleStew didn't expect to be plopping down from the heavens, and after what she had just been through it was a miracle she remembered to use her wings before an unfortunate second death from ground collision. Well, respawning like this probably wouldn't kill her, but it was understandable that she wasn't quite in the right state of mind. She found no matter how much she tried, she couldn't raise more than a slight hover from the ground. Closing her eyes, she hesitated to open the menu and confirm the bad news, but sooner or later she'd know. She opened one eye at a time, her heart sinking as she confirmed what she kind of already knew: Her level, and that of all her skills, were back to 1. All that hard work thrown to the wind. Fortunately she had managed to get away with some portion of her vault, but as expected, her Acheoanalysis skill told her the vault was empty and she needed to make a new one. The old one, along with their beloved guild base, had been destroyed.

    "Rrraaaaaagh!" She roared at the moon in frustration. This wasn't the end of her troubles though. Glancing at her arm, there was no floating chain. She clicked a few buttons, heart filled with hope and worry alike... and then she breathed a sigh of relief. Her main weapon was there in her inventory, just automatically unequipped and currently unusable.

    7124408.png
    [ Holy Chains Temperance ]
    Properties: Reach Weapon | Telekinetic | Holy | Ancient | Scaling
    Level Cap: 25
    Description: Attacks with this chain have an optional chance to cause the [ Restrained ] status for a few moments. Higher chance against enemies vulnerable to [ Holy ] damage. Rather than attacking, can also be used to pick up things or attempt to inflict [ Restrained ] status with high chance and indefinite duration (until enemy manages to free themselves) at the cost or forgoing the ability to use the chains while that status remains. This item scales with user level.
    Thy soul is worthy, for it know restraint. Let us be wielded to protect this world from the slavery of its own vices.


    Equip



    Other


    -


    The dragon girl glanced at the moon again, then at her surroundings. There were small torchlights she could spot in the distance, all around. The area was covered in fresh green grass with only a slight breeze, yet sturdy bent and had holes in them, playing a flute-like noise. NeedleStew had played in this area a lot. Who didn't? Windchime Hills was a pretty popular farming area. The wind steeds (wind elementals in the form of tiny horses with ghost-like tails instead of back legs) and racing turtles (large fast-moving turtles with two flags on top of their shells, typically being chased by or chasing a sleepy rabbit mob, who in turn were just rabbits that stumbled like a drunk while wearing a sleeping cap) were beginner-friendly mobs hardly attacking and not being particular difficult to defeat, they were often treated by the community as "Dodging: the tutorial". In other words: It was crawling with people at almost all times, no doubt some of whom would be very happy to get an easy reward from the devs.

    Just her luck to end up here alone now of all times! She only knew a few features in this place, like the small waterfall river and the grottos. How was she even supposed to-

    A notification reached her then. It was from Sic_Semper_Slimes.

    Sic_Semper_Token.png
    Sic_Semper_Slime
    Meet @ Valley Lows. Greenmark Dungeon,


    It seemed they had a plan. The message to communicate it was rather... lackluster though. Still, it was good enough to distract NeedleStew and keep her from looking up...



    Current Skills
    [ Craft: Lost Metallurgy ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    A skill unlocked by [ Reclaimer ] class players with the [ Craft: Metallurgy (all) ] skill. Enables the processing of metal ores and drops, and using metals to craft high tier items with these, though unlike [ Forging ] skills it doesn't enable converting existing metal items into raw materials. At player and skill level 100 enables almost any metal to be used, requiring both to fully unlock new metal work. Can create [ Lost ] grade items using appropriate materials. Able to repair any item within it craftable categories.
    Metal calls to you. You've mastered it's craft, and have become able to instinctively master even the strangest of metals, giving you the opportunity to recover a part of your ancient legacy.
    [ Craft: Progenitor Weave ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    Requires high-level advanced skills in cloth weaving, woodworking, leatherworking and elven tailoring to unlock this skill. It enables the [ Sewing ] or [ Weaving ] with processed cloth, plant and fur materials, including mix-material item production, but forgoes the production of non-weaved items such as wood weapons. Materials that can be used depend on skill and player level. Starting from skill level 70, enables the entanglement ability which sacrifices cloth or plant materials for a 20% chance to inflict the [ Restrained ] status (duration dependent on enemy strength parameters).
    You have reached the highest peak of weaving. A tapestry is a sea, and you and the goddess who commands the currents that flow the sight.
    [ Archeoanalysis Catalog ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Active

    Derived from the [ Archeologist ] class and the standard [ Appraisal ] skill, this skill allows one to inspect information on targets, objects, items and locations. A [ Vault ] must be determined at some point after acquiring the skill using a player-owned location, at which point it becomes locked to that location unless emptied or destroyed. The information the skill can provide depends on the items placed within the vault, particularly those found in dungeon or raid content, or restored using the [ Archeologist ]'s abilities or those of related classes. At higher levels, a sufficiently rich vault could enable the discovery of hidden events.
    You remember and organize everything in your vault and are able to link those findings to the world of today, uncovering secrets long forgotten or never known.
    [ Elemental Array ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    The user can cast a basic attack spell that creates three orbs, each of which can be imbued with one element or energy type, with very few exceptions. As a tradeoff for this flexibility the damage scales poorly, causing it to quickly drop off usefulness as a means of dealing damage relative to other spells of the same level. The skill gives an additional non-scaling small utility spell associated with element and energy type every 10-20 levels.
    An elementary study for aspiring archmages.
    [ Vanish ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Active & Passive

    When activated, the user gains the [ Stealth ] status for a short period, no more than a handful of seconds at level 1 followed by a cooldown period. During/after activation the user's dodge rate is momentarily increased. While [ Stealth ] status is active, the user has an increased dodge rate against AOE attacks and effects, and greater damage reduction from dodging.
    You need no crowds and no shadow. You can blend into the air itself, as though you were always a mirage.
    [ Legendary Collector ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive

    A specialized version of the draconic-races-requiring skill [ Hoard Seeker ]. The skill adds a 'correction' to drop rates to increase them for rarer items and lower them for more common items. While less generically effective, this skill is much more effective at increasing the rare drop [ Skill Crystal ] that can be used to create items with skills. Additionally it improves the chance for a skill to randomly emerge during crafting, and the success rate of infusing skills during crafting.
    Through the eons, many heroes sought a dragon's hoard, knowing it could hold countless weapons worthy of forging a legend with.
    [ Vhulcaestu's Soulsmithing (Unique) ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    Allows [ Enchanting ] an existing item with a trait or [Imbuing] into an item during crafting. While traits rarely have inherent properties (these are unlocked for this skill at a high level), they can be used to avoid resistances or flag weaknesses, interactions or events. If a user has this skill and an [ Appraisal ] -type skill, they are also able to inspect traits in creatures and items. Increases the degree of customization beyond the default parameters when crafting, particularly in terms of design.
    The divine skills of Vhulcaestus, god of forging, god of artisans and patron of dragon was said to be able to create weapons that revealed the very essence of a soul. A shard of this art is embedded into your soul as you too have become a worthy vessel to spread its name.


    Equipment

    [Primary Weapon]

    [ Empty Slot ]

    [Secondary Weapon]
    [ Multi-drill Miner MKXI ] (Single-handed | Melee | Tech | Tool Weapon) Inflicts [ Armor Reduction ] against non-spiritual enemies damaged by it. Allows a user to [ Mine ] for metal ores with great efficiency. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    At the very edge of dwarven digging engineering for about 20 minutes.
    [Head]

    [ Empty Slot ]

    [Body]

    [ Empty Slot ]

    [Hands]
    [ Expert Curator's Gloves ] (Cloth Armor) Increases the user's success rate when crafting, repairing or restoring items. Decreases chances to damage or break [ Fragile ] items. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    The ravages of time and preciousness of findings require the gentlest care and the least contaminated fingers.
    [Shoes]
    [ Ornate Steps ] (Medium armor | Ancient) Grants a boost to reputation and charisma towards NPCs, particularly high society NPCs and particularly post a dancing performance. Have an ability to create a tiny jump boost, if used with the right timing can prevent most fall damage.
    Though all appreciate the art of dance, only the noble and civilized appreciate the wealth of dance.
    [Accessory]
    [ Mantle of Majesty ] (Cloth Armor | Lost) Improved reputation with NPCs that are part of nobility or equivalent, a part of a group working directly under such an NPC or have extreme loyalty or respect for such NPCs. Most effective in the Kingdom of Chartreuse, Flaxen Spiritwoods and Ivorine Zephyrdom. Least effective in the Abyss and Phlox Enginefort. Decreased reputation with NPC bandits and rebel groups. Can activate an effect in an area around the user that forces any who fail to resist it into a kneeling animation for a few moments. Long cooldown. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    Once known as royal attire, it became a powerful symbol of respect and status.
    [Accessory]
    [ Ancient Porter's Bracelet ] (Ancient) Creates additional storage space in which only crafting materials can be placed. Crafting materials no longer count towards encumbrance. Gives two boosts to HP and strength one depending on how full that additional space is, the other on how full the user's inventory is in general. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    Whether they carried stone, metal, or the very nobility above them, strength was required even where food was scarce.
    [Accessory]

    [ Empty Slot ]



Specific Items
[Tool] [ Archeologist Advanced Kit ]
A set of archeology tools for uncovering, retrieving, storing and eventually restoring ancient items or obtain certain crafting materials.
----
[Tool] [ Secret Tools of Meiwuan Tapestries ]
A sowing kit only available to those with advanced cloth-crafting skills after a secret event, bought from a mysterious hidden shop in the Flaxen Spiritwoods.
----
[Tool / Weapon] [ Vhulchaestus-styled Hammer ] (Single Handed | Melee | Weapon Tool | Draconic)
A hammer heavily decorated to resemble the divine hammer of the god of artisans and patron of dragonkind. The hammer becomes better at crafting if wielded by a draconic entity.
----
[Weapon] [ Crimson Gold Flow Daggers (x4) ] (One-Handed | Light | Melee)
Four back-up weapons crafted in pairs, each one a blood-red crystal dagger with a golden line going through the middle. Two of them have an on-hit HP drain effect, while the other two has a speed-draining effect (limited to 15% reduction). Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
----
[Body] [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen ] (Cloth Armor)
Level Cap: 80. Reward for completing the hidden scenario during the raid in the "Flight of Asharia" event. Grants a user a 8% increase in fire-based damage, high fire damage resistance, and restores the user's HP over time. If the user is killed while wearing this outfit, they are enveloped in an egg and come back with 10% HP provided the egg was not damaged to a breaking point. Only works once a day.
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[Accessory] [ Circlet of Perception: Creatures & Materials ]
Level Cap: 50. A very rare and high tier of the Circlet of Perception item series. The user can passively perceive (and identify in their mini-map) the location of non-hidden non-secret enemies, allies, creatures and material sources for harvesting within a certain range around them, including outside of their field of vision or through walls, except magic-blocking walls.
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[Accessory] [ Mask of Water Breathing ]
Prevents [ Drowning ] while worn. Gives 5% increased swim speed. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
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[Consumable] [ Fire Resistance Oil ]
Any person or object coated in this oil gains improved [ Fire Resistance ] for four hours.
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[Consumable] [ Heavenly Holy Water Flask (x10) ]
Can be applied to attempt to purify corruption, lift curses or harm the undead.
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[Accessory] [ Trueheart Jewel ]
An artifact that can be obtained at the end of a long quest chain which allows certain races to take on the form of a mount reflecting their race's animal side. In NeedleStew's case, as a [ Northern Dragonkin ], she can transform into a [ Northern Dragon ], large, horned, short-tailed, long-winged and with fur and feathers partially covering it. Past level 75 this form becomes able to fight in actual combat. Conversely, below level 10 the user can only take the form of a small dragon [ Hatchling ] and until level 25 the capabilities as a mount are severely limited. There is also a paid version which can let the user transform into the item's form for a different race.
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[Accessory] [ Customized Worker's Apron ] (Cute)
Gives a slight increase in crafting success rate, and reduces self-inflicted damage from failed crafting. Heavily decorated. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
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[Artifact] [ Forager Flute (x2) ]
By blowing on this tiny horn, a trio of forager NPCs appear. They help extract nearby materials such as by [ Mining ], [ Skinning ] or [ Harvesting (plants) ]. They have appropriate skills to do so, surpassing the ability of a player without the right class to gather those materials, however they do take a commission fee.
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[Consumable] [ High Tier General Antidote (x5) ]
Removes any [ Poison ] status effect on the user (one per antidote consumed). Crafted by Hellproduce.
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[Primary Weapon] [ Lumberpaul's Titanic Axe ] (Heavy | Melee | Two-Handed | Tool Weapon)
Allows a user to harvest [ Wood ] materials from even fortified trees with great efficiency.
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[Consumable] [ Floating Lightstole (x8)] (Telekinetic)
Enchanted pebbles which when activated begin to glow and float, following the user and orbiting around them.
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[Container] [ Box of Sweets ] (Cute)
A decorated metal box typically containing cookies and other sweets. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
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[Accessory] [ Betrayer's Signet ] (Cursed)
Obtained from the boss of the lore-oriented secret passage in the Betrayer's Tomb dungeon. Can momentarily greatly lower the range of perception of nearby enemies, with a surprisingly small cooldown. Increases the damage of the user's first attack against an enemy in this condition by 50%, but reduces the damage of all attacks against the same enemy after the first.
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[Grimoire] [ Translator Tome ]
A book which gives the user access to one additional language for a day.
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[Accessory] [ Prospector's Perfect Eye ]
A monocle with a built-in [ Material Appraisal ] skill. It can be useful in identifying and determining the value of materials. Though less reliably, it can also examine items to predict their value if sold to NPCs.
Appraisal without tools is nothing but wild guesswork.
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[Primary Weapon] [ Holy Chains Temperance ] (Reach Weapon | Telekinetic | Holy | Ancient | Scaling)
Level Cap: 25. Attacks with this chain have an optional chance to cause the [ Restrained ] status for a few moments. Higher chance against enemies vulnerable to [ Holy ] damage. Rather than attacking, can also be used to pick up things or attempt to inflict [ Restrained ] status with high chance and indefinite duration (until enemy manages to free themselves) at the cost or forgoing the ability to use the chains while that status remains. This item scales with user level.
Thy soul is worthy, for it know restraint. Let us be wielded to protect this world from the slavery of its own vices.
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[Head] [ Infiltrator's Crown ] (Light Armor | Lost)
Level Cap: 35. Slightly reduces skill cooldowns. Receiving damage does not remove [ Stealth ] status from user. Can activate the item to identify structural weak points in structures, constructs, locks and armor. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
The crown of the once-king of thieves, Alibara.
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[Body] [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen Replica ] (Cloth Armor)
A largely cosmetic replica of the item [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen ]. Still grants some minor HP recovery and [ Fire Resistance ]. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
As charming as a true phoenix's feathers, brimming with red hot vigor.
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[Item Type] [ Item Name ]
text text text
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Item Collections
  • Leftover Crafting Materials (Several different crafting materials, most of which currently not usable by NeedleStew due to lacking the appropriate level.)
  • Recovery Potion Assortment (Several typical potions for HP and mana (assuming there is mana) recovery.)
  • Archeological Items (Several restored items with minor/cosmetic or no effects)
  • ()
[ Currently Empty ]
While O_NeedleStew_O stored most of her materials and crafted items in a large warehouse (which acted as her previous vault) and her store, both were raided during and after the guild was taken down, as unlike many storage facilities used by members, both of these were public knowledge. Fortunately due to the need to access some materials or items quickly, she kept small storage locations in each level. They don't have much in them, only the minimum in case there was a need for such supplies because someone forgot something right before a raid or some situation to that effect.

