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Fantasy Into the Dread Labyrinth

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The burden of knowing these people's thoughts was something Seymour never really anticipated. While he was not too affected by Thames' sudden departure, he was growing slightly vexed by the unneeded commentary of the more privileged folk. Turning his attention towards Samara, it would seem that he was not the only one who had this sentiment. Despite her calm outward appearance, the rage within her mind and heart could not be overstated, so much so that he was starting to become slightly worried if they were about lose a few more members. This far from what he could tell, Samara was a genuinely good person. That said, even these type of people had their breaking points.

Seymour remained silent, cautiously listening to Samara's inner turbulence that grew ever stronger with each disrespectful dialogue from his peers. It wasn't until the narrator proclaimed a "challenge" for the party, to press onwards and forget of the recently departed that the shieldmaiden finally spoke up. Bearing he true emotions in full display. Discreetly, Seymour pocketed the now clean Zweihander and walked towards Lemondrop's side with a sigh. Seeing the tall woman draw her sword prompted Seymour pull out his sword once more, in sheathed position, just below his belt.

Finally, the shieldmaiden choose to put her anger and disdain into the blade and threw the sharp object towards her. Even in his weakened state, even with this heavier weapon, Seymour was quick with his hands, swinging his blade upwards, dangerous close to Lemondrop's face. The movement was fast and decisive, meant to intercept the projectile and throwing it off its mark. Thankfully for all of them, said action was not necessary whatsoever. Just as he thought, the whole things was a bit of misdirection from Samara's part. However, Seymour only went through with the move of his own as he could sense some doubt from shieldmaiden as to whether or not she was able to pull off such a maneuver.

"Oops sorry. I didn't think it was this heavy." Seymour spoke, trying to play the moment as him being a bit clumsy with his borrowed weapon. "Though Samara has a point, Lady Lemondrop. It's in the best interest of your brand image to NOT speak ill of the dead." Normally he would elaborate more to the sheltered girl, but he believed that she would be smart enough to put two and two together. "That goes for you as well, narrator." Seymour spoke, turning to give Lumi a strong glare. "We gain nothing from belittling him, so I suggest to take this time to either rest or come up with better challenges." It was a rare sight to see Seymour midly serious and perhaps even annoyed about something. However the moment quickly passed when Samara asked if he was interested in accompanying. "It would be my pleasure, Samara. I think, all of us could take some time to unwind a bit." And so returned the usual carefree and cavalier Seymour.

And yet from the corner of his eye, he could sense more trouble, as another party member's personal disdain grew stronger, but was eventually efficiently suppressed. Seymour was impressed by Kirsten ability to regulate her emotions given her initial stance. But then again, she was always one of the more pragmatic members of the team. In that sense, they were quite alike. Regardless, he was looking forward to meeting the Skirmisher again, hoping that he would able to get his hands on better gear or weapon, and perhaps even collect some trophies along the way. While the current monster teeth around his neck was stylish, they lacked any tactical advantage.

AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa AnonyMouse AnonyMouse Skyswimsky Skyswimsky ERode ERode
 
Lemondrop Meringue
Thalia_Neko Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse AnonyMouse Skyswimsky Skyswimsky TreasureSniper TreasureSniper @OthersAround​


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At least one person got the message, which Lemondrop found strange. Whenever someone in the company died, Father always gave a speech proclaiming how the other employees are alive because they are superior. That always got them cheering! It was a great morale boost to push away those unproductive, negative emotions. It was procedure! Maybe she hadn't utilized her notes to the best they can be?

Regardless, she reciprocated Sophia's hug, unaware of the brewing emotions yet to release. "I guess I should tally up our Beacon count while waiting..."

Lemondrop never got far.

For some unfathomable reason, Samara was taking out her aggression on her! Lemondrop froze up. She glanced behind to see if there was any poor soul, but Samara was focused on her! Sweet little Lemondrop! "I... I don't understand..." She slowly backed away from the warrior, this sense of fear being completely alien. "I didn't... I wasn't..."

Samara hurled her weapon. Lemondrop dropped to the floor, curled up, and screamed the loudest she had ever screamed.

Even though her life did not end, her soul might as well have left her body. After Seymour jumped in and the silence made itself known, Lemondrop sniffled. Then wailed—like a child. As Seymour tried talking to her, she responded with incoherent babblings and sobbing. "I wath not! I-I doing what daddy did buth, buth it made her mad! I-I don't know what—I was just trying to..." She latched onto Seymour's legs, burying her tears into his pants and muffling the rest of her words.

Some time later, Lemondrop stopped crying, though her face was puffy red and frowning. She wiped herself with a clean handkerchief, blowing into it cartoonishly loud. Nose stuffed with snot, she said, "As heir to Meringe Spelunking, it is my duty to ensure the morale of our workers..."

That said, Lemondrop forced herself to stand. Her legs were still wobbly, but she hesitantly made her way over. As to not let herself be overwhelmed with fear, she focused solely on the memorized script. "Ms. Samara, I apologize if you felt you were treated unfairly. It is Meringue Spelunking's procedure to best help their workers and other affiliates work through their emotions in trying times. If you have felt offended or wronged in any way, Meringue Spelunking is open to discussion about disbursements, compensations, and settlements." She presented a card with a slick design and a yellow and white color scheme. "Please take our business card for future contacts..."
 
After around a day, the group that remained behind at the Floor boss site camped out just before the stairs leading downward. The group were mostly fine waiting on the others. Their supplies held out well, and they rested in their sleeping bags in tents. Only a few times did some low level monsters show up, not causing too much trouble. Which they managed to deal with in a straightforward, and trouble-free fashion. Then finally, the group that left, returned, and the S rank party was finally able to move forward...

But just before they left... Daeva had something to do.

Another of the reasons why her spell before didn't work, was because of her will. She didn't have the will to raise it. Raising Uniques was an entirely different thing than simple undead.

But I have the will now!

Her willpower stat was only 44. Meaning it was more of a crapshoot if her will would be enough. That is to say, her spell would usually fail, but there was a chance...

"Rise! Rise! Rise fatty beast! Rise to the world of the living once more! Rise and meet your mommy! RISE MY BABY! RISE BLOBJUN!"

Daeva's wiry, string black hair was waving wildly. Her eyes lost their iris and began glowing and sparking. With her hand held out, energy and magic flowed. It entered the body, and 'ignited' it with a flash of brilliant light as mana swirled around and through the corpse.

The corpse of the fatty beast, riddled with the countless stabs and cuts from the previous battle, began to move. It finally got up, standing up. But not straight. It was hunched, and its arms swung as if they weren't moved through mental power. The creature, riddled with wounds, with some of its bones visible through the nasty stab wound through its chest, also had vacate white eyes, and its mouth hung open, as it generically groaned and growled.

"Graah.. Groaa.. grahhh..."

Above its head read:

Risen Blobjun, Level 1

It was clear, although it was risen, it was not nearly at the level or strength it had been at before death. Perhaps that's just how the skill worked, or perhaps Deava's skill level was too low itself, but.. the girl didn't care about any of that.

"EEEEEEEYAA!!" She shrieked. The girl was thrilled. She bounced around the newly risen creature.

"EEEEE! MY BABY! MY BABY! Look at you! My baby!!!" She screamed, before wrapping her arms around it, hugging to the fatty monster tightly, nuzzling into it happily.

"Graaahh, raaahhh..."

With a smile, she declared, "You're coming with us."



Floor 2​

The Wega Kingdom​

Beyond the Borders​


Floor 2. The group had descended the stairs in the side of the mountain into the darkness. And ended up entering... yet another new world.

Floor 2 was barren, and desolate. Behind them was a craggy, orange-brown mountain with nothing alive on it. The stairs exited a cave, looking like something completely impossible. But anyone who was familiar with the Dread Labyrinth was quite familiar with the impossibility of how the floors were inside.

Extending out before the group, when their feet left the last step was a barren yellowish-orange land. The beginning of what was known as the kingdom of the Wega.

As they entered, a strange video-game-esque window appeared above them, forcing them to crane their necks up to read it. It revealed the floor name, stating:

Floor 2
The Wega Kingdom
Beyond the Borders

It was known this was just beyond the borders of the Wega Kingdom, so not quite the kingdom proper. Only Wega Outcasts and Wega Exiles would be found on this floor. Amongst other monsters that could thrive and exist in a pretty barren, apocalyptic land.

Not much is completely known about the Wega, but what is known, is that the Wega are a race of monster within the Labyrinth. They're humanoid, resembling humans, but have their own unique and strange characteristics. First off, their skin was grayish-black. They had soulless, pupilless eyes. Their hair resembled Daeva's a lot -it was black, long, stringy, wiry, ugly. Though white hair Wega were common as well. And another unique thing about them, was they had a sex ration of 75% "women" -or female- Wega, and only about 20% men/male Wega, and 5% of what are called "other" Wega -that didn't really show off sex characteristics.

Typically, Wega are considered a weakish monster. They have around human-like strength, maybe less for the smaller, or more "docile" ones. Though, surprisingly, they do exhibit strength unbefitting their size, since Wega are typically smaller than humans. Their heights are around 4'8''-5'7''.

The average Wega monster relied more on speed rather than strength; Wega's most dangerous factor was their unpredictable speed. They used claw-like nails and sharpened, blackened teeth to bite. The threat came from their natural instinct to kind of go berserk when they attacked -wildly clawing and biting. But really, the Wega were not seen as that dangerous amongst the monsters of the labyrinth. For those that study the labyrinth, it was commonly accepted the Wega were more of a nuisance, than a threat to most common Adventurers.

Before the group spread out the desolate land. A few blackened, shriveled trees could be seen in the distance. This floor seemed bigger, and more sprawling than even floor 1. There weren't any immediate monsters that could be seen. But there were monsters known to hide in the brown-orange dust. A couple of them were called Dust Hiders, or Dust Swimmers, or Rockshells. Ambush-type monsters, and probably the biggest threat for now. The Dust Hiders and Dust Swimmers were lanky things, and Rockshells were what they sounded like -bigger creatures that had huge rocks for shells, which they used to hide in plain sight.

"Hmm.. Blobby, what do you think?" Daeva asked, looking towards the hulking undead behind her. "Grahrahraa.." She got in a reply. "Mhm.. mhm.. Yes. Same, so do I. Kiyahihihi~"

Since she had just used her spell, and it took around 90% of her mana, Daeva was actually quite low on mana reserves. She could probably cast one Dark Usher, or perhaps 2, maybeeee 3 by the time they faced off against a monster. But right now she was running on empty. But the girl was just SO DARN HAPPY about her new baby she didn't even care, or really, concern herself with it at all.
 
