《The soul will tell》 Spoiler - To each its song Spoiler - To each its song Kifirin, commonly known as Personification of Chaos, Blood-soaked monster, Red Calamity, or even Loki¡¯s Nuts Buster (to a select few only) looked blankly at the horizon. She did not dare to feel, not when everybody around her was feeling hopeless despair. Their moans of misery and cries of hopelessness permeated the dusk air, creating a morbid symphony tasting of bitterness. Faced with the truth, the players were losing it, letting the bleakness of their new reality engulf their spirit. Looking discreetly around her, Kifirin made herself scarce, finding an isolated place to finally express her feelings. A wicked smile reached her mouth as the truth fully hit her. A laugh coming from the core of her being shook her frame. She was radiating true happiness, and even the madness inherent of her being could not taint the crystal clear sound of her ringing voice, for they merged together, creating an otherworldly beautiful music, warm and yet chilling. Then the sound stopped brusquely and an eerie silence could be heard right before a gasp broke the stillness of the air. Kifirin went from feeling really happy and fulfilled to fucked over and quite paranoid. With a pretty powerful reason. Happy because the game had never been one and forcefully became reality, a new reality which she embraced with every fiber of her being. Fucked over because of one teeny weeny little detail that put her in a predicament of epic proportions. Nevermind her awful reputation and the astronomical bounty placed on her head by the whole continent, she could deal with it, she always had. Nevermind the cursed profession she picked up that sometimes had her going on a chaos streak, slaughtering everything on the way (Such a bother, it was like PMS on steroids). Nevermind a lot of things. But one. Loki. .......... Aaaah yes, Loki, The Dark God, Chaos incarnate, Destroyer of Worlds and Doom¡¯s Bringer, also known as The bastard Trickster in his spare time (What¡¯s a bored god to do? eh!). He is Chaos and Darkness. His mortal foe, Azrapha?l, known as The Bright God, Manifestation of Order as well as Unbending Light is his counterpart; The Order and Light to Loki¡¯s Chaos and Darkness. Together, these two primeval gods rule over the universe through a handful of minor gods who are aligned with either one of them. Since the application of the Spirit Covenant which they signed ages ago (following the second destruction of the universe because of their endless wars¡­ it got old apparently. You know, rebuilding can be a pain in the a**), they promised not to directly involve themselves in mortal affairs with an agenda of domination, letting the task to their divine wards, the Gods and Deus (gods) However, the Spirit covenant allows Loki and Azrapha?l¡¯s direct participation in one unique plane of existence. The plane of SITUM, also known as the plane of Fate, is the one battleground where they can freely exercise their direct influence and meddle by using the Faith (recycled in holy power) their wards have been hoarding for them. They cannot use their inborn power, only the faith gathered by their wards throughout the planes, such is the rule¡­ thus the importance of strategy. Coincidently (or not), the subsequent plane is the one where the gamers found themselves stuck. Taken from their original plane of existence through the virtual reality game ¡°Tales of fate¡± they first came freely, to ¡°play¡±, until the moment the masquerade was broken and fate sucker punched them. They found themselves stuck in the ¡°game¡± as their own avatars, only to learn the terrible truth. Tales of fate had never been a game, for it was reality (albeit in another plane of existence), and part of the final master plan of 2 great gods who needed new pawns to pass time (eternity gets boring), and ultimately break the stalemate between themselves (maybe?). The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ........ Kifirin was considering the new ¨Crevised- reality of her existence. Loki was not a crazed unbalanced hidden GM as he let her think, but a bona fide real fucking god set on making her his. And not any god either, nope, The Dark God himself. After her. But how the hell could this idiotic panties¡¯ sniffer be the big bad personification of chaos? Yes! Panties¡¯ sniffer! She did catch him red handed, rewarding him by a painful hit of the knee in the balls. Oh shit. She had kneed the big bad god in the nuts, earning herself the lovely title of Loki¡¯s Nuts buster. It came with awesome stats by the way. How screwed was she?
(Hidden) Equipped Title: Loki¡¯s nuts buster This absolutely crazed person kneed Loki straight in the nuts (unbelievable feat) and lived to tell the tale (even more unbelievable) thus earning herself a title that is quite an awesome (if not foolish) accomplishment. Rumors are that Loki¡¯s voice was higher than normal for a few days following the event. ? All stats +45 ? Sadism +200 (It hurts a LOT, you sadist!) ? Fighting spirit +100 (you are a scary Lady) ? Luck +50 (How the *** did you survive? No, scratch it, how did you even DO it?) ? Int -45 (are you suicidal?) ? Infamy +15550 The ungodly sound that escaped Loki¡¯s throat at the instant of the feat was heard throughout the country and its effects were devastative for works of arts >> As a direct consequence of your actions, 19 fine works of art were permanently destroyed and 47 were damaged. Responsibility is shared with Loki¡¯s, thus the infamy gained is not as high as it should be, you criminal! (not active) Special option: Azrapha?l¡¯s stamp of approval Azrapha?l¡¯s quote: ¡°Kukukukukuuuukukukukkk¡­.Aaaaah my belly!! Kukukukuku¡­¡± This option activates only when the title is fully Active (not Hidden), as a plain reminder of Loki¡¯s shame for the world to see ? All Stats +25 ? Infamy -15550 ? Friendship with the churches of order : set at basic 10% (enmity is frozen and does not apply) >> Mention : This stacks up with all the other positive effects concerning the Friendship with the churches of Order that would otherwise be frozen by enmity
********* Here is The Next chapter Hello! English is not my first language and I''m totally new to fanfic writing, so feel free to comment, it will help me grow as a writer. I love LMS and discovered this website a while ago... So when I felt the itch to write a VR fiction, I decided to post it here :) I already wrote a few chapters, but they''ll probably be subject to modifications after I read the comments (if there are any, obviously!) I still have to work on the table building (code thingy), but as soon as I feel I understand it enough, I''ll be posting said chapters. Nice day to all Nergal Chapter 1- Gods meddlings and new beginnings Chapter 1- Gods'' meddlings and new beginnings She woke up excited this one morning (for once). Yep, Alya finally had a capsule for playing Tales of fate, the first as well as one and only VRMMORPG. A real feat of modern engineering, the pinnacle of science: virtual reality. Yada yada. Somehow it pushed through the countries administrative tapes in record time and was launched 1 month ago simultaneously across the world. There must have been serious money and connections involved ¡­ and yet, as far as the world could tell, nobody had ever heard of ¡°SITUM corporation¡± (sole creator and distributor of this new wonder) until the launch. Mysterious! But she only cared about the result, aka the virtual reality that went from nonexistent (oculus rift does not count) to 99.99% realistic. Oh my. Lucky¡­..isn¡¯t it¡­.. ? VR¡­¡­ Who could have though that it would ever be available in her lifetime? Certainly not her. There may have been HUDS and AIs, but this was a whole another level of technology. And yet here it was, a new world ripe for the taking. The possibilities were endless, and it would become what them, the users, free of law and morals, were gonna make of it. Now, why did she only get it one month later? Because there was a quota of one capsule per family for the first month (something about demand and offer), and her adorable (not!) younger brother, the golden child of the family that could do no wrong in the eyes of his peers ¡­. lied to her and sneakily applied first. Dayum. So here she was, 31 days later, ready for her jump into the unknown! Sure, one had to be at least 8 to be allowed to play, and there were age blocks for certain contents (ah, administrative tape, you won this round!), but they were free to do what they never would in real life. Moreover anonymity was possible through the appearance changes. Anything and everything was possible. Oh yes! Our troubled young woman decided that she was going be 100% herself in there. No mask, no restrictions, no fear of consequences. She would be true to herself ¡­.and if it was to spread her wings through the crimson path of blood, then so be it. You play to enjoy yourself don¡¯t you? Then let her¡­. too. Yes, she felt kinda violent lately. Well, no need to worry, because playing would allow her to let some steam off. And so¡­. she would rampage, satisfying her thirst for violence, feeding the chained monster, the void eating her up. The Chaos! Oh yes, here she came, Tales of fate. On the other hand, she also wondered what the other users would do. They were all so¡­ repressed here. Values, morals, rules, ¡­ yada yada yada. So ¡­boring. With this free ticket to a new world, would they all unleash their inner monsters? (Why yes, everybody has an inner monster, don¡¯t they? No? oh¡­) It was gonna be interesting. She grinned. First, she had to register. She happily entered her new capsule and activated the game. Darkness took her. Welcome to Tales of Fate, the scan on your soul imprint has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you wish to create a new account? Surprised, Alya looked around her. There was¡­ well¡­ nothing, in which she seemed to be floating. Quite disturbing. And¡­.. scan on her soul? Really? The game developers certainly lacked common sense. Not really caring, she proceeded to answer the female voice ¡°Yes¡± ¡ª Select the name of your avatar ¡°Kifirin.¡± Alya had decided to choose a random name taken from a book read a few days ago. The name of a dark god. She though it quite fitting considering her intentions. ¡ª Select your gender from male, female or neutral ¡°Female¡± ¡ª Tales of Fate has a certain number of race races. You may select your race from the Basic nines or Mixed thirt¡­ ¡°Human!¡± - You may alter your appearance ¡°Hmm¡­. My hairs are short so make them longer¡­. Hip length. Yes! It¡¯s very nice with my natural wave! I never had them so long IRL, too lazy¡­ it requires a lot of hair care. Now for the color? Black. Make my eyes black too. And a bit bigger. Also¡­. I¡¯m too tall with 1m80, make me 1m70. Flawless skin, ivory white. Yes! Well done. Now¡­. To preserve my anonymity¡­ Hmm make my face a little rounder and give me bangs. She looked at her character. Nobody would recognize her, and she gave an interesting aura, quite otherworldly with the black hairs and ivory skin clashing. Happy with the changes she decided to apply the settings ¡°That¡¯s it, conserve this appearance¡± ¡ª Your account has been activated. Your stats shall be determined while you are playing Tales of Fate. You may choose a class whenever you find the right opportunity. Your profession shall be chosen for you by Systra when the time is right, so make sure to behave in a way ¡­ ¡°Pass!¡± ¡ª Select a city and kingdom you want to start¡­ ¡°The City of Heimlin, Strategos Empire!¡± ¡ª Welcome to Tales of¡­ ¡°Pass!¡± A red flash seared her retinas right after she found herself standing¡­. Somewhere. She couldn¡¯t tell, blind as she was. *Argh! My eyes! This hurts! It has better not happen every time I connect! ¡­.hum¡­ soooo¡­.. let¡¯s not act like a pansy shall we? This is nothing. Yeah. But I don¡¯t fancy pain* rambled Kifirin Ding! Then she rambled some more while falling on her ass. The ground was trembling. Hard. *Is this an earthquake? Why the hell did I connect into the middle of an earthquake? No wait¡­. Am I gonna die? Seconds after my first connection? This¡­.. this would have to be a record right?* The panicked Kifirin rapidly took on a fetal position in the hope it would spare her from a miserable first death. Then she changed her mind. If she was going to die, then she would do it with style! Not so far away, a man was laughing. His every laugh coincided with the earthquake that was trying to level up Heimlin. He radiated happiness, and wonder. His laugh, for once, was not of madness, but of joy. The capital was shaking. Never had such tremors been felt from the earth. Players as well as NPC ran together for cover, for their lives, as they feared that they¡¯d be crushed if anything fell down. Kifirin opened one eye, then another. She was alive. Good. And apparently in one piece too as she seemed to be able to stand up (after the third try, mind you. The ground was moving quite a lot). Shakily, she began dusting off her beginner garb. While she finally took in the sight of the city she landed in, a look of wonder befitting a little child appeared on her face. Everything was ¡­ well¡­ moving. But also so real! She could feel everything. Hearing, sight, touch, smell and even ¡­taste, as she could testify thanks to the dust permeating her mouth. Laughing happily, she began dancing for the hell of it, all the while maintaining a precarious balance. It was neither graceful nor beautiful, but it was powerful, her lone figure moving in rhythm among the tremors of the earth, while everybody else cowered in fear. Ding! Around her, the nearest structures stayed still, all in one piece as if they had been graced with divine protection, thus witnessing the fall of their neighbors throughout the city. A collective sigh escaped the mouth of ¨Calmost- every single being left alive in the city as the earthquake ceased. Deaths numbered in the thousands. As the ground stopped to shake, an unconcerned Kifirin opened up the window that had somehow appeared at the beginning of the earthquake.
System notice: Awakening completed Because of your true nature seeping through and coming to the attention of the concerned authority, your race and class have been forcefully changed. Base skills have been learned that may be unlocked upon completion of the job requirements. You may not delete them.
*Huh. That¡¯s strange. What is this about my true nature? And since when could the GMs forcefully change your race and class upon arrival in the game? It¡¯s not like I did anything to warrant it. Oh! Wait¡­ the dance! Was it because of the dance? ¡­. No¡­ I heard the notice before getting up. After the red flash tough. Oh well, what¡¯s done is done, let¡¯s just see what it is* Curious, Kifirin asked for her status window ¡°¡­¡­¡­. Munya?¡± A flabbergasted Kifirin looked at her status window. Nevermind her class and race being mighty strange, what really got her looking was her overpowered stats. They were simply monstrous. And let¡¯s not talk about the skills. What the hell? And why have a skill she could not unlock? She felt like¡­.. well¡­. like a cheat. She looked up her stats again. And then she laughed. Hard. *Eheh this game is going to be fun. Stats are hard to raise, so these OP stats are a godsend. When I finish the physical and intellectual basic trainings, I will be well above the normal stats. And I will enjoy myself¡­ PKing!!* Alya had obviously not wasted her month of waiting, gathering as much information as possible on the game, and had prepared a plan to start off with as much advantages as possible. And so off she went, lightly jumping over fallen bodies and moaning persons, to the library.
[Forcefully Equipped ]Title: #1 oddball of the earthquake Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.For an unprecedented feat of¡­. uh¡­.. courage? You are awarded with this title When the great earthquake hit the capital of Strategos Empire you did not cower like your peers, but decided to dance on the earth tremor¡¯s rhythm, with madness as your tempo and guts as your conductor. - Agility : +20 - Stamina: +10 - Fighting spirit: +50 - Charisma: +10 - Luck : +5 Whenever you are within 30 m of oddball #2, the stats given by this title shall be doubled
----------xxx---------- Ankara¡¯s POV Ankara, a not so squishy mage was resting alone against the fountain, letting the sounds of falling water soothe her. She loved water. Thus she was specializing in water to become an ice mage, and had obviously taken up fishing. It was resting as well as good for water affinity and HP. Thanks to her hard work, at lvl 66 she was possibly one of the best leveled up mage, even going as far as to completing the 2 basic trainings (Contrary to her idiotic brethren, she had not used power leveling to trump her lack of HP and stats). Anyways, all went well in her little world, with her minding her own business and all, when a mighty red glow fried her eyeballs. Rapidly gulping a health potion to recover her eyesight, she zeroed in toward the source of the health hazard, set on giving it a piece of her mind. And then she stopped on her tracks, unable to even breathe A girl was glowing orange-red (not the scorching red that destroyed her eyes, thanks Loki for small favors), her whole body giving off the glow, as if illuminated from inside. Her eyes were balls of fire, and yet they exuded a darkness like no other as they gazed into nothingness. Her hairs, filaments of fire were framing her face, giving her a regal look. Great wings of fiery red burning feathers graced her back. Her clothes were MIA. *Oooooh god what a beauty¡­. Such a defined body¡­. If I wasn¡¯t straight¡­. I would eat her up! And these little boobs? So cuuuuuuute!* Though the witch while ogling Kifirin, her revenge forgotten before the sheer magnificence of the glowing lady. *Aaaaah my perfect, perfect beauty!* What she did not notice was the fact that while there were not a lot of persons near the fountain, they were still a few, and yet none of them even spared a glance at the freak show going on near them. All these random strangers ever felt was an undefined, and very strong sudden sexual heat. They proceeded to leave as fast as possible in order to seek a much needed release. Not that they found any, with the earthquake, thus earning themselves the lovely titles of ~Turned on earthquake freak #n~. They came with nice stats though (Every earned title is forcibly equipped for the 48 hours played following acquisition of said title). The girl ceased glowing and fell down her ass, magically clothed, thus depriving Kara from the vision of heaven she had witnessed. Ding! The desperate mage waved away the system notice without bothering to look at it, headed straight to the fountain, and began using the water manipulation skill to shape the body of her queen out of water and mana. Then the earthquake began in earnest. She did not notice it, concentrated as she was on the outline of her water sculpture. As a matter of fact, she noticed nothing at all until the completion of her personal masterpiece. It took her a while, and depleted almost all of her stamina as well as her mana, but she happily registered the result as a subspell of the water manipulation skill. It made it possible for her to summon the water sculpture whenever she felt like gazing on its radiance. Ding! Then she rapidly turned back to the place her goddess had sat (ehem¡­ fallen), very surprised at the background of destruction that met her, surprise soon followed by agony at the disappearance of Kifirin. It was her own damn fault she lost her! She should not have let her out of her sight, even if it was to save her beauty for the posterity. Yes, a great step for humanity indeed, but none at all for herself. Her misery skyrocketed when she remembered that she never saw the human face of her goddess, and realized she had absolutely no way to find her. Dismayed, she opened her system notices
[Forcefully Equipped ]Title: #2 oddball of the earthquake For an unprecedented feat of¡­. uh¡­.. concentration? You are awarded with this title When the great earthquake hit the capital of Strategos Empire, you did not cower like your peers, but decided to replicate the (naked) body of X (oddball #1) with water by using mana. Sadly, your art is only temporary and will quickly be evaporated by the sun (thanks the Sacreds for small favors!) - Intellect: +20 - Wisdom: +10 - Fighting spirit: +50 - Focus: +10 - Luck: +5 Whenever you are within 30 m of oddball #1, the stats given by this title shall be doubled
¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± *Earthquake? Really? I felt¡­¡­ well¡­. nothing. No wait. It was a GREAT earthquake. Ah. That¡¯s what made my goddess stumble. I guess she did not expect it.. But¡­.. really? There is almost no destruction here. Farther though¡­. Hmm¡­. The goddess mush have protected me* she though, smiling. She was also happy at the received title *Nice stats! Woot!*, even though she did not really understand why her actions qualified her as an oddball.
