Fandom Overlord: Who Said Craftsmen Could Not PK? Again!

[Azure Sky]

Harvest
​

"We had a lot of fun, didn't we?" Yasuo Akira, username Blackjack, was reminescing about the past and the glory days of Harvest as they all sat just outside the base, in the surreal Disenchanted Forrest of Midgar. "Eh, I know, I know. It's just a game, right? But for most of us, it was the sole solace in an evergrey world. Ha-aah" He sighed. "Oh well," he clapped once, "who knows? Maybe a better game will appear in the future! Ha ha..."

"Ha..." Blackjack suddenly went silent. He stayed that way for a few seconds. "Let's leave the game with a bang shall we." He went inside the guild. Moments later, fireworks burst out, exploding in the sky, forming the words "Harvest" and "Nameless are Scrubs!"

Blackjack could have used his ring to teleport, but he wished to walk and look at the halls one last time. Perhaps he could even wave goodbye to the few guildmates that remained until the end.

There were just a few seconds left...
3...
2...
1...

A few players from different guilds would suddenly find themselves near the Azerlisia Mountains on the side near the Re-Estize Kingdom.

​

Nearby a beggar was relaxing in the shade of a tree and sleeping.

Haze- Wandering Grim Hollow PlusUltra HighSanguinaryPriest AiDEE-c0

 

[Wandering Grim Hollow]

Harvest​

"It's been a good run. I hope you all will be good, keep up the good work. Keep the place nice and tidy for the Honored Lords of Harvest even in my absence. Farewell, my beloved fellow maids. I solemnly retire from my post of Head Maid of Harvest. Be well." Barbara gave that touching "retirement" speech to the line of 5 NPC maids that stood before her. They were simple homunculi. Each of them barely level 2 with only points in the Maid class. They all looked almost identical with only the different hair colours separating them. Adding to their simple nature, they were even named Une, Deux, Trois, Quatre, and Cinq. That's all they were to Barbara, numbers.

"... I know I should be talking to the actual players but... This is the goodbye I want." Barbara sighed, reaching out to gently adjust Trois' slightly messy fringe. A warm feeling of happiness bubbled to the surface. "The Head Maid NPC spending her last time with her fellow NPC maids. Just perfect."

"Well... Time to go. This is farewell, my fellow maids. Au revior." Barbara turned and gracefully walked out to the balcony overlooking the front of Harvest. A firework display sparkled brilliantly across the sky. With a smile, she clambered onto the ramparts. Closing her eyes, she stepped forward as the final seconds of the server ticked to a close.

"Au revoir, Harvest and everyone..." Barbara muttered as she felt the fall.

???​

"Hm...? Where...?" Barbara wondered as she opened her eyes and looked around. This... was not a familiar location. Was it a new patch? A new event? Was the shutdown just a cover for this hidden update? She tried to contact an admin but it failed. In fact most of the game UI was gone in a sense. What's more, she's in the open. Not good. Utilizing her Ranger skill, she did a quick scan of the area. There were others nearby and the readings were.... Interesting. She decided to keep her maid act up and quickly moved off to the side by a nearby tree and stood still.

"Where am I? What's going on? I'll... have to find answers."

Azure Sky Haze- PlusUltra HighSanguinaryPriest AiDEE-c0

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

EoA (Engineers of Ascension)
​

It was 100 Minutes to Midnight according to the devs. So Fabian and the remainder of the EoA gathered for one last time, to reminisce, to laugh, rage, cry, and celebrate their time in Yggdrasil. Slowly as the clock ticked down, one by one, they logged off, leaving the hallowed halls of Hammerdeep, till only two remained. Sol Eldrige, and himself.

Walking the halls, and many subterranean chambers of the guild, Fabian gazed upon all he and the others created, collecting materials and gear as he went. There was no purpose to it, other than it felt right. As the time continued to dwindle, he came upon his pride and joy. A massive Golem, towering over the gates of Hammerdeep, it's gold plated chassis gleaming in the crystalline lamps, as it stood sentry its mighty guns aimed towards the horizon. "To think, it took only three years in game to create this masterwork of artifice and golemancy. Such a waste to never be able to see Tiny in action, wouldn't you agree Sol?" He asked placing his mechanical hand upon the golden plates of its leg almost lovingly.

Karcen

 

[PlusUltra]

NE-1​

Is NE-1 there? A question asked many times by those who either knew her or those who knew her by the countless aliases. It wasn't as simple as checking a friends list, given the frustrating ability to alter their own location or online status combined with the multiple profiles that were forwarded to the same individual it was often like looking for a needle in a haystack that might as well just be a straw itself. For those who looked, it appeared she was currently in the Rings of Akhaten, Tojo City, Developer Island, The Moon, Lore Depository and the Grassy Knoll all at the same time, but In truth, the only way of finding her reliably was through a chance message if she wished to be found or sought out the individual themselves.

This had been how she had always been since starting her time in the grand game, a similar case in her real life as well but never to such an extent. Though to answer the question for the moment she was in fact amongst the rocks of Midgard mountains casually running through various lists. As much as she enjoyed Yggdrasil she knew it wouldn't be the end, people would go on to the next thing, maybe Akashic, Atlas or Rainbow Snake? It was important to keep an ear out to get a foothold on the next new thing in any case. She had initially thought there may have been some planned special patch for Yggdrasil 2.0, but with enough of the developers going to new studios and no internal projects listed from her contacts had quickly dispelled that despite many forum-goers speculating differently. So here she was, listening to the world go silent as the clock eventually struck midnight.

This was when she was expecting the game to turn to darkness and slowly remove her headset, what she did not expect however was a whole new surrounding and sensations. NE1's eyes were snapped open again by a sudden chilling sting, the sensation lasting for a moment before abating though that was the least of their concerns as their minds themselves burst forward as entirely new yet with all the memories she had shared across each in a distorted and bizarre sensation that forced their hand to the back of there head attempting to disconnect her headset and yet finding nothing.

NE1's next experience was that something was very very wrong like their mind like it was scattered across their entire body with constant echoes of her every thought yet also each being far sharper and faster than she was used to, and that was not even getting started on how their body themselves felt. Everything was just so...wrong and yet normal, senses and sensations she couldn't describe, literal eyes not only behind her but also across her entire form like she was tiny squirming but also whole. All this was before she even started to comprehend just where they were or the fact she couldn't disconnect, the fact the smell and feel of the world around her was as if she was walking around in real life. Their name...Their name was, They were NE1, no they were Jane..all of them was Shirly... wait for all of them? They were one person, no they were many people, hands come up to her head as they try and comprehend what was happening and what they were along with a rapid flood of information that made their heads spin.

They only now realized the almost frantic breathing that had been going on, a sensation across her entire body pulsing as it expanded and contracted, trying to focus the breathing slowly slowed as the new being she was tried to put things in order, no easy task as in addition to her own issues she also had the sensory overload of everything around them including the individuals around her. It took several moments but she was starting to adapt, pushing aside the concerns, for now, to focus on a single task, itemizing it all slowly.

Taking note of the people now around her, each person revealed far more information than she was used to, the details only increasing as she looked further, taking in the slightest curve of their facial features, the exact shade of the eyes, hair and so much more. No, she needed to keep it simple for now, file the rest away, and have some of her other minds handle that while the rest focused on the simple stuff. Their location was a mountain, there were several players in their immediate vicinity...conceal, observe, plan then act.

Ok, we have what is around, now we have that what are we going to do? We need information on our circumstances and what is happening, the others look confused as well and they are thinking....similar questions at the moment as to the nature of the change so keep monitoring that while the rest of us think further.

 

[Karcen]

Zestra
Mentions: HighSanguinaryPriest ​

It was the end, as sad as it was it was true nothing lasted forever and for a game to have lasted as long as this one was something special. It was even more special given how convoluted and unforgiving and at times broken the game was. Normally games like that would end up with a huge starter pool but end up unsustainable and unprofitable as more and more people quit. Zestra herself likely should have been one such drop off given she didn't view herself as a hardcore gamer and didn't like all of the system of the game. Well regardless of all that the game was ending the point of no longer making profits had come and the coemption had come and would be the next thing in the cycle. Still over 10 years was a long time to be the king at least the game would not be dragged out and turned into a puppet corpse.

The fact she was among the last two of her guild online was another thing Zestra would not have predicted. The guild had been fun and all, but to want to stay on till the last moment was something she hadn't expected. There was an emptiness starting to show that she had not realized was there. While she might pick up another games she might not, the game had helped her pick a possible course in college, astrology and well she should devote herself to study. Having time to play another game as complicated and as complete as this one might not be possible. Still the newer ones did support a more complete experience and perhaps she could remake her build here.

That Fabian was the only other one here was not a surprise he was the guild master and thinking on it the vice guild master being here till the end with him made sense. With he love of things steampunk and well dwarven Zestra did not know why he had not made a half dwarf have golem. he acted like one and had the beard to be one. As he spoke Zestra looked to the giant golem that had been made to protect the guild hall. The thing had been an insane task that everyone had helped complete and she did wonder how it would do against a raid that never came. Well attacking hammerdeep would be a headache for anyone as not only would you face the defenses there were someone player like her that would likely launch a counter to destroy the guild hall or city the opponent called home. From that point of few who would attack it would be a massive headache.

" Yeah though you could have always called for a guild war if you wanted to test him out" Zestra teased. The guild wasn't exactly warlike, but well there was nothing stopping them from doing such except themselves and of course the character being played. Joseph dropping the character of fabian had become more common as the end came. Why roleplay when things are almost done after all? Sol looked tot he in game clock focusing away from Zestra to herself now to see the last few moments were ticking away " At least if we meet up now in real life you won't get weird looks old man" Sol joked as their first meeting had gotten odd looks for a teen meeting mostly older people " We can always start over in another game assuming college doesn't take to much time" she sighed as the last few moments passed and the end of the game came.