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Wegas weren’t a threat. A resemblance to humanity meant that their arms simply weren’t as long as her own attack range with her lance, no matter how berserk they became. The main danger in the Wega Kingdom, even beyond the ambush predators, was the risk of disorientation in such a featureless landscape, the sheer lack of resources present. There was no water that was safe to drink, even after boiling. None of the trees would ever bear fruit, while the one would be courting with death if they tried to eat something here. Unlike the first floor, where you could occasionally come across a deer or two, perhaps a fruiting tree, here, the only chances of getting food would be through random caches that you’d have to dig up.

And then there was the weather as well. Strong winds could pull up stronger sandstorms, and there was no shelter one could take to protect themselves from the elements.

The environment itself was the enemy, and so long as they weren’t ambushed by another cadre of high-level monsters, it would remain their greatest enemy. All the strength in the world wouldn’t replace the need for water, after all. Kirsten turned to the others, eyes bouncing between the mix of expressions upon their faces. Daeva was over-the-moon, of course, while Samara seemed to have leveled out after her trip with Seymour.

“We’ll advance as quickly as possible to the Wega Kingdom. There’s no telling when the next storm will descend.” One day hadn’t been enough to get any combat coordination. “Samara, you’re the rear guard. I’ll be the vanguard. Seymour, Ken, remain on the flanks. Lemondrop, stay center-rear with Seraphina.”

It was a simple diamond-shaped formation, but there wasn’t much need for a more complex one. The barren landscape, as flat as the eye can see, meant that a scout served little purpose, after all. And if they were intending on travelling through as swiftly as possible, then a wedge, a straightforward challenge to any ambush predators that may emerge from the dust, would be the best.

“Let’s go.”
 
Seraphina didn’t appreciate being called a child. So much so that she stuck out her tongue and raspberried at the so-called ‘adults’ in protest, proving how mature she was. Much of her rest was spent cleaning up until she was certain she was spotless, even using some of her drinking water to scrub the last bit out.

She also took every opportunity to glare at the others who’d remained. Most of them had made her naughty list in their own special way, some more than others. The disrespectful tycoon, the equally disrespectful amnesiac, and… ewwh. What was that cooky necromancer doing with that de— UGH, NO!!

"Are you serious!?" Sera growled, crossing her arms and glaring at the animated corpse of her friend’s murderer. Sera’s swords, now a mere pair, hovered beside her menacingly. She stepped forward, seemingly ready to smash it back to the broken corpse state it belonged. After glaring deep into Daeva’s eyes, she groaned and dismissed her blades with a wave.

"It’s not worth wasting my energy when it could save someone, but I expect you to discard that vile abomination the second it stops being useful." She prepared for the response that would surely be a lovely and subordinate ‘Yes Seraphina,’ and was fully prepared to double down on insisting for it. But then, survival had a funny way of improving peoples’ tolerance of otherwise unforgivable acts, and Sera wasn’t immune to this.


Sera was bored.

Actually, it was even worse. A mix of bored and anxious. The labyrinth had thrown that curveball, forcing her to be on edge, wondering when the next overleveled monster would spawn out of nowhere. Aside from that, though, most enemies on these first few floors were trivial to execute.

"Is that really necessary, mommy?" Sera answered Kirsten with a snarky finisher. "There’s nothing here but dirt and rocks."

She yawned.

Why so far? Why so big? Why didn’t they bring one of those fancy magimobiles or something? Was that beyond the budget allocated to the saviors of humanity or whatever? "Ugh…" Seraphina verbally complained for the third time in the last 5 minutes. "Are we there yet?" she called out to the frontliners who were largely blocking her immediate view.

Opening her inventory, Sera blinked in a colorfully decorated cupcake and was about to eat it, when she paused, instead giving it a hard look, deep in thought. Then something clicked.

"Vocarry Angel-uhm!"

Nothing happened.

"Voocare Angelm?"

…

"Stupid latin…"

A few minutes consulting her trusty guide on the phonetics of a long-dead language later, she finally managed to whisper out the correct trigger words. "O-oh! Got it!" she exclaimed in surprise, as a bright light began to beam from her hand, weaving a nebulous figure out of light.

One might’ve imagined shaping a sentient being out of light would take some practice, but it was surprisingly intuitive. Labyrinth skills had a way of pulling from the mind: equal parts creepy and convenient. Soon, the figure of light began to take on a more clear silhouette. Soon after, onto that was added color and texture, until a cartoonishly girly figure with angel wings and a halo stood before her summoner.

IMG_4279.jpegThe angel immediately bowed her head. "Praise be to Lux Lapeta! I, Magica Cupcake-chan, shall be your faithful servant to death and beyond!"

Seraphina’s face lit up like a Christmas tree upon seeing her creation, jumping forward and grabbing both of the angel’s hands in her own. "Wooaaaah! You look just like you did in the Heaven’s Bandelier arc when you restored the 7th Grand Virtue and unlocked your final Faith Seal!"

"Hehee, I remember that! I’m glad I please you, Lux La—"

The smile fell off Sera’s face quickly. "—Seraphina," she corrected her summon quickly. "And no latin! You’re supposed to be Japanese!"

"もちろん！私はあ—"

"—o-okay, not that Japanese."

"Oh, right, uhm… Seraphina. I can— HEEYAAAAH!! What is that h-h-horrible monster!?" Cupcake shrieked, pointing a quivering finger at the resurrected blobjun. "How dare that thing share company with lady Seraphina!"

With a dramatic flourish, she raised a large handgun and aimed it at blobjun. "Holy light of Lu— …Seraphina! Fill me with your purity and grant me the strength to purify this world of this wretched disease! Face judgement and rot in the deepest pits of hell, demon: DAYBREAK’S JUDGEMENT!!"

A beam of light blasted out from the barrel, striking blobjun cleanly in the forehead. "Hahah! A perfect shot!! My training is finally paying off now th— WHAAAH!!?" Cupcake shrieked as she noticed that, not only did the zombie not explode into a million light particles, but it seemed to get even stronger.

"Th-that’s impossible!! I-I thought no demon could withstand the sun’s radiance, but it’s absorbed the attack and grown stronger! Lady Seraphina, what’s going on!? Has my faith failed!?"

"Uhm… well, about that… I may have… uhm…" Sera’s dread system menu was open to the skills section, and she’d just re-read the skill description. Her summon stared intensely for her response, until she finally closed it and waved a hand dismissively, "It’s nothing: don’t worry about it! The attack probably didn’t work because… that creature has my blessing… for now…"

"H-huh!? REALLY!!?" Cupcake ran up to blobjun and bowed deeply. "I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you as a follower of lady Seraphina! I hope you can forgive me and we can still be friends!"
 
A few days ago...​

Samara turned over Lemondrop's business card in her hands, wondering if this girl was serious. Obviously not. Well, at least she wasn't crying anymore. One benefit of the Lemon's delusions was that she at least didn't stay down for long. The girl's upbeat personality might actually prove useful later.

"Riiiight... ummm... thank you," Samara said, tucking the card into her vambrace for safekeeping. However, when Kirsten suggested taking Callidora and Lemondrop along, Samara's false smile faltered. "Callidora is certainly welcome, but..." Her gaze fell upon Lemondrop and the shieldmaiden seemed to visibly cringe, "Miss Meringue has loot to count. You need her here, in the camp. And, umm, I don't think she would like to be pulled from such an important task," she said, giving The Lemon a hesitant pat on the head.

With that matter settled, Samara accepted Thames's axe and reverently added it to her belt, feeling a slight tinge of pride at holding something that seemed to be so personal to him. A short while later, she and Seymour hit the road, with Callidora at their side. If the Monday party remained where they had left them, the journey should only take a few hours. Then again, Skirm Isher and his people were here to gather resources; it was possible they had fanned out or relocated. I suppose we will find out soon enough, Samara thought, preparing herself for what might be a long, lonesome journey with strangers.

Samara x Seymour​
Written in collaboration w/ TreasureSniper TreasureSniper ​

For the first couple of minutes, Samara occasionally glanced over her shoulder, as their comrades grew distant. After about half an hour, they could no longer see the others or the smoke of their campfire. A short while later, even the mountain where the entrance to Floor Two loomed seemed to vanish from sight. It was here that Samara finally plucked Lemondrop's card from her sleeve and studied it for a moment, as if deciding what to do with it.

"Not my finest moment," she said, pensively. "That makes twice in one week I have threatened a child... well, a teenager... same difference. I think it takes three strikes to officially make me a bully, so it's not too late," she said with a sigh before tucking it back in. She considered tearing it up, but that would be in poor taste. She looked to Seymour with a slight smirk. "I'm surprised you took it so well, Mr. Thrillseeker. I thought you were supposed to be her friend."

Getting away from the party drama was the best thing Seymour could do. Hearing everyone's aggressive and disturbing thoughts was starting to get tiresome. Sharing some time with the more sane members of the group was a nice change of pace. Though the kid seemed to have gone mute after the encounter, likely out of shock from seeing someone die so violently. Based on what he could tell, Calli was still trying to process it.

It was quiet at first but right as they crossed a certain threshold Samara would finally break the silence with her attempt at making small talk. "And here I thought you were a defender." Seymour added on to Samara's self deprecating statement, adding on his sarcastic sense of humor. Though it was easy enough to tell he was joking.

"A friend huh? Is that how it looks like to everyone?" The young man tilted his head slightly back to catch a glimpse of Samara as he continued walking. "She's more of an acquaintance. I haven't had a friend since the great catalysm." Seymour flatly replied, revealing that while close, he wouldn't consider Lemondrop a true friend.

"Oh? That's... wow... I'm sorry," Samara said, refocusing her attention on him. They were in the Labyrinth after all, where even the first floor could be dangerous, and she had begun to pay greater attention to her surroundings... until he said that. Did he truly have no friends?

"That said, you should cut her some slack. She's lived a fairly sheltered life." He decided to share a bit of knowledge he has on her. In his eyes, the better the party understood each other the higher the chances of them actually working properly together, which of course increases the odds of them making it deeper into the labyrinth.

"Mhm," Samara nodded. "Fear not. As irritating as she may be, I don't think I can actually follow through on what I said. It would hurt me most of all," Samara replied, referring to her vow to leave Lemondrop where she falls. Even now, she couldn't believe she had said that in the heat of the moment. Her temper had gotten the better of her, but her heart knew better.

"I suppose this is the part of the journey where we bond over our similarities and share a bit more of ourselves." Seymour spoke in a joking manner, but his true purpose was to see if she had any noteworthy secrets to share within her thoughts. "Do you think this party will go far?" And now came the more serious question. As she was the unofficial party leader, he was curious to hear opinions on the current party.

"In its current state? No," Samara said, without hesitation. "I hoped Thames's passing would have shown them that. I hoped it would bring us together, make us stronger, more focused on the task before us and the stakes. Instead... well, you saw what happened." She shifted the weight of the sack slightly as she walked, adjusting their fallen comrade to her other shoulder. As she spoke, her eyes never left the treeline, searching for any signs of movement, except for the occasional glance down to ensure Callidora was keeping up.