Item Collections
  • Leftover Crafting Materials (Several different crafting materials, most of which currently not usable by NeedleStew due to lacking the appropriate level.)
  • Archeological Items (Several restored items with minor/cosmetic or no effects)
  • Food item supplies (Basic consumables)
  • Leftover equipment (Scrapped or at least unused equipment simply left lying around. Nothing special or advanced, but can do the bare minimum and depending on location it is stored in likely has a minimum of fitting resistances)
  • ()

Interacting With: N/A
Mentions: N/A
May Also Want to Read: Aesir Aesir
Art Credits:
Avatar - Yasato/八里 (Pixiv)
E-XCemus - Lightoooo / 来人 (Pixiv)
 
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Server Time:
09:06:02 UTC
APRIL 17, 2042

"We're counting on you."

They wished that they could answer in the affirmative with utter certainty. With the surety and confidence of someone who knew that they were destined to achieve victory. But in truth, even Executorial found themselves uneased at the notion of going up against over four-hundred other players, each of which whose equipment and stats could rival that of any Worldender. That was just the main force - there were plenty of rabble who would crowd the battlefield unnecessarily. If they were to guess, for each Worldender, there was roughly two to five paid-alliance members, and probably another three bounty hunters.

Nothing was fair about any of it. If this were history, then whether or not they won or lost, it would go down in the books as one of the most imbalanced battles ever fought in the chronicles of warfare. Nonetheless, it was not as if they were going to give up on the war. They'd be no better than their enemies if they turned tail and ran before it all even started. Preserving the state of their account wasn't going to do much good in a game that had already begun to verge on unplayable.

While there was no actual sense of obligation holding them to all this, like how a group assignment with uncooperative classmates would hold their grades and scholarship hostage - they found meaning in Andaros. They found joy and fulfillment in the feverish dance of exchanged blows and sailing bullets, the tides that heralded their arrival and the thunder left in their wake.

In the days of their rise to the single-digits of the leaderboard, it was really as if the earth were disappearing below them as they were surely being lifted into the sky. But even beyond that, there was their initial experiences in the world that made it all so real, even if Andaros was technically nothing more than code being run in a server. The breathtaking quality to it wasn't just that, it was an invitation to escape the foibles of reality, diving into a realm in which issues like rent and finals just weren't a thing. While they'd initially picked the game up as a point of fascination, it had only taken them a few weeks to become entirely addicted to the fantasy - of living a life that finally filled them with the eagerness to live.

They remembered the grass beneath their half-tangible legs as they slowly trod up the hills of Chartreuse, the saline scent of the sea upon marching to the shores of the Ruinfolds, the deafening sound of machinery as the expanse of the Enginefort unfolded before their eyes as an airship sailed by. And, of course, the weightlessness of the Ivorine Zephyrdom, wind rushing beneath their metaphorical wings as they dove into the clouds and felt the mist brush up against their face, just as any young child would have dreamed of during a clear summer day.

There was a sanctity to it all that they wanted to defend. Because now, instead of endless fields of green or the mystique of a civilization long-submerged by the waves, there were neon billboards and advertisements, shopping malls, and way too much focus on how much disposable income you had.

People played games to escape reality, damn it.

Needless to say, the current state of Andaros was unacceptable for them - and with all the skills at their disposal, Executorial had already resolved themselves to see this crusade through to the bitter end. The event was set to begin soon, and they were planning to go all-out, whilst reserving some measures for a worst-case scenario.

Elemental ammunition had become more and more expensive in the recent days, due to everyone preparing for such a large influx of PvP. Hence, they started dipping into their own stash - there was no use for consumables that they were going to hoard until the end of time, so it was well and good they saw some use now. The display case housing one of their spare rifles came off. If they took more than just a few deaths, then they'd be locked out of their main rifle, and be left weapon-less - completely unacceptable. Due to anticipating a plethora of control-based effects, as was common in gatherings of many players, they also switched out their usual accessories. Though through it all, their avatar exhibited no changes; it was best not to give their opponents the hint that they'd prepared differently.

By the time that the server announcements hit, announcing the countdown before the event, they were ready. Every slot of their inventory filled, and their rifle loaded past the brim.

To: Guild
[Executorial]: Let's do our best, everyone.
[Executorial]: By the way, I've turned off non-friend and non-guild messages. Got to focus. If you have something to tell me, it can wait until afterwards.




Server Time:
14:42:19 UTC
APRIL 17, 2042

[Executorial]: Eleven o'clock. Artillery incoming. 20 seconds.

White light filled the barrel of their rifle as they pointed it skywards. Luminescent streaks flew upwards as if a meteor shower were occurring in reverse - setting the stage for a bout of annihilation. At the apex of their flight, the salvo stopped - halted in time, as the timepiece that the primly-dressed avatar wore suddenly paused in its function. Lying on the ground nearby were five scattered playing cards, with the black ace of spades still visible.

With their attack set, the sharpshooter took aim again. The pale coloration of their body fell away, consumed by a burst of prismatic flames - sunset-colored hues erupting from within and wreathing their silhouette. Only a second later, what reappeared from the smoke and ash was an entirely different form of Elemental altogether, blackened like soot, though an inferno still raged within the shadow of their body, flaring outwards near the extremities. From beneath the wide brim of their decorated hat, a singular silted eye peered through a crystalline scope, and three pulls of the trigger rang out.

Sigils resembling crosshairs illuminated the barrel of the rifle as it bucked thrice, each shot echoing intensely through the valley. The recoil is intense - kicking up dust and even causing the shooter themselves to tense in a reactionary gesture.

On the battlefield below, the bullets began their hunt. Shots ricocheted between their targets, bringing with them both hail and wildfires alike. Each individual attack embodied the wrath of two primordial elements, each exemplifying the other - flames consumed flesh that was already frozen-solid, and even those who were scalded soon found themselves immobilized by the onset of a cold status, along with the slight inconvenience of missing a significant portion of health. Yet, it was not enough to kill through the sheer amount of stats and resistances conferred by paid equipment, the main source of struggle for the Worldenders.

Not that this wasn't something they didn't anticipate. Shortly afterwards, Executorial rose and snapped their fingers - calling upon the barrage they'd previously fired. Shells fell from the sky like snow - but it was far from gentle. Their guildmates scattered as their personal countdowns came to an end, for the wrath of winter was as explosive as it was beautiful, cold mist spreading over the field as baleful statuses were immediately escalated by the onslaught of new attacks. A brief chorus of cheers rang out as the global chat logs suddenly filled with an onset of kill-messages.

As glorious as the feeling of triumph was, it was equally short-lived.

No matter the skill of the player, there were certain odds that just couldn't be beaten. There was a degree of powerlessness to that fact that made Executorial loathe themselves a little bit. As tanks and healers fell and plummeted in levels, they were left without support. And without support, even the best soldier could not turn the tide. Their infamy hardly helped at this point, as there were more than just a few people who wanted some semblance of revenge against the elemental who'd practically been farming their opponents for the past year, for what they had clearly deemed the crime of spending money.

Really, it wasn't that. It was the fact that it condoned the violation of Andaros, a world that had been fine without it.

Full war was nothing like the controlled field of a duel - five or seven people weren't nearly as easy to handle as one or two. Bullets ran out, and with so many people on the prowl, it wasn't possible or probable to escape everyone. Multi-step setups to remove many enemies from the equation became unviable as they were on their own, their consumables quickly dwindling as they skirmished and engaged others. Then the slips began; there were just too many variables and individuals to start accounting for, and everything could only go downhill from there.

But they kept going, and did not deign to simply log off. The continual loss of territory, ground, and players alike forced them and the Worldenders back to the base in the Enginefort, and soon enough, they figured that they had to make a final stand.

Toggle [Active State] - Athame of Paracelsus.
[Warning! You are at low health!]


The elemental raised their rifle, warnings be damned - and shot, and shot again. Reason was lost to instinct and muscle memory as their gaze panned from one head to the next, only the cadence of firing was any sign they still lived and was conscious. Their own health bar ticked down with every pull of the trigger; but it was always how Executorial lived, breathed, and fought - with risk to themselves so that the triumph would taste the sweetest in the end. If they were going back down to level 1, they were taking as many of their enemies with them as they could. Even if that wasn't nearly as many as they would have liked.

By the time the halls of the guild crumbled around them, they exhaled a final time and felt the flame vanish from their body, leaving them cold and bereft.



Pacific Standard Time:
10:30:51 - Vancouver, Canada
APRIL 17, 2042

That all-nighter had been terrible, and it'd been for nothing. Their guild hall went down, everyone ended up back at the beginning, and it was meaningless.

A certain student, heaving and exhausted, leaned back in their rickety dorm chair - slumped so awkwardly as to have nearly fallen off it - after nearly throwing her headset against the wall. At least tomorrow was Friday, and they'd cleared out all their assignments in anticipation for the event. Frankly, she was considering not going to class at all. Her mood was stormier than the winter weather at this point, even though it had passed by now.

Normally, she'd alleviate moods like those by going for a trip in the Ivorine Zephyrdom, to relive the earlier days of freedom and abundance in Andaros - but that wasn't even something they could do at this point. Her beloved avatar literally didn't meet the level requirements anymore-

Her avatar, a small statuette of which had been placed on their desk, mimicking the icy form of the elemental sharpshooter. They remembered paying a rather hefty fee out of their spare spending money to have it modeled, printed, and painted by hand. For a while, she'd wanted to get a matching one, depicting the flaming counter-form, but academics were just too busy this semester for her to really invest much time in a part-time job. Besides, she now felt embarrassed enough as to turn the figurine around before picking the headset back up, staring at it long and hard - before glancing towards their bed.

They could go for a few more hours. Maybe all hope wasn't lost yet.

Maybe.



Server Time:
18:40:08 UTC
APRIL 17, 2042

Ah, Chartreuse. The place where they and everyone else once began. They'd probably have missed it more if it weren't for the fact that the place couldn't decide between being a medieval kingdom or a terrible imitation of suburbia, beneath a glowing blue sky that certainly didn't exist much in reality anymore. Still, it was almost a bit nostalgia-inducing; they remembered quite well how they once fumbled with the liquid body of their water-elemental form.

...Speaking of fumbling... It was either poor luck or some unfortunate bug, but they were a bit higher up than someone was actually supposed to be when they spawned back in. But before they could think about that, the grace period for connection had ended, and even Executorial was a victim to the laws of gravity as they suddenly took hold, the spindly form of the ice-based silhouette falling through the air and landing indignantly on the 'ground'.

Though, that landing hadn't nearly been as unpleasant as they expected. However, it struck them in the next second that what they landed on also didn't feel much like grass or earth. They'd clearly landed on something else, or rather, someone. There was the bouncing of red fabric, pink hair, and a wayward draconic wing? It reminded them of a certain someone-

"Needle?" Executorial murmured, rather mortified and still in a disoriented heap, speaking out loud for the first time since the event had begun. "Is... Is that you? I- I'm sorry! Didn't know that this would happen, let me just-" It takes them more than just one attempt to carefully disentangle themselves from the much-smaller dragonkin, carefully rising back to their full height and nearly falling backwards from the embarrassment in the process of doing so.

Normally, they wouldn't have cared much - mishaps happened in-game all the time. But this was really unbecoming; especially as it was someone they knew well...
 