 

[Haze-]

The Nameless​

“So this is how it ends, huh…” – The King, atop his rundown castle, gazed transiently at the scenery unfolding before him. Unwinding passages of dark, barren forest, where the cold, ominous wind grazed the flaking skin and whistled through the hollow of the thousands upon thousands of dead trees, lined up absent-mindedly, each at random spots, too far away from each other yet still reaching out their long decrepit arms to form walls upon walls of forest – If there was one thing he knew, whoever killed hours of sleep designing this small part of the map surely got the raise of his life. It was a pretty obscure part of Midgard, neither a wild hotspot nor the favorite haunt for max-levels; it was just, quite literally, a nameless forest full of mid-tier mobs. But it was known for one thing after they claimed it for their base, that no-name, unremarkable forest, was the place where the Nameless gathered. Their main castle, where all of them held their meetings and shared their loot.

A wide smile stretched on Jin’s face the more he gazed into the forest, Midas didn’t quite show it, the character models never were that expressive to begin with. It was silly to think about it, to feel such accomplishment over something so menial, over a game that would probably go forgotten in the next 2 weeks or so. Still, Jin felt more than ecstatic, thinking back to every hour, day and night poured into building all of this. Funny how the best days of his life had been solely behind a screen.

“Eh, don’t get too hung up on it. There are still plenty of games out there. World’s our oyster.” – A voice chimed in behind him, it was Pandora. Next to her was Arc, arms crossed as a light scoff was heard from his mic. – “A King’s gotta pore over his castle! Need to savor the view while it lasts.” – He tried to be a tease, as per usual, but there was something gloomy brewing up in his chest. A storm of emotions. Midas sighed deeply, blue eyes going to the red carpet on the floor – “You wouldn’t get it. I watched this baby grow and now it’s being taken away from me…” – Midas clung to one of the castle walls, hand crossing the marble surface with clingy, almost romantic longing. Both the Witch and the Knight stared blankly at Midas as he tried to hug the castle tighter, pressing his face hard against the wall. As though their brains were intertwined, both of them tried to make a mental image of how Jin looked right now behind the headgear. Old ass man, mid-twenties, alone in his dark room, only lit by the faint light coming from his headgear, fake hugging the empty space in the middle of the room. Arc was the first one to physically recoil at the thought.

“Take a pic and think fondly of the castle later then you weirdo, geez…” – Pandora shook her head.

“Isn’t there a word for those types of people? Aesthete or something like that.” – Arc brought a hand to his chin both in-game and in the quietness of his room, poring over the exact word for freaks with that type of itch, that specific philia for architecture.

“Sshh, they don’t know what they’re talking about my dear…” – Midas whispered softly to the castle wall. Arc’s model shuddered, freezing up in a position that could only be described as raw horror – “We didn’t even watch the Guild grow, stupid. ‘This baby’ is barely even three months old.“

“Yeah, we really could’ve gotten somewhere in life if you sensational shit paddlers weren’t such goddamn goblins, hoarding all the loot and shit…” – Arc leaned into the wall Midas was cuddling with, arms still crossed, propped up on one shoulder, he shot a glare over to Midas specifically. The King stopped rubbing himself against the wall, coming to a halt as his eyes darted everywhere but Arc’s direction, he stumbled on his next words – “You’re…uh…Not mad at that raid party still, right? It was just a kill steal man, come on…” – Midas mustered a low chuckle, trying to build it up, it promptly muffled itself as Arc’s dead stare dawned on him. Arc sighed, exasperated. Pandora followed, echoing the same. She knew where this was going… – “I mean, nah. Not like I spent hours making graphs, losing sleep, building this ‘dragon slayer’ character around that ONE Dragon Lord. So, am I still mad at it?” – He paused, head veering slightly to the side, almost as if his character had flashed an eyebrow at Midas behind the golden visage masquerading his countenance. Midas took a deep breath – “No, I already got over it.” – Then deflated – “What I am mad about, rather, is the fact that YOUR dumbass spent all the materials and loot from that one-time event raid boss…On some shitty gear that you never used.”

“Hey, hey, hey, he- Listen up here. It was for a greater cause, okay?” – Midas closed his eyes, sullenly, clicking his tongue and dismissing Arc’s utmost ignorant comments – “Still, sucks to be you, don’t it? Couldn’t even land the last hit on some cheap Dragon Lo-“ – He was then met with a golden fist that sent him rag-dolling across the marble wall he’d been so passionately caressing, hitting one of the main pillars and crashing with a couple of NPC maids on his wake. Midas got up in a daze, head still spinning, instinctively clutching the top of his headgear and boring his eyes on the floor, trying to seize where his feet were – “Man, that’s still trippy… So you ARE mad about that raid party.” – He chuckled.

“I’m not fixing that, by the way.” – Pandora gestured to the trashed stairs and gigantic crater where Midas lay, glaring daggers at Arc. The Knight cracked his knuckles and threw up his hands in apprehension – “Not like anyone’s gonna be coming back here anyways.” – The three of them fell silent, a quietness that filled the room, washing over them. They wouldn’t be coming back here. They wouldn’t be seeing the 700 strong guild members that were active almost every day, branding the Nameless, going to raid parties with the three of them. They wouldn’t be seeing their old friends at Harvest, Arc wouldn’t get to duel one last time with Blackjack, Midas wouldn’t get to throw himself at the mounds of gold in the treasure room, and Pandora’s very last creation would be the one NPC to witness the end of Yggdrasil, she would never build another one.

But above all, they feared their interactions with each other wouldn’t be the same. They’d only met up once in the real world, with some other members from various guilds, to have some drinks and share some actual stories that didn’t have anything to do with how fast this person built this golem or how fast they cleared this dungeon. This game was their one and only escape, always had been. But would they be the same Accursed trio in another place? It was hard to envision it. But not one of them wanted to voice their concerns, they held it in.

“Oop! Only 5 minutes left.” – Midas exclaimed, letting out one big, nervous huff as he gazed sheepishly at his menu. On the top left. The counter ticked relentlessly – “You really are a dense individual aren’t you, Jin?” – Pandora shook her head again, a smile beginning to tug at her mouth behind the headgear, she teleported them to the very top of the castle. It was somewhere past midnight in their area, the moon showering down an eerie, ghost light that encompassed the whole forest. Over the horizon, in the Disenchanted Forrest, stood their rivals, Harvest.

“Look at these show-offs… Haah, we should invite those dudes over for a drink again. One of these days at least.” – Harvest’s message shone a light that reached even their end of the forest, mockingly. The three of them exchanged a look, darting around the place, the distant explosions rumbling the Nameless to the core; the remaining players were casting their flashiest super-tiers. Like grand fireworks on New Year’s Eve. It was that special for them as well.

Pandora stretched, glancing at both Arc and Midas – “Let’s show them how it’s done, no?” – Arc chuckled; Midas rolled his shoulder with a big idiot smile stretching across, even on his character’s face – “Tchyeah, right.”

[Shooting Stars]

[Dragon Breath: Bahamut]

[World Splitter]​

The Accursed aimed their catalysts and swords at the skies above, lighting up the night with shades of a ghostly blue, fire red and an entrancing purple – As the clock wound down, they held their blinding barrage steady until their MP bar depleted.

Before they knew it, the world had gone dark.

---

“Where… Am I…?”​

Midas’ eyes flung open, looking around wildly at their surroundings. He slowly rose from where he lay, a bed of grass, smelling of early morning dew, deep staggering breaths racking his whole body. A pair of hands rose up out of reflex, at the burning glare of the sun, at the whisper of the wind clashing with his face; he stared at them like they were alien to him. Even though he knew who these hands belonged to. He’d seen them behind a screen, every time he logged on to Yggdrasil and loaded in as Midas, moving along with him behind the headgear, the mere illusion of a puppeteer living the world through the eyes of his creation. Yet, in Yggdrasil, they never felt as real as they did now. They didn’t prickle at the feeling of tall grass; they didn’t feel cold as the cool wind blew through them – back then, to him, they were like a discarded, leftover shoe. Detached from him, an afterthought.

But this… – “This feels too real…” – Midas kept staring at his own hands in awe, until the feeling of something shifting in his lap snapped him awake from that trance. He looked down, only to be met with a ball of fur snuggling in his lap, stripes of red running across its fur, it looked up to Midas expectantly, with blood red eyes – “To… Togemaru?” – The fox stretched as Midas could only stare wide eyed, at the sensations, at the scenery. His mind was stripped bare of any thought.

“Did I fall asleep while wearing the headgear…? What the hell is going on?” – A pair of hands went up to reach for his headset, all he managed was to grasp his own face, stretching it in disbelief as it was beginning to dawn on him.

This was no dream.

 

[Azure Sky]

Azerlisia Mountains on the side near the Re-Estize Kingdom

The man in ragged clothes certainly seemed to be a beggar. It was the first thing one would think when looking at him. At least while his eyes were closed.

"Nearby..."
"Zzzz... just 5 more minutes." The man was seemingly having a nice dream.
"Dangerous beings are nearby, my lord."
...
...
I know, Omen.

Truthfully, he could not sleep like he used to. His new self was merely able to simulate a dream world and act as if asleep, because of his "eyes within". The man, just enjoing nature had signals transmitted to him from underground worms, courtesy of his peculiar abilities. He did not know why these beings were near him. But he knew his hidden "companion" (Omen) along with some of his summons, could sense someone's strength by signalling danger when their HP and/or MP went beyond a certain level. Yet he still pretented to sleep. He had a way of hidding his abilities, and he would continue to do so.

"Maybe if I continue to play the deep sleep beggar, they will ignore me..."
"My lord, I usually marvel at your strategies, but I doubt this will work."
"Damn it, Omen! Have some faith!"
"Apologies, my lord."
"Also..."
"...?"
"Tell me if any of them is an attractive female."
"Understood, my lord!"
"Good!"
"By the way, my Lord, if you don't mind me asking..."
"...?"
"What do you mean by attractive?"
"..."
"..."
"You are right Omen. It is a pretty deep philosophy. I will make sure to educate you about curvaceous behinds, well-proportioned bossoms, epic legs, ASMR voices, cristaline laughs, and pure smiles..."
"It will be an honour, my lord!"
"Such enthusiasm! I knew you were a person of culture."
"I am unworthy of such praise."