"Let's just say your 'defender' has her work cut out for her if every day is going to be like this," she concluded. "But something tells me you're not asking about our battle-readiness, Mr. Slaymore."

"My my, aren't you the observant one." Seymour was impressed that she picked up on his opinion-seeking question. Perhaps there is indeed more to this defender than meets the eye. "You're right. I'm asking your opinion about team cohesion as a whole. There's quite a lot of friction between members at the moment. And well... honestly I'm just hoping you'd say something convincing and uplifting to me. What was it they said in old days? A bit of "copium" to keep us going." Depending on how she answered the question, Seymour was considering whether he should abandon this party and instead start fresh, with more... capable and like-minded individuals.

Hmm... I see. Looking to me for guidance, is he? Or is it hope? Samara thought as she momentarily side-eyed Seymour before returning her attention to the road ahead. She was no stranger to that. Perhaps it was because of her role. Or perhaps it was because of her age. Or maybe it was the Labyrinth's influence. (That 'Nurturer' Talent was still a bit of a mystery, but it must be doing something, right?) Whatever the reason, every time she stayed on a team long enough, they started to turn to her, the way Seymour was now. And every time, she pulled away.

Well, not this time. She needed to do better, be better. Thames's death may not have affected them, but it had affected her and Samara knew she needed to step up for this expedition to work. And it must work.

As it stands now, even the normally apathetic Seymour was starting to get slightly worried about the status of the party. "As it stands, we've lost a frontline fighter, are sending one of the others home...." He briefly looked at Cali who was clinging onto Samara like she was her mother. How adorable.

"My greatest fear is that they don't need 'copium," Samara said. Her brows furrowed with worry. She momentarily gazed down at Calli, glad that at least one amongst them had mustered the strength to turn away from the Labyrinth's allure. But... is that really what it is? Strength? The Labyrinth compels us. I feel it too. I've taken the easy way out for too long. I've avoided it, run from it, skirted around the edges. Have I been... wrong? Perhaps there is strength in looking temptation in the eye, staring into the heart of darkness, and somehow staying sane. The shieldmaiden fell silent as she pondered this.

After a brief silence Seymour spoke up once more recalling the time when she had a small 'disagreement' with the director. She seemed rather fond of her old life, a sentiment that was completely the opposite of his own. "You're one of those people. Individuals who had a good life back then. Must have been nice."

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but he appeared sad as he said those words. Seymour didn't seem like a young man. If she had to guess, she would say he was in his late twenties, which meant he wasn't a baby when the Labyrinth emerged. Surely, there were things he missed from the Old World. He had lived in it long enough for it to leave its mark upon him and he upon it. And yet, he speaks as if that was someone else's world, not his own. Strange.

"You're right. It was," Samara said with a nostalgic smile. She pictured her parents, her home, her friends. And, later her husband and her infant son. Smiles upon smiles, all bathed in ethereal light, each person like an angelic figure descended from paradise to deliver her happiness. End, even now, she clung to those memories for that. But, as all of these thoughts flashed through her mind, she never pictured herself. Some might even say my world was too nice. I had it too good. Maybe that's why I focused so much the not-so-nice parts, she thought as those elysian images changed to muddy streets, towns reduced to rubble, bawling children covered in flies and maggots, and crowds of refugees swarming trucks filled with not enough supplies. There were never enough supplies. Never enough of anything.

She fell silent for a long time. Perhaps even too long. The only sound was her footfalls and the rattling of her armor plates. Samara pondered the wedding ring around her neck, concealed within her breastplate, but never touched it or brought it out. She didn't need to. Strangest of all, that smile never left her face as she ruminated on the past, even the dark parts of it.

"Not everyone can have nice things... but everyone should have at least one nice person in their life," Samara said after what felt like an eternity. "I'll be your nice person, Mr. I-Have-No-Friends," she teased, as she held up her index finger. "But only on one condition: you have to be someone else's nice person, too. Pass it on. That's an order, from your leader!"

It was quite the experience, listening to Samara's thoughts about the old world. In many ways, he envied this lady for having such a fruitful life in the past. To have all of that ripped away from you, no wonder she had such a strong disdain for the labyrinth.

While he was reading her thoughts, he eventually realized she had been silent upon giving him a short vocalized response. It seems the topic of her old life had gotten her into a melancholy mood. In spite of all this, he did notice her smile remained, seemingly drawing strength from the memories of what she once had.

It felt awkward, knowing so much about a person without needing them to share any of it. He couldn't help but feel like he should return the favor. "Life before the labyrinth was pretty mundane for me. Nothing remarkable, I was just another face in crowd." That was as much as he was willing to tell, or perhaps... that was all there was for him.

"You seem like an honest person, Samara, so it's only fair I'm honest with you." Enough about his old life, that's gone now. "I didn't come to the Labyrinth to make friends, or become the hope of humanity." Such altruism was lost on a man like Seymour. "I came here to seek the greatest challenges and kill the fiercest monsters this place has to offer. And if humanity were to benefit from that.... well I consider that a bonus." Seymour spoke from the heart, that was his true intention after all.

This earned a small snort of laughter from Samara. She saw no issues with that. Actually, there was no higher calling for an adventurer than this. And humanity would benefit either way. It sounded like Seymour led a boring life in the old world and wanted to correct that. Unlike boring old me, trying to do the same old thing, she thought. They were so different, yet the same.

"But yeah I guess I can be nice too." Of course, his goal wasn't the easiest to achieve alone, and being in pleasant company was not necessary but appreciated nonetheless. It was clear from his tone that he wasn't against the idea of having some form of comradery. "Your nicknames are not very creative, Ms I-threaten-one-teenager-a-week." He retorted with a small smile.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry my mom jokes aren't landing. We can't all be as cool as you, Mr. Popularity," she chided him. "Can you believe I wanted to be a schoolteacher once? Almost did, but I never really 'connected' with the younger generation, ya know. And still can't. Oh, except teenage boys. I always end up adventuring with young men. They adore me now, for some reason. I'm not sure why...."

"Anyway, I'd say you're doing fine, Seymour. A certain goddess seems to think you're nice enough. And why wouldn't she? Handsome, knows how to knit, and can handle himself in a fight? He's not much of a conversationalist, but nobody's perfect, right?" she teased.

He was honestly suprised how well she took his declaration of pure selfishness. And here he thought she would be the preachy type. From there she made a bit of small talk, talking about her old aspiration. A school teacher as career was rather mudane but he wasnt one to judge. "Well you definitely have that nurturing nature, considering how fast you were able to defuse the situation with Seraphina a few days ago." Seymour had noticed that she chose to give the girl a comforting embrace instead of pinning her down. Despite knowing nothing about her, she chose to show compassion.

"Yeah... you might want to rephrase that last part." The humor was not lost on him, but it's probably in her best interest to not spread unpleasant rumors about herself. The compliments he received were most welcomed but he did notice that stinger at the end. "To be fair, was she not also swooning over Thames not too long ago? And what was that about not being a conversationalist!" Seymour said, raising his voice in a jovial manner. It's been awhile since he had a bit of fun, just talking without reading people's thoughts and intentions.

"Speaking of Sera... no offense, but that thing's a bit heavy for you, isn't it? Her sword, I mean," Samara said, as she unclipped hers from its place on her shield and offered it to him. "It's not as cool as your whipswords, but at least it won't let you down when you need it most. A reliable companion. Just like me," she said proudly.

"Oh, was it that obvious?" The young man summoned the blade and rebelliously held it with only one arm, raising it to rest on his shoulder, making him look like some protagonist from the lost art of anime. While he succeeded, it was easy to tell that using the weapon one handed with his strength was far from ideal. "I guess you're already starting your 'nice' campaign." Seymour hesitated at first but would eventually extend his hand towards the blade that was offered. Upon grabbing the Gladius, he would unsheathe it to admire its splendor. She was right it, it wasn't as fancy as his whipswords but...

Seymour took this opportunity to perform a few practices slices in the air, swapping from normal hand grip to back hand mid swing. From there, he fluidly transitioned to quick stabbing motions. It's body was solid, bit a bit blunt, requiring sharpening and tempering to bring out its potential, just like him. "Yes yes..this will do nicely. Thank you, Samara." Sheating the blade, he gave the shieldmaiden a heartfelt thank you, feeling happy to have a weapon that he was properly attuned to. "Ahem, while it's not technically mine. But I'm sure Kirsten wouldn't mind. Would you like to hang onto this for the time being?" He was of course referring to the recently cleaned zweihander as a form of trade. Accepting freebies like this was a bit weird for him. Usually there's always a catch, or a hidden price.

"Oh... thank you," Samara said, slightly startled by the offered zweihander. She wasn't expecting a trade, but accepted it nonetheless. To her, the two-handed sword didn't feel much heavier than her old one, but the difference in length would mean a massive change in tactics. She had gotten accustomed to sheathing the gladius on her tower shield, so she could draw it out while guarding and quickly put it away if she needed to block with both hands. She would need a bit more distance to use this.

Samara sliced the air a couple of times, one-handed, and even tried out a few guarding stances, despite still holding Thames's corpse, but she soon stopped. I'll put some time into it later, she thought, out of concern for Seymour's feelings. At times like this, she became acutely aware that her strength was significantly greater than most men and, while she doubted Seymour cared, she didn't like the idea of swinging it around so soon after commenting on how 'heavy' it looked in his hands. Obviously, she harbored no such concerns in battle. But they weren't in battle... yet.

"Alright. Let's focus on the road, shall we. Long way to go and the others are waiting," Samara said with enthusiasm, as the zweihander vanished into her inventory. New toys didn't delight her very much, especially when the 'toy' was a weapon, but this one had been gifted to her by a friend after being gifted to him by another. It felt special for having passed through so many hands, however brief.

She hoisted Callidora up onto her shoulders and hastened her pace, while thinking of the trials which lay ahead. Floor Two is a game of attrition. We’ll need rations, more healing potions, careful resource management… Her mind raced, but each thought was laced with hope. Each problem, followed by a solution. It suddenly felt as if this expedition wasn’t such a bad idea. Despite the corpse on her back, everything would be ‘okay.’

Present time...​
Ah, Floor Two. Such a wonderful place. Dry heat, lack of food and water, and sand. Lots of sand. Oh, and it gets better. It turns into marshland near the end. What a wonderful place to be in full plate armor!

Fortunately, this wasn’t Samara’s first time around the block. During their trip to return Thames and Calli to civilization, she and Seymour traded with Skirm's people. They procured extra meal kits and water vessels, which they filled on the return trip, and distributed to their teammates, along with careful instructions not to waste any of it. But even that would only be a small boon. Traversing the second floor was all about staying vigilant. It was ambush territory. Food and water was useless if they were picked off by Rockshells and Dust dwellers.