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Ocarina
Location: Kingdom of Chartreuse - A cabin in the suburb​

"O Lord why have you forsaken us
Here we lost, scared and scattered
As the last hope torn by the hungry mass

And The Corrupting One laughed and cackled"

Ocarina closed her virtual diary and put it back in her virtual drawer. She looked around her virtual house, glancing at the mess it had become as glasses had been shoved down the counter and furnitures were sliced in two as if someone just rampaged through the living room with a light saber. Her hand hovered mid-air, wondering if she really should click on the log-off button. She had only been online for roughly 12 hours, that's much less time than what she usually does. Yet after the event she felts really drained.

Her hand stopped when a crow landed on the nearby windowsill, it looked at her curiously and put a mail in front of her. The crow was a house cosmetic that turns private and guild message into a mail-carrier bird. Just one of the many immersion item that she had. She gently pet the crow before reading the message.

Sic_Semper_Slimes: Meet @Valley Lows. Greenmark Dungeon

Simple and to the point. Ocarina had a brief smile as she realize that she might not be alone in the frustration. Flicking though the menu, she returned the state of her house back to the original and sat down in front of her work desk to write a fancy reply using her quill pen and highly elaborate cursive writing.

Ocarina: Yes

The crow flew into the sky with her mail in its beak. Once it was out of Ocarina's sight it immediately vanished, returning to its original function as a simple text message.

Thus she made her way to the meeting point. Her eyes briefly glanced at the new obnoxious advertising board that had popped out near her house about some triple-patty burger. Since she lost her mount during the raid, she just walks there like a normal everyday newbie.​
 
Immortal_Empress
VR_001r.jpg

She knew it was futile. She had known from the start.

The moment EZ Buy started advertising discounts to anyone who could damage their guild hall, Elena knew this would be The Big OneTM, the Worldenders’ last stand. When the Domin8ers, Team_Fyrefall, He11Haus, and every other fake ass, pay-to-lose, pretender guild started trashing them online, she knew the Worldenders’ days were numbered.

Immortal_Empress was used to the mud-slinging and insults. The smallest dogs often bark loudest, after all. Even before officially becoming a member, she had always been the Worldenders’ most vocal supporter, the one who always clapped back hardest and fastest when anyone dared throw dirt on their names. But there was something different about it this time. The forums were ablaze. The swagger, the confidence, the sheer gall of these idiots… it was on a totally different level now. It could only mean one thing:

They know something we don’t.

Give a fool a nugget of wisdom and he will think himself a genius. But give a wise man the same, and he will realize the depth of his own ignorance and become much wiser for it.

In the days leading up to Last Hall Standing, she still played along with this farce. She pretended this was just like any other event. Empress grinded mats with Slime and dug deep into her personal vault for old gear others might find useful in their builds. Need a level 100 robe that cuts cooldowns in half? “Sure, here ya go.” What about a ring that gives free resurrections? “I got you.” A full set of plate steel with some of the highest damage resistance stats in the game? “Take it. I haven’t used heavy armor in years.”

She kept up that same level of involvement once the event began. During the first few hours of the siege, Immortal_Empress had been heavily invested in what was going on. She and her army of summons took to the field to cover some of their trappers, sappers, and fortification builders. As the early lines of defense began to take shape, she was right there with them, holding the line. But these were only stop gap efforts, a means of cushioning the blow of the initial onslaught. Landmines. Pitfalls. Trenches. Moats. Walls. These things could only serve to delay the inevitable...

Server Time
13:03:11 UTC
April 17, 2042

Just over two and a half hours into the event, Empress watched from the ramparts as a wave of enemies poured across these feeble countermeasures. She was actually surprised the outer perimeter held as long as it had. The Worldenders' ranged DPS players did a lot of heavy lifting. And it seemed as if the enemy's high-level players were holding back, letting newbies and nobodies soften up the defenses first. Now, the trenches were filled, the walls of sandbags were shattered, and the landmines were replaced with gaping craters.

The real battle was about to begin.

Empress equipped a bow, a weapon she hadn't used since leveling the [Huntress] class over a year ago. Even back then, she wasn't a stellar shot. But there were so many enemies marching across the field now that even she ought to be able to hit something. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day," she muttered under her breath as she nocked an arrow, drew back, and released. "C'mon... gimme a headshot or two, for the highlight reel."

Unfortunately, the loosed arrow disappeared into a sea of elemental artillery deployed by Executorial. Empress couldn't see the hit marker, nor her intended target. It and everything else was swallowed up in fire. Nevertheless, she laughed as she nocked another arrow and released. This ship was going down. She might as well have her fun.

Server Time
15:29:58 UTC
April 17, 2042

By the time the Worldenders were pushed back to the gates of their guild hall, Immortal_Empress’s voice had faded from the chat. She went from barking orders and calling out enemy positions, to total silence. Her [Sunblossoms] continued to provide air support and burst heals. They zipped above everyone’s heads like little attack satellites. Even when an enemy gunslinger or archer managed to take one out, another would quickly replace it. Her [Tree of Life] kept everyone’s health topped off and many players were tossing its spawned fruits around to reap its benefits. Even her [Ancient Titan] lumbered across the battlefield, kicking and swatting enemies out of its way like an angry kaiju as it defended the no man's land in front of the Hall's main entrance.

But Immortal_Empress’s avatar was nowhere to be found. Maybe she had gone AFK. Or maybe she was hiding in the back, letting her minions do all the work, as summoners sometimes do. But that was not Empress’s style.

Server Time
17:01:44 UTC
April 17, 2042

Explosions rocked the walls of the guild hall, sending down cascades of rubble and dust. But none of it really mattered. It never had. And probably never would again.

Somewhere in a dark room, deep within the bowels of their guild hall, Immortal_Empress sat upon her [Indomitable Throne]. She was already reduced to level 80 now, due to dying a couple deaths in the melee outside. It had been fun. But playtime's over now.

Her fingers danced across her user interface, swiping items out of her vault and sending them to other players, seemingly at random. Level 100 staves. Grimoires that were worth a small fortune. Clothing items from long-gone events which would never be available again. At first, she was discerning about which items she picked. But, as the sounds of battle drew closer and the walls of the guild hall rattled with greater ferocity, she no longer cared.

Choose an item.
Scroll down the friends list.
Choose recipient.
Hit 'send.'
Rinse and repeat until the vault is empty.

Some of these players hadn't been online in months or years. Some might even be among the enemy ranks right now. She didn't care, as long as she offloaded as much loot as possible so these FUCKING SONS OF BITCHES can't have it! Her love of the game wouldn't allow her to delete it. It must stay in circulation. This is AO's history she's protecting. So, give it away. Give it all away. This had been her plan all along. Participating in the battle was just a formality.

Thanks to her [Strategist's Lenses] she was able to keep an eye on her summons while she did this. She could not see where they are or what they're up to, but their HP, buffs, debuffs, current status ailments, and cooldowns were all in her HUD. It was a little like monitoring the stock market in real-time to decide when to buy or sell. When her [Ancient Titan] despawned, she was immediately aware of it, waited out the cooldown, chugged a mana pot, and recast the spell.

But a couple of AI-controlled summons wasn't enough to prevent the inevitable. It was only a matter of time before this hall fell. And, eventually, Immortal_Empress's reckoning came.

Server Time
17:43:01 UTC
April 17, 2042

The door to her chamber came crashing down, taking much of the wall with it. As the dust settled, a player emerged from the smoke and soot, brandishing a buster sword in one hand and a greathammer in the other. Even before seeing his player name, Empress knew he must be high level, to be able to dual-wield two-handed weapons.

But, just because you can, doesn't mean you should, she thought as she stood to face him. No self-respecting PvP player would dual wield such slow, unwieldy abominations. Maybe it was some kind of weird AOE PvE build for flailing through mobs of adds. Whatever. It won't matter in a minute or two. The [Indomitable Throne] dematerialized behind her as she stared him down with a steely glare in her eyes.

"Hahahahaha! Imagine my luck. I've been wacking your stupid flowers for hours, hoping to find you," XxWarNPiece666 said in a nasally, pre-pubescent voice as he slicked back his spiky blonde hair and slowly stalked toward her. Despite having the voice of a 12-year old, his avatar was short, stocky, built like a dwarf who'd swallowed a bucket of steroids. His tattered cloak fluttered in a non-existent breeze. He was so unabashedly shonen-adjacent it made her wanna puke. Okay, she was sure of it now: this guy's a rookie. He's doing it to look cool. "Remember me? Remember what you did?" he said, stopping to strike a pose.

"Cant say that I do," Empress muttered. Behind him, five of her Sunblossoms flew into the room. Their petals opened and lasers began to charge up. Naaah, let the idiot talk. This'll be fun, Empress thought as she fiddled with some settings in her UI, so they don't light this fool up like a Christmas Tree. The Sunblossoms powered down. "I'm old. You'll have to jog my memory," she said to her guest. "Let me guess: it's a 'revenge thing?'"

"Yeah. Revenge. October 3, 2041. Ivorine Zephyrdom. Grimhold Dungeon. You, me, and a guy named-"

"Blah blah blah. I couldn't care less about your origin story, fool. Stop talking. I'll give you one free hit," Empress said, striking a t-pose. "After that, I will end you. Naruto run over here and get this ass-whuppin, li'l fella."

"I don't know what a 'Naruto' is, but just you wait! You'll rue the day you crossed me, old hag! Revenge is best served cold!" he said as he activated a skill and ice began to envelop his massive weapons.

Oh, gawd, he's one-lining. This is too good, Empress thought as XxWarNPiece666 began to wind up his attack. He lifted both weapons over his head and brought them down in a mighty swing, sending out an arc of icy wind and a blizzard of crystal swords. She activated [Snowfield] and stood her ground, letting its damage resistance eat the attack. She didn't so much as stagger as the avalanche of snow and sharp blades blasted through her, slicing off about a third of her health. To be fair, that was more than she expected from him... but still not enough.

"Is that all?" she said after the attack dissipated. Empress cackled like a villainess. "Wow. I expected Seven Nation Army. Instead, all I got was one of Snow White's seven dwarves. Here's a tip young man: bring six friends and maybe you'll impress the Empress," she said as she equipped her scythe and began to walk him down.

WarNPiece charged at her, screaming bloody murder. Empress cast [Tree of Life] at her feet. The Sunblossoms activated as well. Half of them bombarded him with lasers. The other half bombarded her with heals, undoing what little damage he had dealt. His buster sword swooped in from her left side, but Empress simply ate the attack, losing a quarter of her HP. His greathammer came in from the right side and she parried it aside with her scythe. Meanwhile, the Tree and the Sunblossoms returned her HP to beyond full, thanks to [Snowfield]. He came again, with a mighty swing from the left, but she parried that away too. WarNPeice took a half step back and began winding up another skill. Smoke and flames enveloped his blade and he raised it above his head, but she parried that aside too, canceling the attack.

"S-Stop parrying me! You're a mage! Mages aren't supposed to-"

"This mage got hands. Deal with it," Empress said, her face contorting with glee as she bullied the young man. They traded blows as she repeatedly parried and blocked his strikes. She ate his attacks and grinned in his face like a madwoman as she did so. "How's your stamina gauge looking? Feeling tired yet? Phone a friend, little man, I can do this all day!" she gloated. After one particularly violent parry, she yoinked a stamina pot from her inventory and threw it in his face, just to send his rage over the edge. Somewhere in the multiverse, there was probably a timeline where she trained this kid, taught him to be a better player, showed him how awful his build and his strategies were. But not here. Not in this pay-to-win hellscape. In this timeline, she was going to teach him a diferent lesson.

"Money can't close this gap, boy," she said as she charged at him. The ethereal glow of the [Tree of Life] cast her in a heavenly light, despite her hellish behavior. Its fruit littered the ground as this horned demon bore down upon him. WarNPiece raised his weapons in an 'X' to block her attack, but with his stamina depleted, even the miniscule chip damage from a low-strength summoner build was enough to knock him flat on his ass. "Get up. Get up!" she snarled, her fury finally boiling over. Empress snatched up a pineapple grenade, pinned him to the ground, and shoved it in his mouth.

They say the Lord leaves a beacon of hope in our darkest hours, a ray of light to guide us back to our better selves. I don't believe that shit, Empress thought. But... as she pressed her blade to the neck of a whiny child with a grenade clenched between his teeth, she could not help but feel she'd lost her way somewhere. Out there in the real world, she was a grown woman, bullying a child. Maybe --maaaaaybe-- now would be a good time to stop and rethink her life decisions.

It's just a game, after all.

"Don't move," Empress said as she opened up her UI and quickly scrolled through some of her remaining items. Not that he had much choice. She was pinning him down, his stamina was probably toast, and the Sunblossoms were circling overhead daring him to lift a finger against her. He was at her mercy.
Challenger's Gauntlets (lvl 75) "A pair of bloodied arm wraps worn by a gladiator who faced giants. Has the words 'Glorious Loser' scrawled on the right arm."
Reduce attack speed penalty for heavy weapons by 50%. Imparts a strength bonus when attacking, blocking, or parrying an opponent with a higher STR stat.]

"Huh... you're already on my friends list? Small world," Empress mused as she hit 'send' and stood up. After a small sigh, she offered her hand to help him. "Word of advice, if I may: there's nothing wrong with squaring up to people outta your league, kid. But be humble about it, okay?"