The man and the invisible Omen were whispering, not considering that maybe one of the dangerous individuals had... enhanced hearing...

PlusUltra Wandering Grim Hollow Haze- Karcen HighSanguinaryPriest

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

EoA

​

Joseph/Fabian Bristled at being called an old man. He was only eight years her senior. He was about to respond when the timer on his HUD began the final countdown till shutdown. Letting out a sigh over his chat he sent his friend an emote to describe his annoyance. Turning back towards the great entrance of Hammerdeep with Tiny still manning it's post, he spoke up once more. "Well, seeing as we have but a few moments left in this world, I have to say, I look forward to conquering the next game world with you."

As the clock was about to hit zero, Joseph closed his eyes and the world went dark.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

Brightness flooded his vision, as the void was pushed back. Opening his eyes, he and his friend were no longer at the gates of Hammerdeep. In fact, they were not in any location they were familiar with from Yggdrasil. What the fuck?! He thought taking in the alien surroundings. A light breeze tickled his scalp and moved his signature warhawk hairdo. Hold the fuck on! Wind?! Sensation?! and Smell?! He screamed internally as he frantically looked about. Taking in his surroundings he found his friend and co-guildmistress, along with several other people looking about confused and alarmed as he was. Well Sol/Zestra didn't seem too fazed. "Please tell me that you can use all five senses right now and that i'm not going mad." He said in a voice not his own. Once again shocked he half shouted in exclamation. "What the Hell?! Even my voice is different!"

If one were to describe the tone of his voice, it would be a mixture of Lucien Lachance from Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion and any guard from the same classic console game. While kinda awesome, it was also very unnerving. "This can't be happening... Sol! I need you to punch me! If I feel it in know then it is real, if not, then the Devs have some serious explaining to do."

Karcen PlusUltra Azure Sky Wandering Grim Hollow Haze-

 

[Karcen]

Zestra
Mentions: HighSanguinaryPriest PlusUltra Azure Sky Haze- Wandering Grim Hollow ​

The time came and darkness overtook Sol as she was sure the game ended and she was sure she had closed her eyes. Then there was light? Sol opened her eyes as Zestra once more this place was not where she had been the people she was half aware were around her were not the NPCs of Hammerdeep. This was not what was meant to happen, Zestra took a breath or tried. She tried to breathe but nothing happened. She needed to breath she had to she was going to choke she knew she was. Then as the panic set in she realize her heart it wasn't beating she was going to die she couldn't breathe her heart was stopped this wasn't real it couldn't be. Panic started to raise in her Zestra wanted to scream out, but she didn't breathe so how could she scream if her lungs didn't work. The panic grew and grew as she realized more and more things were gone and just how wrong things were. Then she wasn't, the fear, the panic, everything it was gone replaced by a calmness. This unnatural calmness made her realize one thing, golems didn't have emotions, they didn't have lungs, or a heart. She had become a golem that was clear now that she had no fear clouding her mind.

Zestra could hear Fabian panicking next to her, that was what her reaction could be, but her emotions were suppressed, keeping her detached. This must be purely because of her chosen race, so what they had played was what they had become. Zestra also noticed there was no UI and she made a few movements to bring up various screens, her movements calm and deliberate enough for any to notice how unfazed she was now. When nothing came up Zestra figured they were no longer in the game or in any other game. The idea of being moved from one world to another was not something unfamiliar to her, though in only cartoons and manga, so with her forced calmness she reasoned she must be in another world. The other figures here that seemed to stand out must also have been players that were on at the last minute. That just left where they were as her biggest question as while clearly a fantasy world she didn't think it was a one for one of the game world.

" Take a breath Fabian " Zestra said simply her tone calm and cold though some warmth was returning as the forced suppression faded. For long as her emotions were not to extreme it seemed they were not shut down. " Try to calm down, it seems we have come to another world" She said as it that was the most obvious thing " And judging from the attire of those around us these people were fellow players on at the last moment" She continued making a pure guess there but it made sense

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

EoA

​

Following his friend's advice, he quickly began to calm himself. After a few moments of deep breathing and reflection, he noticed despite the panic, he was handling it quite well emotionally. Unlike the other Former Players. Thinking further on this, he noticed his own emotions were slightly subdued, unlike Zestra whom seemed to be emotionally suppressed like the golem she was. Could this be a symptom of being a Golem or half Golem? What of an undead? This is too much to think of right now. He thought as he now more calmly walked over to his companion. "Thank you Zestra. I must ask, how are you handling this so well? I mean i have a theory, but I'd rather gather all the data first before coming to a conclusion." Fabian asked as he attempted and failed to pull up any of his menus.

After several attempts, he gave up and decided to test something out. Holding out his hand towards a spot on the ground away from the others he focused. "Ice Pillar!" Upon leaving his lips, he felt a slight pull from within before a massive pillar of blue ice erupted from the targeted location. Fog began to pour off the construct cooling the area around it. "It appears we can still use our abilities and magic. That's always a plus."

Turning towards the other players he gestured towards them. "Should we go and mingle, or see if the Dreadnought works and fuck off from here?"

Karcen Azure Sky Haze- Wandering Grim Hollow PlusUltra

 

[Kokurai Gaisgeach]

YGGDRASIL - Minutes till the End​

Slash, Thud.

The NPC falls dead onto the alleyway's dirty and rugged grounds. The last victim of her killing spree yet it didn't feel like it was worth mentioning, as it wasn't a player. As such she could only sigh in disappointment.

"There's barely any players left... Damnnit I wanted to celebrate my last days here in Yggdrasil by killing my last player!" Scalpel said to herself as she opened the Player UI to check on the time. Sighing as the Clock ticks minute until the closing of the game and getting forcefully logged out of it.

"I doubt I can find any players left into this world... though... Some of my friends are still online... Nah. I think they want to celebrate the end of the game with someone elses or by themselves." Her eyes slowly dart towards Barbara who's surprisingly still online before closing the menu screen.

As Scalpel walked around a bit enjoying the scenery before the game ends. Memories flood into her as she reminisces the good times she had with her friends. Creator_san with her archaic looking maid blasting fools and NPCs alike with her Autocannons, Ragare_the_blackkn1ght ripping and tearing through undead mobs during their adrenaline pumping dungeon run and lastly. A wholesome moment between her and Barbara where the two spent a day together during her birthday. Hanging out and PKing during their time in Harvest before she left for the next generation of players to join the guild.

She chuckled at those thoughts before opening the player menu for the last time to see the time ticking just seconds till the server goes black. Sitting down on a tree stump just at the edge of the forest. She looked up to the sky and took a deep breath.

"Au revoir, YGGDRASIL... Au revoir, Friends I made along the way. So thus ends the story of Jackelyn The Ripper here and the start of a new life." One second till the server goes black. She closed her eyes as she felt the fall.

New World - ???​

Hmm?
It's slightly windy here. Did I leave the Windows open?
Wait... I'm hearing voices.
What?

As Scalpel opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. A Bunch of what appears to be Players nearby in varying degrees of panic, even more so another piece of information has caught her attention...

This isn't YGGDRASIL.

Was it a secret patch? A new event? Was the shutdown just a prank? Trying to open the menu screen she tried to contact an admin but it failed. In fact most of the game UI was gone in a sense. Yet. Her items are still with her including the Cash shop items, Gachapon items and the essentials for her Vampirism. Soon the urge of panic begins to rise within her but she tries her best to suppress it.

What the fuck?
Where the hell am I?

She frantically looked around in confusion. This felt a little too real even for a video game, The heat of the morning sun, the gentle breeze running on her coat and top hat. it was very clear this isn't YGGDRASIL anymore. This is another world and she's actually living in it. Regaining her senses. She begins to slowly walk away from the group of players nearby in order to observe but upon inspection they look familiar, in fact some of them she recognizes as her friends, However... there one that stood out among the rest. Her eyes widened upon seeing the said Player.

B-Barbara?

Her face was plastered in fear and meekness as she saw her Sister alive and well. Last she saw her she was online before this happened, maybe spending her last moments with Harvest. Gulping down a forming lump in her throat and calming herself down as she watches the bunch talk to one another but at the same time looking towards the Maid by the tree.


PlusUltra Wandering Grim Hollow Haze- Karcen HighSanguinaryPriest Azure Sky

 

[Haze-]

“Blue-Eyes South-Korean Dragon.”​

---

Much later, a minute or so later, after he gave up on the make-believe headset he’d been trying to manifest out of thin air, as fictitious as the game he’d been playing a moment ago, his head was crying out. Churning, rather, to a thoughtless, mush of deafening nonsense. He didn’t know what that sound was, but it terrified him out of his mind. Again, churning, a soft ringing creeping up behind him, running shivers down the neck, heart quickening and eyes not knowing where to land on, the fox stretching in his lap, the familiar faces of the people around him – any and all thought trying to uselessly take its form, the own sound of his voice inside his head was drowned out by that background noise. It crossed his ears like the wiry frame of a skeleton, cogs creaking, distant crackles as though a bonfire dying slow on his ear; then he realized, his eyes snapping to where it came from, it was a dying tree moving with the hail, the wind clattering its arms. Even as far as he was from that one tree, he could still tell by the sound, those branches were too long, too skeletal, too decrepit, and above all else, too damn noisy.

Jin was sweating up a storm, eyes widening and darting, struggling not to drift to the back of his head as all these sights, noises, smells and sensations kept coming to him – “F...uck…!” – He clenched his teeth, as hard as he could, and as hard as he could, in his current state, in Midas’ body, he could bite down so hard his gums would trickle lines of blood onto his whites. A pair of trembling hands went to his head, and as quick as all the noise came, all the churning, it went away. With a flash of green light enveloping his vision, every noise ceased until all he heard was his gasping breath, his mind came clear, thoughts rearranging back to a finely tuned orchestra.