The moment they emerged onto the second floor, Samara dispelled the upper half of her plate armor, returning it to her inventory. Her new ‘Quick Swap’ skill made it easy to adapt on the fly to new terrain or new enemies. Her underarmor --a tunic of chainmail over a blouse-- would suffice for now. However, she kept her gauntlets and plate armor from her waist down. The tower shield was also done away with, as it basically acted like a heat sink. Only her zweihander remained on her back, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice.

“Understood. Lemondrop, keep a beacon on hand. We can use ranged attacks to bait out ambushers,” the shieldmaiden said, when Kirsten laid out a simple, but efficient, formation. She slowed her pace, dropping to the rear of the group, while also trying to maintain an amicable relationship with the Meringue girl. Samara had not and would not apologize for her previous behavior, but made an effort to be more civil and inclusive going forward. She is a part of this team, after all. I have to make this work.

While Samara didn’t like seeing the resurrected Blobjun amongst them, if enemies arrived, she would rather he die a second time than see another ally fall. If such an abominable act saved someone’s life, so be it. However, Daeva’s giddiness at raising the dead was truly troubling. Samara made a mental note to speak with the necromancer later. Boundaries needed to be drawn. Raising a monster is one thing, but if she dared try that on a human…

Naturally, the goddess was less than impressed, too, and grew increasingly childish and petulant. At times, she was more of an annoyance than the Meringue girl. Samara’s eyes widened when the girl summoned a pink-haired body double --no an angel-- but awe gave way to disappointment and, at last, annoyance when said angel proceeded to pester Blobjun and then banter with its master.

“Sera, focus, please,” Samara said, in that kind yet firm tone of a mother addressing a child who is acting out. Softly, she added, “Floor Two will test our endurance. This is a war of attrition. If your, uhmm, ‘friend’ is a drain on your mana or attention, perhaps you should save her for when she is needed, no. Can she scout ahead? Do those wings work? If not, save it. We’ve a long way to go and little energy to spare.”

And then, for the finale: “You will not be carried here. You must stand on your own two feet, Sera.”
Interaction(s): ERode ERode | Tau Tau | AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa
 
Jiànlong was reeling. After having witnessed the 'miracle' of Daeva's latest skill, here was a second 'miracle' unfolding before his very eyes! Seraphina summoned some gorgeous being out of thin air and mana!

The boy sunk to his knees in the dusty dirty sand, unfolding his hands out to the twintailed pink-haired beauty. "AWWWW MAN!! You can summon this angelic creature?!?! I didn't even get a new skill!! And when I do, they're just skills about how to WALK better!! WALK BETTER! C'mon! Daeva can raise the previous boss, and you can summon magical girls!?! What is this?!?! Why does the labyrinth hate me so!!! AHWAAAHAAA WAA!!" Jiànlong proceeded to dramatically cry, falling face-first into the dust, pounding on the hard ground.

Daeva just stood staring at the thing that transpired, having no idea what to make of the situation. "Is this a comedy routine?" she mused aloud to the group. Between Seraphina, the weird girl, and Jiànlong, she wasn't sure what to think. What she did know, was that she was not thrilled about someone trying to shoot her baby!

Puffing up her cheeks, she forced herself between the undead Blobjun and the other weird girls, holding out her hands. Then she crossed them as an X in font of her, shaking her head. "No! No shooty my Blobbykins!! Hmpf! That's no good! Can't you see? How sweet Blobbykins is???" She looked up at him.

Though, like before, when shot, and when the other twin-tailed girl began to commiserate with him for being some 'follower' or something -- there was, in fact, no response. Only a minor, "Grahaa," from the thing's throat.

That didn't seem to get noticed by Daeva, though. Or change her mind.

"See?!!!" She repeated, now turning her frowny, angry ire upon the girls. "Such a cutie!"

"And you! Walking's great!" She said to the blonde guy. "We gots lotsa walking to do!" She pointed ahead. An expanse of practically nothing lay out before them. With how terrible this floor could be, Jiànlong was bound to thank his particular Talent rather soon. While everyone else was miserable, he'd be perfectly fine.

With Daeva unable to see the slight issue of reviving the killer of Thames, the group departed just as Kirsten said.
 
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Tau Tau
Lumi silently sighed with a smile. Most of the parties' spite went towards Lemondrop, with only Sera singling out the narrator individually. Yet... at the end of it all, all she could do was shrug. In a way, the hat-wearing woman was convinced that if anything her act of vandalism had at least helped one person to make up their resolve. Moments before Lemondrop apologized anyway. Pressing decline herself shortly after whatever little focus had been focused on her, the Narrator stood at the camp with the other crazies until they were eventually ready to move on...


...

"And thus, we find ourselves on the doorsteps of the Wega Kingdom~ Or well, its unruly backyard anyway. Here, in this land of outcasts and exiles where even the sun is hesitant to shine, one had to wonder — between the blackened trees and the ever-whispering tumbleweeds, pitted against the more-eerie-than-strong Wega and the crafty but shy Rockshells and Dust Hiders. Mayhaps we are fortunate enough to only face the subtle danger of missing out. For in this land of the lost, the unseen and overlooked may hold the true essence of adventure after all~"

With that said and done, Lumi could once again take up the blame if they met a fate worse than trash mobs (as she would have 'jinxed it', after all), or her subtle blessing to move the world to her whims would simply go unnoticed by the rest.

Nonetheless, Lumi herself mostly ignored Daeva's summon for the time being. Being a Necromancer and a raised corpse, it was maybe stinking, but with it having negative functional brain cells, the right time to introduce it would be in battle. Instead, the Narrator found herself drawn towards words she had heard before. Latin, for one, and then—

"Are you a fan of Final Faith: Super Triangle Blade Epsilon — Echoes of the Heaven Saga, too?!" Of course, Sophia would recognize these bits and pieces everywhere, there was no way she was wrong about it. Eyeing cupcake-chan up and down, the Narrator clapped her hands together. "And she is looking just like her! Including the Hexa-Sealed Alter Version of Daybreak's Judgement!" Lumi seemed to... geek, a little.

"Are you perchance a Goddess of Pen and Paper then? Mhm..." For a moment, she seemed to consider something, having not mentioned or acknowledged her own, new, shenanigans at all so far. "Able to vividly paint the imagery and letters and ink into a living shape?"
 
Seeing the monster who had cause the death of one of their comrades be reanimated by their resident necromancer was somewhat startling to say the least. While he had no doubt that's the party will put this extra body to good use, he couldnt help but feel disgusted by the sight of the zombie-like blobjun. But nevertheless, he persevered onwards, knowing at least one of the party members would have his back.

"Guess you're the new leader then." Seymour responded to Kristen's orders, positioning himself towards the side of the group. With his freshly sharpened gladius at the ready. For now it was quiet, uncomfortably so. "Aren't you a bit too enthusiastic about seeing blobjun again?" The young men responded to Daeva's gleeful remarks. "I guess an extra meat shield couldn't hurt." The pragmatic side of him saw the benefits of having a secondary tank that was much more expendable then the shieldmaiden.

Admittedly, starting to get boring but Seraphinas newly summon made an interesting event to say the least. Seymour has heard about angels both in the New world and old world. However, he didn't think he would see one so.....anime. After a short exchange between the angel, Sera and even blobjun, he couldn’t help but notice how...alive it was. It would at least posses some level of sentience with how it has interacted with blobjun and the Summoner. It raised many questions.

Listening to the narrator speak, it seems this part of journey was destined to continue with some of combat with the locals. Did she perhaps possessed some form of foresight that allows her to accurately narrate the future? Or does whatever she narrates becomes true? Many questions again.

However, his curiosity streak would eventually be put on hold as he heard Samara request to scout ahead, reminding him that he had a brand new skill to test out. "I'll see what I can do." Waving his freehand over his eyes, his irises would momentarily flash red as he activated his newest skill. "Preyseeker Vision." And now he waited, to see if there were any enemies lying in wait.

And sure enough there was a small group of them present just a few meters ahead of the party. On the surface, it would simply look like a small formation of rocks but in reality the center rock was a large rockshell surrounded by a few smaller rockshells.

"We got company up ahead. Over there at the rock formations. One big rockshell at the centre surrounded by 3 smaller ones. Hmm I see some movement underground as well, likely dustswimmers. Just one it seems." He gave them a full report before shutting off his vision for the time being. "We've got the numbers advantage. But i dont know if we have the weapons to breakthrough its thick shell. How would all of you like proceed?" The exp offered here would be a substantial sum, but there is also an element of risk. Not to mention the exhaustion of fighting such foes.
 
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"I am not your mother," was Kirsten's clipped response to Seraphina.

Having yet another child join the party was annoying at best, but at least this child could be unsummoned by the other. She cast a glance back at the comedy skit launched by the one-girl show, a wry look in her gaze, before turning away. The Deity had her Angels, the Necromancer had her Undead. It would become a small zoo soon, if both of them continued to summon more creatures, if others also gained the ability to summon creatures. What was next? Would Lumi summon talk show hosts for color commentary? Would Seymour summon giant eyeballs to accompany his Preyseeker's Vision? Would Ken summon different shoes for different situations? Would Lemondrop summon bankers who'd store Beacons at high interest rates?

It wouldn't be terrible if they did amass an army. Every summon was expendable. If someone had to die, let it be summon who could be brought back with a spell.

Perhaps time was up already, for another in the party. Seymour's magical form of scouting alerted them to the creatures up ahead, shrouded by rock formations. Rockshells, as expected. But accompanied by more agile dustswimmers too. A substantial group of monsters. One that specifically targeted the group's lack of magical sources of damage. Daeva had decided to burn out all her mana on raising the lumbering lump of rotted fat that was the Blobjun, leaving her Dark Usher off the table. Seraphina, their other 'mage', only had a telekinesis spell for offensive purposes, which fundamentally just meant more physical sources of damage. Ken possessed the Amassed Energy Strike, yes, but it was a source of infinitely increasing damage. It should be saved for the Floor Boss. Lumi didn't offer anything substantial. Lemondrop was best served cowering. Seymour and Samara were both swordsmen.

All this considered, it was a disadvantageous matchup.

But they needed experience. Not experience for the sake of 'leveling up', but experience for the sake of simply understanding how to fight as a party. Would it be better to gain that experience now, or gain that experience only within the crucible of another boss fight? The answer was obvious.

"We advance and engage," Kirsten spoke, a moonlit lunacy flickering in her pale eyes. "Ken, do not utilize your Ammassed Energy Strike unless your own life is in danger. Coordinate with Seymour to take down the smaller Rockshells. They bear rocks on their backs, but that weight is still born by their legs. Aim to cripple that, and they will collapse upon themselves. Samara, your Anchor Pull will be sufficient in handling the Dustswimmer. They're fast but they're light enough that you should have no problems once in close combat. Hold them down and leave Seraphina to finish them off from a distance. Daeva, Lemondrop, stay close to the undead for protection. Keep an eye out for the rest of us; warn us if monsters emerge from other directions. And Lumi? ...set a reasonable challenge."