He stared blankly at her offered hand. Actually, his expression was so blank, she was sure he was probably checking his inbox and not paying attention to what she said. A few seconds later, he dematerialized. A brief glance at her menu screen revealed he had logged off. "Ugh, kids these days," she muttered as she kicked a pebble. Maybe he'd take the lesson to heart. Or maybe she'd overdone it and he'll return for more soft-serve ice-cold revenge someday. Only time would tell. Until then, she still had some more items to offload.

But, before she could return to that, a massive explosion rocked the room. The floor beneath her opened up and Immortal_Empress tumbled down into the darkness.

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April 17, 2042

Immortal_Empress landed on a pile of rubble in a darkened chamber one level beneath the one she had been in. She was on her feet instantly, the danger of the guild war suddenly very present in her mind. She had gotten so engrossed in her previous encounter that she'd forgotten the guild hall was swarming with actual threats. The sound of grinding machinery hammered that point home. As the smoke cleared, she identified its source: an enormous mechanical construct, armed with a flamethrower and axe. She recognized him as a member of Hazard Company one of their biggest threats. Empress had seen him outside the gates in the early parts of the raid. Her Ancient Titan helped keep him at bay, but this walking seige engine was more than a match for it. It seems he'd gottten inside since then.

More importantly, was what he had done. Empress arrived just in time to see Needlestew's limp corpse dematerialize. The Worldenders best crafter had been run through by multiple armaments and died a grisly death. Empress gripped her scythe and took stock of the situation. Dammit! If she had gotten here a moment sooner, maybe she could have-

No. We're all doomed to suffer the same fate. A little healing here or there won't change anything, she thought. "See you soon, friend," Empress whispered as she turned to the mechanized orc and his pint-sized companion, a whiny girl in steampunk fashion. The light of her Tree of Life's healing aura spilled through a hole above their heads. Its fruit continued to tumble down through the same opening in the ceiling.

Empress decided to take her own advice. No chit chat. No gloating. No shit-talking. When facing someone out of your league, be humble about it and get right down to business. "[Ancient Titan]!" she said and pointed at the orc's feet. A hand made of rock and stone erupted from the ground beneath him as a collossus of brick and mortar began to unearth itself and take shape. She had caught them both unawares. While the orc wrestled with the titan, the steampunk girl turned toward Empress with jaw agape and, realizing her hired help couldn't save her, turned to flee. But the horned Earth Mother was upon her within seconds and brought her scythe down, raking off a chunk of the girl's HP.

"Picking on our crafter? That's a dick move!" Empress said as she swung repeatedly. The girl was light on her feet, but didn't have much else going for her in close combat.

"Y-you can't say that! I'll have you banned," E-XCEMUS screeched as she fired a shotgun blast into Empress's gut. It was a custom-made weapon, probably imbued with a powerful skill. The pellets cleaved off a chunk of Empress's HP and inflicted a smattering of stat debuffs and bleeding.

Empress activated [Elysian Field] to start cleansing the debuffs and continued her onslaught as a swarm of Sunblossoms arrived on the scene to repair her HP and bombard the girl with lasers. Repeated shots from E-XCEMUS's sawed-off shotgun rang out as she picked off the pesky flowers one by one. Meanwhile the floor shook beneath them as the Titan and the orc danced, grappling one another. Intermittent bursts from its flamethrower illuminated the room in grotesque yellow-orange light. The scene was utter chaos.

"Best damn day of my life!" Empress cried out, revelling in the debauchery as she parried a shotgun blast and pressed the attack. Parried a shotgun blast!? Was that dumb luck or skill? She didn't give a damn anymore. It felt GOOD. It felt RIGHT. It felt the way gaming SHOULD. She was in the zone, coming in clutch. "C'mon, hit me! I've been online for eighteen hours straight, you little bitch," she said as she scooped up a golden apple and pounded it against her chest like a savage animal, instantly recouperating her HP. "And I'm finally having some FUN!"

A thunderclap rang out. The Ancient Titan crumbled into a pile of boulders as its duration ended. the orc stood over him, with a smoking cannon protruding from its belly.

Who knew the orc had a cannon? She hadn't seen him do that all day. Immortal_Empress stared down at the gaping hole in her chest. Well, there goes one health gate. But that's okay. He probably can't fire it more than once. There's gotta be a cooldow-

BOOM!

A second shot staggered her back. Empress hit the wall and sank to her knees as her health bar clung to its final 1%. Her UI flashed red warnings. E-XCEMUS raised her shotgun, aimed it at Empress... only to be suddenly incinerated in a flash of white hot sunlight as one of the Sunblossoms vaporized her. Empress laughed. "Killed by a summon? Pathetic." Only the girl's smoldering boots remained. A few seconds later, even those dematerialized.

Empress's healthbar was slowly regenerating, but not fast enough. She looked to the orc and raised her middle finger as a final shot rang out.

Congratulations, You're Dead!

Empress sighed as her screen faded to black and the respawn timer began to tick down. In these gaps between life and death, reality and virtuality, the weight of exhaustion truly began to bear down upon her. Maybe now would be a good time to call it quits. Log off. Get something to eat. Have a drink, (alcoholic of course). Or maybe a smoke.

"God... after the way they clapped my cheeks today, I need a cigarette," she mused. "I'm too old for this shit."

While she waited for the respawn, she scrolled through what was left in her inventory. After this latest death, she would be too low level to return to the guild hall. Her role in defending their home was done. Based on what she had seen in those final moments, there wasn't much left to defend anyway. The event was over for them. The Worldenders were cooked.

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April 17, 2042
EVENT END

Immortal_Empress rematerialized on the green fields of Chartreuse, back to where it all began. This stage had always held a certain charm for her. The city loomed on the skyline, like a shining beacon promising fantastical adventures. Without hesitation, she began to walk forward, retracing the steps of her first day in Andaros Online. No plan. No grand scheme. Just go forth and seize whatever this world has in store.

Fortunately, some of her old comrades had better ideas. Empress sighed a little when Sic's message hit her inbox. Not that she wasn't glad to hear from him, but... sometimes its nice to just roam the land like a murder hobo.
Sic_Semper_Slimes Meet @ Valley Lows. Greenmark Dungeon.

She briefly considerd ignoring it, or at least taking some time to smell the metaphorical roses before replying. But other replies began to flow in shortly afterward:
Heartpiercer Now don't you worry your slimy little head. I'm here, and I'll be right there.

Ocarina Yes

With a smirk, Empress typed out her reply. Keeping quiet was not her strong suit.
Immortal_Empress It's hardly been five minutes. Too soon for a "putting the team back together" montage, don't you think? But count me in, I suppose.

She summoned a Sunblossom to keep her company as she traveled --a single, level one, sunblossom-- and even that took nearly a quarter of her MP. Empress sighed. The derpy little flower hovered annoyingly close as she walked and then suddenly darted off, fired its laser at a random non-hostile squirrel, which it managed to hit after three tries. Empress facepalmed. She nearly forgot how dumb their AI was at level one. This was going to take some getting used to, but she was not one to shy away from a challenge.

She opened her message box again.
Immortal_Empress So, did everyone have a good time? I certainly did.

Immortal_Empress I think I set a new personal best for warcrimes-per-minute. Thought it was going to be business as usual, but that **** went from corporate casual to Geneva Conventional real quick.
 
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April 17, 2042

He had made it. After a long training montage and weeks of grinding mobs to get to a acceptable level to be part of this event. He had finally made it. Granted he knew this would be grueling anguish. Hour after hour of combat. He remained optimistic despite the odds ever stacked against them.

SilentTyrant2036 stood with the forefront troops. He wasn't very high ranking. He wasn't anyone of any real importance in the guild. By his own admission, he'd prefer to keep his nose out of combat. However, if what the rumors online about this Guild War event was true. If you were caught by yourself in the streets even in low level areas. You probably were dead. Hunted like Frankenstein's Monster by a pitch fork and torch wielding mob.

Eh! He didn't have much to lose. A small amount of progress made by one's self meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Even if that made him lose more than everyone else. He only really had that experience he gained, and the literal clothes on his back. That they couldn't take from him. Even more so they would never be able to take his camaraderie earned by standing with those that fought valiantly.

Traps, trenches, the whole nine yards. He wouldn't be surprised if there were probably some tanks and planes to be used by pilots. It was basically World War One all over again and this would be a fort that could not be taken from their allied forces. Even if there weren't many allies aside from new conscripts like him and some die hard long term supporters.

"Realistically how much of a chance do we have?"

He asked no one in particular. In truth any of the builders were probably staring at him as if he were one of those dumb big birds that drowned on rain water by holding their mouths open to the heavens. He felt kind of stupid if he were being honest. He instead shrugged his shoulders before putting his hands in his pockets and awkwardly bending his knees taking in the scenery. A guitar strap slung over his shoulder let his weapons handle hang to the side for easy grabbing. A make shift harness or scabbard of sorts.

There was some irony to being a Hippie as some would acknowledge him and also being a flag bearer for a cause to fight for.

He definitely looked the part. A human with lengthy brown hair. Tall and leanly muscular. Some five o' clock shadow around a angular jawline and eyes as serene and blue as the sky above. The only real out of character features were his attire of looking like a rock star from some 90's or early 2000's punk band. His armament of choice didn't sway that opinion either considering it even looked like a guitar.

That was when someone came around asking for help to make a dead line with the fortifications. He happily obliged took some boards and nails. Hammering away to a jaunt tune in his head. This wasn't his ideal pass time but he would help in any way he could. At least until they didn't need him any more.

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17:01:44 UTC
April 17, 2042

It had been a fine mess. One that even he kind of reveled in the chaos of. A confident smirk showed across his face as the lower leveled players were mopped on each side and the mid tiers were working their way back to regroup with the higher players. Silent had brought up the rear. Giving those that could get out an opportunity to do so. He'd be behind even at the cost of a spawn timer.

No, it wouldn't be because of a spawn timer as an explosion hit him and several others. Instead his trick would be revealed to the opposition. He knew it wouldn't last. He just wasn't expecting to have made it this long with out the illusion breaking. As the blast settled and the mid tier ground units broke the line. His clone took it's bow out with a smile.

Meanwhile, from a tower the real one would have aimed his guitar's neck down. A swirling vortex in the shape of a sphere protruding from it's tip. The make shift rifle whistled with glee as a quick flick of one of the strings made a thunderous screech. A halo expanded from the make shift barrel of his "gun." The baseball sized projectile hit with precision doming some unsuspecting grunt.

Him and others alike making a firing squad to reduce the numbers further. Taking short celebrations. Frat boys the lot of them but still the accomplishments were being made. Even a low ranking soldier had to be making a name for himself with the amount of effort he was putting in. A captain went down with his ship of course. That said nothing of the crew who died sooner.

He just hoped his epitaph had something heroic on it.

"Here lies the fortunate few. A trench full of tombs for the bloody usurpers. And the honored group who stood against them."

That kind of had a nice ring to it.

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17:43:01 UTC
April 17, 2042

If Silent made his case for how he got this far. You would never believe him. Level fifty playing a caster with a spell loaded sniper rifle at range. It was amazing how much moving and not camping did for those that knew how to shoot. He never ever would have believed he had the skill to combat such a force. Yet, somehow here he was.

He was either the luckiest player alive or the dumbest. To which he felt he had to make the counter argument.

"Yeah, but for how much longer?"

Again no reply was made. Running through their last line of defense's halls Out of breath and out of time. Working to buy other's time to get what they could and get out. That was his best bet at this point. He should have left a long time ago. This was proving to be his worst idea.

"Camaraderie be damned!"

Is what he would like to say. This was answered. Swiftly, promptly, and powerfully with a door opening into his face because he looked back to see if he was being followed.

A girl with a cat like tail and ears. Looked down at a man who towered over her. Knocked unconscious by his own lack of awareness. She shrugged her own shoulders mocking him from earlier. It didn't really matter if he saw it or not.

"Oops! Sorry..."

She looked around awkwardly for a moment before sighing. If she left him out here for the rabble rousers. He was sure to meet an end much more unfortunate than a bruised temple. However, if she got caught looting in the chaos... She was dead too.

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April 17, 2042

Dragging his unconscious yet still breathing body towards a window the tiny cat like woman flicked her tail and hissed for all the trouble he had caused her.

"You are undoubtedly the worst at your job..."

She frustratedly berated him with insults. She then lifted him up on the seal. Then cast him to the ground below. Where he landed wasn't her problem. She had shiney's to find. If he wasn't dead before. He would be dead now.

She turned to reveal a golden pair of eyes with slits and two fangs protruding from her lips. A small curved grin readjusted to her features as she skipped through the halls. A rather uniquely form fitting suit and a belt with many pouches sat at an angle around her hips. Two rod like sticks off to each side of her tail. The tail being pink in color. The suit and rods black as night. Not much else could be made out however as her features were hidden by a hood.

"Yippee! Shiney's to hawk for me." She said in a sing song tone. Clicking her heels together as she short hopped into the air. She made her way down the hall happy as a kid in a candy store.

Silent however was stirring from the cold air whipping at his face as he plummeted. He looked as the ground quickly met his gaze.

"Oh, shi-"

His curse was silenced immediately. Karma had got him for his thoughts. Was it deserved? Probably not in this manner. Still, may he learn his lesson come the reset.

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18: 33: 00 UTC
April 17, 2042
EVENT END

Out of a hole in the sky came the man. His fall broken by his beloved square's fountain. He made his way up for air from the shallow waters. Rather he just flipped himself over like a pancake. He wallowed there for a moment. Looking at his hud. He found several things.