Then the thought rang in his mind, comforting in a sense. Unnaturally calm and orderly, the same way he would overlook a meeting at the office back then. Seo Jin-Ho, the office worker from the real world, would be scared witless, paralyzed in this situation — and who wouldn’t, really? But King Midas, the Dragon King from the world of Yggdrasil… A true Dragon Lord would never fall prey to fear. As unnatural as the volumes those thoughts spoke were, they still, for some reason he couldn’t explain, — sheer intuition or just a feeling — felt real enough. All of it. When that green light enveloped him he felt so clear on what he was, why he didn’t have the need to feel fear nor panic.

For a moment, Jin sat there living in his body for once, not stuck inside his head, over-analytical of everything, just stretching out the moment through every sensation. Just feeling the beat-arrhythmia of his heart as though he’d never done so in his life, cross-legged in the brown expanse of earth, grass waving across his legs, like it was greeting him. Eyes absently glancing at his hand, tracing the blueish lines running across his inner forearm, staring off into the royal blood pumping through his veins; and in that gentle quiet, he felt awfully lonely.

“My Liege.” – Midas was once again buried deep beneath the noise, the churning, Jin-Ho snapped awake from the trance at a voice echoing in his mind – “Wha– Who?” – He held half a shoe-string of that dazzle, struggling to fully push away that forced tranquility and return to normal thoughts. His eyes went right, left, even going as far as to throw his head back and glance at the sky, yet he couldn’t locate the voice – “Down here, my Lord.” – Jin tried his hardest to hold on to that yip fighting its way out of his mouth, jumping a bit at the feeling of something thumping against his chest, not hard enough to hurt him, but just enough to get his attention. Soft and fluffy, was the first thing his brain fully processed. Right. The fox – “Togemaru? Are you– You can speak?” – Togemaru only spared him an estranged look, head leaning to the side, ears perking up – “I beg your pardon, your Majesty?”

“I…I mean of course you can speak! But you’ve never…” – Spoken a coherent sentence. Most of Togemaru’s dialogue, at least the one he knew by heart, were these randomized one-liners that would repeat themselves ever so often. Barely any correlation to anything you’d ask him, he only responded coherently to brain-dead questions. Even then, it was still just a simple yes-no answer.

“My King, are you feeling ill? It seems we’re far away from the castle, it must be quite disorienting.” – The fox nodded to himself, propping himself up on all paws to be eye-to-eye with Midas – “I’m not picking up any trace of Master Arc or Mother Pandora… But there are a handful of dangerous individuals in these plains, some acquaintances of the Nameless too.” – Togemaru leaned into Midas’ shoulder, getting a mixed look of half-confusion half-horror from his King as Jin could only stare wide-eyed at this wild animal moving like a cartoon character, the fox nodded, its snout gesturing towards the half-golem/full-golem duo up ahead. Baring fang as though a cookie-cutter replica of whatever smile he could muster – “Lord Fabian and Lady Zestra. Most peculiar…”

Finally given the chance to talk, Jin’s eyes darted from the fox and over to the scenery ahead. The Guild Master and Co-Guild Mistress of Engineers of Ascension were indeed just up ahead, and Midas, gun-to-his-head, tried not to fall face-flat into that god awful sense of distrust that was starting to build up. The both of them just so happened to be stuck in the same dilemma, as suspicious as that sounded – “I’m fine, Togemaru. And stop switching up the nouns when you’re referring to me. It’s weird. Just Midas, keep it simple.”

“Yes, my Lord. Though…What is this ‘noun’ thing you speak of?” – The fox got up on his hind-legs, claws digging into Midas’ shoulders as he tried his hardest to balance out a bipedal. At Midas’ silence, the creature started to tap with one leg on his right shoulder, as though demanding the answer. Jin sighed, deeply – “Okay… We should figure this out, then.” – He fidgeted with the silver rings in his right hand, eyes catching the gleams of sunlight bouncing off of them. He took a deep breath, held the fox up and got to stretching the legs.

Needless to say, his body felt awkwardly light, but it didn’t take long for him to get used to the motion. Right, left, right, left, until he reached past the expanse of grass and stood near both golems. Jin raised his hands, held up the fox to the skies in an attempt to not look intimidating. The fox mimicked, raising both paws as his head started sinking into Midas’ grasp – “Hey! It’s me, Midas! We come in peace.” – They were waiting by the shade, both of them, towering over Midas. Their models were at least 10 years or so apart, physically, that is. Fabian Dulaan, a giant of a man in high-tech ironclad, rough facial features, stern look and too many muscle. Zestra on the other hand, maybe even taller than him, - it was hard to fully seize it all the way down from there, staring up at them - with silky yet stone-like skin, softer features, and a detached expression.

Though they didn’t quite strike him as a threat. They weren’t exactly all buddy-buddy with each other but they were somewhere across that spectrum. Midas had collaborated on some of their big guild projects out of sheer artistic integrity, from one craftsman to another. Even if he did steal some caloric stones here and there (allegedly), he at least knew they didn’t have this burning hatred for each other. Caloric stones were replaceable, material, but a friend?

“Right?” – He prayed.

“Aah, sight for sore eyes… Please tell me you two also feel… Real. Look, I don’t know how to explain it but you… You feel it too right?” – He took a moment to contemplate his hands again. Ringing, churning. Then it came to a halt. He sighed – “Last thing I remember we were at the very last second when the servers were about to go down, everything went black and now I’m here. Can’t even take off my headgear. Same for you too or what?”

Spoiler: Vade Mecum - Side Quests

'The book of the Ancients shudders at the presence of great power...'

New Side Quests acquired!
________________________________

"A thief's redemption."

Target:
Fabian Dulaan, the Half-Golem.

Requirements:
"Give back all of the Caloric Stones you stole, earn Fabian's favor."

Rewards:
Spell Catalogued - "Create Golem"

____________________________________

"A golem unfazed."

Target:
Zestra, the Star Caller.

Requirements:
"Deeply anger the target, break through their equanimity."

Rewards:
Spell Catalogued - "Ia Shub-Niggurath"

---

Interactions: | Fabian Dulaan | HighSanguinaryPriest | Zestra | Karcen

Mentions: Kokurai Gaisgeach Azure Sky Wandering Grim Hollow PlusUltra

 

[Azure Sky]

Near Azerlisia Mountains​

"Like I said... I'm not interested in joining the guild, or your group."

A tall, athletic green-eyed and haired axe-wielding young woman was addressing an obnoxiously persistent group of adventurers. From the wood log that she carried, one might have assumed she was a l-

"Lumberjack? Really? You are wasting your suberb talent, abilities and lineage on something way beneath you!"


The hooded man sighed. His armor seemed to belong to some sort of knight order.

"Told you she'd be stuborn about it, Keneth."

The hooded golden-eyed young swordswoman pouted. Her light ginger hair had an amber hue in the sunlight.

"Briga, she's your sister. Can't you help me here?" Keneth pleaded.
"It's not like I came here to help you, or anything." The redhead crossed her arms.
"Eh...?"
"..."
"Then why did you come?" The man was perplexed.
"Hmph." Briga pouted again.
"You know, Keneth, for being a scholar and quite witty, you can be surprisignly dense sometimes." The green-haired lady raised her eyebrows and looked at him in a rather smug manner, speaking to him in a calm tone.
"Wha- what's that supposed to mean, Frida?" Keneth was confused.
"Hmmmm, I wonder~"
"A-anyway sister, I cannot help but agree with Keneth on this matter. Why a lumberjack?" Briga swiftly changed the subject.
"It's relaxing, honest work, and keeps me in shape."
"That's not what I-"
"If you are worried I am too deep in the forest, you shouldn't be. There is no creature here that can put my life in danger, and this place which was somehow enhanced by that Ergo guy causes the trees to regrow at a really accelerated rate. It would be a real shame not to take advantage of that."
"Oh, I see. Wait, that's not what I-"
"I am going back to E-Rantel now. See you later." Frida put the log near a huge pile, three times her size, which she started to drag using a net of sorts.

Keneth sighed and Briga puffed, they tagged along with Frida. They would continue to pester her all the way back to E-Rantel.
"By the way, Briga..."
"Yes?"
"You said you didn't come to help me, but you still tried to get through to your sister."
"Wha- I didn't do that for-"
"I know. But thank you."
"I... ummm..."
"Yes?"
"You're welcome." Briga turned her face the other way. Keneth was yet again confused. Frida smiled softly. Their wholesome moment was interrupted by a number of unusual and surreal shrieks. At a first glance the sounds seemed to come from a dozen Perytons, yet as they came closer to the trio, something clearly was off...



Perytons were a common beast in the area surrounding the Azerlisia Mountains. Fairly strong creatures for humans to fight, challenging for anything less than orichalcum-ranked adventurers. Yet there were different. They seemed to be corrupted.

"What are these unholy beasts?" divine magic circles appeared around Keneth's hands. Meanwhile, Frida's axe glowed with an emerald hue. "Not unholy." she said, as she took a stance. "Abberations. My axe detects chaos. Both of you, come near me."

[Aura of Sanity]

She stomped the ground, releasing a white energy that engulfed her comrades. Protected from effects such as confusion and insanity.

One of the corrupted Perytons dived towards them.

[Greater Ability Boost]

Brida used a skill to boost the overall strength of her body.

[Fatal Edge]

She poured energy into their blade, allowing her to unleash an intense slashing attack.

Clang!

The Petyton rotated and blocked her strike with one of its wings, pushing Briga back in the process.

"These things are too damn tough. Let's retreat!" Briga proposed.

As soon as she said that, the corrupted Perytons formed a circle around the trio.

"Abberations, eh?" The beggar stopped pretending to sleep, got up and walked at leasurely pace towards the trio, who where a few hundred meters away. His sclerae were black and he had a ghastly skeleton looming behind his right shoulder.