The crude, twisted lance aimed itself, a flicker of uninvoked flame carressing its tip as an incantation was murmured underneath her breath. Her own target was clear: the largest Rockshell present.

"Our foremost objective is to render them unable to pursue us. Killing them is secondary. Is that understood?"
 

"Negative. I’m going for the kill," Samara said, in response to Kirsten’s suggestion that incapacitation should be their main focus. Not only was aiming for vitals easier, the group needed the experience, and leaving a trail of wounded enemies in their wake could come back to bite them if they needed to retreat later.

There was also the matter of how tasty sautéed rockshells in a butter sauce is…. but that was secondary. Yes, definitely secondary.

The rockshells were easy enough to spot, now that Seymour had identified them, but Samara’s appointed target --the dustswimmer-- was little more than an obscure shape writhing in the sand. She had traversed this floor enough times, to know the telltale signs… and to be wary of more, because they almost never hunt alone.

“Sera, save your mana. I’ve got it,” Samara said, overriding Kirsten’s order for the goddess to provide assistance in slaying the swimmer. ”Cover, uhm, Cupcake, please. We may need her.” Ugh, it felt so weird saying that…

Samara wasn’t sure if the angel’s magical gun was doling out buffs or heals. All she knew was that those definitely weren’t normal bullets. And it seemed to help Blobjun somehow, so it must be good for them. We should’ve taken some time to figure out our new skills yesterday, she thought, but there was no helping it now. They would have to learn on the fly.

The shieldmaiden unsheathed her zweihander and began to move to the right, distancing herself from the main group a little, so Anchor Pull won’t drag her target through the heart of their formation. As she moved from the rear to the right-rear-flank, she outstretched her left hand and began to focus on the shape in the sand before. She spoke the incantation and, for a while, nothing seemed to happen. Perhaps because the target was buried or maybe she had missed. No, Samara focused harder, shouted her incantation a second time. The outline in the sand became clearer until, at last, a head poked free. Ha! Got you!

“Anchor Pull!” she said again, from the gut this time. Samara braced herself as the attractive force ramped up in intensity, nearly pulling her from her feet, but she refused to be moved and, after a few seconds, the ground began to swell until, at last, the dustwimmer burst free and came tumbling toward her. It staggered and flailed for a moment before finding its footing and, rather than try to resist, began to run toward her with its jaws wide open and claws outstretched, attempting to use Anchor Pull’s momentum to its advantage.

Not today, Samara thought as she switched her hold on the zweihander, holding it in a reverse grip by its ricasso, and summoning one of her shields in her left hand, just as the man-sized lizard reached her. Its reptilian snout collided with the iron disc, making a thunderous metallic ‘clang’ accompanied by the subtle yet sharp crack of shattered teeth and possibly a broken jawbone, before being silenced by cold steel shoved down its throat like a skewer. She drove the blade deep, glaring into the creature's eyes as she did so, watching its soul take leave.

The shield vanished as quickly as it had been summoned and she wrenched her zweihander free of the corpse, with both hands now, before readying herself to face the next enemy. She scanned the sands, for any signs of more. Although her eyes lacked Kirsten’s insane bloodlust, Samara’s carried a cold determination and clarity of purpose rarely seen when facing what amounts to little more than wild animals.

No one dies today. No one.
Interaction(s): Thalia_Neko Thalia_Neko | TreasureSniper TreasureSniper | ERode ERode | Tau Tau | Skyswimsky Skyswimsky | AriAriAbabwa AriAriAbabwa
 
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ERode ERode
"Okay, okay… I was just teasing…" Sera shrugged, not expecting that level of response from her snark.


Skyswimsky Skyswimsky
Sera still didn’t have the greatest opinion of her top-hat-adorned companion, but the glare she attempted to reply with lasted all of 3 seconds, as the geek in her won out almost immediately.

"Of course, I’ve read all of them! I even know the official recipes for all of the Ceremonial Pastries! The cupcakes are the best by the way, no surprise there." She pondered the words Lumi left at the end. "Hm… you know, maybe that’s a good way of thinking about it. A fictional goddess. It’s all part of the stupid labyrinth’s stupid story anyway, none of it’s real…" but then, looking at Cupcake, she couldn’t feel a bit of uncertainty. The labyrinth’s fiction was… convincing. It always was.


AnonyMouse AnonyMouse
"Pfft, I don’t think it’s even possible for me to run out of mana, Samara," Sera declared proudly. "It’s always the stamina that stops me…" she lesser-declared less-than-proudly. "And that’s awfully rude! But now, I don’t need you to carry me! Cupcake-chan: your summoner needs you!"

Sera positioned herself behind her angel and leapt onto her back, causing the two to immediately collapse into the dust. "Cupcake…?"

"Nngh… I shall… not fail you… Lady Seraphina…!" The angel struggled to the point of quivering, but wasn’t able to lift her summoner even an inch, despite the herculean effort.

"Mmm… d-don’t worry about it…" Sera eventually relented, getting off her new friend. She was visibly disappointed, but didn’t say too much about it. "Maybe after you level up a bit?"

"Y-yes, of course…!" Cupcake nodded vigorously.

"Okay, we just need you to heal people up a bit…"


Sera seemed to be listening as Kirsten relayed the plan. At least, her face was aimed in her general direction, which was about as much as could be asked of a teenager. Unfortunately, she had ideas of her own…

Sera had brought out one of her swords, but had planted it firmly in the ground in front of her, leaning forward on the hilt in a (relatively) relaxed position. Instead, of "finishing off" anything, she spent her energy on other things… little adjustments to the battle, here and there.

"My mana’s just fine…" she answered Samara again, subtly flicking a finger to shift a rock into the perfect position to trip up a party member, sending the head right onto the hard exterior of a rockshell. "Cupcake, there! Heal!"

"Y-yes! Got it!"

Sera summoned a banana from her inventory and ate it, giving her a wonderfully useful peel to be opportunely placed…

"Over there, Cupcake-chan! You guys are doing great by the way! Keep it up!"
 
Jiànlong frowned when Kirsten called him Ken; he didn't recall telling anyone his 'real' name. Maybe it somehow came up at some point and he didn't recall it... But he just figured.. if they were down in the labyrinth -- they should use their "labyrinth names".

He also gave her a funny look. Was she serious? They were engaging these enemies?! Weren't radars used to avoid confrontations? Or was he crazy? He quickly glanced around. Did they have the firepower for Rockshells? Didn't he learn at the academy those monsters were particularly tough to kill? What she said about them sounded reasonable, but doubted it was that simple. After all.. they lived out here, so they likely weren't so easy to cripple. Then she said something else that struck him as odd.

Jiànlong wrinkled his face. "I wasn't going to. But yessss mommmyy," he joked, overhearing what she said to Seraphina, snickering. Seriously, though, he wasn't going to just blow his skill like that. The Amassed Energy Strike was easily their strongest weapon right now -or he thought so. It was meant for more concerning things. It took awhile to build up the energy that he had managed to amass.

Though he agreed with Samara, killing monsters that they met was smart. It was at least better than leaving monsters behind them. He had heard many horror stories about returning Raiders getting caught up by respawning enemies that they had already previously killed, and it going poorly since they were already exhausted. Still... these monsters didn't know they -Oh, never mind.

His eyes strained, taking in the scene of Samara yanking a monster towards her, only to efficiently take it out. But that wasn't the issue. Sweat dripped down his face. Now they were definitely involved in a fight. He glanced over, and saw the rocks beginning to stir. Then large behemoths made of hard exoskeleton and rocks pulled up out of the sand. With Seymour's radar giving them the heads up, Jiànlong assumed this would go better. But they really couldn't take advantage of the surprise anymore. Samara alerted the others to the fact they were there. The Rockshells began shambling their way, already looking quite intimidating.

"Hey! Seriously?! We're fighting here?! Ugh. Okay.."

Daeva deadpanned at Sera. Was she for real? This is the first time it struck her that this crap wasn't real? Like she wasn't a real goddess? Really?

Actually, what was she on about?! Someone died. Thames died. A person died. Of course all this was real! They were here weren't they?! People DIED here in the labyrinth! How much more real could you get?! How could you claim such a thing wasn't real?! Did this girl have anything between her ears?

She also agreed with Jiànlong, who seemingly had some reservations about fighting this group of monsters. She could feel her mana pool, or lack there of. It was a distinctly 'empty' feeling. She felt mostly useless here. Kirsten said something... But Daeva had no intentions of leaving the protective area of her undead Blobby.

Jiànlong glanced over at Sera, seeing her nonsense. It literally left the guy utterly stunned. Look, he wasn't the serious type, and could appreciate anything goofy or fun, but was this idiot for real?! He watched as the weird summon collapsed under her. Well, what did Sera expect? They were basically the same size. Daeva was right, this was a comedy routine. It had to be, right?

"Are you serious?!" He blurted out, gripping his sword in front of him at the approaching monsters. "Why do you look so nonchalant about this?! Pay attention! This is life or death! In fact, it's death! Someone just died! Thames just died! Do you want others to end up like him?! Do you want to end up like him?! Girl, pay attention and take this serious!" He couldn't protect or save anyone who didn't want to save themselves!

Ah, look at that, the blonde boy said what she was thinking, Daeva thought with a smirk.
 
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It would seem like some members of this group were missing a few screws, but then again they probably never had all of them, to begin with. Kirsten was the first to issue orders, establishing herself as the unofficial new leader. Strangely enough, she was suggesting they merely wound this creature instead of killing them, fearing that they may take up too much energy to kill. Samara, however, had no such reservations and immediately went on the offensive, grabbing hold of a lizard and ending its existence in quick succession earning a snicker of amusement from Seymour.

And then there was Sera... who seemed to be just messing around with her newfound friend. From what he can tell, she wasn't too enthusiastic about involving herself in this combat encounter. Jianlong seemed to have picked up on this and was having a mini-breakdown like some greenhorn who has never experienced the horrors of the labyrinth. And Daeva...well she was just giving Sera a dirty look. Seymour himself was also frustrated with the situation.

Back in the pits, he was somebody. But here...he is just another dungeon diver, another face in the crowd. Seymour inwardly cursed himself for even having such a thought. This new world was supposed to be a turning point for him, a new life, full of excitement and adventure. Despite that, here he was again, spiraling into another life of mediocrity just with a different flavor. "No...no more..this won't happen again!" Unsheathing his new gladius, he took a few steps forward towards the group of monsters, fully determined to avoid another meaningless life. "Walker...why don't you sit this one out? Rest up, you seem like you need it." Seymour spoke without turning back to the party, his eyes locking on the Rockshells in front of him. His slow walk would eventually break into a full-on sprint, showcasing his natural aptitude toward this specific parameter.