System notice: As a lvl 66 chaotic aligned person present at the awakening of the personification of chaos, your class has been forcefully changed. Said change is permanent. Your are also the new owner of an evolving soulstone Ps: Witnessing such an event can scar a mind deeply [Hidden status effects]. You should get yourself checked out by archmage Olivia. Better be safe than sorry. Really. And I mean, REALLY!
Titriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
*** Interference -> Because of ###### your race has also been changed. Beware, you are the last of your kind.
¡°HA!¡± shouted Ankara ¡°Personification of chaos eh? I WILL find you, my precious¡­¡­. Oddball #1!¡± Grinning like a mad woman, she reread the system notice. Her smile splintered at the edges. And then it shattered. *forced class and race? But¡­ but¡­. No! My char is perfect as it is! Shit shit shit* (Ps? What Ps?) A little bit scared, Ankara proceeded to open her status ans skills window. *Holy Shit* ----------xxx---------- Vanhart¡¯s POV Vanhart was exalted. Finally. He did it. He finished the hidden quest for the alchemy skill. It had taken him months. He had almost given up twice because of the lvl of difficulty and the sheer amount of efforts needed¡­. But he did not! He would be the first player to get the sought-after skill, and probably one of the few mad enough to complete the quest entirely. Laughing he handed in said quest. Ding!
Skill : Alchemy [beginner 1 ¨C 0%] has been obtained You can make potions and slaves out of everything you may get your hands on
Ding!
Message from : Azrapha?l, Sacred of Order Hello Because of a typing mistake (on purpose?) made by Loki at the creation of the skill, ¡°salves¡± has been replaced by ¡°slaves¡± in your skill description. The mistake has now been corrected but you as you are the first to get the skill, and thus the only one to get the unedited description, it still applies to you. The right modifications have been made to your avatar in order for the skill to be active. As a result you have been sent back to level 1. Your stats (those not related to lvl up) and skills are untouched. You may complain about the changes to Loki. Please, do so. As an apology for the bother occasioned, your main skill has been raised to true master. Check your status window Ps: I advise you to skip out of town. Fast. Bright Lord
¡°¡­.. ¡± Van sweat dropped. As a priest he did not really mind losing 3 levels, but¡­¡­ he had a bad feeling about this one. A really bad feeling. ¡°Status Window!¡± *Oh boy* ***************** Next chapter (Arc 1) Prologue - Balance Unbalanced ARC 1 - The Advent of Monsters Prologue ¨C Balance Unbalanced Alya had had a bad day. Well not really, it was a normal day, the problem being in the ¡°normal¡± part. She was bored of everything, and tired of having to conform herself to society bindings. It felt like life had no meaning, choking her the way it was. And so she was just¡­ living this masquerade of a life. Only existing. Her true self was a pitiful thing, torn, hidden deep inside¡­ partly repressed, rejected by herself because of society. Cast aside. Forgotten. And so it was angry. Boiling. Waiting. Bidding it¡¯s time. Ready for violence. And hiding itself from her, quite successfully if one may say so, because while humans occasionally stumbled on the truth, they often picked themselves up and hurried off as if nothing had happened. Alya was human. ¡°Be normal!¡±, ¡°Don¡¯t stand out!¡±, ¡°Don¡¯t think like this¡±,¡­ And stuff like this aggravated her. Although it may have looked like teenager¡¯s angst, it was not it. It came from inside, as if a part of her readily disagreed with the world as a whole. The world felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. Even herself. She did not belong, and thus she acted her part out, feeling out of sync with everything. All the while she could feel something akin to unrest growing inside of her. Violent unrest. It did not bide well. Also, if one may say, the constant nightmares did not help. Not at all. She could not remember them, but each time she woke up, despair and intense longing assailed her senses. She was no sociopath, actually caring about people (the few that interested her anyways), but she had absolutely no values, no morals, no interest in the world and its people, as well as a deep dislike of society as it was. She was not born this way, no. She was born normal, balanced, but something, SOMETHING in society itself twisted her, eroded her over time. It was tearing her up subtly, but strongly. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Had there been no laws, she might actually have been a scary existence to those she did not care about. And so, she never had any real fun, nothing to look forward to, no way to canalize her growing frustration, and the constant need to repress her¡­. inner chaos. Yes, chaos, she called it, for it felt like was an unruly magma of bad thoughts, boiling inside of her, and sometimes slightly erupting. Coloring her thoughts. Making her want to paint the world red. She knew she was slightly unbalanced¡­ She couldn¡¯t ignore it. Thus, as Alya, 21 years old student, her life was quite bland, and yet restless as something hidden inside kept her on her toes. She did not wish to blow her cover as a nice and uninteresting person. However, as Kifirin, ¡°tales of fate¡± player, things would change. The world would tremble. From fear. And she would laugh. *********************************************************** Here is The next chapter Hello, this is the first time that I seriously write a story, so feedback would be appreciated :) My first language is not English, so there will be mistakes... please point them out to me if some bothers you. It will help me progess after all Here is the prologue of the First Arc. The ''spoiler'' chapter really is a spoiler, but can also be taken as a teaser by those who like spoilers ^^ -Nergal- ********************* "dialogue" *thoughts* >>NAME<< from X -> NAME received a whisper from X <> to X -> NAME sent a whisper to X Chapter 2 – Silence in the library Chapter 2 ¨C Silence in the library Kifirin was indulging in reading. Yes, indulging. Gorging herself with words. Engulfing book after book, greedily. It is said that books are the food of the soul, and in her case, it was right. We could say that our heroine was the truest being to the bookworm creed. As life has lost most of its meaning and interest to her, she had naturally fallen into reading to pass time. Reading to learn. Reading to feel. Reading to live. Books had become her fuel, and the last binding keeping her sane. Books were holy. And so she had chosen Heimlin city as her starting point. As capitol of the Strategos Empire, land of the wise and learned, Heimlin sported the grandest library ever: The knowledge Library. Books there numbered in the hundreds of millions, and the great edifice that bore them had many, many floors. It was the highest building in the whole Empire, and yet it was surprisingly beautiful. One could even say graceful. The mighty Alexandria would pale in comparison. The myth said that the Bright lord himself had willed it into existence, and ruled that to come into any position of power, be it the king or the lowest official, then one was to at least earn the golden Reader rank. He would suffer no fools at the head of the empire he founded. He also declared knowledge free. Entrance to the library had no cost. However, to be allowed at certain floors, one had to have reached certain Reader ranks. It was a fair system, moreover it permitted the Strategos Empire to flourish under the shadow of the library and the guidance of the wise. The Strategianos were the cherished children of Order. As such, the empire was aligned with its most respected parent. Followers of chaos were scarce on this golden land. Now, what was that about Reader ranks? It was the same system as currency or mercenary ranks. Copper, silver, gold, platinum, crystal and dakinum. The worthiest was obviously the last, Dakinum. In the knowledge library, the more you read, the higher was your standing. To attain a rank you had to have read a set number of books. Copper was 100. Silver 1 000. Gold 10 000. Platinum 100 000. Crystal 1 000 000. Dakinum 10 000 000. Head librarian Davros was rumored to have attained Dakinum rank, but never deigned to verify the tale. He was too busy reading. By reaching silver rank, you also completed the basic mental training. This was also what Kifirin was after. She would enjoy herself reading while gaining stats. A win-win situation. A great happiness warming her heart, she had entered the untouched library. It had been spared by the earthquake, and not even a tremor had been felt inside. Such was the power of the bright Lord. The orgy was going well ------- Ding!
System notice: you¡¯ve gained a skill! As you have an unbelievably super-duper quick reading pace and it¡¯s FUCKING warping time, you have been given the ¡°Timey-wimey reading¡± skill. You may NOT delete it, I ain¡¯t got time for shit like smoothing out the timeline. Genuinely yours, Systra. [FORCED] PASSIVE ¨C Timey-wimey reading [beginner 1 ¨C 0%] Your reading speed is out of this world, leaving into the dust even the most dedicated of readers. It feels like time does not flow the same way for you when you read (Are you really human? Geez, seriously) ? When you¡¯re reading, time warps to accommodate your speed (ratio of 1 : 3) >> Whenever you read for 3 minutes, only 1 minute will really have gone by ? Satiation level drops normally (not affected by the timey-wimey)
Ding!
System notice: You have been awarded the title ~Dedicated Bookworm~ You are an avid reader and recognized as such by your peers. ? When the title is equipped, you read 8% faster ? Fame : +50
Ding!
System Notice: You attained the copper rank (reader) 100/100 books have been read Congratulation on reaching the copper Reader rank! ? You read 8% faster ? You have learned [PASSIVE] languages mastery ? You can now access the copper rank floors You shall be awarded a D-rank skill as well as XP at the central librarian administration. Please go ask for your rewards.
Kifirin was surprised at the content of the windows *Huh? I¡¯m warping the timeline? What does that even mean? ¡­ and isn¡¯t the skill half assed? I mean¡­. It doesn¡¯t even explain whether it¡¯s time that slows down or me who speeds up. Timey wimey, I guess* She was also irritated with the snarky remarks¡­. And felt like she somehow knew Systra... Yes, this¡­ barbed tongue¡­ it felt familiar. She decided to remember the name for future references. Now was a happy time. She had just obtained valuable tools, tools that would allow her to read even faster¡­ they just needed honing! And if she thought about it, the skill had other uses¡­. *Nierk nierk. I just need to read and time slows down right?* Putting down the book she had just finished, she went to the first floor cafeteria, one of the 3 cafeterias housed by the library, but the only one where buying what not mandatory for using the premises. Sitting down at a deserted area, she reached into her newbie space-ring for one of the 20 meat jerky stripes allotted to her during character creation. Eating to raise her satiation level, she remarked that the jerky may have been dry but that the taste was surprisingly nice. Busy masticating (the meat was really tough!), Kifirin reminisced about what she had learned so far about this world. It was complex and rooted on religion, a theatre to the cold war going on between Order and Chaos. Situm was the name of this world, or more specifically this ¡°plane of existence¡±. The Lore related the existence of an infinite number of parallel worlds/planes, and the appearance of the players was explained as their ¡°plane-shifting¡± from Dathum to Situm. Thus, players were named ¡°shifters¡± by the natives of Situm, for they had the unique ability to shift worlds. 4 continents made up this world: The Mortal Continent, named from the numerous mortals that inhabited it was the place the players found themselves in. It was a real melting pot of species, and Low Mortals cohabited more or less peacefully with their higher counterparts while immortal races walked the land in boredom (mostly). There was also a sort of feud going on between Southern humanoids and monster-kinds from the North, but it was barely hinted at in the books she had read. The Immortal Land, home of the immortals was unreachable to the unworthy. Mortals had yet to find it, and many hungered for its many mystical treasures. An old legend told of the apparition of a stranger from another plane that would one day reveal it to the rest of the world. Thus, immortals were quite unfriendly to shifter whereas mortals saw them as a hope for new beginnings. And riches. Let¡¯s not forget the riches. The Divine Haven was the dwelling of Deities. Gods and Deus (both generally referred to as gods) made up its entire population, and the only immortals beings allowed there were servants to the divine. Mortals were banned. Finally, there was the fabled Sacred Abode, estate to the primeval gods. It was a mystery as to how the sacred of order and his chaos counterpart managed to cohabitate peacefully, but apparently they did, as evidenced by the continued existence if the universe. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ---- Now, about the peculiar existence of players. Not only did they have the unique ability to shift planes, which was already a groundbreaker¡­ but they were also supposed to be able to rank up. That was unheard of, because while one may evolve within his own rank level (grade up), he may never rank up. That was the first law of spirit. A low mortal could only dream of attaining higher mortality, because that¡¯s what it was, a dream. A High mortal could never become one of the immortals. No immortal could reach divinity. No divine being could evolve to Sacredhood. Yet, if one were to believe the ancient prophecy of the shifters, then he would know that these new beings brought with them the wings of renewal, change, and evolution. They were a revolution. Would they bring war or peace? Destruction or creation? ¡­. Order or Chaos? The history of the game world was extremely dense, and Kifirin had only scratched it. She wondered how the Situm Corporation had managed to create so much knowledge¡­ millions and millions and books¡­ created from nothingness. The minds behind the game had to be brilliant, incredibly so. She happily sighted. So much to read! Her face, graced by a rare smile was glowing with bliss as she left the cafeteria and zeroed onto a book that seemed promising. -------- Time went by as she kept on reading. Other than her body pushing her to eat a few times, she had absolutely no sense of time. She lost herself in the books she was devouring. It was glorious, a real orgy of words, her mind voraciously eating up the knowledge and digesting it in a frenzy. Her timey-wimey reading skill kept leveling up at a frightening pace. It had reached the mid-intermediate level by the time she felt herself wearing out. She was mentally tiring, so Kifirin decided to finish her current collection of books before moving on to something more physical. After all, they said that physical activity was good for digestion, and she just had a feast! Ding!
System Notice: You attained the Reader silver rank 1 000/ 1 000 books have been read Congratulation on reaching the Reader silver rank! ? You read 16% faster ? You can now access the silver rank floors ? You have completed the basic mental training - +50 intellect - +50 wisdom - +100 focus (focus stat has been created) You shall be awarded a C-rank skill as well as XP at the central librarian administration. Please go ask for your rewards. > The Copper rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn
Kifirin smiled. Nice timing. Titring!
System notice: You have been playing for over 18 R(real)hours, please unlog soon to take care of yourself
Her smile fell. Shit. She had totally lost herself in reading. She¡¯d had lessons today¡­ and missed them. College. It seemed so far away¡­ *Well¡­ what¡¯s done is done. I¡¯ll say I was sick.* She unlogged --------xxx--------- Coming out of her capsule, Alya stretched her body on the last HAL song. HAL was a legend, and the most loved artist of all times. Nobody could compare in terms of singing skills, let alone compositions skills. Every single original song of his was a big hit and one could never get enough of listening to them. He was also a total mystery. Of possible Russian origins, the guy became known on the internet 3 years ago through a single song: Future¡¯s blues. It was a worldwide hit and became the rail that propelled him onto the road of stardom. However, the young man never disclosed his real identity, thanks to a nifty placed silver HUD that hid his face from the world. Smart cookie Alya loved his music and often found herself singing along. It brightened her days, the beauty of his voice. She had no interest in the singer though, and gossip magazines tended to irk her. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was high time to make dinner. She was quite surprised that her brother hadn¡¯t tried to remind her of her duties yet. Yes, she had been entrusted with her baby brother when moving out. He had tagged along and now lived as a total freeloader. Her parents had made themselves clear on the fact that she was responsible for him and had to take care of his needs. So there she was, catering to his every whims and taking care of household chores. It was total favoritism but she could not talk back because she still needed her family¡¯s support. It had always been this way anyways, so she was used to it. Golden boy would forever be the light of their parents¡¯ life. His twin died in the womb, so all the grief had turned into even more love that focused on the little miracle. Pampered as he was, Danny though himself as the center of the world and was extremely egoist. He probably had a superiority complex, and if one must say, his naturally handsome appearance wasn¡¯t helping with the personality growth. Sighting, Alya entered the little kitchenette and cooked, then called her brother for dinner. No answer. The boy was probably playing, and would eat whenever he felt like it, which is why she left his portion on the table. Hopefully, it would still be hot when he came around, or she would have to hear his grievances about having to heat the food. Such an obnoxious, spoiled brat. With nothing to do, she decided to watch a Riverdance show. She loved Irish music, and the tap-dancing was awesome. The group in question, Riverdance Legacy was pretty well known on the international scene, and toured the world doing live shows. One would soon happen in her country and she had already reserved a place. She was looking forward to it --------xxx-------- Back to the library, Kifirin resumed the reading. It took her a few days, but she attained the gold and then the platinum reader rank as the timey-wimey skill reached the mid-advanced level. She had been graced by too many bookworm titles to count, and her speed kept on increasing¡­. so much that her fellow readers though that she was fooling around flipping pages. She acquired knowledge specific to the shifters, and 3 windows now appeared in her information menu as Game Knowledge sheets. She also had the option to share said windows, so she guessed that she could probably broker those pieces of information. *************** Next Chapter Chapter 3 – Sweet Time Ding!