PlusUltra Wandering Grim Hollow Haze- Karcen HighSanguinaryPriest

 

[Wandering Grim Hollow]

???​

"Players..." Barbara muttered as she stood in the shade of the trees, half hidden behind a brush as she casually scanned the group. Powerful ones too. Some she recognized. Some she barely did. It didn't matter. She did recognize the ones from Nameless, and the fellows from Hammerdeep. It seems it wasn't just the people from Harvest who were brought to this ne-

"Jacklyne?" It can't be. She did notice her being online but she paid no mind. STUPID! Why didn't she think about her the moment she was brought to this strange land?! Some older sister she was! Barbara mentally beat herself up but slowly the anger boiled away into another emotion and feeling she suddenly had. An odd feeling of hunger. Shaking her head to throw that thought away, she suddenly realized how... fluid she felt. And then she felt her facial features droop slightly. Forcing herself to calm down allowed it to eventually settle back in place. What is happening to me...?

"Hmm? This feeling..." Barbara muttered as she sensed something approach before an unnatural screech filled the air. Turning towards the general direction of the discourse, she sensed Perytons. Unusual ones. Along with 3 humans. And they were surrounded. All things considered, she should just ignore them. But... She is a tad peckish. If eating humans would draw too much attention, surely nobody would miss a couple Peryton corpses right? Sighing, she lifted her skirt and drew Pride from the thigh holster hidden under her skirt while pulling up her hood. Walking out from her semi-hidden spot, she joined the supposed beggar, chuckling when she realized it was probably another player.

"If you don't mind, Mister Beggar. I shall be going on ahead." She paused to pull back the slide of her handgun. "I'm foreseeing a mess in the near future."

Using her higher agility, she casually jogged over towards the group in trouble, raising Pride up to aim. The tiny handgun glowed as a small magic circle appeared at its muzzle as she let loose a few [Debilitate] spell bullets hurtling towards the Perytons, lowering their overall stats by a set amount for a limited time. The handgun barely made a sound louder than her own fleet footsteps as she joined the fight. A warm smile visible under the hood as she leapt onto a nearby branch.

"Looks like you three are in quite a pickle. Allow me to assist." She politely offered assistance.

---

Interaction: Azure Sky
Mentioned: Kokurai Gaisgeach PlusUltra Haze- Karcen HighSanguinaryPriest

 

[Karcen]

Zestra
Mentions: HighSanguinaryPriest PlusUltra Azure Sky Haze- Wandering Grim Hollow ​

Leaving did seem like a good idea in truth a gathering of so many in one place, despite it being a forest, was likely to gather attention from any with sufficient scrying spells. They hade come to another world that seemed to play by game rules so it could be assumed others were equal to those of the game. There should in truth be a great many that were max level like them, as unlike those that played a game these people would live in a world where leveling up was a thing. That was assuming there wasn't some limit or something that stopped growth. Well death might be more premiant here no revival or respawning. Still they should not simply leave the others, though judging from their reactions they were as confused as her and Fabain.

" Our races are what we are golems don't normally have emotions it seems if i feel to much they get pushed down" Zestra explained to Fabain though there was a hint of curiosity and annoyance in her voice signaling she was not devoid of them. " We should wait a moment others are still adjusting" Zestra commented Fabain being part golem seemed to have helped him but others still had everything intact.

This choice to wait around paid off almost immediately as someone come up to the pair, and they must have better memory for people than Zestra had. Well that was not exactly a hard thing to do, Zestra often got by in places by never mentioning names as she barely remembered people in her classes beyond those she interacted with a lot. Zestra was glad her face would not display the confusion and panicked list of names she was secretly going through. This was why the more monster races were better, they made people easier to remember as the guy looked human. Then it clicked when she remembered the guild had gotten aid from another and they had come up short on stones, no one had ever managed to figure that out. It had been awhile the incident had at the time been a big issue, but had faded as they made more thanks to their mine. Well it was good to have a friendly face here even if how much they coudl be trusted was suspect.

" Midas i hope you are here to give back those stones " Zestra said her voice deadpan for a heart beat " I am joking" She let another heartbeat or well how long she now assumed a heart beat took before she continued " To sum up what seemed to be going on is we seem to be in another world that plays by game rules as our avatars. I have no clue how it happened or why, but well who hasn't wanted to go to a fantasy world? It seems others also came through, Fabain and I were likely going to leave soon would you like to join us, he still has his toy ship" She offered warmth in her voice signaling her offer was real and she really didn't know about the stones.

Before the offer could be accepted or rejected something else came up as a trio of seeming locals coming towards the city what was not to far from this meeting place were attacked by some low level looking mobs. A beggar that Zestra had not paid attention to also revealed himself as more than he seemed. This also told her one more thing she had not realized before, people came in at different times. This meant someone might enter it world, or rather might have entered the world long before this group had arrived and someone might enter long after. While guessing a beggar was a player was something of a stretch it made more sense than a high ranked local just lounging around here when they happened to show up. Then another person likely another player revealed herself to go speak with the group. So should they help or not? Zestra could summon creatures with ease to kill the mobs, but the trio were locals and eldritch horrors might scare them and cause unneeded rumors to spread. They could be killed after, but others were planning to protect them and pvp was not exactly something she wanted to deal with right now. For now directly fighting might not be needed instead it was likely better to stand back. For now simples 6th teir spells should more than suffice to aid the people.

Zestra raised her belly and started to ring it. The sound was easy to hear and oddly loud for the small size of the bell. Each time in rung a spell was cast.

[Grand strength]

The bell rang 3 times the spell being cast on each other the locals as Zestra ignored the idea of the likely players needing help

[Grand agility]

Three more rings of the bell and the three were protected likely in less time than it would have taken to cast even one of the spells normally.

[Body of Effulgent Heliodor]

Three 10th tier spells might be a little overboard for the three locals, but it was a display to the other players, she was not weak she had at least 10th level spells and with how freely she cast them far more. While she doubted anyone here was going to start some PVP it was always good to have some display of power that would show you weren't going to be easy to push around.

" Fabain, Midas helping the locals or not is up to you" Zestra said not finding herself able to honestly care for the lives before her. She cared far more about the players and their reaction than those of the locals. She would have to test further how much apathy she had in her now.

 

[Kokurai Gaisgeach]

New World - Near Azerlisia Mountains​

​

C'mon Jackelyn start moving.
Let's get out of here before anyone notices.
Wait... That's a tad too late for that one.

She could feel the piercing gaze of Barbara who's looking at her underneath the tree where she took shelter away from the group of other players of different walks of the now defunct DMMORPG. Frozen and stiff from trying to think of what to do her thoughts were derailed from the horrible screeching nearby. Turning towards the general direction of the culprit, She somewhat sensed Perytons. Unusual ones. Along with 3 humans.

Suddenly after sensing Humans she felt this weird urge building up inside her. An unusual Thirst.
Realizing what this is, She checked her equipment for anything drinkable before realizing that the vials were empty. She forgot to refill them before all of this happened.

"Oh no." She muttered to herself.

But wait. Why am I looking for Blood Vials? I'm not a...

It then struck her. The Players she knows got sucked into this unknown world and became their in-game avatars. Including herself.

...Vampire.

Deducing that the thirst is simply the vampiric urge to feed on blood. She figured that if those trio got hurt then her potential source for blood would be gone and she would have to look around in this alien world she's in to find proper blood. Thoughts like this raced in her head before finalizing on one thought. Help them out. Springing into action. She unsheathed her Knife of Dunwall before casting [Time Accelerator] to achieve speed, overtaking the beggar and other players with speed and slicing the back of the Peryton's neck after dispelling the ability.

"Excuse my rudeness, but could you please RIP?" She said with a sinister smile after slicing the Peryton's back again hoping that the instant death would work. Hopping from its back and landing beside the 3 Humans. She Casted [Paralysis] onto another Peryton before turning towards the trio.

"I hope you don't mind you three. Allow me to assist with the people here with me." She says before turning to look at the athletic green-eyed and haired axe-wielding young woman and winking at her before casting [Voidwalker] to get around and attack once more from behind.

PlusUltra Wandering Grim Hollow Haze- Karcen HighSanguinaryPriest Azure Sky

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

EoA


​

Fabian stared at the familiar avatar made real of Midas. While the two had worked on a few projects together, he also had a sneaking suspicion the player before him had stolen a few of his guild's precious Caloric Stones. While this suspicion would have been investigated back in Yggdrasil, right now, he and the others had higher priorities at the moment. Chiefly, the fact they were in a new world and now inhabited their character avatars. Staring at Midas coldly, just to make him squirm, he listened to his second in command and only remaining guildmate and friend.

As he was about to put in his two cents, he and the others heard the tell-tale cries of Perytons. Turning in the direction they were coming from, he saw a couple of the other players race off to take them out. Turning back to Zestra and Midas, Fabian finally spoke. "It appears the others have it covered. We have no obligation towards them, despite being displaced like us. As for you Midas, you are welcome to join us, under a couple of conditions. The first being you either join or ally yourself fully to us, and the second, no more alleged theft of rare materials." He said holding up a hand to forestall any interruption or claims of innocence. Frankly Fabian didn't care.

"Whether or not you did or didn't doesn't matter. If we have an agreement, then join us on the Dreadnought." Without waiting, Fabian opened his personal inventory and removed an object that looked a lot like a model airship. "Yarr-harr, Fiddle-dee-dee" Fabian said under his breath. Upon speaking the command phrase, the tiny ship rocketed out of his hand and flew high up into the air above the forest, before it expanded to it's massive size, casting a deeper shadow over the area. Looking up a small smile graced his hard visage, as he took in the sight of his Guild's Mobile Base. The Dreadnought.

"Shall we?"

 

[Haze-]

“And thus, the Nameless Engineers of Ascension were born.”
​

---

The fox could only stare blankly at the exchange between the golems and his Lord, held to Midas’ chest like a lap dog, lined up with those vagaries of their ‘conversation’, watching for every miniscule sign, aware of their body language and general tone. And it was not looking pretty. At least it didn’t feel like friendly banter, not even mindless chatter, not the one he’d witnessed back in the confines of the Nameless. Togemaru watched his Lord at a standstill with Fabian’s ice-cold gaze; he’d noticed how the fiery gleam caught in Midas’ eye came and went in mute intervals. One almost imperceptible arc and it was there, straight face and unflinching, the next one and it was gone, struggling not to let the poise slip through his fingers, not advert his gaze from Fabian’s. It happened every 5 or so seconds, with a little flash of green light dancing in the King’s eyes.