Up until this point, even with fighting Blobjun, he never really felt the need to take anything too seriously. After all, he's fought stronger, faster, and smarter opponents in the pits why should he care about a few trash mobs? And yet, he feels as if he's still a nobody here. This must change. He must fix this.

Upon getting closer to the smaller Rockshell, he would effortlessly dodge its telegraphed claw swipe by sliding down below the creature. He would then slice through the joints of all its legs on one side from below, causing it to collapse and bleed on one side. With one of the rock shells immobilized, he wasted no time in moving on the next creature behind it, immediately throwing his gladius onto it's head, planting the blade dead center on the creature's armored head. Once again, he effortlessly glides through its clumsy attempts at an attack, and eventually positions himself on top of the creature, stomping the blade deep into its head.

Pulling the blade out of the rockshell's head, he turned his attention toward the biggest one of the group and taunted it with a beckoning hand gesture. "Come on then....strike me." Big or small, slow or fast, smart or dumb. It didn't matter to him. If he were to fight, he wouldn't lose to anything or anyone.

Something had awakened within Seymour, a desire to struggle, to test himself, to improve. If he wanted the party to have even a slither of a chance to actually reach the bottom, then he no longer could afford to simply "not care".

 
Lumi blinked a few times — as if to make sure what her vision was processing was real. Each time, her eyelids stayed closed longer and longer. Baffled. Hoping. Confused. On the first floor. She witnessed the demise of an ally, attributable to a high-level boss being a few floors too low. On the second floor, she witnessed... this. Whatever this was. A clown-fiesta? A dissapointment? A skill issue? Or maybe she had to simply re-evaluate her expectations? "What are you all doing..." Lumi simply whispered in utter disbelief, as her eyes glared upon every single one of them in complete disgust.

They were struggling. The hope of humanity. The Legendary S-Ranks had to give it their most to dispatch what one would consider garbage. Trash. Training dummies. Sure, they had hard shells and animalistic features. Yet, at the same time, they had legendary abilities and were nowhere close to any of the deeper floors. Ultimately, the Narrator sighed as Kirsten barked some orders. Did that woman even know how her Art worked? As things stood right now, she felt forced to narrate an epic battle of adults stealing candy from a toddler. Or, it SHOULD have been anyway.

Another sigh escaped. Maybe, Seraphina was right. Maybe Kirsten was some tactical genius. Maybe if they held back, evened the playing field, and used minimal effort they were simply.... farming experience! Yes, that had to be it. Part of the group wasn't even fighting, after all! These trash mobs wouldn't pose any challenge to the Legendary S-Rank Adventurers unless they desired so.

"It is a challenge you desire?" With her demeanor having completely changed to something more positive yet again, the young woman tipped her hat. "Well, you see Seraphina, whatever story this labyrinth has intended, I simply see about making it my own." Clearing her throat, Lumi's voice engulfed the battlefield.

"So hear me out, our tale unfolds,
As Heroes bold meet foes untold.
With high spirits, they engage in fray,
Expecting an easy win, come what may.

But Rockshells stand, unyielding, tough,
Our heroes find their skills aren't enough.
Surprised, and strained, in this harsh fight,
Realizing these foes aren't light.

The battle rages, fierce and long,
In this forsaken land, where the brave don't belong.
Against Rockshells, they push and strive,
Where only the strongest survive."

Lumi took a small bow as she surely heard some imaginary clapping. With the narration now ever-so-slightly pushed to make this battle harder than it should be, the Narrator pointed towards the enemy, her soft and firm voice now booming with gusto. "Now now, dear heroes, with a more proper challenge at our hands and some experience ripe for taking, we finally find ourselves in a pickle. Better hope it's not coming too spicy though! So, go kick some ass and show the world that the S in S-Rank stands for Baaaadasss!"

Tau Tau
(And technically everyone else, too)
 
N2WgR9O.png

​
She let out a breath.

Ken decided that now was the time to act out, and Samara didn't understand that coordination too was something to practice. Without anything to do in particular, Sera idled instead, messing around, while Lumi's magic manifested in an unexpected way once more. How much control did she have, really? How useful was she, even?

It was amazing, really. The simplest thing she asked of them, and only the people who were told to do literally nothing were the people who followed their orders.

She'll have to correct her presumptions once more. She'll have to lower her expectations further.

The air around her heated up. The flickering flame upon the tip of her lance turned into a blaze, furious and hungering. Her blood itself warmed, ignited by the inborn fury, the rage compressed to a diamond core. Her heart rate picked up, delivering oxygen to her extremities, her scars reddening until they were like crimson lightning beneath her black clothes. Power built up, like the coils of a spring, like the ignition of gunpowder.

Power released.

The largest rockshell had no chance to respond to Seymour's provocations, not when a meteor struck the side of its shell and then smashed straight through, tearing through its organs on its way out. Geysers of blood poured out from both ends, before evaporating in the heat of the flames left behind, leaving only the powdery residue as the monster fell over, only a sanguine mist. One rockshell left. A non-issue at this point.
 

Samara scanned the sands for signs of more dust swimmers and maneuvered around the outskirts of their formation, in case she needed to do her actual job and defend someone. Thanks to her Battle Meditation Talent, she had a preternatural grasp of her allies' locations and states, but the sand-dwelling creatures were her appointed task, so she couldn't deviate from that until she was sure they were eliminated. Once she surmised there weren't anymore lurking undeground, she shifted her attention to where else she could be of use.

Sera had turned her attention to Cupcake --and only Cupcake, it seemed-- which earned an annoyed sigh and headshake from Samara. I didn't mean for her to take that quite so literally. I'm sorry if I made you feel useless. She briefly considered apologizing to the goddess after this battle, but quickly dismissed that thought. If Sera wanted to behave like a petulant child during battle, perhaps not working with her was the best outcome. And Jian complaining about it while they were under attack was hardly helping.

And Lumi... the announcer's narration booming in her ears was something Samara had learned to ignore, especially after what she done with Thames's death, but just how effective was her power? In the Labyrinth, where everything was both real and fantasy, this girl's Talents could spell death. How does this benefit us at all? Why not turn that power against our enemy!? Samara had forgiven her for her earlier behavior --grief affected everyone differently-- but if this antagonistic behavior kept up, it needed to be properly addressed, because they couln't afford to lose anyone else.

The shieldmaiden began to march forward, where Kirsten and Seymour were engaging the rockshells. Well, 'engaging' was a bit of an understatement. The Lancer ripped cleanly through the largest enemy, piercing it in a single mighty strike, much as she had done against Blobjun, and proved she didn't need a distraction to do so. Meanwhile, Seymour, wove beneath one of the smaller ones, effortlessly dodging its limbs as he sliced the joints and brought it down before delivering a killing blow to another. Watching them work made Samara wonder if this party even needed a defender? The frontliners seemed to be able to take care of things just fine, further reinforcing her belief that the best defense was a good offense. I can do that too. I'm strong enough! Tough enough! she thought.

But that won't work forever. Our goal is deeper, she reminded herself, smothering those envious embers before they could grow into flames of jealousy. Everyone had a part to play and would need to play it perfectly if this expedition was to succeed.

Samara approached the third of the smaller rockshells, just as the other two fell to the ground. It turned its attention toward the fighters who had slain its brothers, but she arrived in time to plant herself between it and her allies. As the rockshell lurched forward and swiped with its armored claw, the shieldmaiden quickly swapped the weapon to her left hand and summoned her tower shield on her right side. She crouched low, angling the shield in such a way that the attack was driven upward. Such a powerful attack might bring a lesser adventurer to their knees or swat them away like a puny fly, but her S-ranked defenses, coupled with her surefootedness, allowed her to deflect the claw up and over, before charging in, beneath the creature's swing.

She slashed its forelegs, striking at the meat between its chitinous plates with her zweihander. However, without a swordmanship Talent, most of these strikes lacked power and missed their mark. Even the ones which landed were only glancing blows, meant to irritate the creature and cause it to rear up. When it did, Samara returned the zweihander to her inventory as she slid into a crouching position beneath the creature's underbelly, where others wouldn't dare tread, due to fear of being crushed. But her strength and endurance persevered. "Seymour! Strike... its... weakpoints! Graaaah!" the shieldmaiden said, grunting with effort as she put her full strength to use, lifting one side of the creature and toppling it over while it legs impotently attempted to swipe at the annoying woman beneath it.

To her surprise, he was there almost instantly, before the words left her lips. By the time the creature crashed down on its back, Seymour had arrived and plunged his gladius into its soft, unprotected underbelly. He did say he only wanted to kill monsters, after all, Samara thought, more than a little amused, despite everything. Was it simply good teamwork or had their talk paid off? She didn't know. But was pleased to see there was at least one person she could count on.

That just left one rockshell. The shieldmaiden readied her tower shield and adjusted her position, in case this one somehow found a second wind, though the fight seemed mostly done. "Sera! Can you finish it off?" she said, hoping it would serve as an olive branch to the goddess. The girl seemed to like using her telekinesis offensively, so some practice might be better.
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Sera glanced to the side as a loud voice protested her actions. She’d kinda hoped the telekinesis had gone unnoticed, but alas, he must’ve noticed the subtle hand gestures… or maybe the banana peel had been a bit too noticeable.

She sighed, "My name is Seraphina! And I am paying attention, which— ugh, later," Sera dismissed the thought, returning her attention to the couple rockshells in front of her. One was promptly dispatched with a very cool looking team-move, while the other was showered in bits and pieces of what used to be its larger counterpart.

Sera glanced over at Samara, nodding with a shrug. "Sure," she said, pushing off the hilt of her sword and yanking it back up with a flick of her finger. Positioning it on the ground next to the last rockshell, she swept it to the side, striking at an otherwise impossibly low angle that swept the legs. The rock came crashing down on its body shortly after.

Returning the sword to her inventory, she placed both hands on her hips and turned to Jian. "You really need to relax. I know we lost a friend, but that wasn’t a normal encounter. This… is a normal encounter. There’s no way I’d let a stupid rock crab thingy kill you. Just… bruise you a bit…" Seraphina raised a thoughtful finger to her chin. "Think of it this way, would you rather avoid a few bruises here and there, or have a powerful healer that can fix real injuries?" She shrugged.

"I mean, it’s not like you guys are doing a great job of getting hurt on your own. Did any of you even get a scratch? That’s not fair to me… or Cupcake-chan. She needs to level too."
 
Jiànlong was surprised when the party went into action. Not so subtlety he stared, basically wide-eyed. Man, this group was filled with badasses! Well, of course, they were all S rank... Oh, wait! He was, too! Right!

"I can help!" He blurted out, about ready to spring into action. Show them what he could do! Show off just like all the others!

But then, he was too late. Not only did they perform incredibly, but they did it efficiently and quickly, as well! The group of monsters were all dealt with in an instant! Killing monsters on floor 1, but killing tough enemies like rockshells on floor 2 was something else entirely!

He hadn't needed to worry at all!