System Notice: You attained the Reader Crystal rank 1 000 000/ 1 000 000 books have been read Congratulation on reaching the Reader crystal rank! ? You read 40% faster ? You can now access up to the Crystal rank floors ? You have completed the advanced mental training - +500 intellect - +500 wisdom - +1 000 focus - +5 000 fame You shall be awarded an AA-rank skill as well as XP at the central librarian administration. Please go ask for your rewards > The Copper rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn > The Silver rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn > The Gold rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn > The Platinum rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn >(The Crystal rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn) /!\ Because you are the first player to complete the Advanced mental training, you will be granted an additional AA-rank skill.
This one was a surprise. She obviously was the first of her kin to reach Crystal reading rank, and thus the only player to know of the existence of advanced training. As far as the rest of her peers knew, there was only Basic training. Indeed, after the 1 000th book, she didn¡¯t get any stat point until the completion of the Advanced training¡­ where she got them all at once. Knowing she was probably the only person mad enough to read for the sake of reading in this game, she was sure that if she didn¡¯t disclose the information, nobody would ever discover it. It also meant that the physical training wasn¡¯t limited to the basic one¡­. Ding!
System notice: You have been awarded the title ~Master Bookworm~ You are a voracious greedy reader and recognized as such by your peers. ? When the title is equipped, you read 40% faster ? Fame : +1 000
Ding!
System notice: Skill has reached the master level! ¡­.. I give up. You¡¯re a fucking monster. ¨CSystra¨C [FORCED] PASSIVE ¨C Timey-wimey reading [Master 1 ¨C 0%] Your reading speed is out of this world, leaving into the dust even the most dedicated of readers. It feels like time does not flow the same way for you when you read (Are you really human? Geez, seriously) ? Time effectively slows down around you whenever you read, warping to accommodate your speed (ratio of 1 : 60) >> Whenever you read for 1 minute, only 1 second will really have gone by ? Satiation level drops normally (not affected by the timey-wimey)
It took her one G-month of constant reading to get to this point (more or less 45 Timey Wimey months +180% reading speed). She was proud. She was also mentally tiring and feeling quite restless. To get rid of the excess of energy, she settled for taking care of the physical training when perusing books. It would allow her to determine whether the timey-wimey worked if she did something else while reading. It also meant she had to leave the library. Getting to the central library administration, she got her rewards from a gaping clerk. Yes, she was crystal rank. No, she hadn¡¯t withdrawn any of the rank rewards until now. Yes, these were newbie clothes. No, she was quite sane, thank you. *Geez, what¡¯s wrong with people nowadays? Did any ever learn politeness? That was just rude! I like reading that¡¯s all¡­* In all, she had gotten: 1x D-rank, 1x C-rank, 1x B-rank, 1x A-rank and 2x AA-rank skill-books as well as 30 levels worth of experience. She decided to use one of the AA skill-books. From what she had gathered of the clerk¡¯s babbling, the skills generated would be custom-made for her, the system obviously analyzing her gameplay to do so. As she had spent most of her time reading, she would only get skills related to books, which was why she decided to use only one of her rewards. The others would wait until she seriously had begun adventuring. She activated the manual and it disappeared in a bright white flash as a window opened before her. Ding!
System notice: New skill! (AA knowledge library skill-book) Master book perusing - Crystal floor (0.0003%) You can summon a copy of the knowledge library¡¯s master book: MUDUTU At your current reader rank, it allows you to read any book of the knowledge library up to the Crystal floors. Select the name of the required book on MUDUTU¡¯s table of contents, and it shall appear on the following pages. To change books, just get back to the table and select another one. You may modify the options of the table of contents so that books appear as you wish them to (alphabetically, thematically, historically, floor ranked,¡­) Once you reach the Dakinum rank, MUDUTU shall become an ego book and follow you on your adventures whenever you summon him Trivia: ¡°MUDUTU¡± means knowledge in ancient Sumerian, the language of the gods.
*Jackpot! Well¡­ being an AA skill for someone who spent 99% of her time reading, it was bound to be something like that. What¡¯s nice is that I won¡¯t have to drag tons of books to the training ground¡­ nor will I ever have to buy any for that matter! Now, the big question mark is about it becoming an ego book¡­. I wonder about its possible uses¡­ oh well. Later!* Shrugging, she left in direction of said training grounds. ................... Kifirin took her sweet time getting to the training grounds. Her last view of the capital had been brief, and that of a devastated city. As she made her way, she took everything in. Reconstruction had obviously gone well. The central marketplace was swarming with peoples and somehow smelling of spices. People were haggling their heads off, and in the midst of the madness, she witnessed a hooded dark priest clearly getting ripped off... no amount of sweet talking was helping and he finally gave in with a tired sigh. Yes, she could see the telltale glow of a skill repeatedly failing. It was probably the haggling skill.*Hmmm I wonder about his infamy level... that was.... interesting! He totally got his ass handed* Chuckling to herself, she went on her merry way, and left the market area. She chose to follow a labyrinth of small streets in the general direction of her destination (Koff koff, she got lost). That''s where she got an eyeful. Naked... naked water statues... everywhere! They were statues of women by the way. Small-breasted women. The little back alley was paved with them. It was.... unbelievable. Some were posing, some were engaging in sexual acts... and some were clearly having an orgy. She was obviously not the sole gawker. Many of said gawkers were blokes by the way. Lesbians were apparently REALLY popular with the male population.... or was it because they were skin-clad? Taking a few screenshots for the hell of it, she quietly left the place, leaving her -mostly- male peers to their contemplation. Indeed, a few females were drooling too. Finally arriving at the training grounds, she took in the sight. It was a giant white coliseum. One third of the grounds was dedicated to training dummies while the rest was divided into fighting areas. After completing the basic training one may enter the underground part of the coliseum in order to access the advanced training apparatus. It also gave the right to participate to the weekly tournament and monthly battle royale. Kifirin found herself wondering what unknown part of the edifice were opened up to those who achieved the advanced training.... Shrugging, she quickly asked the eastern instructor for training daggers before choosing an isolated wooden dummy. She had a skill to try. Taking out Mudutu, she fixed it on the dummy and began reading an illustrated dagger handling instruction manual. Time slowed down. She then began using the daggers on said dummy, being careful not to dislodge the book. Time was still slowed down. She gloated. *Kukukukuku! I''m a genius!! All hails me! Kukukukuku!!! Training is going to be nice... and I sooooo can imagine myself in the battlefield, killing while reading! Their faces..... it''s gonna be hysterical!* ................ Johannes, eastern quadrant dummy instructor was having a bad day. First, Clyde the Southern instructor and incidentally, her direct boss... has begun something that she could only call sexual harassment. The barbarian (really, he was a real barbarian) thought himself irresistible and had somehow decided to add her to his ongoing list of conquests. The condescending asshole had made it clear that if she wanted to keep her job, she would have to become "really friendly" with him. Then he had lewdly groped her in plain view of her co-workers. None had lifted a hand to help her. None. The pill was bitter to take. She had especially come to the Bright capital from her "backward" countryside in order to avoid such situations. She had talent, real talent. However, she was a woman, and in the world of the sword, men disliked females being their betters, and as such, liked to debase them through sexuality. Yes, the scorn, the blackmail, ... she really though she had left it behind in Navarra. Heimlin was supposed to be the city of opportunities, of equality. Lies... and sour, so sour! If the harassment went on, she would have to find another job. Now then, what else was plaguing our instructor? A little stingy bastard named Weed. She didn''t really know how, but he had somehow charmed her into promising to share her everyday lunch with him. That golden tongued snake tricked her! A recorded promise couldn''t be broken... so she HAD to share her lunch every day. The big catch? She had given no time limit... so he could show up anytime and eat her food, even after he finished training. And from the look of him? He totally looked like an evil debtor set on exploiting her. Yep, she felt like crying. And last... what got her panties into a twist? Well it was the brainiac-dagger-maniac. Yup. The girl had ben very polite asking her for weapons, and from their short discussion, it had been made clear that she was a total newbie to the handling of blades. So why was she witnessing an inhuman feat of speed and dexterity? And the form? It was TEXTBOOK perfect. The "newbie" would put any master to shame. The worst? She wasn''t even trying. Why yes! She was READING. READING for spirit''s sake! A sob shook her frame as she took another gulp of white fire. She could almost understand the passion her Manno had for the bottle. She also felt that the bottle and her would become fast friends if the snake and the brainiac-dagger-maniac kept on coming to her eastern quadrant. She wanted a quiet, comfortable life. Was it too much to ask? ................................ It normally took from 5 to 6 weeks, but thanks to the timey wimey skill, she completed the training in a comfortable half-day (36 TW days). She also read many books and got a little bit closer to the Dakinum reader rank.
System notice: You completed the Basic physical training! Congratulation on completing the basic physical training! As such you have also qualified for the Copper mercenary rank - +50 Strengh - +50 Agility - +100 vitality You shall be awarded an D-rank skill as well as XP at the Mercenary Union. Please go ask for your rewards and register, because once it is done, you shall be allowed to: >>Access the underground coliseum grounds >>Join the weekly and monthly coliseum events
She also got the skills she was aiming for and leveled them up a bit. Yes, unharmed combat mastery and dual dagger mastery were both at beginner level 2. It was time to pick up the pace and go for the advanced training. She calculated that It would probably take her more or less 3 Game months (180 TW months) because she was less proficient at fighting than reading. She obviously would have to periodically change her routines in order to keep getting skills proficiencies. However, Kifirin counted on the fact that it would get her extremely close to the Dakinum reader rank... And so on she went. If one was to wonder how Kifirin could spend so much time reading and training on a dummy without going mad, then one would have to get to the truth of the matter. She was mentally instable, had been for years, and as such it was her self-imposed discipline and rules that kept her from snapping. Setting goals, and grinding to complete them WAS a sort of discipline, and so her "training streak", rather get her closer to the edge.... helped her a lot. Moreover, the physical part of the training helped her let some stream off while the mental part fed her soul. As she ended the training, she was saner than ever. .................... Johannes was happily eating. The day had been wonderful. Yes, wonderful. The reptilian leech had not come to mooch off her food today, and neither had he yesterday, nor the day before... so maybe he had left the town for good? Or MAYBE it had to do with the last lunch they ''shared'' together. She had eaten none or it, nope. It had been all for him. She chuckled. Deidre''s cooking could be LETHAL when she used THAT, and Jo had especially lifted the seal on THAT in hope that weed would get the bad end of the stick. He could also have won the lottery, but as far as she was concerned she decided he had lost the bet with fate. The result of the Russian roulette was here though.... he had left. What else? Well... Clyde had been reprimanded by his own boss for his lewd behavior and was under a forced leave for the next two months. And brainiac-dagger-maniac? Well she was still here but after 3 months of watching her phasing around the dummy, it had kind of become part of the background. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.The human brain was wonderful wasn''t it? To be able to normalize such a thing.... just wonderful! She had also gotten to know the girl and they were on their way to friendship. Her other friend the bottle? Well... she learned the hard way that she was a lousy depressed drunk, so we''ll say they had an irreconcilable tiff. Too bad, as it was one night of loud wailing at the local bar that saved her ass. Indeed, it allowed words of Clyde''s unforgivable behavior to get back to the ears of the concerned authorities. People talk! (Noooo.... really?) *Still, I wonder what''s going on. She should have completed the basic training a while ago. I don''t understand the mindless dummy whacking. There are no stat gains for training after the basic T.... she''s totally wasting her time and not listening to me when I tell her about it. The only way to get stats now is to fight for real. Same for the skill proficiencies, they''ll rise way faster if she goes after monsters.* However, the instructor had her doubts... the girl wouldn''t be doing it for no reason... she was a brainiac after all. Moreover she was a shifter and her kind never did pointless things like... well... THAT. So, there HAD to be a reason, and she would be damned if she didn''t get to the heart of the matter. She smelled gold, and Kifirin had skirted around the subject too long for it no to arouse Jo''s curiosity. *Hmm... She''s subsisting on low quality meat jerky.... maybe the way to get her talking is through her stomach? But.... my precious.... I just got you back... sniffff* That''s when the girl stilled. It''s not what got Johannes'' attention, because she did it every other 4 days and then disappeared for a while. Shifters and their weird habits! No, what got her full consideration was that for the first time ever, Brainiac closed her book and stored it into her inventory... Book that by the way, she seemed to have been reading over and over again... not that it was her business, but then again.... strange. Oh well. Shifters! Or maybe she should just attribute it to Kif being Kif. She WAS quite the oddball after all... but they got along well. She had experience with handling oddballs after all... that she had! She decided to ask her bluntly. Brainiac-dagger-maniac would answer her this time around. She would! ................... Her time estimation had not considered the super leveling up of the timey wimey skill and it''s time ratio, so she trained longer than 15 years in those 3 months. It was more like 26-27 years of grinding with a few moment of talking with her new friend in between. It was not wasted time, because the instructor was very friendly and even gave her a few tips when she asked questions. After the advanced training notification, she had continued with the self-torture until she got the Dakinum reader rank and grinded one more year. Then she stopped, stored Mudutu, and looked at the important notifications she hadn''t yet fully read.
System notice: You have been awarded the title ~Brainiac-dagger-maniac~ Among other things, you''ve been swinging daggers while reading for over 3 months, and made yourself quite a reputation as the ~Brainiac-dagger-maniac~ around the Coliseum NPC population. There are also concerns about your sanity, but it''s not like you care, so whatever. - When the title is equipped, you read 20% faster - When the title is equipped, you swing daggers 20% faster - Fame : +500 Ps: Some can swear that they saw your book moving by itself... you may debunk or confirm the rumor, but please do something... it has grown into something unexpected.
*... so that''s why Johannes has been calling me Brainiac. She said nothing about Mudutu though. I didn''t think that people would notice. Maybe she just doesn''t care?*
System Notice: You completed the Advanced physical training Congratulation on completing the Advanced physical training. As such, you have qualified for the Mercenary crystal rank! - +500 strength - +500 agility - +1 000 vitality - +5 000 fame You shall be awarded an AA-rank skill as well as XP at the mercenary Union. Please go ask for your rewards and register (you have yet to do so) >>>As soon as you register, you will be allowed into the coliseum maze dungeon - Your copper rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn - Your silver rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn (automatic qualification thanks to Advanced physical training) - Your silver gold rewards have yet to be withdrawn (automatic qualification thanks to Advanced physical training) - Your platinum rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn (automatic qualification thanks to Advanced physical training) (- Your crystal rank rewards have yet to be withdrawn) /!\ Because you are the first player to complete the Advanced physical training, you will be granted an additional AA-rank skill. /!\ For smartly finding out the secret of both advanced trainings and their association, you are granted +50 int and +50 wis
*Maze dungeon huh? Interesting.... I''m looking forward to it* she wondered where it was located at though.... well she would ask the administration guy... but only if he was a NPC. She had no plans to reveal the existence of the advanced training to the world. Maybe Johannes would know? [/tbody]
System notice: Skill updates!
[FORCED] PASSIVE ¨C Timey-wimey reading [True Master] > (ratio of 1 : 120) Systra says : yada yada yada crackpot yada yada yada mad as a hatter yada yada yada scary yada yada yada. You may use this skill however you want during training, but I''m totally restricting it for real battle (I won''t allow you to be brokenbroken ... just broken is enough!) NEW OPTION: this skill is usable in battle, but only for one second every 10 minutes (that still gives you 2 minutes to rain down hell on your enemies so don''t complain) And please? STOP giving me work... it''s a hassle... And btw? HE seems to have taken an interest to you, so I''d advise laying low for a while. Having the Trollking on one''s six is bad for future prospects if you get what I mean...
Dual Dagger mastery - Advanced 9 (99%)
Unharmed combat mastery - Advanced 9 (99%)
She had obviously hit the upper limits of training for the dagger and unharmed combat mastery... they hadn''t leveled up for years. Indeed, she needed real fights to go through the bottleneck. However, she had wasted no time and learned many special movements, technics and forms from Mudutu. Yes, Mudutu had become an ego book the moment she got the Dakinum reading rank, and as soon as she understood his worth, she put him to work. He was a sort of talking super computer. It was like having her AI with her, but it was a book instead of a HUD. Extremely useful. ................. 1 Timey-Wimey year earlier: Ding! Ding! Ding!
System Notice: You attained the Reader Dakinum rank 10 000 000/ 10 000 000 books have been read Congratulation on reaching the Reader Dakinum rank! - You read 100% faster - You can now access up to the Dakinum rank floors - You have completed the S-rank mental training (look up the next window update) You shall be awarded an S-rank skill as well as XP at the mercenary Union. Please go ask for your rewards and register /!\ Because you are the first player to complete the S-rank mental training, you will be granted an additional S-rank skill.
System notice : S rank mental training complete [revised Davros edition] You were to be awarded Xp as well as something else but Head Librarian Davros asked that any new Dakinum-rank reader be forwarded to him and his Xp gain frozen until he has a talk with them. I fancy him (We had our fun when he was younger -talk about hunk-) so I''m doing him a favor. -Systra- ¡­¡­. The brainiac that you are said fuck to common sense and sanity by reading 10 milions book in the span of 4 months (or 30 years... whatever it''s confusing even for me) Congratulations (Are they even in order? You must be half mad by now), you have completed the hidden S rank mental training, a legacy of the mercenary King Azaz?l. As such you are rewarded with: - 1250 Stamina - 2500 Intelligence and Wisdom - 3000 Focus - 5000 fighting spirit and endurance
System notice: Skill Update! Master book perusing - Dakinum floor You can summon a copy of the knowledge library¡¯s master book: MUDUTU At your current reader rank, it allows you to read any book of the knowledge library up to the Dakinum floors, which means the whole library MUDUTU is now an ego book and shall follow you on your adventures whenever you summon him. He has an earring form as well as a (flying) book form. The earring form can converse with you but cannot display books, whereas the (flying) book form can do both - His defense is absolute (attacks go through him so don''t you try to use him as a shield. Yes, you! I''m totally talking to you Kifirin so don''t play coy -Systra-) - He cannot attack - He is absolutely loyal to you - Ask whatever you want to Mudutu and he shall answer to the best of his knowledge - You may ask him to displayer whichever book you want (the table of contents options is still there if you feel like using it) Trivia: ¡°MUDUTU¡± means knowledge in ancient Sumerian, the language of the gods.