All his equipment had become unequipped. Because he no longer had the level requirements to use them. He was back to level one. Understandable after such a disgraceful defeat. He should be at level one. His own negligence was what bested him. Not even like a level one hundred necromancer just wearing a lampshade on his head and boxers.

His hopeful demeanor utterly destroyed by the events of the day. He wanted to curse the sky in frustration. In fact as soon as he lifted his hand to throw a temper tantrum like a small child. A prompt from chat came in.

Sic_Semper_Slimes
Meet @ Valley Lows. Greenmark Dungeon.

Then another.

Heartpiercer
Now don't you worry your slimy little head. I'm here, and I'll be right there.

And another.

Ocarina
Yes

And they kept coming.

Immortal_Empress
It's hardly been five minutes. Too soon for a "putting the team back together" montage, don't you think? But count me in, I suppose.

Immortal_Empress
So, did everyone have a good time? I certainly did.

Immortal_Empress
I think I set a new personal best for warcrimes-per-minute. Thought it was going to be business as usual, but that **** went from corporate casual to Geneva Conventional real quick.

He snorted at this one. Ah! Yes... There it was. His sense of dark humor being the factor that lifted himself up out of his self pity. He made his message known to the rest of them.

SilentTyrant2036: Just tell me there aren't any doors in this dungeon please.

After sending the reply. He got up out of his bath and made his way to the predetermined destination. He wasn't gonna elaborate on why doors needed to stop existing.
 
Across the Kingdom of Chartreuse, the remnants of the once-feared Worldenders were getting their bearings, perhaps licking at their virtual wounds. Even the most experienced players were still only human on the other end of their DreamHelm, and Stage 1 was the enter point for every Andaros Online player. Even today, though some players could purchase Super Stage Starter Packs to bypass stage level caps, the rolling green hills and sturdy fortresses were still a familiar sight to essentially every player.

Even dying wasn’t the end of the world for most players, since being reduced to level 1 was its own sort of adventure. Usually Sic_Semper_Slimes would be inclined to agree, but he understood that the current situation was nothing short of bleak.

The Kingdom of Chartreuse was pretty linear and flat as far as the game’s open-world stages went. There were no general areas in the overworld blocked by environmental hazards, and the roaming world boss mobs were all large and slow-moving, so the average player could walk around in peace. The most terrifying sights in Stage 1 were the other players, especially max-level casuals or premium pros who loved to flaunt their rare equipment, but it was easy enough to block comms from anyone pestering for a PvP duel.

As he trudged through the densely shrubbed paths of Valley Lows, the level 1 Predator couldn’t help but feel a bit exposed without anything but a set of beginner’s gear. Serves him right for making sure all of his normal equipment was at the max level possible for those damage and stat boosts, but in the event of level regression, his account was woefully unprepared. “Figures, I finally pick up and play, only to get the floor wiped with me.” Real life had taken priority, so he hadn’t been on for a few months. It took Sic a good little while to try to grind back up to his [Prey in Pursuit] skill stacks, choosing the dragon mob family since he knew that there were all sorts of players who ran around with dragon mounts, and plucking them from the sky was quick work with a toss of his spear.

Right now, he was sitting against a rock right in front of a massive stone door built into a hill. Greenmark Dungeon wasn’t the biggest, and its recommended level was 5, but the only things it spawned were goblins and poison drops, so it was the ideal low-traffic gathering place.

Sic checked his messages. A small smile spread across his lips as he read the affirmation from Heartpiercer and Ocarina, the clear saltiness from Immortal_Empress. SilentTyrant2036 chimed in too, so that was good, but even then, that was barely enough players to count on one hand. “Hardly enough to mount a sizeable resistance… unless we want to try recruiting.” To bring in new players at this point would be completely at odds with their mission though, especially at the risk that one of them had a different ideological stance on Andaros Online’s updated operating strategy.

Beginning to form a message back, Sic was interrupted by a Jubby announcement— an in-game notification that often ocurred at the beginning of events, when first starting the game, and so on. Each announcement was only visible on the individual player‘s HUD, and this particular announcement would be sent out to every player who participated in Last Hall Standing. Strange, since Jubby essentially hadn’t been seen since Andaros Online’s ownership change, and most players assumed it was because the mouthy mascot couldn’t help but insult someone important. Jubby had never taken itself too seriously, and the official stance was that the AO devs didn’t take responsibility for Jubby’s personality engine.

Sic crossed his arms and waved familiarly at Jubby‘s hologram. The offical Andaros Online mascot was a mix between a dragon and an axolotl, with six branching gills around its round face, and a slightly shiny sheen to its light pink membrane. The little creature had floppy appendages on the top of its head that flapped to keep it midair, and it spoke even without a visible mouth. Jubby didn’t wave back— it never did, really, but Sic raised an in-game eyebrow when he realized the strange hat and jacket combo they had dressed it in. Sure, sometimes it had a Santa hat during the holidays or a pumpkin mask in October, but this was a blue-and-yellow ensemble covered in every inch with the same logo: “EZ Buy, EZ Buy, EZ, Buy”. Even Sic had to admit, the superstore had a pretty nifty, blocky label.

Jubby spoke, a chirping, melodic sound.

Attention, players! Please pay attention to this offical Jubby announcement, brought to you by your friends at EZ Buy, the biggest little store in the world. Remember, if it’s from E to Z, we have Everything youz need! The Last Hall standing event final scores are in! Congratulations to the Domin8rs guild for finishing in first place, the Critical Pitch for achieving second, and the Pudding United Offical guild for placing third! Please check your inventories for your looted items from the event, in addition to player-exclusive vouchers from your friends at EZ Buy that can be redeemed on their official website for deals and discounts. And, if you want your very own copy of my limited-edition hat and jacket set, you can redeem one after spending a set amount at your online or retailer EZ Buy location. Point treshold varies by location. Offer not valid everywhere.

Jubby spun, but even the emote looked oddly mechanic. It appears that Jubby’s remodel had completed defanged it.

Thanks for playing Andaros Online! Happy ventures.

With that, the mascot blipped out with a final flip. Sic stared dumbfoundedly forward for a little bit before shaking his head. “Hopefully everyone else gets to this dungeon soon, I might need some help fending off the wolves…”
 
Heartpiercer's footsteps chimed with a quiet melody as she walked across the grasslands. The forest canopy had given way a short distance ago, preventing her from making it all the way to the Greenmark Dungeon without touching the ground. For all that had happened, there was still something to enjoy in the scenery of Andaros amidst its vivid environments. Wouldn't be a bad place to just take a walk in...

Speaking of which, a wiggle of her finger brought up the area map, and she took a moment to confirm that she was still heading in the right direction. She always had trouble keeping track of directions in VR environments larger than the typical Dominariant map. But just as she was certain she hadn't gotten turned off course...

["Halt, miscreant! You are found guilty of treason against the Crown! Your punishment: death!"]

Sighing, Heartpiercer glanced over her shoulder. There stood a mob of generic enemies, specifically a low-level [Knight of Chartreuse] flanked by two [Chartreuse Crossbowmen], as their labels in the interface so helpfully indicated. It was rather a bemusing thing, that line being one of many they recited whenever a player drew their aggro. She wasn't exactly someone who completely ignored the quest text and dialogue, but she could never be sure what exactly the Crown had done to warrant this rebellion. Needle could probably explain, but as it were, sending bands of men at arms out to bonk random people was likely a part of it. There wasn't even an option to surrender to them! Not that anyone would take it, really.

This spawn in particular tended to give some trouble to the greenest of players, the Crossbowmen applying pressure at range while the Knight got in close to finish them off. But anyone paying a bit of attention could deal with them, and it wasn't hard to break their aggro and get away providing one wasn't already surrounded. She could probably do that just so she could get to the Greenmark Dungeon in good time. But...she was itching to shoot something. These would do.

["The time for words is over! Pay with your blood, rebel scum!"]

With that exclamation, two crossbow bolts flew straight at Heartpiercer's back...only to ping off the shield mounted there, doing only chip damage in the process.

In the next second, the knight stepped in, readying a fierce downwards slash. With a swoosh, Heartpiercer spun out of the way, her hand smoothly pulling her machine pistol from its holster.

"Phew...sorry about this." She muttered under her breath, bemused that she was even bothering to address these masses of code. "But mommy's gotta work this stress off, one bullet at a time." With a practiced motion, her aim snapped towards the visor of the knight that was well within slashing range of her.

brrt

Just like that, three bullets hit the knight in whatever lay beneath that visor of theirs, sending them crumpling to the ground and dispersing in a few wisps of light.

["Rrgh...for...the Crown..."]

Frankly, the damage resistance on the armored parts of the knight was unimpressive to even starter weapons, but Heartpiercer had to go for the weak point. No sense in not keeping her skills sharp at every opportunity, after all.

["Keep it together, men! Don't give them an inch!"]

The two crossbowmen didn't let up. High-leveled players or those that could inflict the fear status effect would send them packing, but alas, Heartpiercer was neither of those things as of a few minutes ago. In the time it took for her to down the knight, they had long since reloaded, and they proceeded to loose another one-two punch of bolts at her. Falling into a crouching posture, she easily dodged one. But the other sank into her arm, the buzzing feedback registering damage on her avatar as she aimed center mass and squeezed the trigger again.

thip thip

Two more bullets tore through one of the lightly-armored crossbowmen, wiping them out. Having done its job, the crossbow bolt in Heartpiercer's bicep vanished, leaving nothing resembling a wound but its effect on her HP bar prevailing as it always did. Her lips curling into a bitter smile, she took aim and fired a third time, demolishing the last enemy before they could reload.

With that spawn wiped out, Heartpiercer chuckled as the ding of receiving EXP gave her an inevitable boost of endorphins. She was close to level 2...she wondered if the others were doing the same along the way. Still, she had only one third of her current mag left, and a single spare on top of that. In turn, she was at about 75% HP, and the regen rate at level 1 was slow enough that she'd barely have healed any by the time she got to the Greenmark. Was the tradeoff worth it? She considered dipping into her supply of small health potions, but the others might need them, alongside the few small MP and buff potions she had left.

"Well, could've gone worse..."



In a few more minutes, the graceful blonde descended upon the entrance of the Greenmark Dungeon, landing with her arms crossed and her coat fluttering. As she stood up straight, she flashed a smile and brushed her hair back. "Well Slimy, I'm here. So nice of you to invite a lady on an outing to such a fine destination. I suppose it's time for us to put all that...ugliness behind us, no?"

spacepirate spacepirate
 
Silent worked his way from inside the housing districts of Chartreuse to the out skirts of it's city limits. He found a dry set of clothes from a line leaving behind a few pieces of currency for the trouble of the person who hung them. A clean shirt with rolled sleeves. Some pants, and a pair of work boots was all it took for him to feel dry.

"Well, no one can say I didn't take a bath."

He said in a tone that made him sound like he was already ready for a nap. He stuck his pinky in his ear and wiggled it for a bit before flicking some wax off into the distance.

Everyone who was a player of M.M.O's knew that their inventory space was limited. Keeping the highest grade gear, potions, and materials, was always the top priority. So acquiring beginner's gear for a few hundred pieces of currency was always the easiest thing. Luckily he didn't have to worry about min/maxing stats at this stage. Slotting was always the worst part about choosing gear, wasn't it? Where to fit what stats when was the headache.

The country side leading into the forest was exactly as described, a valley. Small creatures, low level guard npc's, and the ever notorious brigand would bar the path. Yet, they would all meet the same fate. The old Hannah Barbera stock cartoon sound effect as a acoustic stringed instrument met the flesh and bone of face.

Kabong!

The noise erupted as he clubbed some poor enemy who aggroed on to him for stepping to close to it. Then another was met with the same treatment, and another felled with a single flick of the weapon in the direction of it's face. He didn't even have to use many skills. This went on until he eventually got to the prerequisite fifth level. Just beating some poor schmucks brains out, looting the corpse, and moving along.

It didn't take him long to get there. He made good time not to just keep beating things to death off the path to the Dungeon. He had seen enough informational videos done by Executorial to speed run leveling in the early game. Which helped him trudge to his destination. When he heard the gentleman's voice speaking of fending off the wolves. He felt the need to ask aloud to make himself known to his ally.

"Did you mean wolves figuratively or literally?"

He supposed he needed clarification because of the target on their backs. Another showed pretty much around the same time as him. Silent nodded and waved politely to the woman who descended upon them with a grand entrance. He wasn't exactly sure about what she meant about "ugliness" but it sounded like the two had bad blood in the past? Maybe she just meant their participation in the guild war. Maybe a bad disagreement of some sort.

He took to sitting on a log. There were at least a few others who replied to the meeting. So some more were bound to show from how he figured it. If there was bad blood to be sorted out. He figured it would be best if he simply stayed to himself on the matter. He could always collect some wood for a campfire to kill time.

Silent looked to the giant stone door. Then thumbed towards it to keep his gag rolling for the comedic value.

"I thought we agreed no doors."
 
Ocarina
Location: Valley Low - Greenmark Dungeon Entrance​

"O children of darkness, return to where you came from."

The clear sky roared as a lightning suddenly stuck Ocarina's extended arms, as if the heaven just ordered her to deliver a divine judgement. Once the light subsided, a slim ethereal sword seemingly made of solid light appeared on her hand. An overly epic entrance for what's supposed to be a level 1 sword, but then again it wasn't exactly a regular weapon.