The boy looked down at his sword. They really hadn't needed his Amassed Energy Strike...

Jiànlong tried to convince himself that wasn't all that was going for him.

He shook those darker thoughts from his head and put a smile on his face. Only to hear a feminine voice speak to him, catching his attention.

He furrowed his brow just a tad, thinking back to his days at the academy. Just what was a 'normal' encounter? Everything was a 'normal encounter', or rather, nothing was 'normal' in the labyrinth... Still, with that S ranks performance, he couldn't really muster up any argument.

"I have an injury..." he murmured, gently touching his chest. This girl said she was paying attention, but was she really, if she didn't know that? She couldn't heal him before because she had blown through her stamina, or mana, or whichever she used.

"Hm.. does.. cupcake-chan level up?" he asked, looking over at the weird summon. Then he smiled. "She's pretty.. cool, cool, I said!"

Daeva relaxed, as well, when the monsters were killed. Huh, she hadn't needed to do anything either! Neither had Blobbykins, which she looked back at and affectionately patted. That was.. good. She was still recharging her mana. She had a mana regen potion, but didn't want to use it if it wasn't necessary.

After the monsters were killed, the usual drops hit the dusty ground. A few beacons glittered amongst the grains of sand. Some specific monster materials that were used in crafting, alchemy, chemistry, and the like rolled across the dust. And for Seymour a trophy -Rockshell Rockpiece dropped at his foot. It offered +2 Defense.

Once the encounter was over, the Big Rockshell's rocks broke apart, revealing a chest.

It was common knowledge that some chests were traps in the labyrinth. Either booby traps or.. other things.. Most of the booby traps encountered so far were poison bursts, a crossbow popping out and firing, and the worse one, an explosive chest that exploded once opened. Some.. adventurers were lost when discovering that one..

Sometimes there were ways of telling if a chest was boobytrapped. Certain skills or items could. The Thief talent in particular had the ability to discern traps. But for their discerning eyes, it looked just like a normal chest.

Whatever the case, chests were not normally trapped on Floors 1 and 2.

Regardless of what the party decided upon with this chest, inside if they opened it, they would find:

Generic Skill Scroll x1​
Weak Poison Resist level 1​
Passively resist weaker poisons and toxins, but does not necessarily make one immune. (Poison "builds up" slowly in a bar in the DS. Once full, you will get poisoned.)​
​
Appraisal Stone x1​
Stone used by certain discerning individuals and some merchants to Appraise Unidentified Scrolls. Or other Unidentified objects. (Sometimes fails depending on the level of Unidentified object, or the level of the individual.)​
 
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Stabbing his blade onto the exposed underside of the rockshell, Seymour pulled the sword upwards, ripping through the softer carapace beneath it, spilling out the contents of the creature's shell. The monster began squirming in pain, it's thoughts laid bare to Seymour, full of fear and weakness, its head twitching about. "Shut up." Thankfully, did this not last long as Seymour grabbed hold of the monster's head and pulled it clean off, silencing the pest once and for all. The battle was won and yet...he still felt empty. Taking a deep breath, Seymour calmed himself down and threw its head to the side, finally getting over his short but memorable existential crisis. "Thanks for the assist, Samara." Pulling his blade out of the creature, he would flick the blood of the gladius and sheathed it in one swift motion, something he quite enjoyed doing with his older weapons. "Injured....how did you get injured, Walker?" He asked with his usual cavalier tone as he inspected the loot. He found it rather amusing that the one who wanted all of them to take the battle seriously was also the same person who did not partake in the short fight whatsoever.

Apart from the usual monster material and beacon, he finally saw something....yes the item he had been fighting for. However, his happiness would be short-lived as he realized that said item gave him a stat perimeter he didn't care much for. +2 defense. If the labyrinth was the one responsible for these "drops", it surely was playing a joke. "I guess its better than nothing." Pocketing the trophy, he thought that some stats were better than no stats at all. And now he turned his attention towards a chest that was hidden within the large rockshell. He thought it was rather convenient that the Lancer's move didn't destroy the contents within the shell.

At first he was rather cautious about the chest, after all, it was not uncommon for chests to be booby-trapped in the labyrinth. However, it was also common knowledge earlier that floor chests shouldn't be trapped. Well, there was only one way to find out. Grabbing the lid, he would rip the lid off the container, revealing its contents. One scroll, and a stone labeled as an "Appraisal stone". "Hmmm, maybe we can use this to identify one of the scrolls from Blobjun." Seymour spoke, holding both items in his hands. "A skills scroll. Weak poison resistance. Not the most "flashy" but could be useful against poison-type monsters. Who do you guys think should get this?" He was genuinely curious to hear the thoughts of his teammates. It was a niche skill, but something that you'd be happy to have should the situation require it. Having poisoned and been poisoned in the past, it was not something to be taken for granted. "Also...do we have anyone here that can make use of all this monster material have collected thus far? If not can we sell them for more beacons?" He knew the kid that had left them was the alchemist that could have make use of the material, but perhaps someone in the group could make use of them as well.

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Samara breathed a sigh of relief when the final rockshell crumpled to the ground, brought down by a quick telekinetic swipe from Sera. "We did it..." she muttered under her breath. Well, of course they did. They were S-Ranks. But after that first boss battle, she began to wonder...

With a quick shake of her head, Samara returned her thoughts to the present situation. There was no sense in dwelling on the past. Learn from it and move forward. While the goddess and the walking swordsman bantered, Samara stood over Seymour, who had already opened the chest and began inspecting the loot.

"On later floors, I'll handle the chest opening... if you don't mind," she said with an encouraging smile. The chests here might be safe, but the deeper they went, the greater their chance of having one that explodes or spews toxic gas or tries to claw someone's face off. The shieldmaiden was easily the best suited to taking such risks.

However, Jianlong's words reached her ears the same time they reached Seymour's. Injured? The woman turned upon him so swiftly, one might think the young man said he was on fire and had set it himself. "Jianlong Xiaoxiao!" she declared, using his full name which is usually a clear sign you've done something bad and mommy is on a warpath. Samara promptly stowed her tower shield on her back and summoned her medical kit from her inventory. She marched up to him so fast, one might think he was about to get a taste of what Lemondrop had gotten a few days ago.

"Oh, you poor thing! Why didn't you say so sooner?" Samara said as she dropped to her knees and unceremoniously lifted his shirt to inspect the wound. The aggressiveness of her actions contrasted the tenderness of her tone. She continued speaking as she held him by his belt with one hand and blindly rummaged through her kit with the other. "Don't ever do that again, sweetie. If you have an injury, you have to --STOP SQUIRMING!-- you have to tell us. What if it got infected, hmm? Or --KEEP STILL, DAMMIT-- or poisoned?"

She finally found the salve she was looking for. When she did, clarity hit like a freight train. You're doing it again, Samara, she thought as she looked into the young man's eyes and gave him an awkward smile. I might be overreacting a little. Just a little. "Ummm, here. Take this," she said, pressing the small vial of salve into his hand and taking a step back. "Have, uh, Cupcake patch you up and, if the wound doesn't close, rub some of this on on it and apply fresh badages. And," she wagged a finger at him, "make sure you speak up if anything is wrong next time. Okay? Okay! And that goes for the rest of you, too," she said, to everyone.

Embarking on this journey without a dedicated healer was a big mistake. Dangerous monsters were bad enough, but dying after the fight is won is such an awful way to go. Infection. Poison. Exhaustion. Exposure. Everything wanted to kill them and life could slip through their fingers for the simplest of reasons. The Labyrinth didn't care. But, still, they could do this, if they remained careful and vigilant, and, most importantly, look after one another.

Anyway...

She turned to Seymour, who had just finished itemizing the enemy drops and the contents of the chest. "I'd like that poison resistance scroll, unless anyone objects. And the rockshell meat," Samara said. "You'll see. Next time we make camp, you'll all see." She was overcome with joy just thinking about it.
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Walker???

That wasn't his name. Was this dude really just calling him by his Talent? What sort of bullying was this?

At his question, Jiànlong realized they probably could sell monster materials. Selling materials was always a way to make a quick buck. But when Jiànlong thought about it, he knew it always ended up being a mistake. Everyone knew this. It was better to hold onto one's "mats" and use them to craft later. Plus, the real question was, to whom were they selling anything to? Didn't they already have a discussion about returning? That brought up the question about just what "merchants" was that description referring to?

"Um, well, I was injured just the other da- Hmh!"

The scream of his name shut him up, sounding like his angry mother or something.

"Uhhh...!" The woman's anger suddenly morphed into a tenderness that made Jiànlong uncomfortable, as she lifted his shirt and began inspecting his patch-up job all on her own. Just like a mother...

Say anything? Everyone saw him take a rock blast to the chest in the boss fight.. And everyone should've seen him sitting next to the bonfire addressing his wound with a first aid kit.

"Um.." He took the salve and looked at it. Then the cupcake and .. looked at that too. Then the blonde's face lit up. Ah, a cupcake! Sweet!

"Sure.." He said to her, blinking.

Samara would unfurl the Skill Scroll. As it was a Generic Skill Scroll, that meant anyone could use it -it did not have Talent requirements. It began to glow before her. Suddenly its light went into her, and the woman would read:

Weak Poison Resist level 1​
Passively resist weaker poisons and toxins, but does not necessarily make one immune. (Poison "builds up" slowly in a bar in the DS. Once full, you will get poisoned.)​

As a new Skill appeared in her DS.

~~

Once the issue with who got the skill was sorted out, and they got an appropriate amount of rest, the party set out once again, trudging along the dusty wasteland. Rough winds buffeted them, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle, especially with their tank in front, blocking most of it. Seymour's ability was activated occasionally, finding usually nothing, but sometimes spotting a monster under the sands here or there, which they usually avoided, or just killed easily for a few Beacons. But he couldn't spam his ability, unless he wanted to deplete his stamina.

The times they didn't use his "radar", the party walked along carefully, sometimes in a quiet calm. Sometimes they chatted here or there. The times when a hush fell over the party was when they saw shapes in the distance. Shambling shadows in the dusty winds -- just out of reach. They saw them frequently, like wraiths in the desert. The Wega.

But no encounters with them. The party was good about steering clear of the monsters, just leaving them as dramatic shadows in the desert. Watching them left a dreary and desperate feeling over the party, pitying them, like watching abandoned soldiers, that would never return home.

Eventually the group got to a flatter plane, with the earth below feeling firmer, sturdier, more packed together underfoot -still as dusty and wasteland-ish as ever though. A Title Card floated above in a video-game-like window: The Land of Desperation.

The party began to pass by empty.. what could be called 'homes'. Whitish clay-like structures with openings for windows and doors. Sometimes their was wooden parts around the various homes, broken, strew about as debris. Other times.. nothing.

And there were no residents, obviously. There never were. The occasional monster, but not this time. Just empty homes, that claimed no residents. It brought the mood down. Arid wind howled through their lonely openings, whistling and caterwauling. A dusty ghost town.