*Systra.... one day we''ll have a talk, just you and me, and we''ll see whether you''re snarky then.... ANYWAYS! S rank training? That''s.... that''s awesome! It means that there is also a physical one huh.... however, thanks but no thanks! I''ll pass on this one. Now, about the ego book? Better summon it. * "Summon Mudutu, flying book form!" Poof! The previously dummy-pinned book was now floating by his own will. Then, Kifirin heard a old man talking. His voice was refined. "Kifirin-sama, it''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Mudutu the 3rd, ego book and copy of the core of the knowledge library. I shall be your servant and confidant for as long as you''ll have me." Somehow, she got a butler-like feel from Mudutu. Moreover... the 3rd? It meant that 2 NPCs had the skill and dakinum reader rank. It would be nice to meet them. Maybe Davros was one of them? If so she looked forward to their future conversation. "Hmm nice to meet you Mud. Can I call you Mud?" "... As the mistress wishes" Somehow his answer felt mournful. "Right! Could you find and teach me dual dagger and unarmed combat mastery moves? I need to widen my skillset" "The mistress has asked, and so she shall receive. Give me a few seconds.... ah here! Well, first we''ll go with the debilitating piercing strike, it is an unregistered subskill of the dagger mastery and-- ...." ................... Back to the end of the training She had stored Mudutu because he apparently needed sleep. Well¡­ not really sleep per se, but it had to do with the updating of his core... something about the recent arrival of a truckload of new books that he had to assimilate. He gave it 12 hours, so she would summon him in earring form a while later. Now, as she had finished all the planned trainings, it was time to see her stats. She knew it was gonna be good. She just wondered HOW good. Systra did say that she was broken... *evil laugh* ******************** Next chapter As you can see, I''ve begun using the website''s tables. These were simple because they are the basic, but soon I''ll be trying my hands at more. In the meantime, I''ll be using pics for what I can''t code :) Chapter 3 is the end of training, so with chapter 4, things will get more ''''interesting" The Arc 1 (10 chaps) is centered around Kifirin, her getting stronger and a few chances encounters that may pr may not be meaningful. There''ll obviously be some action, but the "real" action will only truly begin with the FUBAR BUNDY act. As it is, I''ve already written the first arc (Kifirin : the birth of a monster), and am halfways though Arc 2. However... It''ll take me a while to upload it (I''m not good at it, not at all... it takes me hours and hours to up 1 chapter... erm erm) Obviously, my first language is not English, so if you have any remark to make on the grammar/orthograph and all, please do so, it''ll help me get better Opinions on the FF are also welcome, be they good or bad. I''m writing for the first time ever, so we''ll say I''m a bit antsy to know what you guys think about it! Bye, Nergal Chapter 4- Lifes a bitch, ride her hard Chapter 4- Life''s a bitch, ride her hard All right... her status window was totally broken. She had the stats of...what? A lvl 800 mage and a lvl 400 warrior. Well... It took her more or less 30 years of training to get to this point so.... it was no cheating. She still had to validate the 30 lvl UP stat points distribution but decided not to do so for a while. She was overpowered enough as it was. If she followed the mage path, it would get boring really fast, and she had decided to become a rogue anyways, so the "warrior" path it was. She still wondered about her class. What the hell was RURE anyways? It''s not as if she was going to be picky, awesome as it was, but an explanation would have been welcome. *Whatever. I need money. Soo Pking? Hmm no I still have errands to run here so I''d rather not be infamous. Oh well, cooking it will be. But first? The Library, Davros wants to see m--* Her important thinking time got interrupted by an idiotic barbarian. Said barbarian crashed right into her, fell down his ass from the recoil and yelped in pain. THEN, he began insulting her, both sides of her ancestry, and women in general. From his equipment she could tell that we was probably around lvl 300... However she hadn''t been fazed by the shock so she guessed he probably wasn''t all that powerful. "Oy! You cunt! Do you have shit for brains? Or is it just your ears that are useless? I''m saying you fucking owe me for damaging my property! My armor is dented! That''s why I hate bitches like you! Women are useless and should stay at home ready to pleasure their masters!" "...." This was so stupid and backward that Brainiac had nothing to say. "What?" He grabbed her chin, looked closely at Kifirin''s face and leered "Hmm pretty... it trumps the lack of boobs. Well honey, it''s your lucky day you can repay me in nature as soon as I''m done with the other cunt that got me demoted. Don''t worry you''ll soon be begging for it" That''s when he raised his hand to knock her out. .............. Clyde was full of rage. He wanted to take his revenge on Johannes. That useless female had cost him his promotion and dared to talk back to him. He wouldn''t be satisfied until he got her begging for him to stop. He would break her, and she would be taught her place. Women were vile and inferior sex objects, nothing more. He had planned everything: the eastern quadrant guards had been paid off and the newbies quietly ushered aside. Being from a noble family had sure helped, nobody dared to cross him. He may not have been from the main branch, but the Vrionac name was his, with the strength that came along. It''s not like the guards knew he was a nobody in the family... As he charged right towards the isolated cunt, he somehow crashed into a newbie that appeared out of nowhere. Her beauty got his blood pumping and he knew he would bring her back to his abode, willing or not. The native had to take responsibility for setting him afire after all. Native? Why yes! Of course. All the female shifters were big-breasted, so the girl was obviously a native of the land, small-chested as she was. Sooo.... free picking! He had to take care of Johannes first though. He decided to stun his new toy for now. He''d drag her home once he was done with the bitch. He did not question her appearing out of nowhere. He did not question her being unfazed by their bumping into each other¡¯s either He should have. .............. Kifirin watched as the big oaf raised his hand. He was so slow... she didn''t even need the timey wimey skill to take care of him. Swiftly dodging the blow, she grabbed his fist and accompanied his movement down from the side. Her knee went up and brutally tagged him in the nuts as her free hand chopped the back of his neck. Then, his nose and teeth got personal with the ground in a big wet CRUNCH. He was out cold. ............. Johannes watched as brainiac-dagger-maniac dealt with Clyde in less than half a second. It was swift, clean and final. The would-be-rapist now laid in a pool of his own blood. She hoped he''d drown in it, but alas it was not to be. Yes, would be rapist. She had seen the way he watched her and purposefully headed in her direction. Then she heard the comments he made to her friend. Thanks to the non-respect of his forced leave of absence and her testimony, a telepath would be called upon to clear up the situation. She guessed the douchebag wouldn''t be seeing the light of the day for a while. She also guessed that a few guards would not be seen again... Clyde''s apparition here couldn''t have happened without inside help. Looking fondly at the friendly dagger-maniac, she decided to help her as much as possible in her future endeavors. Seeing her teach a lesson to the misogynistic fiend had given her new hopes. She was also in awe of her skills. .................. Looking coldly at the passed out sex-fiend, Kifirin sighted. *Why me? Somehow I''m sure that this will come back to bite me in the ass. Argh! I better keep it quiet or my friends will never allow me to forget it. Note to oneself, don''t tell Kathy! Should I pull a disappearing act? It''s not like I''m in the wrong am I? ... Am I?* A light pat on her right shoulder sent her back to reality. Instructor Johannes was telling her about the situation. Apparently she was white as snow and even earned her heartfelt gratitude for "saving" her. Well... wasn''t that what friends were for? However she was surprised at Johannes'' straightforward questioning. Was she REALLY unaware of the existence of the advanced training? ... Apparently yes. No wonder her subtle hints at the existence of said training had gotten no answer. It also explained the strange comments about her ''passion'' for training. Well she was friendly and a NPC, so why not explain? "Yes, it''s the advanced training. You don''t get even one stat point until you complete it. I guess it would take you a good two dozen years of training to achieve it. The reward is an AA-rank skill-book as well the right to enter the coliseum''s maze, a restricted dungeon." "That''s... I didn''t know it! None of my acquaintances knows of it.... unless they kept it to themselves? It''s obviously not common knowledge... Oh my goodness! You shared such a secret with me, I''m humbled. Thank you! I vow to spirit that I''ll keep it to myself. But... how did you come into the information? You''re a shifter right?" Johannes was sweating. It felt too big for her to have such knowledge, but she also just set herself a new goal... she WOULD complete the advanced training!
System notification: Oath recorded Johannes Verrames has vowed to Spirit that she would never share any of the information about the advanced training that you imparted to her. This oath is sacred and cannot be broken.
"Ah umm well... I accidentally completed the mental one, so I decided to try my hand at the physical one." She fidgeted. Compliments made her uneasy. "Yep I obviously like reading... haha. And there''s no need to thank me you know, keeping it to yourself is more than enough, and you made an oath so it''s good" "... mental advanced training? Now that you said it it''s kind of obvious but.... Holy Spirit! You really ARE a brainiac huh? Well I''m indebted to you big time now. Is there anything I could do to help you? I feel wretched for not being able to repay my debt". The instructor was dumfounded. Kifirin was... such a brainiac. But she obviously had willpower... and SECRETS. From what she had gathered, the girl had competed the advanced training... in more or less 2 months. She told her it would take 2 dozen years, which made it an impossibility for the trainee to have finished it already. How would she know of the reward though if she hadn''t? Unless... time warping? It would explain the unbelievable speed. Yes, this was an oddball alright, and as she knew from experience, oddballs always had the most amazing skills of all... "Now that you''re talking about it, I wouldn''t mind an introduction to a cook or a restaurant. I need to make money -sick of the jerky- and I''d like to learn the skill so ... do you know any?" Kif smiled. That would be helpful. Wow... the girl had totally raised the flag, so she couldn¡¯t condemn her for taking it. She smiled sweetly as she answered "Hmm my flatmate Deidre is a retired cook but I''m sure she''d be happy to teach you the basics if I ask her to. She''s very nice and cute as a button. Don''t question her about her age though. She looks twelve years old but is way older than you and me thrown together. It has to do with a curse or something, and is a very sore point to her. Be tactful. Just go to XXX Carmen street and give her this badge, she''ll known it''s from me" Fireworks, there were going to be fireworks ... Pocketing the item after noting down Johannes'' contact information, Kifirin decided to make a stop at the library and complete a few errands before meeting Deidre. She bid the woman goodbye and left for the merc administration. It was an office located near the entrance of the coliseum''s underground level. The clerk was free, so she engaged him in conversation. .............. Lucas sneered as he saw the newbie approaching him. She still wore the beginner''s gear for fuck''s sake, so what was she doing at the administration''s office? She should be training, not wasting his time. Then he saw her title and reconsidered. That was the brainiac battle maniac. Hmm she was probably here for the copper rank rewards. It was a nice opportunity to get to the truth of the matter about the book. The stakes of the bet were very high... and he could make a killing for getting the info. He put on a fake smile .................... "Hi, I''m here for the mercenary rewards up to Crystal-rank. I''m also asking for the basic training prizes. For the rest I''ll need your oath or your superior" ".... I''m sorry? Crystal rank? My oath? Are you kidding me? You may be the dagger-maniac but don''t let it go up your head newbie, we''re serious people here! Go away, and don''t ever appear before me again. Pff, noobs!" "Is it a way to treat guild members? You''re awfully impolite... I should file a complaint" He snorted "Yeah right, like they''ll listen to you. I''m gold-rank honey, and as far as I''m concerned, you''re nobody. Don''t think I''ll ever let you register. So... shoooo!" She raised a eyebrow "Well then I''ll be asking for your superior. You have no right to refuse me this. The one overstepping his bounds here is you, not me" "Hahaha! Hilarious. Leave now, before I throw you out for misconduct. And before you mouth off about it know that it would be your word against mine, and.... I''m gold rank, sooo.... get the picture?" "I do" She smiled coldly. It was frightful and the guy found himself shivering. "Rank is king isn''t it? Show mercenary rank to clerk" The guy looked at the system window and paled ".... Kifirin-sama it''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. What may I do for you?" His tone was sticky-sweet. "Get me your superior" *Now that''s a one-eighty if I haven''t seen one* His eyes shifted nervously and he answered meekly "Umm... huuuhh... That is... Lord Dahariel is busy" Lucas knew he had screwed up, and if it came to the ears of his superior there would be hell to pay. Nobody fucked with a higher rank... even the more so when it was a Crystal rank. Dakinum ranks were virtually non-existent, so as far as he could tell, Crystal ranks were the law. "Is he? Somehow I don''t believe you. Maybe I should go get him myself? "That... That won''t be necessary! I''m sure he''ll be able to make time for you once I apprise him of your situation" "Thought so too" She watched the clerk leave for the underground level as if his ass had caught on fire. He was a native then. The player at the library central administration library hadn''t seemed that concerned by her rank. He had been more like Are-you-crazy-sista-this-is-insane than Of-course-my-queen-right-away-my-queen ........... Dahariel Vrionac was tying off loose ends related to Clyde. Apparently the forced leave of absence had been received badly, and his lowly relative had decided to take things into his own hands by getting revenge on his female colleague. Dahariel wondered whether he should have directly dealt with the dolt when he first heard of the harassment... As the Vrionac family head and mercenary guild regional chief (elder councilor), he had every right to do so, but had decided that the matter was inconsequential and dismissed it without a second thought. It was a mistake The guild telepath had formally registered the nefarious intent this time, so he just had to bring Clyde to the local jail and the problem would be taken off his hands. He had also excised the moron from the family register so there would be no repercussions on their reputation. So... there should be nothing to worry about. SHOULD BE Yep. Right now he was sweating bullets... and worrying, alright. Why? Because the convict had been snatched right under his nose! Him, a proud Crystal rank couldn''t even lift a finger against the red force that took his prisoner. Frightful. It was at least an immortal-rank. The one good point of the giant clusterfuck was that said force had seemed to be seething. He still felt the rage in the air. Dahariel guessed that Clyde wouldn''t be bothering anybody any longer. He would be quite dead. Still trying to understand the ramifications of the event, as well as the reason why the force was out for Clyde''s blood, he saw Lucas sheepishly enter his study. "Yes? Is a matter requiring my attention?" He didn''t know if Clyde''s demise was related to the brainiac-dagger-maniac or Johannes, but it probably was. The dolt had behaved exemplarily until the "events", and didn''t seem to have enemies. He decided to thread carefully if he ever entered in direct contact with any of the two girls. Instinct told him it had to do with brainiac. Johannes had been Clyde''s victim for months and nothing happened, but right after he raised his hand at the other girl, he got taken in a whirlpool of murderous rage. "Lord Vrionac" The clerk bowed. "A trainee needs to register the Crystal mercenary rank and has asked for either my oath or a superior. I though you may want to get to the heart of the matter, as a lowly gold-rank such as me couldn''t even begi--" "-- Crystal rank? Are you sure?" interrupted Dahariel. If the trainee had yet to register it, then it meant that it hadn''t been bought from guild-points.... so it was the advanced training? However it was a well hidden secret that only a few -carefully selected- initiates were allowed to learn. The trainee was suspicious... and possibly a threat if he wasn''t under oath to keep it to himself. Well, he knew how to deal with threats... "Yes my lord, quite sure, I verified it myself" "Alright, take a break. I''ll take care of it" "Yes my lord" ............. Kifirin impatiently waited for the "superior" to arrive. *Maybe I should just call it a day and come back later? I''ve got a lot of things to do... Ah? He''s here.* This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. A handsome long-haired elf was purposefully walking towards her. His stride was noble and his eyes had a calculating glint. He seemed unhappy.*Gloups. It feels like he wants me dead. Hmm? Now he looks surprised though...* Indeed, Elfy had stopped in his tracks and was watching her intently. *??? What? Do I have lettuce stuck between my front teeth? ... ara ara that''s stupid he''s too far away, and moreover, if anything was amiss with me clerk douchebag would certainly have put me on the spot with it. So..... dunno what''s wrong with Elfy here* The Elf shook his head and got back to business. As soon as he reached Kifirin, he led her to a private office and presented himself ............... "Hello miss Kifirin, I''m Lord Dahariel Vrionac, an elder of the Mercenary guild as well as a Crystal rank. I''ve heard that you''re here to register the Crystal-rank, which means that you got it from training right? May I ask how you came to learn of this? Aren''t you a shifter?" He wasn''t pleased when he found out that Brainiac-dagger-maniac WAS the trainee in question. It made things complicated. "... Vrionac? You wouldn''t be related to Clyde the moron... wouldn''t you?" "Yes I am, but it is not relevant to the situation at hands" "Well shit.... he''s a barbarian, and you¡¯re an elf. The Vrionac seems to be all about diversity, aren''t they? Anyways let me tell you that I intend to see him locked up for good. The dude is seriously messed up" He sighted "Clyde is... ah no, I mean was. He was the bastard son of a distant cousin. He is a child of rape, but as pregnancies are rare for our kind his mother kept him." Here, he had baited her, let''s see how she reacted to that. If she had no knowledge of the abduction, then she probably wasn''t involved in it, which would allow him to get his answers more or less forcefully from her. He was mighty curious at her completing the training in a few months. *This could be something big. She could also become a useful pawn if the questioning doesn''t take too much out of her. The thing is that she''s a shifter so I''ll have to use THAT* "Was? What do you mean ''was''? What happened to him?" The trainee seemed genuinely surprised. A cold smile graced Dahariel''s lips. *Uninvolved then... time to -- AAAH!* Behind the oblivious girl... the presence was back! This time it was exuding an extremely cold warning. Clearly, it wasn''t pleased with Dahariel''s thoughts, and made it plain that Kifirin was under its protection. Somehow the elf felt that Brainiac had no idea of either the existence of her backing or the situation it just saved her from. *I... I understand ? great one, I shall not touch a hair from her head, please be merciful towards this lowly misguided soul* As Lord Vrionac trembled in fright of the force, Kifirin found herself wondering what the hell was going on. ................ "Sir? Sir? Are you alright? Do you need water?" Elfy was behaving mighty strange. If the situation was different, Kifirin would have thought that he was scared shitless but it couldn''t be it. Then what was it? She had absolutely no idea and it made her uncomfortable. Dahariel shakily smoothed out his shirt and answered the mysterious shifter. The presence had left. "Ah no, thank you, I... I''m subject to fainting spells but I was somehow able to avoid the last one, thanks for the concern. Now where were we? Ah yes, Clyde... About him, well something snatched him from us with murderous intent, so we''re making the educated guess that he''s dead. I can''t give you more information, because even I am left wondering at what really happened." "I see... Well let''s get back to business then. As you already guessed, I''m a shifter, so nobody told me about the advanced training. I know for sure that I am the sole of my kin to have achieved it, and from what I''ve gathered, none are aware of its existence. I don''t plan on sharing the love by the way, so don''t worry about it becoming common knowledge. Personally, I stumbled upon it while reading" "What do you mean by that? It''s not recorded anywhere" Vrionac frowned. Kif blushed "Ah well, umm... I love reading, so after completing the basic mental training I continued the knowledge feast for a while. It was a real surprise when I got the system notification for the advanced training. Then it was kinda obvious that if the basic trainings mirrored themselves, so would the advanced ones. I got it right, and I would bet that the S-ranks also do so" Dahariel swallowed wrongly and began stuttering "... S.... S-rank? What... what are you talking about?" *Oops. I said too much. They didn''t know about this one. Oh well... the cat''s out of the bag...* She sighted. "Rather than explaining I''d better show you. Show Mental S-rank training window to Lord Dahariel Vrionac" The lord was gaping as he read the window. It was not really elf-like. Not noble enough maybe... ? *Screenshot! That one''s gold* "I won''t try my hand at the Physical S-rank training for obvious reasons but you''re free to do so. It took me around 30 years of constant reading at extremely fast speeds to achieve the S-mental one. When I know that the advanced physical T took me around 26 years, which is more or less 7 time what it took me for the advanced mental one..... Well... I''ll remind you that I''m insane, not masochistic" "That... that.... that''s unbelievable. There were rumors of mercenary king Azaz?l''s legacy but we all thought it was hidden within the labyrinth... not that it was a secret training! The information you just gave the guild is priceless.... Spirit!" He totally ignored the mention of her insanity "As an elder councilor of the guild I have the authority... so I''ll be transferring 100 000 000 guild credits to your account as soon as I register you, and you''ll benefit from half prices on all your purchases. Elder level Information will also be freely shared with you". Then he registered her, gave her his contact information and left faster than a rocket. In his haste to discuss the news with his fellow councilors, he totally forgot to ask her about her cramming years and years of training in the span of a few months. Well, she wouldn''t have answered anyways, so she was appreciative of his forgetfulness. He had also given her 1x D-rank, 1x C-rank, 1x B-rank, 1x A-rank and 2x AA-rank skill-books as well as 12 levels worth of experience. She didn''t activate the level up stats this time either and decided to use another AA-rank skill-book. Ding!