"Prepare for your death"

Activating her skill [Swaggerplay], in her vision 4 red dots appeared on the figure's of her current enemy. On the left thigh, back of the neck, right stomach and left hand. Raising her sword up, Ocarina performed a quick lunge and stabbed the enemy on their thigh, right on one of the spot. Then before she even finished with the stab animation she quickly activated [Audacious Charge] and slashed though their torso. Then she activate [Bolster] to increase her movement speed before quickly spun around and launched another sla-

Oh, it's already done.

Ocarina watched silently as the bandit dispersed into shards of light before eventually vanished. She remembered her first day on Andaros, she didn't know how to play an MMO game so one of the doctor actually logged in with her and accompanied her through her first several hours of gameplay, killing her first bandit, getting her first loot, drinking her first potion, having her first death and forming her first party. He never logged back in after that but the joy she got from that was the initial spark that keep her going for the next 11 years.

After today's event, she's not sure if she could enjoy Andaros the same way again.

Another bandit screamed as he ran straight towards her, but was quickly stopped when ocarina pulled a gun out and emptied the entire chamber on his head.

Would she really need... to do this again? Was her work for the last 11 years means nothing?

Various question brewing in her head as she mindlessly shoots and slashes through every mobs that came at her. Even if she had the same stat as every other level 1, she's still able to fight them unscathed as she knew their attack pattern and can easily get out of the harm's way the moment she knew what kind of attack they would launch. After several minutes, she finally arrived in the Dungeon.

"Greetings." She nodded at the other present members. There's only a few of them there so they probably needs to wait for a bit more. She approached Heartpiercer, noticing the missing HP on her display bar.

"Let me heal you." She tapped through her inventory and whipped out her [Holy Book - First Chapter] and started to channel the healing spell on Heartpiercer. Even though in combat her role was purely DPS, outside of combat she could acts as a healer of some sort. Far less effective than a dedicated one but she barely use her MP anyway so it's a good way to spend it.

spacepirate spacepirate Nellancholy Nellancholy StardustTroubadour StardustTroubadour
 

  • Race: [ Northern Dragonkin ]
    Level: [ 1 ]
    Class: [ Reclaimer ]
    Equipment Tags:
    [ Cloth Armor ] [ Light Armor ] [ Medium Armor ] [ Spiritual Armor ] [ Broken ] [ Ancient ] [ Lost ] [ One Handed Melee - Small ] [ Grimoires ] [ Two Handed Melee ] [ Tool Weapons ] [ Traps ]


    HP

    MP

    Statuses
    N/A
    116164038_p0_master1200-jpg.1200793
    = = O_NeedleStew_O = =



    "Valley Lows, Greenmark dungeon. Where was that again?" NeedleStew opened a second UI window on the mini-map tab. Meanwhile, messages from the others kept coming in. Heartpiercer sounded a little reassuring. For a roleplayer, Ocarina's message was quite er... succinct. Empress made her a short fit of giggling a tad, and Silent only added to it. She should send a reply too soon, when she was ready to move.

    As she moved the map around to find that dungeon icon, she recalled it wasn't just her main weapon that was unequipped. She was standing there in the default itemless appearance of the avatar, appearing like some kind of starving orphan with a dirty-looking ragged once-upon-a-time white one-piece dress. Fortunately because of the many items she wore for utility rather than combat usefulness only a little less than half of her equipment was level capped. She still had a secondary weapon, that red mantle still hung over her shoulders, and her shoes had still blocked any fall damage (though she wouldn't have suffered any since she spawned on top of grass anyway. It might have been a different story if she happened to land on something that wasn't basic terrain, but who would do that?). Still, she felt a little disgusted with herself and her mismatched look. She quickly scrolled through her inventory and equipped the spare equipment she made to keep her looks without risking her main Body equipment, her [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen Replica ]. She smiled and sighed from relief, right on time to feel a chill on her spine and a weight pushing her back down and her face right onto the dirt.

    "Puuugh ghumph mphm eh." Needle pleaded with the unknown assailant, muffled by the ground. She almost swallowed some dirt as she grinned due to the tickling sensation when that person palpated back, specifically the base of the wings. You were too realistic sometimes, Andaros! But that's part of what she loved about it too... Damn it. She had another reason to grin now. Damn memories.

    She couldn't answer immediately when the familiar voice spoke to her. As the other player moved out, even though she didn't really need to breathe Needle still found herself taking in a couple giant gulps of air before bringing herself to speak and pushing herself up with an arm.

    "Yep yep yep, I'm me, now please move you're.. actually not that heav ?- Mmmphugh!" She faceplanted again as Exec tripped. Perhaps he wasn't used to the de-leveled avatar's movements? For a build with his kind of speed, it probably felt quite sluggish right now.... and slippery maybe. Because he was made of ice.

    A couple of tries later they were freed, though the facts elementals couldn't blush in the same way was probably the only reason NeedleStew was the only one beet red.

    Trying to preserve some dignity, Needle stood up and patted her clothes to remove the dirt effects, though she gradually slowed down as the meaning of Executorial's presence her meant. She stopped. She turned her head around, but all the way, only as far as to see the elemental from the corner of her eye.

    "So, I guess we really lost, huh. Haha, wow! The Worldenders, the Worldenders, the best around, we lost! We lost." She chuckled. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because there just wasn't anything else she could do about it anyway. Sure they didn't lose it ALL but... but, you know... "I wonder if there was anything we could have done. Like, maybe we could have mounted some super strong fortifications, or set up more traps, or maybe like we could have gathered some people from the forums or some other place? No, they'd have gotten through all of it. The guy who got me looked really tough, but his guild didn't even make it to the top three. I guess we were just... I don't even know what I was expecting. I guess I just thought, I hoped that someone, someone other than me, you know..."

    How could he know. Even NeedleStew herself wasn't sure of what she wanted to say with all that. She clenched her fists, then spun back to face Executorial, pointing towards him.

    "A-ny-way! We definitely should have prepared for this outcome better. We underestimated how low those pri-" Needle stopped herself and "coughed". "Those mean people at the top were willing to scrap the barrel. We definitely should have saved up on stuff to make a quick level up later and spare items, maybe have some people who stayed logged out on purpose, and definitely kept more items away from the guild base! Well I mean I suppose a lot of us did keep things in storages outside of the guild base, but even so I mean, huh, what was I even-"

    token_1.png
    <3 Jubby <3
    Attention, players! Please pay attention to this offical Jubby announcement, brought to you by your friends at EZ Buy, the biggest little store in the world. Remember, if it’s from E to Z, we have Everything youz need! The Last Hall standing event final scores are in! Congratulations to the Domin8rs guild for finishing in first place, the Critical Pitch for achieving second, and the Pudding United Offical guild for placing third! Please check your inventories for your looted items from the event, in addition to player-exclusive vouchers from your friends at EZ Buy that can be redeemed on their official website for deals and discounts. And, if you want your very own copy of my limited-edition hat and jacket set, you can redeem one after spending a set amount at your online or retailer EZ Buy location. Point treshold varies by location. Offer not valid everywhere.


    Adding insult to injury, she was interrupted by the oh-so lovely sponsors of the raid sending an announcement for all the players to pitch their merch while they made that poor adorable Axolotl wear it. Poor Jubby. Needle couldn't help picturing it with puppy eyes, whimpering as the businesspeople stuffed with all sort of ill-fitting clothes like some mistreated doll, then collared it to a wall while making it record these sick jokes. She could picture Jubby scanning the room with a pleading gaze as those greedy eyes giggled at his plight and rubbed their greedy hands together.

    Like a new Celemoola flavor, the message looked friendly and appealing at first glance, but there wasn't a crafter out there in this game that didn't know it actually tasted like leftover orange peels blended with gum from their shoes and a healthy dose of their spit. It screamed of a slapped-together "hello fellow kids" message (Some old saying her grandpa use to quote). At the time Needle had simply let it pass her by, she had never forgotten how EZ Buy had robbed the early crafters of that cozy, generous community in the Chartreuse capital.

    "'Happy ventures' they say, happy ventures my - Aaaargh, the gal on those bastards, I could just!..." Needle glanced up, then down again, clearing her throat.

    "Well, anyway, the good news is, at least since the event is over they can't spawncamp us even if they want to. Have you seen Slime's message by the way? Says he wants us to meet up at the Greenmark dungeon, with the... wolves was it? Fortunately, it doesn't seem like it's that far away. " Even if Needle could probably tell you all about the lore in her sleep, this was the first level so there was a lot less of that. Most dungeons here, including this Greenmark dungeon, weren't really her specialty or the kind of stuff that stayed in her memory cluttering a very tight space. "Then again, we're in the Windchime Hills. The terrain here isn't very even so it might take a while more to traverse unless you've got some idea."

    It would be easier if Needle could use her [ Trueheart Jewel ] and just carry Executorial over, but at level one it wasn't much use. She could still fly if need be, though it wasn't much better than walking at this level either. Plus, transport wasn't the only issue with being so low-level. Of all things, Slime wanted them on a dungeon already? By a stroke of luck Exec had showed up, but at this rate, Needle might just die at first AOE!

    Needle went back to her item list. The first order of business was replacing the slots that were still-empty. She didn't really have anything for the Head slot, but she could equip a [ Prospector's Perfect Eye ] to her empty Accessory slot. It wasn't her best item and most of the time she would just swap to it if she really needed it, but it would have to do, especially since her [ Archeoanalysis Catalog ] skill was currently useless until she managed to get herself a new Vault. She then unequipped her [ Multi-drill Miner MKXI ] for a [ Lumberpaul's Titanic Axe ]. She pressed the buttons, extending her arms as a simple axe of iron, wood, and two and half times the size of her body fell from a inches above and she hunched over to hold it as if she was carrying a Christmas tree under her arm. Despite the appearance the weight didn't actually affect the wielder much for this item. Needle swung the axe a couple of times just to make sure that was still true even in her current state (better safe than getting ganged on and taken out by some random mobs while being too slow to hit them or escape), then looked at Executorial.

    "I'm about as ready as I can be unless you wanna stop by somewhere for a quick shopping trip. Do you want to send them a message letting them know we're coming, or should I?"



    Current Skills
    [ Craft: Lost Metallurgy ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    A skill unlocked by [ Reclaimer ] class players with the [ Craft: Metallurgy (all) ] skill. Enables the processing of metal ores and drops, and using metals to craft high tier items with these, though unlike [ Forging ] skills it doesn't enable converting existing metal items into raw materials. At player and skill level 100 enables almost any metal to be used, requiring both to fully unlock new metal work. Can create [ Lost ] grade items using appropriate materials. Able to repair any item within it craftable categories.
    Metal calls to you. You've mastered it's craft, and have become able to instinctively master even the strangest of metals, giving you the opportunity to recover a part of your ancient legacy.
    [ Craft: Progenitor Weave ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    Requires high-level advanced skills in cloth weaving, woodworking, leatherworking and elven tailoring to unlock this skill. It enables the [ Sewing ] or [ Weaving ] with processed cloth, plant and fur materials, including mix-material item production, but forgoes the production of non-weaved items such as wood weapons. Materials that can be used depend on skill and player level. Starting from skill level 70, enables the entanglement ability which sacrifices cloth or plant materials for a 20% chance to inflict the [ Restrained ] status (duration dependent on enemy strength parameters).
    You have reached the highest peak of weaving. A tapestry is a sea, and you and the goddess who commands the currents that flow the sight.
    [ Archeoanalysis Catalog ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Active

    Derived from the [ Archeologist ] class and the standard [ Appraisal ] skill, this skill allows one to inspect information on targets, objects, items and locations. A [ Vault ] must be determined at some point after acquiring the skill using a player-owned location, at which point it becomes locked to that location unless emptied or destroyed. The information the skill can provide depends on the items placed within the vault, particularly those found in dungeon or raid content, or restored using the [ Archeologist ]'s abilities or those of related classes. At higher levels, a sufficiently rich vault could enable the discovery of hidden events.
    You remember and organize everything in your vault and are able to link those findings to the world of today, uncovering secrets long forgotten or never known.
    [ Elemental Array ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    The user can cast a basic attack spell that creates three orbs, each of which can be imbued with one element or energy type, with very few exceptions. As a tradeoff for this flexibility the damage scales poorly, causing it to quickly drop off usefulness as a means of dealing damage relative to other spells of the same level. The skill gives an additional non-scaling small utility spell associated with element and energy type every 10-20 levels.
    An elementary study for aspiring archmages.
    [ Vanish ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Active & Passive

    When activated, the user gains the [ Stealth ] status for a short period, no more than a handful of seconds at level 1 followed by a cooldown period. During/after activation the user's dodge rate is momentarily increased. While [ Stealth ] status is active, the user has an increased dodge rate against AOE attacks and effects, and greater damage reduction from dodging.
    You need no crowds and no shadow. You can blend into the air itself, as though you were always a mirage.
    [ Legendary Collector ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive

    A specialized version of the draconic-races-requiring skill [ Hoard Seeker ]. The skill adds a 'correction' to drop rates to increase them for rarer items and lower them for more common items. While less generically effective, this skill is much more effective at increasing the rare drop [ Skill Crystal ] that can be used to create items with skills. Additionally it improves the chance for a skill to randomly emerge during crafting, and the success rate of infusing skills during crafting.
    Through the eons, many heroes sought a dragon's hoard, knowing it could hold countless weapons worthy of forging a legend with.
    [ Vhulcaestu's Soulsmithing (Unique) ]
    Level: 1
    Type: Passive-Access

    Allows [ Enchanting ] an existing item with a trait or [Imbuing] into an item during crafting. While traits rarely have inherent properties (these are unlocked for this skill at a high level), they can be used to avoid resistances or flag weaknesses, interactions or events. If a user has this skill and an [ Appraisal ] -type skill, they are also able to inspect traits in creatures and items. Increases the degree of customization beyond the default parameters when crafting, particularly in terms of design.
    The divine skills of Vhulcaestus, god of forging, god of artisans and patron of dragon was said to be able to create weapons that revealed the very essence of a soul. A shard of this art is embedded into your soul as you too have become a worthy vessel to spread its name.