Despite his alienation to everything, the fox pushed on with inward jeers, eyes narrowing, both furiously and silently growling at himself whenever he found himself in that small limbo where no-one would be paying attention to him, whenever he felt like he was failing to understand what they were trying to say. What they were truly trying to say, rather. With these exertions, spun on mad whims about him understanding how ‘Players’ – how ‘Gods’ – spoke, that he could be like them, just like his mother had molded him out to be; he came to a conclusion. He understood nothing.

Thus, the fox bore fangs to himself in his half-snarl-half-smile. It had always been a bunch of idle fancies to him, hanging on words that he did not understood at all, the not so direct ways his creators spoke, like some inner compulsion urging him to adapt to it all. For him, it had always been this chorale battleground of voices and invisible forces – thoughts, if you would. Human thoughts. Something he never quite understood since his very creation, even if he was created to understand and mimic said thoughts.

T’was the paradox imposed by Pandora, a hunger for words, a hunger to uselessly wage an even greater desire for understanding over and over again. It was difficult, for sure, almost a punishment; though he sought out that impossible hurdle the same way a madman would seek out pain, it pleased him.

Maybe one day he would speak and act the way Pandora intended, but for now, all he could do is try – “My lor….” – He formed a psychic connection, paused, stretching out the words in Midas’ mind as he looked up at him with narrowed eyes. Right, nouns – “Midaaa…ssss?” – The fox waited a beat, Midas took his eyes off the golems to look down and nod – “Midas. It seems Lord Fabian wants to bite your face off. Should I intervene?” – The ball of fur in Midas’ grasp threw its head back, crashing against his vest as though a puff of clouds had just punched him; one ear flicked, eyes set in rapt attention, Togemaru awaited orders – “Wha- How do you even come to that conclusion? What do you mean he wants to bite my face off???”

The King followed suit, making a similar psychic connection as not to voice anything mid-convo, he looked down at the fox as Zestra was speaking, naturally losing the stare-off with Fabian – “I can sense it. Just by looking at his face, the way he carries himself too. I am quite acquainted to making such an expression, after all; you have my honest word, Midas. I would know.” – The ‘bite your face off’ connoisseur spoke, matter-of-factly – “Allow me to demonstrate.” – With that, the fox passed a furry arm over his face, like a curtain, covering up a somber countenance in one swipe and revealing a somehow more embittered one, looking up at Midas with feral intent.

As Fabian spoke something about an alliance, Midas instead busied himself on the fox’s display, exchanging a glance between Togemaru’s face and Fabian’s, comparing the two – “I mean, when you put it like that…Guess he does look like he wants to bite my face off. But there is nothing to worry about, really! It’s just some internal conflicts, Toge. I’ll, eh…See what I can do to fix this.” – His King reassured, placing a hand on the top of Togemaru’s face, not in a petting motion, but as if he were patting the shoulder of a friend.

Even if he were trying to beam down a smile at him, Togemaru could still hear the shakiness in his mind’s voice, felt him tremble at every instance they would bring up the Caloric Stones. Still, he was no-one to meddle in the altercations between Gods – “Very well then… I can only pray that Lord Fabian does not tear off your royal features too hard…”

“Ey, ey, ey– I already said there would be no face biting, quit it.”

Fabian ushered a command, the fox watched in awe as the skies went dark, a massive silhouette casting a shadow that reached all the way across the plains, over to the ghastly screeching a few meters away. He looked up to a green ghost light flashing brighter in the shadow, in his Lord’s eye, a wide smile held back as the green light flashed a bit too rapidly this time, forcing itself on Midas’ face in a wild, primal joy – all-tooth and pure glee – “Being a pirate is alright to be~”

The fox understood nothing, yet his tail wagged at his Lord’s excitement – “Man, that looks extra beautiful for some reason… You’ve got yourselves an alliance with the Nameless, my friends! We'll tag along. As for the stones, well… I’ll admit, for whatever my honesty's worth, that was a moment of weakness. But we aren’t in fourth grade stealing our toy cars. It’s for real now, apparently.” – Midas took a deep breath, slicking his hair back, both hands going to the back of his neck – “So I’ll pay those back. Hell, I might even double up on that and repay you extra.”

“Midas, pardon my intrusion, but is that not a waste of resources? I believe we are better off finding the whereabouts of Master Arc and Mother… The very guild may be unattended as we speak.” – Togemaru chimed in, not quite certain on the stakes at hand – “Nah, you’re not getting it, Togemaru. Don’t get it twisted, this is no waste. It’s an investment.” – Midas spared him a glance, one green spark glistening bright in his eyes as a small smirk painted itself over his face – “Meh, technically a gamble– But you get it! It’s a win-win. It’ll get us closer to Arc and Pandora, this alliance.”

“Eh? Well…If you say so, Midas. What about the monsters? Should I join Lady Zestra?”

“Mm… Like Fabian said, the others seem to have the situation handled. Case closed from the looks of it; I say we take our leave.” – Midas shrugged, looking off to the main stem of the airship, eyes gloating on the hard white-yellow hue of its hull. A golden simplicity yet quite the flare; sung of good times and long travels to him.

---

Interactions: | Fabian Dulaan | HighSanguinaryPriest | Zestra | Karcen

Mentions: Azure Sky Wandering Grim Hollow Kokurai Gaisgeach

 

[Azure Sky]

Perytons and Perytoffs​

"What were you saying Frida? That there's nothing in this forest that can harm you?" Keneth asked on a sarcastic tone.
"Damn it, Keneth! Now's not the time!" Frida raised her voice. It was a different tone than usual. Deeper, harsher, and intimidating.
"Both of you, stop arguing. We need to find a way to escape." Briga tried to remind them about the very real danger at hand.

Swish!

A small blurry object hit one of the Perytons. It roared and then started to breathe loudly and rapidly. It seemed to have been weakened. Before them appeared a strangely dressed woman.

"Eh, a... maid, of sorts?" Keneth was unsure.
"With that strange hood and vest? Maybe she's one of those eccentric people of science!" Briga deduced.
"You guys are fairly rude to someone who showed up to help us..." Frida sighed.

Yet desipte their behaviour, all three were wary of the new arrival. She appeared so swiftly and silently, already weakening a Peryton that Briga could not even harm.

Ding!

The sound of bells rining. It attracted everyone's attention, including that of the beasts. Suddenly, the trio felt a great surge in power out of nowhere. While Keneth was wondering what the hell was going on, both Briga and Frida used this opportunity to slash at the weakened Peryton, killing it in the process.

"Ok, this is still difficult, but with the help of this eccentric lady, we may be able to-"

Thud.

A second Peryton got sliced and died, while another simply collapsed. Before them stood another young lady, with eccentric clothes, and a similar appearance to the hooded one, with the only differences being the eye and hair color.

Eh, seriously? Friga asked herself in her mind.
I did not even see or hear her move... just what...? Briga thought, as she watched in awe.

"Another pair of sisters?" Keneth was seriously wondering about the new arrivals.
"Is that really what you are wondering right now?" Frida and Briga asked at the same time.
...

"Ahem." Frida cleared her throat. "Thank you for the help. But who are you, two?" She asked, on her usual calm tone. No ordinary people would be able to kill these corrupted beasts so easily, especially considering Frida and Briga's lineage.

HighSanguinaryPriest Wandering Grim Hollow Haze- Karcen Kokurai Gaisgeach

Meanwhile...


The skies near Azerlisia mountains were slightly cloudy, but the jewell-like beauty of the azure sky was uncomparable. One would wonder if that was what the dragonoid player thought about as well, as they would suddenly appear in the same location as everyone else, but just at a slightly higher altitude... far above the clouds. If she could grow wings or cast fly, it would not be much of an issue. If she could not, well... she'd crash land into Fabian's Dreadnought.

AiDEE-c0

 

[AiDEE-c0]

mike@accounting.mail
to: HighSanguinaryPriest Haze-
subject: azerlisia mountains

"Oops. Guess I died."

A girl thought to herself as she fell from the sky. It wasn't a rapid fall, but rather a gentle descent like a leaf caught on the winds of April. Moments before, she had been minding her own business—crashing the goodbye party of some random guild for the last time—before closing her eyes and appearing all the way up here. As a devout and overworked Buddhist, she had but one explanation.

"To think that reincarnation would be so modern..."

Mike crossed her arms, letting her body settle into a fully horizontal position. Resting one leg over the other, she took in the sight of the heavenly firmament, still plummeting at a leisurely pace. The all-devouring ocean above her had left the girl awe-struck; for some reason she felt an intense desire to go swimming inside it. As she penetrated the clouds below—the foam that nibbled at her toes on the only vacation she was ever allowed—a satisfied smile crept over her cheeks. The world she was slowly rocketing towards remained alien to her, not even an afterthought she could always escape from. One could say she was morbidly at peace with her own percieved death.

That was until the rude interruption of the whirring of rotors.

Turning her head lazily to inspect the source of the noise, the serpent groaned in annoyed displeasure. Hovering right below her, a sizeable airship she vaguely recognized alarmed her to the presence of other people, a very real danger given her preceeding reputation.

"Danger, huh?"

Something inside her head suddenly snapped into place; what was there to be afraid of? Instinctually, she tilted her head downward, causing the speed of her free-fall to rapidly pick up. Moments before impact, she burst into an expectant laughter, a sound at first like a dying engine and then like a pig being viciously slaughtered.

Instead of fear, she felt excitement. Nay, she was unapologetically unhinged.

"Kyuh-hihihahaha! Careful! Requested delivery!"

She shouted as if she was an anticipated guest, bracing herself for impact.

"Serpent of Evil – Tetsuzanko!"