System notice: New skill! (AA knowledge library skill-book) Split personality Disorder Aka Persona / chaotic As a being of unlimited boiling Chaos, you are quite insane, thus you have the ability to take on a created persona that has stats and titles selected during its creation (skills and stats may be capped if you feel the need to) A persona may be modified after its creation, but the fame and infamy generated by a persona cannot be removed. The persona''s name and class can also be chosen (a list of unlocked class will be opened for you to choose from at persona creation) NPC will always see you as a different person unless you change persona right under their nose, but shifters may recognize your face. You may create up to 10 personas. Current Available personas: ? To be created ? (locked) Chaos persona Persona that gets forcefully equipped whenever you enter a chaos streak. As soon as you unlock your profession this persona will become available for equip
*Interesting.... that solves the infamy problem! I wonder about the description though... I don''t have NO split personality disorder. At least I don''t think so.... probably not? Oh well it''s useful so no complaints here. I''ll need to create an innocent seeming persona for tights spots, a rogue persona for everyday use, a mage persona in case it''s ever needed, and finally a PK persona for the real fun. Now for the face thingy... it''d be nice to have a shape-shifting skill or something...* Ding!
System notice: Persona related skill available! The system has recognized your insight and allows you to use an AA-rank skillbook in order to get the modified shape-shifting skill. (AA-rank Skillbooks left: x2) Do you wish to learn the shape-shifting skill at the cost of 1x AA-rank skillbook?
YesNo
Obviously, she selected yes. Like the persona-skill, the new skill had no level, but was extremely helpful as it allowed her to shapeshift her body at will. From baby to dragon, she could become whatever she wanted. She went to work and created her personas. Ding!
System notice: Skill update! (VAR) Split personality Disorder Aka Persona / chaotic As a being of Unlimited boiling Chaos, you are quite insane, thus you have the ability to take on a created persona (Press here to read the rest of the description) Current available personas
# (Equipped) Red Rogue persona - Kifirin Persona you created for your everyday use. This persona seems like an average Red Rogue (all suspect stats are hidden or capped) and has no bounty on it. You lowered certain stats, and as a result, equipping this persona lowers your overall strenght unless you deactivate the seal. Red rogue : The red rogue is a chaos-oriented master of the art of silent death and subterfuges. Skilled and cunning adversary of those who are not looking into the shadows to see what lurks there; It is the profession of those that seek the adventures of stalking in silent forests, dimly lit halls, and heavily guarded strongholds. Using trickery in combat and able to vanish at the slightest distraction, the red rogue is deadly to those he catch unaware. Deadly master of stealth, he is the whispers in shadowy corners and the hooded figure crossing dark fields. Skilled with daggers, this vagabond/bandit skulks about the word seeking targets and profits.
# PK persona - Kiri Persona you created to do bad deeds. It has all your stats and will probably have many bounties on it. Because you have a twisted sense of humor, you made it so that Kiri can choose between the appearance of a cute and innocent blue-eyed blond-haired 12 years old girl, or an older version in her twenties
# Innocent seeming NPC persona - Finn Persona to be used in order to get out of tight spots. It has the stats of a lvl 10 sickly child and the appearance of an ordinary 8 years old boy, Finn. He may give quests.
# Battle-mage persona - Rin Emo version of the real you, the battle-mage persona has the stats of an extremely high level mage that has no problems with fighting. Thanks to her high vitality, she is no glass cannon, which will be a surprise to her foes. Perceived as a talented oddball, Rin is appreciated by her peers regardless of her strange quirks Thanks to your high Spirit affinity, focus (5 elements wielding) wisdom, intelligence and vitality, Rin is a force to be reckoned with. The Battle-mage is a DPS caster that specializes in burst damage and area of effect spells. His primary role in a group is damage dealing and crowd control
# Blue singer persona - Rinne Royal blue haired and bang-less version of you, Rinne is an elemental singer that greatly buff her allies. She is a support character and does not attack. Her stats are the same as you, however they are hidden and thus not perceived. Her fighting spirit cannot be used offensively, only for defense.
# (locked) Chaos persona Persona that gets forcefully equipped whenever you enter a chaos streak. As soon as you unlock your profession this persona will become available for equip
Yep, she had created a few personas alright, and though the merc guild, she used guild points to get the skillbooks she wanted. Right now, here skills were thus: She obviously had some serious grinding to do, but yeah that was it. Kifirin would be a rogue (not that she wouldn''t use blink from time to time), Rin a battlemage (the "weapon" of choice would be unarmed combat mastery until she had a better idea) and Rinne a Singer that acted as support. Kiri would obviously use nothing and everything to confuse and throttle her foes. ............ Far, far away, on another continent, a barbarian was screaming in agony. His mind was already broken beyond recognition, his body was but a giant wound... and yet he was still being kept alive. He had not yet completed the promise made to his captor and would stay in this pitiful state until he did. Only then would he be allowed the mercy of death. "I''m sorry" was screaming the shell of a man. "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!" 10 billion time he had to say it. His captor was keeping track as what used to be Clyde alternated between screams, ramblings, whispers and wails. "I''m sorry! I''m sorry!" "I''m sorry!" [...] *************** Next chapter Chapter 5 - What levels used to mean Chapter 5 - What levels used to mean Back at the central librarian administration, Kif asked for Davros, the head librarian, specifying that it was related to the dakinum rank "quest". The clerk was the same player as the last time, so even though he was suspicious at her demand, he still gave it a try. He knew very well that she was Crystal rank. Still, he was very surprised when the head himself came to get the girl. The dude had never been seen before... not even once. Davros was a tall middle-aged and silver-haired high elf. Doing a once over of Kifirin, he nodded and asked her to follow him. His thin and lithe frame led the way to his office at the top of the library where he asked the rogue to take a seat and followed suit. Then he stayed silent, keenly watching her. *What is he doing? Is it a sort of test? I don''t fancy that kind of things. It''ll probably come out as impolite if I talk.... Oh well.* "Sir? Is something in your mind? You asked for me, so here I am. Let''s not waste any of our precious time in obscure personality testing and proceed to the heart of the matter, shall we?" Davros'' stern face broke into a smile "Outspoken, I like it. Hmmm.... As you haven''t been in the library for a while and yet managed to reach the dakinum rank so fast, I take it that you have Mudutu as well as a time warping skill, am I right?" "Right on the money sir. From your observation I guess that you have the master book skill too." "Indeed. Mudutu the 2nd. The First is said to belong to the Bright Lord himself, however it is but a rumor that I haven''t been able to either debunk or confirm." "I see. I hope that one day you finish the task, and would feel privileged if you shared the result of said research with me. I am keenly interested in Mudutu''s history, for it is one of the few questions he hasn''t been able to answer me at all. Obviously, I''ll also be working on the subject on my side, and would gladly forward you any discovery that I may make." The high elf nodded and they made small talk on many interesting subjects, bouncing ideas right and left, each learning from the workings of the other''s mind. They were warming up to each other, and found themselves comfortable in the presence of one another. "So, May I ask why you asked for my Xp reward to be frozen? I''m interested in the reason behind this seemingly strange demand, and am looking forward to your explanation" She smiled "Maybe it has to do with stats and their distribution? If it is the case, then I''m sorry but my race forcibly distribute points evenly to all my stats, so I wouldn''t be a great test subject. Though... I didn''t validate said distribution yet." "Yes and no. Before I explain, would you mind showing me the entirety of your status window? I know it is impolite of me to ask, but I''ve been waiting for over two thousand years for a dakinum-rank such as you to appear. Apparently, our kind is a rare breed..." Kifirin stilled. The demand was not impolite, it was outrageous. However, she had taken a real liking to Davros and knew that were she to give her trust to him, he wouldn''t abuse it. Probably not.... the again she could still kill him if he did. It woud settle the score. Moreover, doing so would cement their fledging friendship (trusting him, not killing him -obviously-), and having him as a friend would be no small deal. There was also the fact that her mighty strange race and class would interest him strongly... and his researching the subject may well be the best she could ever ask for. "All right. First I must warn you of the fact that when I plane-shifted for the first time, two different forces interfered with my status because of my ''true nature''. Systra wrote something about having no control over the changes, because it exceeded her own dominion. I am at a loss before the contents of my status window, and hope that you may get interested in deciphering the conundrum. Show full status window and chaotic skills to Davros" Humbled before the show of trust, and intellectually interested in her revelations, the high elf licked his dry lips before reading the newly appeared windows. As his eyes went down the text, his eyebrow kept rising higher. As he finished, his eyes glazed over for a few minutes as he began mumbling incoherently. Then he snapped back to reality and spoke his mind to Kifirin "That''s.... interesting. Tremendously so. Your race is unheard of, as is your class. Your profession is an impossibility and you have no rank nor grade, which breaks the law of balance. You also own an infinite chaos stat as well as an outrageous affinity to spirit, which is preposterous. Moreover, something tampered with your stats and characteristics, totally rewriting them DOWN even though your basics seem overpowered enough as they are. That''s absolutely baffling, it''s like this unidentified something is trying to keep you low key, hidden... And your skills? Some are locked because of the profession, but the unknown true master skill that you may not unlock by yourself? It hints at a strong bond with one of the interferences. But is the bond the one doing the hiding... or is it the one you''re being hidden from? Is it registered as chaotic because unknown... or because it IS chaotic? Personally, I would tend to say that a force of Chaos itself is hiding you from the 2nd party, or even a 3rd unaware party. Then, the 2nd party would be yourself, a part of you that you have not discovered or acknowledged yet. In conclusion, I would say that there is a great unbalance in you, unbalance temporarily being kept in check by the chaotic interference, but ultimately feeding it. You''re a bomb. However, for the life of me, I wouldn''t be able to tell you what kind of explosion you will bring forth." Kifirin gulped. He was spot on. She had always known about the unbalance, but somehow ignored it... And while it was right that something here was keeping her grounded, she still felt the turmoil deep inside, seething. She squinted. There was more than met the eyes to this game. Was it really a game? *Aww silly, don''t go cuckoo on us would you? The game AI picked up on your less than stellar sanity level, patched you up quickly, and now another AI is more or less romanticizing the events. Maybe they''ll make a quest out of it? We''d be the final boss! Haha! Ha... WE? I! I mean I, obviously, there''s no WE here. Nope. Whisssssstle* "You, Kifirin, are the one exception to the laws of this plane. However exceptions confirm the rule... so maybe it is by natural design? The thing is that I can''t agree with this, because something PLURAL messed with your status, purposefully or not. Moreover Systra has no dominion on it? That''s telltale... Hmm... . I know of the one exception to a universal law, so why wouldn''t it be able to break others? Hmm yes, that''s the way to go at it. However, I won''t expand on this because my idea is still at the state of groundless musings, and thus far from being complete or even rational." "... I see. Well you understood more from it in a matter of minutes than I did for months... or years? It depends on how one sees time... so I''ll wait for your idea to ripen before asking again about this peculiar subject." "Right, back to the original theme then. Xp and stats plus skills. I asked for your status window in order to see the balance of your character between stats and level. Nowadays, people see levels as the most important, and stats are secondary. I strongly disagree. The level should be but an afterthought. True, some pieces of equipment can only be put on at certain level platforms, but if one trains seriously, his natural stats can be better than his higher level peer wearing said pieces of equipment, and thus BEFORE he reach the level platform. Then the equipment would be rendered useless and appear quite shallow. Now then, let me ask you... Are levels related to skill proficiency? No. Both levels and skills proficiencies are gained from fighting. Are levels a real indication of strength? No. A level 1 can hand his ass to a lvl 60 over a platter, and thus because of outside influences such as skills and stats. So then.... what are levels? Levels are the one thing that all life share equally, a external factor that allows people/beings to measure their strength to that of the others. In the beginnings, they were only seen as a vague indication of power, and one who lost to a lesser level would not try to get his hands on rarer equipment as they do now, but he would get back to training because his stats and skills were obviously lacking. Levels were in no means a finality or a goal, but a proficiency measurement tool. Then how was this system corrupted? Perverted? It is a question that I don''t have an answer for, though the equipment rush may be part of it. Today, people put more care in finding equipment than in training their stats. It''s messed up. The mortals are also stuck on the idea that the levels needed in order to activate the grade-up are the sole instrument of worthiness. That''s wrong. As I said, levels are solely a general indication of strength. And a lvl 300 today is far less than the lvl 300 of the beginnings that would breathe through grade-up. Our contemporaries are WEAK. PUNY. LAZY. And VAIN. And then? AND THEN? And then they WHINE and CURSE when they can''t grade up. If things go on as they are, your people won''t be able to rank up. They''d be barely passing the grade up anyways. That I cannot allow. The shifters are the future of mortal-kind, the hope that one day the natives may also surpass their initial condition. They''re also a new leading force that will lead a general revolution of societal values. I''ve long waited for your kind to appear, and I''ve devised a special regimen that would allow the uselessness of experience to serve the betterment of stats and skills. However, said regimen is still at an experimental state and can only be applied to a Dakinum reader rank... yes, only an particularly open and fertile mind like ours can benefit from it. That''s why I need you... I was already at my grade-up limit when my research paid off, so I''m a useless experiment material." "I see... my rankless and gradeless state should seem like a godsend to you shouldn''t it? Potentially I could stay at level 42 forever and still kick immortal and divine butts. No Overpowered heavenly form, no grade/rank UP rewards, and yet a major Power. That''d teach them HUMILITY heh?" Kifirin liked the idea. She smirked. "Hmmm I don''t know what the gods have in mind for your future, be there grade/rank up or not, but yes, that''s the general idea. You, a lower-level totally destroying your ''better'' is the prospect. You''re exceedingly well rounded, and are already quite the broken character yourself if I may say so, so it''s not like not leveling up as fast as your peers would harm your character growth. Are you in?" "You bet I am! Yes... I mean yes, it would be an honor sir" sheepishly finished Kifirin after her outburst. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Great" Davros smiled fondly at his new friend, stood up and got a package from a hidden drawer of his study cabinet. "Take this skill-book and use it. It''s SS rank, so be careful" He handed it to her with shining eyes. Uncovering the book, Kifirin looked at it with awe. It was the result of thousands of years of research, the work of a lifetime. A genuine treasure. She was honored to have been chosen as the one who get to would use it. She was clearly aware of the fact that if he had judged her unsuitable, Davros would have decided to wait yet another eternity for another lost soul to achieve the Dakinum rank. Yes, that''s what she was, a lost soul, a lost child... and earning Davros'' trust by first giving him hers was a major achievement. Not really because she gained his trust. It was wonderful by itself but it wasn''t the most important part, no. The greatest here was that she had freely given her trust, and she had done it first (albeit with plans of dismemberment if he broke said truth... but hey.... details!). Maybe she ought to make a wish now? Reverently pressing her right hand against the beautifully engraved cover, she activated the skill-book. It disappeared in a great and warm yellow flash. Ding!