    Equipment

    [Primary Weapon]
    [ Lumberpaul's Titanic Axe ] (Heavy | Melee | Two-Handed | Tool Weapon) Allows a user to harvest [ Wood ] materials from even fortified trees with great efficiency.
    Thick trunks just mean more wood for Lumperpaul.
    [Secondary Weapon]

    [ Empty Slot ]

    [Head]

    [ Empty Slot ]

    [Body]
    [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen Replica ] (Cloth Armor) A largely cosmetic replica of the item [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen ]. Still grants some minor HP recovery and [ Fire Resistance ]. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    As charming as a true phoenix's feathers, brimming with red hot vigor.
    [Hands]
    [ Expert Curator's Gloves ] (Cloth Armor) Increases the user's success rate when crafting, repairing or restoring items. Decreases chances to damage or break [ Fragile ] items. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    The ravages of time and preciousness of findings require the gentlest care and the least contaminated fingers.
    [Shoes]
    [ Ornate Steps ] (Medium armor | Ancient) Grants a boost to reputation and charisma towards NPCs, particularly high society NPCs and particularly post a dancing performance. Have an ability to create a tiny jump boost, if used with the right timing can prevent most fall damage.
    Though all appreciate the art of dance, only the noble and civilized appreciate the wealth of dance.
    [Accessory]
    [ Mantle of Majesty ] (Cloth Armor | Lost) Improved reputation with NPCs that are part of nobility or equivalent, a part of a group working directly under such an NPC or have extreme loyalty or respect for such NPCs. Most effective in the Kingdom of Chartreuse, Flaxen Spiritwoods and Ivorine Zephyrdom. Least effective in the Abyss and Phlox Enginefort. Decreased reputation with NPC bandits and rebel groups. Can activate an effect in an area around the user that forces any who fail to resist it into a kneeling animation for a few moments. Long cooldown. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    Once known as royal attire, it became a powerful symbol of respect and status.
    [Accessory]
    [ Ancient Porter's Bracelet ] (Ancient) Creates additional storage space in which only crafting materials can be placed. Crafting materials no longer count towards encumbrance. Gives two boosts to HP and strength one depending on how full that additional space is, the other on how full the user's inventory is in general. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
    Whether they carried stone, metal, or the very nobility above them, strength was required even where food was scarce.
    [Accessory]
    [ Prospector's Perfect Eye ] A monocle with a built-in [ Material Appraisal ] skill. It can be useful in identifying and determining the value of materials. Though less reliably, it can also examine items to predict their value if sold to NPCs.
    Appraisal without tools is nothing but wild guesswork.


Specific Items
[Tool] [ Archeologist Advanced Kit ]
A set of archeology tools for uncovering, retrieving, storing and eventually restoring ancient items or obtain certain crafting materials.
----
[Tool] [ Secret Tools of Meiwuan Tapestries ]
A sowing kit only available to those with advanced cloth-crafting skills after a secret event, bought from a mysterious hidden shop in the Flaxen Spiritwoods.
----
[Tool / Weapon] [ Vhulchaestus-styled Hammer ] (Single Handed | Melee | Weapon Tool | Draconic)
A hammer heavily decorated to resemble the divine hammer of the god of artisans and patron of dragonkind. The hammer becomes better at crafting if wielded by a draconic entity.
----
[Weapon] [ Crimson Gold Flow Daggers (x4) ] (One-Handed | Light | Melee)
Four back-up weapons crafted in pairs, each one a blood-red crystal dagger with a golden line going through the middle. Two of them have an on-hit HP drain effect, while the other two has a speed-draining effect (limited to 15% reduction). Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
----
[Body] [ Gown of the Phoenix Queen ] (Cloth Armor)
Level Cap: 80. Reward for completing the hidden scenario during the raid in the "Flight of Asharia" event. Grants a user a 8% increase in fire-based damage, high fire damage resistance, and restores the user's HP over time. If the user is killed while wearing this outfit, they are enveloped in an egg and come back with 10% HP provided the egg was not damaged to a breaking point. Only works once a day.
----
[Accessory] [ Circlet of Perception: Creatures & Materials ]
Level Cap: 50. A very rare and high tier of the Circlet of Perception item series. The user can passively perceive (and identify in their mini-map) the location of non-hidden non-secret enemies, allies, creatures and material sources for harvesting within a certain range around them, including outside of their field of vision or through walls, except magic-blocking walls.
----
[Accessory] [ Mask of Water Breathing ]
Prevents [ Drowning ] while worn. Gives 5% increased swim speed. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
----
[Consumable] [ Fire Resistance Oil ]
Any person or object coated in this oil gains improved [ Fire Resistance ] for four hours.
----
[Consumable] [ Heavenly Holy Water Flask (x10) ]
Can be applied to attempt to purify corruption, lift curses or harm the undead.
----
[Accessory] [ Trueheart Jewel ]
An artifact that can be obtained at the end of a long quest chain which allows certain races to take on the form of a mount reflecting their race's animal side. In NeedleStew's case, as a [ Northern Dragonkin ], she can transform into a [ Northern Dragon ], large, horned, short-tailed, long-winged and with fur and feathers partially covering it. Past level 75 this form becomes able to fight in actual combat. Conversely, below level 10 the user can only take the form of a small dragon [ Hatchling ] and until level 25 the capabilities as a mount are severely limited. There is also a paid version which can let the user transform into the item's form for a different race.
----
[Accessory] [ Customized Worker's Apron ] (Cute)
Gives a slight increase in crafting success rate, and reduces self-inflicted damage from failed crafting. Heavily decorated. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
----
[Artifact] [ Forager Flute (x2) ]
By blowing on this tiny horn, a trio of forager NPCs appear. They help extract nearby materials such as by [ Mining ], [ Skinning ] or [ Harvesting (plants) ]. They have appropriate skills to do so, surpassing the ability of a player without the right class to gather those materials, however they do take a commission fee.
----
[Consumable] [ High Tier General Antidote (x5) ]
Removes any [ Poison ] status effect on the user (one per antidote consumed). Crafted by Hellproduce.
----
[Primary Weapon] [ Lumberpaul's Titanic Axe ] (Heavy | Melee | Two-Handed | Tool Weapon)
Allows a user to harvest [ Wood ] materials from even fortified trees with great efficiency.
----
[Consumable] [ Floating Lightstole (x8)] (Telekinetic)
Enchanted pebbles which when activated begin to glow and float, following the user and orbiting around them.
----
[Container] [ Box of Sweets ] (Cute)
A decorated metal box typically containing cookies and other sweets. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
----
[Accessory] [ Betrayer's Signet ] (Cursed)
Obtained from the boss of the lore-oriented secret passage in the Betrayer's Tomb dungeon. Can momentarily greatly lower the range of perception of nearby enemies, with a surprisingly small cooldown. Increases the damage of the user's first attack against an enemy in this condition by 50%, but reduces the damage of all attacks against the same enemy after the first.
----
[Grimoire] [ Translator Tome ]
A book which gives the user access to one additional language for a day.
----
[Primary Weapon] [ Holy Chains Temperance ] (Reach Weapon | Telekinetic | Holy | Ancient | Scaling)
Level Cap: 25. Attacks with this chain have an optional chance to cause the [ Restrained ] status for a few moments. Higher chance against enemies vulnerable to [ Holy ] damage. Rather than attacking, can also be used to pick up things or attempt to inflict [ Restrained ] status with high chance and indefinite duration (until enemy manages to free themselves) at the cost or forgoing the ability to use the chains while that status remains. This item scales with user level.
Thy soul is worthy, for it know restraint. Let us be wielded to protect this world from the slavery of its own vices.
----
[Head] [ Infiltrator's Crown ] (Light Armor | Lost)
Level Cap: 35. Slightly reduces skill cooldowns. Receiving damage does not remove [ Stealth ] status from user. Can activate the item to identify structural weak points in structures, constructs, locks and armor. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
The crown of the once-king of thieves, Alibara.
----
[Primary or Secondary Weapon] [ Multi-drill Miner MKXI ] (Single-handed | Melee | Tech | Tool Weapon)
Inflicts [ Armor Reduction ] against non-spiritual enemies damaged by it. Allows a user to [ Mine ] for metal ores with great efficiency. Crafted by O_NeedleStew_O.
At the very edge of dwarven digging engineering for about 20 minutes.
----
[Item Type] [ Item Name ]
text text text
----

Item Collections
  • Leftover Crafting Materials (Several different crafting materials, most of which currently not usable by NeedleStew due to lacking the appropriate level.)
  • Recovery Potion Assortment (Several typical potions for HP and mana (assuming there is mana) recovery.)
  • Archeological Items (Several restored items with minor/cosmetic or no effects)
  • ()
[ Currently Empty ]
While O_NeedleStew_O stored most of her materials and crafted items in a large warehouse (which acted as her previous vault) and her store, both were raided during and after the guild was taken down, as unlike many storage facilities used by members, both of these were public knowledge. Fortunately due to the need to access some materials or items quickly, she kept small storage locations in each level. They don't have much in them, only the minimum in case there was a need for such supplies because someone forgot something right before a raid or some situation to that effect.

Item Collections
  • Leftover Crafting Materials (Several different crafting materials, most of which currently not usable by NeedleStew due to lacking the appropriate level.)
  • Archeological Items (Several restored items with minor/cosmetic or no effects)
  • Food item supplies (Basic consumables)
  • Leftover equipment (Scrapped or at least unused equipment simply left lying around. Nothing special or advanced, but can do the bare minimum and depending on location it is stored in likely has a minimum of fitting resistances)
  • ()

Interacting With: Executorial ( Aesir Aesir )
Mentions: Heartpiercer ( Nellancholy Nellancholy ) Sic_Semper_Slime ( spacepirate spacepirate ) Ocarina ( Spoiled Bread Spoiled Bread ) Immortal_Empress ( AnonyMouse AnonyMouse ) SilentTyrant2036 ( StardustTroubadour StardustTroubadour )
May Also Want to Read: N/A
Art Credits:
Avatar - Yasato/八里 (Pixiv)
 
Last edited:
After roughly a minute of fumbling around and being entangled on someone else's avatar, Executorial had finally wrested themselves free from NeedleStew - to the great relief of them both, it would seem. Really, why did they of all people have the misfortune of spawning several feet in the air, only to fall right on top of someone else? The elemental could be seen in something of a half-lucid daze, dozing on the grass for a minute before they came back to their senses.

Well, that had been embarrassing.

Elementals could not blush, of course - but there was a twinge of some pastel-hued pink in the cloudy greys and soft, delicate blues of the icy silhouette, which occasionally shed puffs of snow. Had they been in their other form, the inner flame within a pitch-black body would have flared up repeatedly, though it was currently impossible for them to alternate their elemental affinity. It was one of the first things Executorial had noticed - the lack of warmth within their chest, the sense that something else laid just beyond the physical boundary of who they were. After having played for so long with it, it was almost nauseating to be without.

"We did." Executorial sighed, shaking their head and planting their face into both hands. "I did my best. I swear, some of that gear they sell in the cash shop is designed to counter tactics we've been known to use in the last year. I had so many close shaves that you'd think they were aiming to take me off the map as soon as possible." In all honesty, that was probably the truth - there were few members of the paid alliance who hadn't suffered at least one unceremonious death from the sharpshooter's bullets.

Upon standing up, it was clear to see that the ice elemental was much, much taller than the Dragonkin - almost double their height, due to the spindly, lithe form that had been styled. "You're right, though. Now that I think about it, there was a lot more that we could have done. But there's really not much use in crying over spilled milk. For all they know, they must all be thinking we've given up - it'll make our comeback that much sweeter. If we stay low, they'll likely have no clue that we're preparing to build back up."

Their list of players to hunt had just exponentially grown, after all. And yes, perhaps in their eagerness, they'd just assumed that this was not indeed the end.

Whilst brushing dust and dirt off the pristine white coat that seemed to flow outwards as a part of their body, the elemental continued speaking. "Also, I'm ahead of you on that front. I kept a lot of materials and items at my house in the Ivorine. We can recoup losses when we get there, and I'm planning on having you go through my entire inventory to make us some new equipment." Executorial concluded, reaching backwards to retrieve their rifle. The firearm wasn't the one that Needlestew had spent hours tooling and etching, but it was still an incredibly serviceable weapon. "And safehouses in the lower zones. You know how it is, even I lose a fight from time to time. We'll be able to access one in the very next stage. Though I'll admit, they're not really for storage, and I didn't keep anything of importance in them."

Their train of thought and speech alike was abruptly interrupted by the appearance of Jubby. Well, now that was a face they hadn't seen in a long time. Though, it might as well have been an alien speaking to them - none of those mannerisms matched the way that it'd been on launch day! It was almost infuriating enough to the point where the elemental nearly lashed out in a physical way, angrily sweeping one arm to the side to dismiss the announcement as it was only halfway played.