Until...

The sound of howling wind was broken by the sound of.. music???

It was.. faint.. and.. not very good, but it was music all the same.

That left the party perplexed, just who could be playing music out here?

They followed the sound of music, and it grew louder.

Eventually they found its source. A surprising source, to say the least. The party was stunned at what they were looking at.

Sitting there in front of one of those empty, lonely homes was a... Was a Skeleton. That was the best way to describe it. The skeleton had a hat on, wore rags, and in his arms, was some string-like guitar-like instrument. He was the one playing the music. It was something the party had never seen before.

Daeva's eyes were sparkling.

"Oh, why hello there! It's quite rare to get visitors out here! Or.. perhaps... customers?"

The skeleton said, lifting his head up, so his "face" could be seen under the wide-brimmed hat.

The rest of the party was staring into its black, empty eye sockets of its skull.

Just.. who? What?

Reading the DS. All it said was, "Ripoff Skeleton Merchant."

No other descriptors or info. Though the name 'Ripoff' kinda brought about its own sorta description..

Guess this explained what the description "merchants" was referring to. Also, if he worked like most merchants, a place they could sell things, potentially.

But in all the years of the Labyrinth. Nothing like this had ever been reported. Just what was going on here? Who was this?

He made a show of "sniffing". "I smell Beacons. You got Beacons on ya, right? Then we can conduct business! Perfect!" He set aside his instrument alongside the wall of the clay-like home he was leaning against, then lifted up the lid of the trunk sitting beside him. There were some objects inside. And a window for his shop appeared in the DS, that all could read.

"See anything ya like?" The Skeleton or -Ripoff- asked with a cheery tone. Though, with being a skeleton and all, it was tough to see any emotion, or rather, downright impossible, as bones couldn't display such.

Anyway, this was his 'wares'. Glittering in his chest were...

Various potions for stamina regen, mana regen, health regen -or- "healing potions". Most, or basically all, of Low Quality, literally called 'Lowish Quality Potions' with dubious effect. All priced 200 Quartz.

A few weapons, though nothing of note. Basically just shabby weapons picked up as loot off of defeated enemies around here. Well, nothing of note, save for one.

Echo Blade
A Common Grade weapon with a skill.
Echo Cut.
Repeats previous strike. Uses up Durability of weapon, not stamina.

Price...
30 Emerald and 1500 Quartz

Some various Skill Scrolls for certain Talents here or there priced between 500 and 2.5k Quartz, depending on their effects.

He also sold 'Secrets' -or Rumors, as they were often called in games. Which "could provide useful information for your journey ahead." For just 1 Emerald a rumor.

He also sold various other things and knickknacks here or there, and some monster mats from monsters around here -though, the party had plenty of those.

And.. the coup de grace.

Two.. "Curses".

"Oh, thems? Ya, I have two curses for sale. One is called the Secret Curse. It gives you a curse with unknown negatives, and then, in the future, when you overcome the curse, you receive an unknown, but tremendous, everlasting buff. Sounds good, right? But, I cannot tell you what the curse will do, or what sort of reward you will receive. And the other curse is called a Targeted Curse. This curse -I know what it does, but again, it will grant you some tremendous buff in the long run, though may not be as tremendous as the Secret Curse, since its negative effect is known. I can tell you what you what this curse's negative effect is. Which are you interested in?"

"I ALSO have this impeccable Barrier Scroll! Once used, it will cast a barrier of a certain size around the area that the scroll is used at. However, it isn't like a skill, so that makes it a weak barrier. It also is only a single-time use. But it is definitely useful if you need an immediate reprieve from monsters. For only 800 Quartz and 1 Emerald!! Buy now! Before this highly coveted item goes out of stock!! Everyone is buying them nowadays!! Buy now! Hurry!" He shouted at them -almost desperately so, trying to shove the scroll into their hands. Next up was a little Star-shaped Green 'orb'.

"Or perhaps! This Exp BOOSTER! For a limited time -3 hours- your exp is boosted! Want to level up before the boss?!?! THIS IS A MUST HAVE ITEM!!! AFFECTS THE WHOLE PARTY! FOR A WHOLE THREE HOURS! AT JUST A MEASLY 4 EMERALD! ITS A STEAL!"

"What about you, miss?! I couldn't help but notice your hat! But, perhaps you're sick of that one?! Or its old?! Or weathered?! How bout a brand NEW HAT?!" He asked directly to Lumi. But he was right on to the next thing he was trying to peddle.

He had gotten into his Salesman-mode now, and was blathering on and blurting out various things about the items he owned. He was more like some sort of robot rather than a skeleton at this point.

"SO, WHAT'LL IT BE?! YOU WANT SOMETHING RIGHT?!?! MY STUFFS ALL THE BEST! AND ITS ALL ON SALE! BUY NOW!" His 'eyes -if they could be called that- were almost manic now, and the party could tell this, despite him being well, a skeleton.

When the party pooled their funds and counted them, they had roughly around:

3326 quartz
24 emerald
2 gold

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N2WgR9O.png

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A metaphysical window.

A shame.

Despite their name, they were but another monster of the Labyrinth, after all. Kirsten would have preferred to simply kill them and take their possessions that way, but alas, the Labyrinth was just game-like enough that they’d be unlikely to plunder the entirety of this store’s contents if all they did was kill a single undead.

“Seymour, a scan, please.”

Wouldn’t be the first time ambushers sent in a distraction before going in for the kill, and while the ghost town appeared to be unoccupied, the party hadn’t exhaustively checked every single one either. It was better to be safe than sorry. They could buy stamina potions to make up for overtaxing the swordsman’s eyes, if that was necessary. Regardless, it wouldn’t be a completely poor idea to camp out in this town at night. There was little else in the way of shelter in the Land of Desperation, after all. And as for the merchant’s wares…

“The Barrier Scroll is interesting, but we don’t know you,” Kirsten said flatly. “Tell us who you are and who your usual clientele are.” A pause. This was a long-term expedition, and while the party itself remained a mess, things were still early on enough that they could afford to take the risk that a curse presented. “The ‘Targeted Curse’ as well. If you’re going to offer that, then tell us what the negative effect is.”

They would have to break away later to discuss this without a slimy skeleton heckling them with more vapid promotions, but for now? Their objective benefited from information on any anomaly they encountered. And this was the first anomaly of actual note.
 
The Skeleton's -um- 'eyes' turned to look at the woman who seemed to suddenly take charge, presenting herself with authority. It was almost like the deep black abysses of his eye sockets were glittering with amusement. Or perhaps, greed. "Who. Am. I? Ah, what a curious question! Who else would I be, but a simple merchant? A merchant is all I be, is all I am. A merchant is what I am. And a skeleton, too! Yoohoohohoo~!"

He chuckled lightheartedly. "My clientele? Now another interesting question. Hm.. yes.." He scratched his non-existent beard on his white chin. "Who are my usual clientele? Who, indeed..? Hm..."

He smiled at her. Or... well.. was he? It was hard to tell, you know, with no facial muscles. "Hm, you're gonna have to be more specific. As stated this is a 'Targeted' Curse. It changes its restrictions, criteria and effects based on the one who is receiving it. Essentially, I will cast a curse on only one who wants it. The curse will then take effect on that individual. Until I know who I am casting the curse on, I cannot know what it'll do. Unless... you want me to figure out how it'll curse each one of you? Hm... That's a bit tedious, though, isn't it? No, just figure out who wants it specifically. Yes, that's a better idea."

While Kirsten and Ripoff were conversing, Jiànlong was inspecting the wares. His eyes grew and glittered as he looked over the skill scrolls.

Some of the skills were:

Cross Chop​
Swordsmanship (or other similarly related talents) Scroll​
Attack twice for 1.25x your Strength stat.​
​
Defense Cut​
A sword (or knife or axe) swing that halves the defense stat of the foe for 7 seconds.​
​
Minor Heal​
Heal minor wounds.​
​
Strong Block​
Increase your Blocks effectiveness for 10 seconds.​
​
Heavy Bash​
An attack that's particularly strong against flesh, dealing increased damage, but cannot be performed consecutively. Unusable by edged weapons.​
 
"But of course." Seymour responded, acknowledging that perhaps it would be best to leave the most durable member of the team to open chests that could potentially be dangerous. Without much resistance, he surrendered the skill scroll to Samara, who in his opinion was the best recipient of said skill. "Alright then..I guess we will leave the rest with Lemondrop until we decide what else you want to do with them." Helping his colleague pack up the rest of the drops, he would do his best to continue being the "radar" of the group.

The lack of interesting encounters was starting to get to Seymour, thinking that perhaps he should have stayed in the pit. Were all the stories he heard about fearsome monsters just tall tales and exaggeration? Will he experience the thrill of "So...is it just me or have the monsters here been a bit lackluster?" Seymour was mostly asking those of them who had more experience in the labyrinth than him, but he was of course curious as to what others have to say on the matter. Perhaps this was dangerous enough for them. "This floor supposedly has these shambling things called the Wega, and yet we haven't met one." he had a bad feeling about this. The first floor had them fight a boss that was grossly stronger than its expected perimeters. So what does this floor have in store for them? Will he finally find it? An opponent to match and surpass Juggernaut Jones?

AnonyMouse AnonyMouse



After a few hours of mundaneness, something noteworthy had finally happened. A skeletal merchant with an interesting title, "Rip Off". Listening to Kirsten, he would immediately perform a scan with his prey-seeker vision, showing that there were indeed no enemies nearby enough for him to pick up. "All clear, for now at least." He saw nothing within his sight but this mysterious skeleton merchant that stood before them. He was very curious, to say the least, and wasted no time in reading his mind, carefully dissecting every thought that crossed his mind. He needed to know if this thing could be trusted or just another obstacle for them to overcome. "I concur with the lancer. I certainly hope your moniker, Rip Off, is not indicative of your business practices. I'd like to know more about these rumors you've been hearing...as well as these curses to speak of. I'd like to know how it would affect someone like me." He needed to know what was the true prices of these curses. Unless of course, this bonehead had some form of protection against his mind reading for whatever reason.

"Hmm the price of that one seems a bit steep don't you think?" He was of course referring to the echo blade that's seemingly a perfect fit for his fighting style. Having only one weapon felt unnatural for him as if something was missing in his other hand. That said, he did also take interest in some of the skill scrolls, namely the cross chop, a strength multiplier type attack that would stack beautifully with his Red Razor Rush not to mention his bonus damage with his other skill. With any luck, maybe he'll even hit as hard as the trusty lancer someday.

If the skeleton is to be trusted, then this was an opportunity for the party to get stronger. "So...are you the only merchant within the labyrinth are there going to be more of you in the later floors?" It's time to find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes. With the way things are structured, it was also natural for them to get bigger and better merchants down the line,unless of course it was all the same guy.
 
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