System Notice: New skill! (SS) [Beginner 1 - 0%] The turtle''s path Do you know the tale? No? Then just understand that the turtle won the course by a very large margin. That''s what Davros wants you to embody. You will be his turtle. Scornful of power levelling and mournful at the loss of meaning plaguing the leveling system as a whole, Davros dedicated his life work to the creation of an experimental skill that would transform experience into stat points and skill levels percentages. It is done thanks to a very obscure energy permutation that as S-rank mental trainee, you understand without real understanding, but can still grasp the general idea of. Activate a form and the conversion will be done passively. To level up again, deactivate the previously selected form. ? Form 1: Xp points are converted into stat points (stats are selected by the actions that led you to the Xp gain) ? Form 2: Xp points are converted into skill proficiencies (Selected skills are those used in the Xp gain unless specified otherwise) ? Form 3: Xp points are equally converted into stat points and skill proficiencies With your actual skill level, the conversion is as such: - 1 Stat point = 100 000 Xp - 1% [Be]skill proficiency = 30 000 Xp - 1% [In] skill proficiency = 60 000 Xp - 1% [A] skill proficiency = 120 000 Xp - 1% [M] skill proficiency = 250 000 Xp - 1% [TM] skill proficiency = 500 000 Xp Subskill: The ouroboros You can convert previously earned levels into RANDOMLY selected stat points
Ding!
System Notice: Update! Your 10 000 000 Xp gains (S-rank mental T + Dakinum-rank) have been unfrozen and converted using the form 1 - +50 wis - +50 int The turtle''s path is now at [Beginner 1- 50%]
As the skill was now, its'' use would be counterproductive to Kifirin because she normally earned 5 points to each stat at every level up, but Davros assured her of the fact that once the skill attained a certain level, the conversion would be done in her favor. The Xp cost for the conversion would plummet as the skill level rose. *.... Itadakimasu!* "Now if I may give you an advice? Wait until you reach level 66 before activating a form. Your profession is locked isn''t it? My reasoning leads me to believe that it may unlock by itself at level 66, as this number is a symbol of Chaos." "Is it? I thought that it was related to darkness... ah right! Darkness is affiliated to Chaos. Level 66 then huh? It makes sense, my profession is chaotic after all and it was said it would unlock on due time. It''s worth giving it a try" "Yes. First and foremost, this semi-perfect number is a description of the intangibility of chaos. Through the ages and cultures, 66 has been seen as a number of evil and incompleteness because of its affiliation to darkness. But Darkness is not evil. Darkness simply IS. Moreover it is needed. There would be no light without it, as there would be no darkness without light... they are the basis of balance and values. How could one appreciate basking into the light if he hadn''t feared the cool touch of darkness? How could one relish the darkness if he hadn''t first been exposed the searing of light? It''s a story of internal balance and choices. Souls talk, we just have to listen. Now about the intangibility of Chaos and its relation to darkness... Can one define Darkness? Define its limits? Tell me, when you stand in the dark, can you see where it ends and begins... where it leads to? No, you can''t, and that''s what makes it scary. Light, its counterpart CAN be defined. It is of the tangible, you SEE. Thus it is soothing, comfortable. Whereas light illuminates the way and give you straightforward answers, Darkness leaves you blind, letting you stumble every part of your circumvoluted path. Tough love, I''d say, because regardless of what people say, Darkness is radiant to those who know how to look." "You''re an interesting person Davros. You''re obviously a being of Order and light, and yet you somehow strive to understand Chaos and Darkness without judging it. Plus you see the beauty of it. You''re even befriending and helping an obvious agent of chaos. Maybe intellectual curiosity is the answer to the cold war going on between our people. Haha! For pure curiosity to be the solution... funny. In most cases, shifters see it as something best reigned in." The high elf chuckled "That they do... and so do we. My behavioral pattern has quite isolated me from my peers after all" "Well.... their loss!" "Indeed. By the way? Other than Xp you were supposed to be awarded an S-rank skill book for the Dakinum-rank. Do you want the generic librarian one or would you rather tell me the kind of skill you seek? I may have it." "Oh? That''s nice! Hmm.. Battle-sense skills are S-rank aren''t they? I haven''t fought for real yet, so I''ll probably not get one if I use the generic skill-book. I would gratefully take off your hand one that would allow me to define the strength of my opponents, not in terms of level" she winked, "but more in terms of competency and proficiency ... maybe. It would allow me to see their real worth in comparison to me. Do you have one that does this?" "Smart choice. Interesting demand. Congratulation, you asked for what I would have in your stead. You may answer that it was quite natural after our conversation, but not everybody would have made the leap. As it is, I do have what you''re asking for. It is called ''Perception of worth''. It ranks people in a scale of 1 to 10 by using the perceived strength for the level they have. A level 900 can find itself rated at 1 and a level 2 ... rated at 10. Sadly it doesn''t work on you... which is another strange thing about you, but who''s counting now? I''ve never seen a 10 by the way.... or a 9, or even an 8 for that matter. If this isn''t decadence, then what is? However it doesn''t mean that the level 2 would beat the level 900, be careful, just that he''s waaaaay more capable than the other for his level. Capish?" "Yup! It''s exactly what I need" "Great, I''ll find it for you... hmm... where is it already? I''m sure I put it here... around here. Somewhere. Maybe?" frowned Davros he took yet another skill-book out of his study. The number of discarded books being piled up on the floor was growing. Apparently the drawer was a magical storage space keyed to him.... In fact, the head librarian took out half a ton of paperback volumes before finding THE ONE. Talk about a needle in a haystack. Talk about a hidden treasure! Kifirin helped him tidy the mess before learning the new skill. Ding!
System Notice: New skill! (S-rank : Battle-sense) [PASSIVE](Battle-sense) - Perception of Worth This skill allows you to determine the real worth of people''s level, their competence. A number between 1 and 10 will softly glow behind the name of peoples/beings you see, 1 being the less proficiency and 10 the best. - A 10 has used the whole of his current level''s potential - A 1 hasn''t even begun to tap said potential Regardless of their level, you can rate anybody and everybody You cannot rate yourself, ask a fellow skill-owner to learn your proficiency level. Trivia: It is said that all the warriors of old waited to reach at least 8 before attempting grade-up
"How many 7 have you seen Davros?" "Hmm? Less than the number of fingers on a hand. Why? Would I be a 7 by any chance? You sure are smooth..." "Nope. You''re a 9. Congratulation for being the worthiest you''ve ever met!" Grinned Kifirin "That''s moving. I guess. I knew I was good. But a 9..... it means that there are still ways for me to get better. Interesting... there is still place for progress... I have untapped potential. I should try to research the -- " and on and on he went. Smiling, Kifirin understood that she had just lost Davros. She quickly wrote a note and put it in plain view of the far-gone Librarian. It thanked him for his help, joked at his loss of attention and gave him her contact info while asking for his. It also promised that she would regularly come back to discuss. After properly registering her rank with the now jaded clerk -a 2 by the way-, she left the library, and then the game. ************** Next Chapter Chapter 6 - Tying up loose ends Chapter 6 - Tying up loose ends "Sis, how is your game going? You''ve been playing for aver a month now haven''t you? It would make it 4 in-game months. I sure hope you''ve at least passed the level 60... It would be shameful if you hadn''t. Personally, I''m a level 137 Knight of the Strategos Empire. Brilliant isn''t it? I''m also a standing member of the great Requiem Familia. In fact, I''m the first in command if the Legion group. AND I''m well known for helping reversed the tide during the last monster subjugation quest, so you must have heard of me. I''m called Alistair." "... I''m level 42. And before you ask, yes, I''ve been reading. I''m huuuh, a battle-mage" Alya had decided that Kifirin would be virtual stranger to Danny, and that he would only hear of Rin the battle-mage. Somehow she felt that keeping Danny in the dark about Kifirin and her many personas was the right thing to do. "As expected of you... to be wasting your time in a library. Whatever. But battle-mage? What''s that?" "A class I earned the right to use after reading a book on it. It''s a DPS caster that specializes in burst damage and area of effect spells. My primary role in a group will be damage dealing and crowd control." "Huh. I''ll ask my mates about battle-mages. If it turn out to be useful, then maybe we''ll use you." "Don''t bother. I''m too low-leveled to be of any use, and battle-mages are not that different from normal mages. Sure, we can fight for real and use heavier equipment than our cousins, but our offensive power is not that great. Think about a jack of two trades" She was lying through her teeth. She hadn''t expected the boy to take an interest in her and certainly didn''t want to get roped into his useless guild. They would obviously try to power level her... battle-mages were rare. Awfully so. The book was Crystal-rank. ".... Boring" "Indeed. So tell me, have you done the basic physical training? I heard it''s great for stats" "Nope. However, our leader Darius insist on us doing it. Pff... Ridiculous! Nobody ain''t got time for this. The most important is the level. There are rumors of an event at lvl 300!" "... It''s the great 11 to 10th tribulation. If your race is basic-kind, then it''s optional. If you''re mixed-kind, then it''s mandatory. Then you''ll have the 10 to 9th tribulation at level 600, and on and on. It''s called Grade-up. You seriously don''t know of this?" "You... you.... How do you know this? Is it for real? How did you get the information?" sputtered Danny. His sister was spouting very specific and UNHEARD-OF information with a bored face... as if it was matter of fact. Did she have contacts at Situm corp? Or was she talking out of her ass? She tilted her head "I learned it in the library. You see the Game Knowledge folder in the information menu? Turns out that it''s not going to be filled after an update. You fill it yourself by discovering the inner workings of the game. I have several information sheets related to diverse subjects in said folder. Even the all-elusive continent MAP that everybody is frantically searching for. It''s really interesting." She was certain that by digging even more, she could one day get her hands on a WORLD map. Certainly, it would show her the emplacement of the immortal haven... wouldn''t it? "...." "Yep, you see, reading is not as useless as you think. I''m sure there are mountains of secrets buried in books around the continents. Now, before you ask... Yes, I can share said information sheets. And.... no, I won''t do it for free out the goodness of my blessed little heart. Though... present a convincing case and I MAY give you the exclusive." She smirked. Nobody could force her to be at his beck and call in Situm plane. There, she was free. Danny paled. He knew she had him. Their parents looked down on gaming, so there was no way they would interfere in his favor for this. "I... I''ll talk about it with my mates. What kind of information are you ready to broker?" "Well, you already know of 2 sheets. Hmm¡­ there are 2 others you ought to be interested into. This makes it 4 sheets which are: - A continental map and its detailed description. You want to know about the relationship between states? The areas under monster rule? Unexplored areas? It''s all there; - The tribulation system as well as basic information on the races and ranks; - An interesting description of the religious war, the factions and the history of the feud; - And finally? The death system explanation as well as the inner workings of the Ouroboros court... did you know you could avoid the experience penalties? There also are facts about the Spirit world. The rest I''ll keep to myself for now. And Danny? Don''t think you''ll be able to get the info in a question of moments by looking at a few books in the library. It took me most of my gameplay time to get this. Months upon months of non-stop READING" Her brother detested studying. "I see. Ok. I''ll contact Familia leader Darius as soon as I log-in and I''m sure we''ll come to an understanding" The information was gold. She had so much to offer his guild... it would make them even more important because they would have the monopoly on the data. At least he hoped they would. Sneaking a peek at his sister, he saw her self-satisfied smile. Hopefully she wouldn''t be too much of a shark. "Contact my char in about 1 month. I''m a little busy right now" --------xxx--------- Kifirin headed towards Deidre''s flat after contacting Johannes to confirm the cook''s availability.... who was now waiting for her. She had already gotten the cooking skill with guild points, but well, she did ask to be presented to a cook, so it would be impolite to just skip town. After she rang the doorbell, she was greeted by a cute twelve years old kid who took a suspicious look at Johannes'' badge before allowing her to enter. "You''re Kifirin?" She squinted, and did a suspicious once over of our heroine while walking around her. "Hmm interesting... really interesting. You''re one of a kind aren''t you? And your aura.... somehow it feels forced... and yet so familiar. Regardless, you''re Jo''s friend, so that already gave you enough cookies points for me to teach you." "Huh? Cookie points?" Kifirin was at a loss. The girl was acting queer. And what''s with the sizing up? How had she even felt the aura tampering? This was no mere cook. Deidre curled her ponytail "Not so sharp are you? Or just startled? I tend to have this effect on people. Cookies points... hmm to make it short you''re in my good graces. Now what''s this about you learning cooking? Oh! I forgot. My name''s Deidre, but I''ll allow you to call me Dei. Great isn''t it? Not many have that right, but you''re intriguing so I''ll be keeping you around" The girl looked expectantly at Kif. Her face was asking for praise at having done her a huge favor. *There is more to this than meets the eye. I feel like I''d better not anger her. Let''s play along.* "Great! Nice to meet you Dei. If we''re to be friendly, then you can call me Kif. As you know I came here to learn cooking. Johannes referred me to you. I already have the skill so I guess you''ll be drilling me the basics. The thing is that I love messing around with ingredients, and the possibilities in this plane are just baffling. I love to try my hand at new recipes... and this world is full of ingredients unknown to my people!" "Hmm.... a creative one. Alright. Delete the skill, cooking isn''t suited for you" "I''m sorry?" "I said delete the skill. Cooking won''t do." "How so?" "Geez do you question everything? I''m the teacher here you know? If you want to cook for the pleasure of discovery and creation, you need a naked canvas, which the general cooking skill is not. In fact it''s rubbish because it''s all predetermined. Copying a finished work is not art, it''s forgery. Banal cooks are a joke, and an insult to me and my school. NOW delete the phony skill." "Yes ma''am" This was a master. Kifirin knew her luck when it found her. Or.... was it really luck? ................... "So, do you get it? Cooking is not a skill nor a job, it''s an art. Under my direction, you''ll learn to handle textures, tastes, colors, elemental mana and moods as well as many other things. You''ll create a symphony... and whether it is raucous, melodious, tender, slow, raw, pianissimo or WHATEVER will have to do with your sensibilities at the moment of creation. The creation cook is a painter, instrumentalist, alchemist, tailor,... and any other craft that you may think of... ALL rolled into one. It is the height of creativity, because you can deal with the whole of CREATION. You can strip it to bring back the basics in order to recreate the NEW... and also may combine it to create another NEW. The NEW is yours to lord over. Your creature. Yes, a creation cook is a person who perpetually question the domain of the known. Liquid is not always liquid. Sometimes, liquid is a solid, and then later it is earth. Do you get this or are you just nodding your head along in incomprehension? No don''t answer it was rhetorical. Food cannot be categorized, it simply IS. The basis are INGREDIENTS. If I give you a sword and ask you to cook me a feast then you better get to work. Understand the structure of the known, then forget it and rewrite it with your hands. How? Deconstruct then reconstruct as NEW. The creation cook is a god to his ingredients, to the NEW... they follow his ever-changing rules to BECOME. Everything comes back to the will to destroy in order to create with one''s own hands, to bend reality to one''s will. Do you get it now? In the death of the old shall be birthed the NEW that will allow creation food to be made. The phoenix rises from the ashes of its previously dead body, and then form a new personality to go on with a new life. Food is life, thus by cooking, we ultimately CHOOSE a direction for life to follow. What you eat stays with you... it MAKES you. Food feeds your organs, muscles, blood, bones, mussels... and your SOUL. And child? The soul is not to be messed with. We are artists. Mad scientists. Destructors. Creators. Parents. Healers or Grimreapers. Guides. WE ARE CREATION COOKS!" That was, by all means, a strange skill, but she decided to go along with it. "I think I get the principles. You destroy the old -what is- by stripping it to the basics and recombining it to create something else altogether, the NEW. Creation cooking gives you the ability to make of this NEW a novel element whose laws are decided by the unconscious of the cook. Then, by combining the different NEWs between themselves, or with regular ingredients, the cook create something unique that may never be remade, a something that will strongly influence the eater, be it for good or bad. The influence of the food over the eater is determined by the laws of the NEW that are its ingredients, thus by the state of our unconscious at the moment of creation. It relates to the mood." Ding!