"To hell with all of them. Every guild, and all their players! The sponsors too! I'm going to remind them why I was the authority on PvP- Ugh." Despite the brief expression of temperamental rage, it would seem as if reality dawned back on the battle-aficionado as they ran a hand through the 'tufts' of their hair, which wasn't hair at all - terribly frustrated that they couldn't just go right back to deleting their opponents off the face of Andaros with some ludicrously prepared combination of effects and damage. It was accompanied by an exhale of cold, misty wind, soon gone in the verdant summer breeze of the stage.

"Oh, Slime? Right, let me see..." With a gesture, the message appeared before them.

Sic_Semper_Slimes: Meet @ Valley Lows. Greenmark Dungeon,

"Yeah, I can make that work. Yes, it's the one with the wolves, and we should be able to get there in about fifteen minutes if we book it." Though, with the reduction of their usual speed, and the loss of their fiery counter-form, it was likely going to take longer. "Also, I've got it. Let me get a response in, and we'll get going. Unfortunately, it does look like we'll be heading there the old-fashioned way." Among other things, they'd also left their mount at their personal residence before the event...

"I've got nothing to do. Besides, you know that I don't usually move my equipment or things around, I like playing with ease and comfort at the forefront. Feeling uptight is a great way to lose an engagement for no reason." Whilst speaking, the elemental could be seen typing on a hologram-like keyboard, a pale array of glowing lines and flowing shapes, to send out their message.

[Executorial]: Don't leave me out of the fun, you all. I'm on my way. Also, Empress, you've got to tell me about that new best, because I might be emulating it on my way to taking some revenge on those bastards.

With a flick of the wrist, the array disappeared afterwards, and the elemental oriented themselves towards the northwest, the direction that they'd be heading in. "By the way, I know Sic said we're going to a dungeon, and that it's not really your forte. But I've got you, even if I'm better for beating on other players than on bosses." It was also somewhat impossible for an elemental to wink, given that they didn't have eyelids, but the shifting of their bodily composition gave the illusion that their visible right eye had disappeared and then reappeared, which was close enough.

Their grip tightened on the fossilized-wood stock of their rifle, a bone-white hue due to its age and colorless affinity - and they were off in a light jog, keeping their footsteps measured so that Needle wouldn't have to sprint at full speed in order to catch up. It was quite clear that Needle's earlier theory was true, that each movement was incredibly sluggish in comparison to the blitzing speeds which Executorial flaunted in duels.

It sucked just as much as anyone thought it did. They were going to have to hit the accelerator on grinding all their levels back.

Hence, along the way to the Valley Lows, Executorial would take shots at whatever unfortunate enemy happened to meet their crosshairs - they weren't going to pass up on getting a head start.



Interacting with: Idea Idea
Mentioned: AnonyMouse AnonyMouse , spacepirate spacepirate
 
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Immortal_Empress

Jubby. Ugh. Immortal_Empress silenced the announcement almost as quickly as it had appeared. As much as she missed Jubby's joyful messages, the moment she saw its garish EZ Buy attire, she was more than done with it. Her tolerance for the game's corporate shilling had long since worn out and this Jubby was not the Jubby she knew and loved. Being in Charteruse as a level one filled her with a sense of nostalgia, but it was ruined now. RUINED!

Unfortunately, the message still played out as subtitles. It seemed the game wouldn't allow her to completely ignore it. She couldn't hear Jubby's sickening voice, but the words scrolling before her eyes as it flipped, spinned, and preened in silence was more than enough to fill Empress with unbridled rage. Fortunately, the reply of a comrade soothed her frustrations:

[Executorial]: Don't leave me out of the fun, you all. I'm on my way. Also, Empress, you've got to tell me about that new best, because I might be emulating it on my way to taking some revenge on those bastards.

As a player known for her endurance and lack of damage, Empress's sadistic streak wasn't exactly a secret. To say she liked to drag things out would be an understatement. It seemed Executorial wanted a few pointers on how to make her enemies sufffer. She smirked as she typed out a response:

[Immortal Empress]: Oh, you're here too? Well, well, well. Word of advice for you DPS types: stop aiming for the head. It's more fun when they die slowly. See ya soon.

She was one to talk, after the way she unceremoniously vaporized E-XCEMIUS during her final moments of the event. She knew Executorial and Needlestew were somewhat close, so maybe she should take her own advice. Then again, that wasn't entirely her doing...

You really have no restraint, do you? Empress thought, pausing to stand with her hands on her hips as her Sunblossom targeted yet another non-hostile "enemy." She had only been walking for about ten minutes, yet it had already unleashed its fury on one squirrel, a small flock of birds, and now a molerat. To be fair, the molerats could turn hostile if approached, but there was no excuse for attacking squirrels and birds. It's just downright uncivilized.

She wouldn't mind the summon's overtuned aggression so much if the darn thing had aim. Unfortunately, it couldn't hit the broadside of a barn and the cooldown between shots meant the enemies it aggro'd usually came running at her before it had a second chance.

She liked to believe that letting her derpy little flower friend goof off like this was the only way for them to get "smarter." But, in all honesty, Empress had no idea how the intelligence of summons worked. Maybe they simply improved as the skill leveled up and all of this alleged "training" was for nothing. They operated with military precision at level 100, executing coordinated attacks and even taking cover or flanking from time to time. But at level one, they were no smarter than the mobs they were attacking.

Nevertheless, if there was anything she could do to speed up their development, she would do it, no matter how dubious. Because I'm royalty, dammit. I shouldn't have to lift a finger. You fight for me, she thought as she stood by and watched her minion fire away at the molerat. Nice, another miss. Oh, the joys of being a level one summoner, herding cats in the hopes they someday grow into mighty tigers. It was a bit like watching two blind drunks scuffle. Morbidly amusing? Yes. Productive? Ehhhh.... it passes the time.

Well, she was dethroned royalty now and this molerat had an unruly look in its eyes. An "I wanna speak to your manager" look. Empress unequipped her scythe and replaced it with her [Grove Guardian's Grimoire], just in case her subordinate was dumb enough to let him do it. In some areas, these creatures could burrow underground and launch a surprise attack, but Empress had led enough fledgling adventurers through this zone to know they don't do that here. As long as she kept her distance, she'd be safe.

The molerat settled back onto its cute little haunches as its jaws opened in a menacing hiss, a familiar animation. These early enemies always telegraphed everything. "Jeezus, I could mail this attack to you and it'd land before you finish that animation," Empress quipped as she extended her arm, with spellbook in hand, aimed at its gaping maw and gnarly teeth. The outstretched grimoire glowed an earthy green as three sharp stones materialized out of thin air. They hovered above the book for a fraction of a second before rapidly accelerating toward her target, just as the molerat began to pounce.

THWACK!

THWACK!

WHOOSH

Two out of three. Not bad for a first try. Grimoires were always a little tricky to aim, having no iron sights or scopes, but she would get the hang of it in due time. The double impact toppled the molerat over, but her sunblossom got the killshot, striking it with a beam of white-hot sunlight as its tiny body ragdolled into the tall grass. "Oh, now you're a sharpshooter?" Empress scoffed as the molerat corpse dematerialized, leaving behind one [molerat tooth], a common drop used in a few early fetch quests.

"Thank ya kindly for this, adventurer. Them thar molerats been a right newsance to muh crops," Empress thought. Even years later, she could still hear the farmer NPC's voice clearly in her head as she and her grandsons turned in the required 20 molerat teeth. It had been hard-fought back then. Empress scooped up the drop, mostly out of habit, and tucked the grimoire under her arm as she continued her journey. Its greenish glow quickly subsided, acting as a visual indication the grimoire was ready to fire again. She preferred the feel of her scythe, but maybe she should keep this on-hand, to get some shooting practice... not that it's a competition or anything.

A short stroll later, she entered the thick shrubbery of Valley Lows. Thankfully, her sunblossom seemed to find less creatures to take pot shots at here, so she no longer faced any interruptions. Soon, she crested a hill and found a handful of her comrades waiting outside of Greenmark Dungeon's large stone door. Sic_Semper_Slimes was there of course, along with Heartpiercer and Ocarina.

Immortal_Empress spread her arms in a grandiose gesture as she approached them. "Behold! Your ruler has arrived. It's alright, you needn't kneel or grovel. I will tolerate such insolence this day, for I am in a magnanimous mood... despite your poor performance when defending my castle," she said with a smile, despite obviously trying to suppress it. For someone who behaved like such a toxic git at times, she just couldn't keep a straight face, even while teasing them.

In a normal, less in-character tone, she added, "Circumstances aside, it is nice to see you all. Has everyone eaten? I don't have any meat on me, but I can whip out the camping set if anyone wants to cook while we wait." Straight into the roleplay. Typical Empress.
 
As more of the guild members assembled at the dungeon's entrance, Heartpiercer's...heart couldn't help but feel light. The truth is that she liked the guild and its members, and the game as a whole, but she wasn't exactly a lifer who would have been heartbroken at the possibility of leaving. In fact, if the others hadn't logged back in or stayed logged in after the battle and signaled their intention to persist, she would have done just that. Instead...she stayed on. They'd see this through somehow, to whatever end the future held for them.

Silent arrived not much later than her, and another one of his air-headed quips was not far behind. She wasn't sure how to respond exactly, so she answered with her typical brand of reassurance. "What's the matter, door bothering you? If that's the case, I'll put a big hole in it just for-" She reached to her back, where a block of C4 would usually sit, but it had long since been spent. "-well, I will once we find someone who's crafted bombs of an appropriate level." StardustTroubadour StardustTroubadour

Immortal_Empress arrived as well, smelling of flowers and the good parts of animals. Heartpiercer liked to think that they shared both a similar sense of style (at least in this virtual realm) and a philosophy of supportive, flexible tactics, but she had never much talked to her before this. Really, she always found women with...presence rather difficult to open a conversation with, and talking voice to voice only made it harder. Still, having her around was a plus. Summoning and commanding classes being around gave a party exponential numbers, least of all the Earth Mother. And that choice of tactics was backed up by a person who she believed had a good heart, behind those goggles. "Oh my!" She chose her words carefully as she pulled the sides of her coat and dipped, as if giving a curtsey. "The Empress graces us. T-terribly sorry, but my fine china appears to be situated in the fiery lands of the Dragonhold. I f-fear that I cannot contribute to an adequate banquet until I retake my holding there." AnonyMouse AnonyMouse

Ocarina's approach gave her an opening to distance herself a bit, the shadowy energy flowing into her avatar accompanied by a quiet buzz that every player associated with relief as their HP and other relevant bars rose. "Now aren't you a generous girl." She reached out, giving her a pat on the head. "I ought to reward you, of course!" Reaching into her coat, she produced a small HP and MP potion each as if she was retrieving candy, and she let them go in front of Ocarina, leaving them hovering and rotating slowly in the air. Spoiled Bread Spoiled Bread
 
"Hello."

Silent said as Oracle came to join them. She extended an olive branch of sorts by filling the present health bars. He offered her a warm smile in return.

"Thank you."

He couldn't help but notice her in game model reminded her of a small porcelain doll.

The Empress was next to make her grand entrance. She could probably beat him in the department of theatrics considering what she had said. An avid R.P.er more than a raider. Which only further went on with her next offer. He chortled for a moment before she lifted the mask. Having revealed her kinder more motherly side she offered them warmth and food.

He would happily partake in it if he had more than small crature meat to eat. Alas, they were all lacking in some department of their individual stock. They definitely didn't have any group resources anymore to use. He supposed they had all felt some semblance of soreness from that. More so as they were out of house and home. His next response only served to confirm it.

"With my luck today. The chunks you blow from the door will probably end up hitting me in the face. Thanks all the same. I appreciate the help, H.P.."

He spoke up to Heartpiercer. In truth he wondered if the name being abbreviated to H.P. was intentional considering she played a healer/support.

He threw up his hands in resignation. Hoping she wouldn't go through with it he shook them side to side with a nervous chuckle. He was far too quick to react despite that. She must have used all her consumables as the guild hall came down. He breathed a small sigh of relief when she relented she needed to restock.

[Executorial]: Don't leave me out of the fun, you all. I'm on my way. Also, Empress, you've got to tell me about that new best, because I might be emulating it on my way to taking some revenge on those bastards.

The characters there mirrored his inner thoughts outwardly. The ones not there were fired up to get what they needed back. He was still stuck somewhere in the middle. He wanted the corporations gone as much as the next guy, sure. Somehow he wondered if that was the wrong plan. It was an odd feeling.

He thought about the term "dacadence" for a moment. How "Nero fiddled as Rome burned." Could any of them even as a cohesive unit make a difference? They certainly wanted to. Maybe that's where the group's resolve came from. A lack of corporate knowledge but a lot of heart to preserve what they loved for whatever reason individually.

"That fire sounds nice, Empress."

He said aloud finally.

"Let's get some fish. We can plan over a meal. We should be good by the time everyone gets here, yeah?"

He asked for a moment before getting up and searching around the trees. Foraging through the foliage for a few lengthy branches to fashion poles from and some strong vines for line or maybe some other material. Maybe a giant spider silk perhaps?

"It'll give the others some time to catch up."

This was his definitive answer at least. Either way, if he had time to sit and let intrusive thoughts win. He had time to get up and make himself useful with some work.

"Give me a hand, please?"

It would give the lot an incentive to work towards. He thought as he looked back at any and all who were willing to get out there. They looked like they needed to keep their motivation up. Even if they didn't show it. They probably all felt as bad as he did in one way or another.
 
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