Still cackling under her breath, she 'cushioned' her impact by striking the ship with her shoulder, replicating a move she had seen in some fighting game. Being a controlled blow, it merely rocked the airship from side to side, though the display alone was certainly enough to cause a heart attack to any invested owner. With a nasty grin on her face, Mike rose from the floor and patted any metal scobs off her skin.

"Woah! Nice view from here too! I'd recognize this piece of work anywhere, it must be uh... Fuh... Fuhr... Fernando? Let's settle on Fernando. Can't believe he died too, maybe this was all part of some organ-collecting conspiracy? Y'know, like that one show."

She babbled on to herself, mumbling the nonsense she always did when engaged with the game. In spite of her lackadaisical demeanor, she was entirely ready in the case of conflict. Though she had no idea how anything worked at the moment, she found that she had unwittingly summoned her trident to her side, tossing it over her shoulder. If anything bad happened, she'd just have to rely on her gut.

"Where is that guy anyway? You'd think he'd never stray far from his weird fetish... Maybe if I scratch the paintjob he'll come running to save it?"

 

[Karcen]

Zestra if she could have felt rage woukd be furious right now, even with emotional suppression in full swing Zestra could visibly be seen to be unhappy when the ship appeared. She should have stopped Fabain from bringing out the dreadnought within view of a city. While what was here was weak that by no means meant the guards or inhabitants of the city were weak. The shear blatant gall of Fabain to seemingly not think at all when revealing what could have been a hidden Trump card aginst this world or other players. It was enough to make Zestra want to have the emotional bandwidth to go off on him. The old world might not have taught people beyond middle school but that was no excuse to paint a target on them.

Midas joining the duo was a minor footnote in the terns of how uncautious Fabain was being. The man was not exactly role-playing right now so he wasn't just being a mad invintor.

"Fabain did they ever teach you the word caution in school?" Zestra asked her anger only coming off as annoyance and condescension " We know knotting at you decide to bring that out what will you do of it is destroyed because you didn't try to get any information?" She asked though this was clearly rhetorical knowing fabain he thought his ship could handel anything.


That was what made the ship rocking and shaking satisfying to a degree. Fabain had not stopped to think and learn abd now his ship had suffered for it. Still now their mobile base was under assault.

"Try to think before you act Fabain" Zestra sighed the emotion leaving her voice as she rung her bell and the ackness of the gate spell opened behind her. The gate works stay open fir Fabain and Midas even after Zestra used it.

On the deck of the dreadnought the exit of the gate opened and Zestra stepped through to see what had caused the rocking. The only thing here was a woman in clothing that marked her out as another player. It took a moment and Zestra remembered Mike a rather infamous player. It was a truly a little dispointing to find a player here over some creature from this world. Zestra caught the last few words of what Mike said. And was torn between taking in seriously and just laughing it off. Instead of those she just felt more slight annoyance.

"I would rather you not Fabain has given me enough of a headache already I would rather you not add to it Mike" Zestra sighed clearly annoyed but not hostile or threatening.

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

EoA

The Dreadnought


​

Seeing Zestra open a gate that Fabian presumed was to the Airship above them, he watched her walk through with what only he could equate to as a Huff. Not really seeing an issue with the situation, he quickly changed his tune when the Half-Golem saw his vessel rock from something impacting it. Panic rose from within only to be quickly replaced by a cold burning fury, as he marched through the still open gate with PAM cradled in his hands ready to spew death at the thing so foolish enough to attack one of his greatest creations.

As he came through ready to shred the foolish being with a bottomless magazine of high explosive incendiary AP rounds, he held himself in check at the sight of a familiar player. "Mike....." He said, his voice dripping with annoyance. "If you could please stop trying to wreck my ship, that would be very much appreciated." Fabian added, his tone dark and low, as if promising a very bad time if they did not comply with his request.

As he finished speaking, the sound of pressurized steam hissed behind him, as dozens of golems and advanced homunculi exited the interior and onto the outer deck. All armed and ready to defend their two masters, as they prepared a myriad of firearms and other weapons. Stepping forward, an advanced Homunculous dressed in a sharp naval uniform of an admiral saluted before speaking. "Supreme ones Fabian Dul'aan and Lady Zestra, The crew of the Dreadnought are at your command and are ready to repel this invader at your word sir!"

Surprise was the first thing to bubble up from within only to be suppressed to a lesser degree. It appeared their NPCs had been given sapience and life, and appeared totally loyal, if the looks of adoration in their eyes were anything to go by. Mentally shaking himself, the Half-Golem cleared his throat before addressing the Admiral. "Hold your fire, but don't let down your guard. We have a member of the Guild Nameless joining us, and if things go well, potentially this.... Person... as well" Like a well oiled machine, the crew lowered their weapons, but still remained wary and at the ready to defend their supreme rulers and creators. Turning his attention back to Mike, Fabian addressed her once more. "To what do we owe... the Pleasure? HAve you come as friend or ally? Or is this simply a formality before war. If you haven't noticed, we've apparently been Isekaied. So in all honesty, i would rather not have to cause any death and destruction just yet..."

Karcen Haze- AiDEE-c0

 

[Kokurai Gaisgeach]

New World - Near Azerlisia Mountains​

Rip.
Kill.
Rip.
Kill.

Using her agility as she ducks and weave in-between the attacks of the Perytons, She managed to take out a couple more with support from her Elder Sister Barbara who was doing potshots on the beasts, It was certain that her abilities were far different than what the three humans have to the point of extraordinarily out of this world. As her Sister landed shots that distracted the violent beasts, She herself landed the killing blows that Barbara and the others were unable to kill.

However this fight was taking a toll on her thirst. A thirst that needs to be quenched soon.

Damnnit. This Vampiric Thirst. I never thought I would feel this...
But if I do this right... I might get a favor from these three humans.

As the combat raged on. The killing had given the group that stayed a bit of Respite they needed. Hopping back to the group of humans to provide support she hears one of them speak to the two.

Should I use my actual name or...
eh... I guess that doesn't matter now.
But still...
We don't know where the fuck we are and my only Family left is there by the Tree taking potshots at the beasts.
Nah... I'll just use my Adventurer name from Yggdrasil... then again this is still Yggdrasil right?

"For now my name is Scalpel and that over there taking potshots is my sister, Barbara." She said licking her lips to stop the feeling of thirst.

"Nice to meet you three."

She bowed at the woman before looking around for more hostiles to support the three, However, She notices herself occasionally looking towards the Green Haired Axe-wielding woman and felt an odd feeling of wanting to feed. Shaking her head to stop it, It would seem to her that adjusting her new life as an actual Vampire Lord would be quite challenging.

"Since you know a bit of me and my sister. How about you missy?" Jackelyn smiled at the axe wielding woman.

Just gotta be friendly with them and earn their trust so I can gather their blood...
Then again I can just kill them right here and now...
but.... Cecilia's here and she wouldn't like it.
just gotta hold off from killing and instead, start making friends.

Interactions:
Azure Sky as Frida
Wandering Grim Hollow as Barbara

 

[Haze-]

“Cloudy with a chance of snake.”
​

---

“Not to be an ass here, but if anyone wrecks the damned thing we can technically just rebuild it together. Fabian and I could probably glue that airship back together in less than 30 minutes. More or less, even if we don’t really know this area of Yggdrasil— or anything going on really— still; catch as catch can sort of deal… I think you’re stressing over nothing.” – He started toward the gangway of the ship, long steps as he looked at Zestra with an eased up, almost insultingly eased up, expression. One god-awfully long footfall landing heel to toe, stretching out the slow-mo before the next one swung over— with that green light ticking a slow, steady pulse in the corner of his eye. It was for the most part his usual pushy-playful back and forth, with half the intention to irk a reaction for Zestra’s quest line— at expense of that muted chagrin and displeasure of hers— and the other half just for shits and giggles. Maybe if he worked in tandem with Fabian they’d get her to crack.

But for now, all he could do is pray that this magic green light emotion eraser had a weakness or two.

Either way, that other half of him wasn’t exactly worried at the idea of the other players taking the ‘advantage’ over them or any prying eyes glaring at the Dreadnought. Unlike Zestra, it had not crossed his mind once to be overly cautious, even with their approach being very much so in-your-face. He could recognize almost every face across those fields, topping the hills in a flash to fend off the monsters; he’d interacted with all of them at least once back in Harvest. Deep inside he wanted to believe blindly in base human decency, even after being shoved into their character’s body, Midas, try as he might, could never make out a mental image of them doing anything…Inherently evil, would be the only word to describe it in his situation. Without the ever present silliness of calling it ‘Griefing,’ that is.

Even so, as his heightened senses picked up on that metallic stench the dead Perytons wore, he made a face. In this troubled mix of half-disgust-half-disappointment, he frowned— the same way, he could never picture them killing anything with such an ease of mind. He was nailed down on that thought for a while, then there was a flash of green light.

He turned back to his Golem/Half-Golem duo, to the ring of a bell and the jarring, deep shifting of something massive, like a slow thunder that rolled in right after lightning had crashed— his eyes went wide. It was the airship. The vessel bobbed side to side, as gigantic as it was, before it listed, heeled back into position, kicking off gusts of wind on its way back. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing really came out. Midas stared off into the hull still making this deep creek from the impact, for a while as both Zestra and Fabian crossed the gate – “Or shit, maybe you were worried for a reason. Damn.”

“Midas, if you would—” – The fox flicked an ear, brushing against Midas’ face – “Ah! Yeah, my bad. Here you go.” – Midas lowered with the fox in his hands, guiding his feet to the greenery. Once he was all paws on the ground, Togemaru nodded – “We should be careful, now. I sense another powerful individual boarding the Dreadnought. This one is new, it seems.” – The fox picked up the hustle-bustle of gears grinding in this mindless, yet well-ordained, smooth grapple, springs unwinding over and over again, heavy footfalls of steel soldiers marching towards this ominous presence; but above all, in the midst of it all, there was this bizarre stench of… Fish. Just raw fish. Pervading in the air, hitting both Midas and Togemaru right in the nostrils – “Hm. Lead the way then. They’re probably waiting on us.”