System Notice: New skill! (SS rank) [VAR](Chaotic blue) - Creation cooking Your understanding of Deidre''s teachings allows you to use her creation cooking to your heart''s contents. As I don''t get even a single line of it (I''d tell you it¡¯s complete and utter bullshit if I hadn''t seen its results), I''ll use your own words to describe the skill. Hell, it''s like 1st generation Ancient Sumerian to me, but I still understand it better than what I had to spit out into HER skill description (Don''t ever try to read it, you''ll go insane... well... even more than you already are. But then again, maybe insanity is the way to go here. The old bat IS pretty deranged too. Unhinged. Raving mad. CERTIFIABLE!) -Systra- Click here to see skill description (yours!)
"Chaotic blue? .... Are we the only ones to have ever learned this skill? No way... you created it? What was this about a school then?" Kif also wondered about the ''old bat'' comment. To be able to create an SS-rank skill, Dei had to have lived a long time, same as Davros. Maybe she should introduce them? She betted they''d be fast friends... but then again maybe not. They were obviously absolute opposites. ".... Well I''ve had many students but you''re my sole graduate. You see, they were all wrong... my teachings do NOT sucks. You got the skill in less than an hour. I''m a genius!" Deidre did the dance of victory. *Well, now I can create some NEW by messing around with about everything and anything, which will allow me to create brand new dishes with unique buffs... or debuffs. The only bad point is that I won''t be able to cook the exact same dish ever again. Or know what kind of effects I''m gonna get.... uh oh. Oh well, it''s worth it, it''ll force me to innovate. Though... gotta be careful of my mood when doing so. We don''t want to be cursing people right and left. Do we? Sounds fun... eheheh* Wacko dance finished, the kid (or old bat? who knew) resumed the talking: "Suck it Systra I WON the bet! I WON! haha! Now then girl show me your skill window. I need to see if Snarky out there didn''t take her revenge by badmouthing me in the description. Open it." "..... " "Well? I''m waiting" "Show creation cooking skill window to Deidre"*Here goes nothing. I hope she''ll not find it too insulting. But her relationship with Systra is interesting. The simple fact that she has one is telltale of her status. For one? She''s not mortal. Can''t be. A mortal wouldn''t be bickering with a God* "... That Bitch. She really did it. I''ll sooo be taking interest in the punishment game for that. Ya hear me princess? You''ll regret talking out of-- No wait. You''ll regret WRITING out of your ass. Here, done. Suck it Snarky-chaaaaan!" She laughed evilly, and then she cleared her throat before addressing Kifirin again "Hmm you have a Variant skill because your alignment is ... special. Chaotic blue. That''s new. Could it be? Nah. No way. Well... Bye." "Bye?" "Yes, Bye. I gave you the skill, which is more than enough. You cannot be taught creation cooking''s basics because it has NO basics. Right now I''m in a festive mood and would like to be left alone to gloat in peace. Soooo..... Bye. See you. And give me your contact info, I''ll be calling you later. When I feel like it. IF I feel like it. Now shoo!" The front door closed swiftly behind Kifirin. She had been effectively thrown out of the flat. Charming. As she set to leave the place, the door opened a little and Dei''s face peeked out "And don''t you hurt my Johannes. She''s a nice kid. You better stay in contact with her once you leave the city. You don''t ditch friends like her. That''s it" The door closed yet again, but this time it was final. *Whew. That was a character building experience. There are more crackpots under the sky that one would ever believe, aren''t they? Haha... of course. And I would know, I''m one of them after all, though my case is more... let''s say... subtle than Dei''s* .............. Johannes was surprised at seeing Kifirin enter her part of the coliseum. Wasn''t she supposed to be with Deidei right now? She sure hoped her friend''s strange quirks hadn''t discouraged the brainiac. Maybe she should have warned her? ''Very nice and cute as a button'' might have been stretching the truth a teeny weeny bit too much. "Hullo again Jo! Dei taught me... a variant of the cooking skill. It''s very interesting and totally mirrors her personality. However... I sure would have appreciated a bit of forewarning..." sweetly smiled Kif. "Haha. I''m sure you would. But apparently you guys got along all right so it''s all good. Twas fast though... a variant huh? Did she teach you THAT?" It gave her goose bumps. Maybe she should reconsider this friendship... one health-hazard was more than enough in her life. Last time she tasted Deidei''s cooking... *No! No.... don''t think about it. Nothing happened, you never got around to eat it. Yes, that''s right, it never happened, and you are totally not suffering from PTSDs* "You bet she did. She also asked me not to be a stranger, so I guess I''ll be coming around to see you guys more or less regularly" "Great! I''d love it. Maybe we could have a cookout one of these days... as long as neither of you creation cooks do the catering. I put a veto on the creation cooking. GOT IT? But damn... for you to get THAT. I don''t know if condolences are in order or not. You''ll have to find guinea pigs you know? And I''m not volunteering, I already gave enough to the cause as it is..." "... Why do I feel there is a story here? Does it has to do with the fact that creation foods cannot be identified? Do you --" Johannes''s death stare got Kifirin stopping in the middle of the sentence. The trauma victim ignored the questions and went into instructor mode "By the way, is there anything I can do for you? You there for training? You do know that you have access to the underground level right?" "Tch... smooth Jo, smooth. Oh well. To answer your question? Yes I know, and later I''ll be going there to level-up my skills. They''re lacking. Actually I just came here to see you and get a few of my orders from the merc guild. My new gear is custom made so it took a while... but I''ll be sooo worth it. I''m looking forward to wearing IT.... that I am." Kif gave a cackling laugh. *Oh Spirit! I don''t know what the maniac has in mind, but I sense great suffering for those that antagonize her. EVIL is on the prowl* "I... I see. Well then have fun, I guess? I''ll be helping the new southern instructor to get a feel of the job, so I probably won''t be there when you come out of the office. See you." She ran away tail between the legs "Fun? Haha yes, It''ll be fun alright. See you" .............. Lucas was manning the office yet again when she-who-must-not-be-named entered his workplace. He stilled. "Why hello Clerk-san. How is it going? Great I would take. It''s been a while hasn''t it? I have a few orders to retrieve, so would you be a cupcake and get them for me?" merrily teased him the Crystal-rank. Well... he had kinda asked for it with his previous condescending behavior so... it was fair. She hadn''t reported him to the chief, so as far as he was concerned she was a saint. HE would not have been so nice had their roles been reversed. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Yes ma''am. Give me a second, your order is in the back-shop." He disappeared behind a door, then came back hands full of packages "Here there are. So, as ordered all A-grade items: 1x black cloak, 1x royal blue velvet hooded mantle and robe, 1x battle mage complete gear, 2x rogue complete custom gears, and 1x custom newbie outfit" He did wonder about the A-rank newbie design gear, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Mortal Items also came in grades, from F to SSS. The level platforms rising as we went up the ranks. The system made it so in order to keep a semblance of balance in the game.... for example, a level one couldn''t equip a SSS item, and a mortal couldn''t dream of ever using an immortal-rank Item. But Kifirin? All items restriction were lifted by her class, so she had nothing to worry about. All of her A-rank item had more or less a level restriction of 600 Here was the information sheet appearing in Kifirin''s Game Knowledge folder on the subject. It was monstrous... at level 42, Kifirin could equip lvl 1 000 SSS-rank items. Moreover... she had no rank nor grade, so hypothetically she could also use any item, be it immortal or divine. Well, it''s not like she could get her hands on said items here on the mortal continent, but the potential was here. As she had decided not to rely on equipment too much, she had been reasonable and ''only'' bough rank A mortal gear. Thanks to her exceptionally numerous guild points she could have easily gotten her hands on SSS-rank.... so no, she hadn''t been greedy, not really. The specificity of ranked gear was that it gave no normal stat points. In fact, it only gave offense and defense, which suited her fine. She had obviously chosen items with special attributes and was all set for adventure. Her ace in the hole was the ''newbie-gear''. Save for the color It looked like the one she was actually wearing, the one she had gotten at character creation.... but it was no mere dyed ''newbie-outfit''
Inconspicuous Spiky-heeled footwear Rank: A + Custom made for an interesting fellow by masters of their craft, these treacherous boots of black snakeskin hide heels made of sharp dakinum spikes - Active offense: 100 - Bleed effect: 1 strike = 1% hp / sec for 5 sec [stacks up]
Twin Daggers of Darkness Rank: A + Custom made by a master elemental blacksmith, this very low key pair of daggers was forged out of pure darkness and then blessed by a dark priest walking the path of the forgotten. - Active offense: 800 per blade (darkness corruption effect: 10% less or more dmg depending on alignment of cible) - Stealth: +20%
Fake Dyed Newbie clothes (Black) Rank: A ++ Custom made for an oddball by masters of their craft, this misleading and enchanted dakinum-woven armor is an extremely rare item that passively raise offense as well as defense. Reinforced with dark Wyvern scales, It also increase movement speed (less air friction). - Passive offense: + 600 (Encht) - Defense: +1 200 - Movement speed: +20%
The ''armor'' was a real treasure because it gave off a passive offense. The 600 points were directly added to her status and would be included for each of her attacks, be it a slap, spell or dagger swipe. The boots and daggers however, only had an active offense, which meant that Kifirin would actually have to strike with them in order to add the points to her offense. She also had gauntlets that ignored part of the defense and a very stealthy cloak, but they would raise flags if she used them with the newbie outfit. She was gonna play the cute little newbie in need of help, join the party of warm-hearted persons, and then slaughter them all. But first? She had skill proficiencies to raise, so she went to the coliseum underground level, booked a magicproof room with golems and started grinding, keeping at it until they all reached at least intermediate 5 for those she could train. Obviously, she used the timey wimey, because when she came out half a month later (5TW years), she had reached her goals. The skills has also given her stats points as well a special features, so here was her updated status window. She had also validated the distribution of level-up stat points, so the window displayed her true strength. *I''m a monster. This is absolutely monstrous... and wonderful. Wonderful. The killing spree will be a walk in the park. Boring? No.... never, I''ll make sure to entertain while I''m at it. It would be bad manners to take care of my dear ''guests'' half-heartedly. Here I come, shifters.... fear me* >>RIN<< from DARIUS - Hello Rin, I am your brother''s Guildmaster/Familia Head. I was told to contact you at the end of the week, and here we are. From what I gathered, you have information to broker. Would you mind meeting me at the 5-claws tavern? I will be there the whole G-Day, so just come around whenever you''re free. Kif had forgotten about that. Obviously the other party hadn''t, as she could tell from the PM. She wasn''t after money... she didn''t really need any thanks to her guild-points. No... she had set the event into motion in order to make a point. To do so, she needed her brother to be present at the meeting. He was the reason she had a point to make after all... The key-player. <> to DARIUS - All right, I''ll be there in a jiffy. Please have my brother present for the meeting. Looking forward to it. >>RIN<< from DARIUS - Done. See you soon. ............. Darius, lvl 141 swordsman had been one of the few 100 beta testers. After the end of the tryout, his avatar''s level had been reset, but not his skills and stats. How surprised had he been, when he felt that his strength at level 1 was on a whole another level than the first time. That''s when he understood the importance of stats. He then gathered most of the beta-testers and created a Familia: Requiem. He knew that they would stand at the top of the game. They understood how it worked. He and the beta were the core of the Familia: they were the Prime. The other members such as Alistair (a real life friend) formed the Legion. To be part of the Prime you either had to be a beta-test or have completed at least one basic training. That''s why he was interested in more than the information that Rin had to sell... she was obviously a mental basic trainee. It was even rarer than physical basic trainees. Who would want to spend months reading? As a matter of fact, he saw every single basic trainee as a great resource. He would buy her Game knowledge sheets, and then woo her into joining the Primes. He was also interested in the all elusive Alistair''s sister. Danny never talked about her, saying she was boring, and yet he followed her out of their parent''s house. Fascinating indeed. Quietly sipping his raspberry juice, he waited for Rin. Alistair has joined him a few moments ago and was already chatting up the waitress. Nothing unusual here. .................. Rin had put on the battle-mage gear. They would see it as her having leveled up past level 100 as well as being comfortable money-wise. Ranked gear were costly... very much so. It would also make it clear that she was the one making them a favor by brokering her learnings with them. She wasn''t in need of money and the outfit would make it clear. As she entered the 5-claws tavern, she spotted her brother. Such a shameless flirt. She guessed the swordsman sharing his table was Darius. Letting out a tired sigh, she headed for their table. Her brother was a 3... and Darius a 6. Interesting. "Hi. I''m Rin, the prodigal sister. Nice to meet you Darius. May I sit?" She ignored the flirt. "Of course. Pleased to meet you too. Do you want to order a drink? I''m sure the waitress will be eager to please, your brother caught her hook, line and sinker." "Alright, good idea. It also may allow us to get him back for a while. I''ll take a raspberry juice" "... Raspberry? Nice tastes" smiled Darius as he showed her his drink. "Ah well... Great minds think alike" laughingly answered Rin. Darius ordered and the waitress left. They now had the attention of Alistair. "Sis. Nice gear. You leveled up fast" Her brother was surprised. He had just finished his at level 140, and here a fresh lvl 100 had it all already. "Indeed. Training helped a lot. Stats are important you know? Anyways let''s proceed with the business. As you already know, I''m ready to offer you the exclusivity on Game Knowledge sheets. It concerns more or less basic information about the workings of the game. Data that nobody seems to have unlocked yet." The boys nodded and the waitress came back with the drink. Being virtually ignored by everyone on the table, she sent a look of regret towards Alistair and left the area. "My brother previously told you what I was willing to share, so I won''t go over it yet again and bore us all with needless talk. I also decided to put a few more sheets on the table, but first let me give you a freebie... no wait 2. it will give you a more precise idea of what I can offer you. Share Knowledge sheet #7 extracts : skills & race basics" "As you can see, this should be common knowledge... but isn''t. Not yet anyways. Or will it be? But Ali.... do you get it now when I tell you that level isn''t the most important? Even at beginner level, you get more stats when levelling a skill than for a level. Do you guys ever look at your miscellaneous characteristics? Skills stat gains are written there you know" ................ Darius was shocked. This was gold. But... if it was shared then the game balance would shift, and the advantage that the Primes had over the rest of the shifters might shorten. Not that much because most people were lazy, but new powers would still be born. He had to get the exclusive on this. That''s when he shivered. If she gave that kind of info as a freebie... what else did she have in stock? He then peeked at Alistair. He was sputtering. Understandable... his world had just been turned upside down after all. "The girl is right you know. I haven''t been badgering you with basic training for nothing. To leave the legion and be recognized as a Prime of Requiem, you have to be a Basic trainee. Stats are the most important. Now I guess that I will also insist on skill proficiency" He turned to Rin. She was enjoying her drink. "What do you want for your knowledge sheets? I would also ask you for an exclusive right on some of them if I see it fit" Rin drank her few last drop of raspberry juice and smiled "Exclusive? I guess that for one you''d like to have the exclusive on what I just shared, am I not right? It would be too bad if it did become common knowledge... wouldn''t it? Especially the skills basics" She eyed his drink, and getting the hint, he handed it over to her. The girl sure had a sweet tooth. "Yes. Name your price. You have 7 sheets to share right?" "No-no-no. This was the 7th sheet. I have 5 others to share. A girl still has to have her secrets, doesn''t she? I can give you THE continental map and its geopolitical description, The religious lore, The tribulations system, The Ouroboros court working and finally The Item''s ranking system. I guess I could give you the exclusive on the Skills'' gains and Items'' ranking system for a set duration but it will cost you premium." "... All right. The exclusive would last a year. That means that for 4 G-years, you wouldn''t share the information with anybody. You ok with it?" "I would like to keep the right to share it with friends of my choosing that would obviously be under same ban as me, less the sharing option" "Deal but only for members of your Familia. Now for the price... what do you want? Information? Coins? Favors? Equipment?" "Hmmm agreed. I ask for coins and the right to freely access your Familia''s information network. Alistair mentioned something about you guys putting up a dark gaming website and level access ranks. I want total access. ".... That''s... fair I guess. How many coins per sheet?" He wanted her to join Requiem, so this was a step in the right direction. Even if she refused to be part of his familia it would allow them to stay in regular contact through the information network. "1 Dakinum per sheet. It would make it 5 Dakinums for everything. The information network access would cover the price of the exclusives" ".... 5 000 000 gold? Ok. Then total access to the website would only be for the duration of the exclusive. If you break it I lock you out" "Deal" "Deal" ".... I learned a lot. I also have a lot to ponder. By the way, what will you do with the information you didn''t give us the exclusive on?" "I''ll keep it to myself for now. Maybe I''ll share it later. Who knows?" "I know it''s probably useless because you seem to be the lone type, but do you want to join my Familia? I''d make you a Prime and it would kill the time-limit you have on the information network access. At least accept my friendship request" tried Darius Rin refused to join his familia but accepted the friendship request. Yay! It was her first non NPC ''Friend''. As they made small talk they kind of forgot about her brother. He was stewing on something so they ignored him at first, and then he left their heads altogether. However, his come back to the forefront of their attention was lethal. "This is sick Rin! How much did you read to get that much knowledge? How the fuck could you even get so much money and level up? I know a basic mental trainee... and he didn''t get even one knowledge sheet. You bitch must have a secret. Tell me. I demand that you tell me or I''ll make your life hell at home. Tell me! Tell me now!" Before the horrified Darius, Alistair was having a fit. "I COMMAND YOU TO TELL ME! AND GIVE ME YOUR MONEY TOO! If you don''t I''ll make up something to tell the parents and they''ll give you hell! TELL ME!" The egoistical baby had finally snapped from jealousy. First, his sister had a super-rare class (yes, he had looked it up... and found nothing), then she got her hands on sensible information by fucking-useless-reading and made a killing when selling it. 5 million gold! A real fortune! There was also the fact that she had managed to get her ranked gear at level 100. Yes, level 100, because the bookworm had also found time to level up... which was impossible unless she had a super rare skill or something. But the cherry on the sundae? Darius wanted her in the familia. He wanted her as a Prime when he, Alistair, was only allowed to be a member of the legion. He felt that it was unforgivable. "Oh? I knew it was coming. Do you really think you could make my life worse at home? Please, you''re already behaving like the worst of the spoiled brat, so I think you''d find it hard to make my life hell... you''re already doing it to the best of your abilities after all. Moreover? My capsule will have a log of you snapping right now, so don''t think you can go cry to our parents with a bullshit reason. If you try, I''ll destroy you. Do you understand? DESTROY YOU. So no more blackmail. No more treating me like a servant. NO MORE. NO MORE. NO MORE ANYTHING. I''LL DESTROY YOU. DIE" She giggled. She giggled? Something was wrong. Very wrong. Rin felt cold. Exceedingly so. And yet she was boiling inside. Too much. It was too much. She had reached the breaking point. Her breathe was getting short and she could feel herself losing control over her body. The magma... the chaos.... it was taking over Her eyes flashed red Titriiiiiiing!