As they crossed the portal, switching up the sceneries, they were met with stronger sensations that couldn’t filter themselves out. They clogged up and hung in their senses like a thick sludge of nonsense— a strong scent of oil, mixed in with something burning, somewhere, unwinding gears, something creaking, something zapping, drowned out a bit by the rotors; but above all else, there was this overwhelming stench of fresh fish. And in the focus of those mechanic glares, and the muzzles of their weaponry, their eyes drew out the pile of fish in the room.

He’d recognize that gigantic tail slithering along the floor anywhere; he’d seen the shape of it ghosting a crime scene, rounding the corner never to be seen again whenever something happened in the halls of Harvest, about a thousand times already. A damn smooth criminal and a sly snake, perhaps even better than him in a sense — “Look at this goddamn goblin.” — It was Mistress @Accounting, another one of his past guildmates before Nameless, and though he didn’t quite know her personally, he did know tales of her antics. To him, she personified that one phrase—“The mind is abstract, thought and belief is delusion.”— for he was yet to understand why it is she did everything she did. A true enigma, to be sure. Though, in some demented way, she was also that 5-star Harvest member ideal, courting that compulsion to toy around with any player and be an over-all annoyance to the very rim of the abyss, maybe off the edge sometimes.

And for that she was, in some demented way, admirable.

“That…does not seem to be a goblin.” – Togemaru’s head hung to the side, doing that thing dogs and some other animals do. Perhaps trying to switch his point of view; have a better, clearer look at it from another angle; yet he reached the same conclusion he drew the first time he laid eyes on it. He did not know this person whatsoever; he was lost in the limbo of context. Struggling to decide whether to draw the sword or not – “No, it does not seem to be a goblin, Togemaru. But don’t be deceived, this thing’s just as evil.” – Midas paused to size her up, green light trying to hold back the surge of panicky thoughts and useless trivia. On one side, he wondered if giving all that power to someone like Mike was akin to the very act of throwing a rock inside an inactive volcano, and if not, why did he have this still, horrified pause over the fact that he was likely close enough to throw a rock inside said volcano. Would he come out unscathed if it went off, even in Midas’ body?

On the other side, where the green light glimmered, there were no such worries. ‘If she smells like that being a snake, and if I’m an actual Dragon, then how do I smell?’ - That was the one and only thought he pored over as he looked at her.

“Also, did you just drop from the sky, Mike? Cause if so, we might’ve just had the lamest reincarnation out of everyone else. Messed up.” – Midas chimed in after Fabian, still analyzing the snake woman ahead of him as though an expert gawking his eyes out, tracing the contour of a Greek sculpture. If the historic smells of fresh, out-in-the-sun fish meat were additional pigments in the sleek hue of a sculpture, that is.

He looked out for her next move, but life is such. Not much happened. He turned to Fabian shortly after his tensed up shoulders shrugged, anticlimactically so.

“And what do you mean ‘just yet’? I know I signed up for a full-on alliance but, eh… Don’t think I’d have the stomach for death and destruction. Think we’re better off keeping to ourselves if we do have all this power at our disposal.” – He gestured to the large expanse of blue surrounding them, off to the roaring engines of the airship too. He took a pause to try and get his point to settle in. High-fantasy airship, robot army and all, they were still just regular people – “But that’s just me being a nerd anyways. Do as you please.” – Midas turned— along with his nerdy, unpopular pacifist opinion— and headed toward the taffrail, the fox followed right behind him.

A sigh escaping his mouth, he trailed off into the scenery, taking in a damn good whiff of the earthy-humid scent of the plains. Taking his moment to savor it, like he were whirring around a drink in his mouth before gulping. Somehow, that smell of sweet greenery mixing in with the breeze just down below took him back to the real world— to those days he would live off of pure nerves, power naps and high on caffeine, working his ass off at work only for the promise of the rewarding morning air heaving on his lungs, even if it was all mostly just smog back in the real world, it felt less asphyxiating than in the cold dark of the office. Looking back at that machine-like cold, sterile gray, slate of lifelessness; something clicked — “Hm…”

His head perked up, Midas whipped around to look back at the now Snake/Golem/Half-Golem trio – “Now that I think about it… Keeping to our lane and not standing out is actually the smart move here. We don’t even know what happened to our guilds, if we really are in Yggdrasil. We should find a good place to settle in and make some plans.” – He threw up one hand with a smirk stretching across his face, one clean glimmer of green light shining like a shooting star in his right eye – “And Doraemon here’s got the right tool for that!”

[Ancient Laboratory]​

With one swift swoop of his hand the space in front of Midas tore open, revealing a blurred gateway that led to a pristine white void, various tools of bizarre shapes and artifacts of bizarre glow strewn about carelessly, seemingly at random, with this uneasy smell similar to that of an autopsy room flooding out of the gates. The hand gestures, for the most part, were completely unnecessary, yet crucial for him.

“At least I think I’ve got a tool for the job somewhere over here. Should be a World Radar in there… What are we thinking, then?”

Spoiler: Vade Mecum - Side Quests

'The book of the Ancients shudders at the presence of great power...'

New Side Quest acquired!

Warning: 'This quest has two routes.'
________________________________

"A relaxed back-and-forth."

Target:
Mike, at Accounting.

Requirements (Route One):
"Engage in a nice, normal, calm and composed conversation with the target for a total of 5 minutes."

Difficulty:
Impossible

Rewards:
Spell Catalogued - "Three Unwholesome Roots"

Requirements (Route Two):
"One up on the target's antics. Rival their chaotic energy and become equals."

Difficulty:
Intermediate

Rewards:
Spell Catalogued - "Disguise as Humanoid"

---

Interactions: | Fabian Dulaan | HighSanguinaryPriest | Zestra | Karcen | mike@accounting | AiDEE-c0

​

 

[AiDEE-c0]

mike@accounting.mail
to: HighSanguinaryPriest Karcen Haze- Kokurai Gaisgeach Wandering Grim Hollow
subject: azerlisia mountains

"Ehe."

Mike turned to wink at Zestra as she approached her, flashing an innocent v-sign with her fingers. The golem's appearance surely meant that multiple Players were lurking around now, though this thought wasn't too high on the serpent's mind hierarchy. Questions such as 'what does the presence of other Players signify,' 'how come they've all been brought to the same destination,' 'why can I feel the wind on my skin;' did not occur on said hierarchy at all.

Perhaps... there was not a single thought behind those pretty eyes?

"Fab... Who? Well, no matter. It's such a pleasure, Zarathustra!"

Yes, she somewhat remembered a person of that or another name existing. She must've been a caster—especially from the look of her—and thus not a major concern on their current footing. Loosening her idol-like posture, Mike let out a tiny giggle just in time to be surrounded by an upwhirl of steam and heavy footfall. The airship's artificial defenders, together with the man behind the helm, marched into firing positions like toy soldiers being powered by a wind-up key. Their overwhelming presence; Fabian's condescending speech; the threat of bloodshed...

"Kchhh..... Kyiah... Kiya-hihahahahahahaha! You're like a stiff rock in a helmet! A stiff rock! Gee... don't just torture me like that. Friend or ally doesn't give me much of an option, but how about an acquaintance on our first date for now? Fuh... Formality, pfft..."

She nearly exploded into an ear-splitting cackle again, but her vibe was somewhat stifled by Midas' intervention. He had not yet spoken, merely invading Mike's periphery for the time being, but therein dwelt an off-putting problem. That guy—it really felt like he was sniffing her with his eyeballs.

"Woah, there's a pervert in your midst."

She pointed to the dragonoid, discarding all other issues as her mouth somehow took to the form of a tiny triangle.

"I thought you were different, Midas. Really, I did. When you left Harvest, I was rooting for you behind the curtains and all. To think you look at me the same way they did, those weirdos who only..!"

Pressing her fist tightly against her chest, a small tear might've rolled down Mike's cheek—if only she had tear ducts.

"Desired me... because I'm a miner."

The heavy wind toyed with her hair, causing it to heave in front of her slowly lowering face. For a brief moment, she almost looked like an innocent maiden from an otome game.

"Ah. Well, anyway, isn't it creepy how many of us they hit?! What co-ordinated organ harvesters, to take us all out at once! I'll seriously miss my real liver once they sell it on the black market, it was the only thing making work tolerable. Dunno why I got the sky treatment, though. It's a bit weird, but I'm kinda glad you're also dead to be honest. I'd be bored out my mind if it was only those two."

Nodding, the serpent used her hand to clamp down on her chin. She listened to Midas' points, stroking a non-existent beard, up until his shamelessly dated reference. This was an unwelcome development.

"Nevermind, you're a nerd."

Mike shrugged, partially bored now that tensions had been defused. There were indeed a few things she wanted to discover, but she had her own methods of doing so. However, she needed to become a tad more unassuming.

「Alter Disguise」

Tapping the Throngler against the top of her head, it almost appeared as if she had hammered her feet into the floor. In fact, her shrinkage resulted from an overall alteration of her physical form, now more closely resembling a sassy, unattended child. Like so, she waltzed to the very edge of the rumbling ship.

"Perfect, perfect! Now. Midas, if you wanna lay low with these nerds, that's fine. It ain't my style at all, though! Let's see... There's oughta be something interesting around here. Kiya-hahaha! Time for the debut of Prisma☆Michael!"

With these parting words, the Ouroboros duellist launched herself off the airship without the slighest bit of prejudice. Soaring through the air like a jet engine, she scanned her surroundings thorougly, inspecting for any sources of interest. Just then, the sight of battle and aberrations made itself present.

「Inflict Wounds」

Flying and spellcasting came naturally, it seemed. Her trident bled pre-emptively as it flailed behind her back, her trajectory changing at the whim of invisible wing muscles.

Wham!

This time, her mad descent was 'cushioned' by the body of a maimed Peryton. Surfing on it through the vibrant grass, she finally stopped to the thud of its corpse slamming against a tree, turning to the there-assembled group.

"Ja-Jaahn! Accounting department's Michael—at your service!"