System Notice: /!\ Emergency Chaos Streak -Incomplete form >> Self-combustion (localised area) /!\
**************** Next Chapter Somehow I can"t take care of the table problem with the boots, the first table of the 3 (be it the boots / newb gear / daggers) always ends up a fail.... but the coding should be good cuz when I move it down it works (doesn''t seem to be the td thingy)... Spent a while on it and just can''t seem to find my mistake. Last edit: Yay! figured it out! a (td) was in italics in the last table and somehow interfered with this one By the way when i wrote G-day, I meant Game Day G-day / G-hours --> situm plane hours (game) R-dar / R-hour -> datum plane hours (real) I''ll probably be posting the map as a bigger picture later on. Have a nice day Chapter 7 – Ouroboros Interlude Chapter 7 ¨C Ouroboros Interlude Darius didn''t remember much of the event, but what he did remember he certainly told the judge Pao. The old spirit had been absolutely flabbergasted when he read the report. His charge had been insta-killed. Disintegrated, really. "I tell you, she just snapped. She said she was going to destroy him, giggled... and then nothing. I think her eyes may have flashed red or something... I''m not sure. Next thing I knew I was waiting for an audience with you. I''m not even sure she''s the reason I died. I don''t think it is... though the timing would indicate so. I''m mean, really? She''s only a lvl 100 mage... we have more than a few levels of difference. There is absolutely no way she could one-shot me from across the table without moving. No way. So it''s not her. Maybe a natural catastrophe?" "A natural catastrophe? Genius boy, if it was so, then why isn''t the place swarming with disintegrated people? I think I''d have picked up on it if it was the case" "... Disintegrated?" "This is a pain. A pain. Do you hear me? A PAIN. Yes! Disintegrated. Your body has been disintegrated. DISINTEGRATED. On a molecular level. I have absolutely NOTHING to work with in order to respawn you. As it is, I CAN''T respawn you at all. I''ll have to fill paperwork, and fill paperwork, and fill paperwork again. Painful... painful... I hate paperwork. I hate shifters. I hate everything but I hate paperwork the most" Moaned the judge. *Holy shit... disintegrated? What kind of monster disintegrate people? It cannot be a person. I''m still on the theory of a natural catastrophe or something. Maybe an event? I''ll have to ask Rin and Alistair when they respawn. They must be dead too. Though... I''m cross with Alistair. He''s been a douchebag to her all along? Treating her like a servant? So that''s why he said she was ''unimportant'' huh. Bastard. 2 faced jerk* "Hmm... Rin and Ali must have been disintegrated too. Maybe you could deal with all of us at the same time and get their versions of the event?" "... Do you take me for a fool? I''m your designated judge, not theirs. There''s no way I''d also be responsible for one of them, so I have no jurisdiction on their soul. Can you even imagine the odds? It''s already an impossible streak a bad luck to have had you as my charge. BAD LUCK! It''s always old Pao who ends up with the odd cases... always old Pao.... Poor old Pao. Why Pao?" lamented the judge <> to ALISTAIR - Who''s your judge? >>DARIUS<< from ALISTAIR - Fei. Why? Do you know we''ve been disintegrated? That''s not normal. Do we even know what did us in? It was insta-kill. And did you see the fruitcake? She totally snapped lol. Too bad THAT happened or I would have put her back in her place <> to ALISTAIR - Shut up asshole. Don''t contact me for now. I''m busy so we''ll have a talk later >>DARIUS<< from ALISTAIR - Dude? So Alistair was a no go. He could still try Rin <> to RIN - Who''s your Judge? We''ve been disintegrated so it''s kind of a special case >>DARIUS<< from RIN - Well my form says Judge Pao but apparently he''s busy with someone already, so I can''t help you <> to RIN - For real? That''s awesome! Wait a sec "Sir? It''s about Rin. You''re also her designated judge. She''s waiting for an audience." The old spirit blanched "What? I have her too? How is it possible? How is it fair? It''s not! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair.... MORE paperwork. Lady luck, why have you abandoned me thus? Aaah... let her in. Just... let her in" He sighed <> to RIN - Come in, he''ll treat our cases jointly >>DARIUS<< from RIN - Ok The door opened and Rin peeked in. *Hm? Is that Rin? She looks different* "Come in young lady. You''re Rin is that right? I don''t remember seeing you before" "Ah¡­ Um... my name isn''t really Rin, it''s Kifirin. Rin is a persona so yeah I look different. Apparently Soul form can only be the true Avatar form. Ah... I never died before so you wouldn''t have seen me anyways" *Persona? Is that a shapeshift skill? Hmm did she use it because of her brother? I would too if I was her and that got him off my back in the game* "... You have the persona skill? That''s... eeeh.... special. Well, we know you''re not the killer, you have no murderer''s mark" Pao keenly looked at the girl. Only beings recognized by chaos could get the skill. And it didn''t concern just anybody. She had to have a fractured mind too. People like her put the EE in CRAZEE "Congratulations on never dying until now by the way. Please sit down and then give me your recollection of the events" So she did, but didn''t mention the system notice about chaos streak. She knew everything was somehow her fault but wouldn''t advertise it. But why no murderer''s mark? She plainly killed them. By accident though. Oh. No murderer''s mark for accidents? There had to be intent then.... interesting. "... It''s no different from your friend over there. What is wrong with the attention span of you shifters? Couldn''t you just care a little more and give me less work? I didn''t choose to do this job you know. It sucks. You guys sucks. Everything sucks. Whatever, give me your report, there may be more details in it" She handed it over Pao swore "Netherland! You weren''t disintegrated. You self-combusted. Spontaneously. What the Void? I have a disintegration AND a spontaneous combustion here. Basketcases! What kind of event could lead to that? Were you guys cursed or something? Did you offend an immortal? I don''t have anything to respawn you with either. Damn. No body, no respawn. Would ashes have been too much to ask for? ARGH! Is somebody out to get me... is this somebody''s sick idea of a joke? You guys are not part of a plot are you?" He felt suspicious. "No Sir" conjointly answered the ''basketcases''. As far as they could tell, they hadn''t offended nobody and certainly weren''t plotting anything. "And why did he say level 100? You''re lvl 42" Darius''s eyeballs popped out of their sockets. *What the feck? Lvl 42? But she was wearing ranked gear. How could she ignore the level restriction? Does it have to do with the information sheets she''s not sharing? Now that I think about it she never told us her level... we made our own conjecture and she didn''t deny it. Smart* <> to RIN - We need to have a talk >>DARIUS<< from RIN - Later. Keep it to yourself for now and don''t babble to Sir Douchebag <> to RIN - I wouldn''t have anyways. I didn''t like what I learned when he had his fit. I''m kind of reconsidering our whole friendship. It was ugly. Has he always been like this? >>DARIUS<< from RIN - Yes he has. And don''t think I''m a pushover, I just have no choice in the matter, he''s the golden boy <> to RIN - Noted This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "Probably a communication problem. What do you mean no body no respawn?" answered Kifirin "I mean no body no respawn. Did you guys really think that your bodies just appeared magically when you came back from the dead? Laughable... They don''t. It''s not automatic either. Mob respawn is automatic... not yours. Behind the scene, there''s a judge filling up paperwork for the process to happen. That''s why we''re unhappy when you die too much, because it''s more work for us. And to respawn you guys we need and anchor from the material world... mainly your dead body. Or at least something of you like blood or whatever. For example, Necromancers need bodies to raise the dead, they don''t conjure them out of nowhere. Same for us. And here you are. No bodies no NOTHING. I''ll have to make a demand to the central Ouroboros administration for a philosopher''s stone. THAT will respawn you alright. But the paperwork? It''s gonna be such a pain. Do you know how MANY forms I''ll have to fill? ... Of course you don''t. Clueless shifters." he rubbed his temple in exasperation. Kifirin smiled "Maybe we could help you? Give us an Ouroboros quest and we''ll help you with the work. We''re fast learners and obviously have a vested interest in it going smoothly." "Hmph! Alright. I''ll give you each 2 Drachmas if you help me fill out the forms. You''ll have to ---- and ------" Ding!
System notice: Ouroboros quest Judge Pao had asked you and Darius to help him take care of the administrative tape he has to go through in order to respawn you. If you perform well, he will reward each of you with 2 drachmas. There is no time limit on this quest, just fill your stack of boring forms. /!\ Because you and Darius are the first shifters to unlock an Ouroboros quest, your rewards will be doubled upon completion of said quest.
.................. "Done! Done! Dooooooone! Finally. I though my eyes were going to fall out" Kifirin stood up and smoothed her wrinkled white Kimono. All spirits wore a Kimono in LA''ATZU, the color and design depending of the status. As she was a soul awaiting respawn, hers was a simple white. A Black ouroboros graced its back. Darius wore the same outfit but Pao''s distinguished him as a judge. First, it was back, and his ouroboros design was on the front, small and white. It was also more researched than hers and ornaments embellished the Kimono. It went very well with his fully inky black eyes and tied white hairs. When he wasn''t bitching, Pao gave off a very stern and classy feeling. She watched him work. He was very efficient. "A minute. I''ll be done in a matter of minutes. Wait a bit" said Darius "You are faster than I thought you would be. That''s not too bad. I''ll also be done in a few seconds" Pao had begun with twice as much as them but his pile had dwindled faster. *Wow* When the judge finished, he took Kifirin''s work and looked it over. Nodding, he then took Darius'' who had just finished. Happy with the result, he used a bird to send the paperwork. "Good job. Here are the Drachmas" As he opened his left hand, 4 coins with an ancient feel appeared in it. "Do you wish to use them in order to avoid the respawn penalty?" "Yes" Said Darius "No" Answered Kifirin "Oh? Are you sure young lady? The penalty would be 4 levels. You may have helped me but I''m paying you for it and it was a PAIN. Although I must admit now that once the hard work is done I kinda find myself entertained. My peers will also find this subject worthy of gossip. I''m sure that my asking for the philosopher''s stone is already all over the rumor''s mill. Alright. 2 lvl penalties. You ok with it?" "Yep" "Good, now I''ll just have to wait for the stone. Please go back to the waiting room. You''ll automatically respawn when it''s time. You can leave the Ouroboros court but I would advise you against it. See you.... but not too soon I would hope" They shook hands and parted ways. .................... "So? Will you explain? I''m curious" asked Darius "Is this the price of your silence?" she lifted a brow. He would meet a very grisly end if he tried his hands at blackmail. She had no patience for it. Now... how to make sure he wouldn''t talk? Well she''d just have to traumatize him enough. And if she went too far? Well... vegetables didn''t talk, did they? *Now that I''m tinking about it... I''m craving a good vegetable soup. Hmm.... I''ll make one for dinner.... ingredients are ok... yup carrots. Great!* "huh? I''m not blackmailing you. If you want to answer do so, but if you don''t... well I won''t tattle on you, no. I have honor, contrary to certain persons like your brother. Damn I really didn''t expect that. His behaviour.... I just though he was just a little full of it." Darius wasn''t aware of it, but his choice of awswer had just saved the continued SANITY of his existence. "Hmm you''re decent. I''ll answer you then. Yes, I can equip whatever I want. How? Let''s just say that I have a very special class. Rin is a battle-mage but I''m not. Now if you want to know about the class, then allow me to tell you that by reading you can access many things, which means knowledge sheets and class.... among many other things. For example I got the Persona skill thanks to a skill-book earned in the library" "I see. I guess I''ll be reading in the next future" He smiled. He knew that wasn''t all there was to it but didn''t push. "Do you have any idea about what happened by the way? It appears only the 3 of us died. My contacts told me. It was extremely... Localized." She looked sideways "No" "... I see" *Damn that wasn''t good. Smooth Kif, very smooth. I hope he didn''t bust me. There''s no way he could think it''s me, is there? I''m a measly little level 42. Haha. Ha. I better get going* "Yep. Too bad. It will probably stay a mystery. Unless it''s the beginning of an event or something? Anyhoo I gotta go. So.... see you" "See you" His gaze stayed on her even as she unlogged. --------xxx--------- Back home, she got out of the capsule and sighed. Now she had done it. Damage control time. But at the present she had blackmail material... so it wasn''t that bad. She wouldn''t use it to make Danny do things, no. She would use it as a failsafe to make sure he wouldn''t try to "make her life hell" by lying to their parents. He knew that if he did the video would be sent to daddy dearest. She went to his door but he ignored her knock. He didn''t show up for dinner either. Well... that went well. She left a note stressing the facts. She called her best friend, Kathy, and apprised her of the situation. The girl gave her a mental high five before going to sleep. She followed soon after. ***************** Next Chapter >>NAME<< from X - You''re writing a fiction? (It means that NAME received a whisper from X) <> to X - Yes, do you like it? (It means that NAME sent a whisper to X) Chapter 8 - Fear them Chapter 7 - Fear them A cute curly and blond-haired little girl was sitting on the side of the road. Her ocean blue eyes seemed forlorn. She was wearing a black newbie outfit. ............... "Oh Carl! Look at her. She seems so sad. We have to comfort her." "What if she needs help? She''s a kid. I won''t be saddled with a kid" "But sweety.... she''s so cute... doesn''t she look like Anna when she was young? "... You got me. Alright, let''s go" The couple gently went to the girl and asked her what was wrong "It''s my big sister. She was mean to me because mommy told her to look after me, but I said nothing because she told that I was burden and had no right to complain. But then she met up with her friends and told me she had enough of baby-sitting. She left me all alone. Before leaving she also said that if I dared tattle to mommy then she would kill my dolly. I don''t want my dolly to die but I don''t wanna stay alone. What can I do? I don''t know what to do. It''s scary being alone" "Awww cupcake, you sister really is a meanie. Don''t worry if you hide your dolly before telling your mommy then she can''t kill her can she? And did you know? Dollies cannot die. There have the sewing magic which can make then all better. But if you''re alone why not come with us? We''re grown up so we''ll protect you. Won''t it be great? You may even get on the shoulders of Carl here if you want." She mock whispered "He looks like a gruffy bear but don''t worry he''s all honey inside" "Honey? I like honey because it''s sweet" She frowned "It''s sticky though. What is your grown up name? Mine is Kiri. I''d be happy to come with you. Maybe we could eat honey together?" "Sure. I''m Isabella. The honey badger here is Carl" "I know this already. You told me before. Big sister has memory problems too? Mommy says that grown up often forget things, so I shouldn''t be mad if she break a promise because she couldn''t help it. It''s sickness she said. I''m not sure what it is but I don''t like it. It''s a nasty word." "Yes, it''s a nasty word because it''s sad. Come little one. We''ll go to the nearest town" "I don''t wanna go to the town. I want to help you. I''m a singer because they heal. Healing is good. I am a good girl. Please let me heal you when you hunt the baddies monsters. I wanna be useful. My sister said I was useless but it''s not true. I don''t want it to be true." Kiri''s lips were trembling. She seemed about to cry Isabella shared a look with her husband. He shrugged "It''s a fantasy game after all, and she should have age blocks" "Ok. Let''s work together then. What''s your level? Carl and I are about level 130 so you can level up pretty quickly if you play with us" "Woaaaah you are awesome. Kiri is only level 24. Kiri will do her best!" "Let''s go then" ................ Carl and Isabella had decided to do the LizardCave dungeon. Instance for lvl 120, it would allow them to level-up a little without taking too much risks. They didn''t want the little one to die. As they entered the lair, a group of 3 level 90 salamanders, all of them swordsmen attacked them. Carl moved Kiri to the back and taunted the monsters, effectively hoarding all the aggro. His wife began chanting spells. "Ice Arrow!" The first Salamander found itself bleeding and slowed "Lightning bolt!" The second had been stunned "Earth shackles!" The third was immobilized The tank finished his first target and moved on to the second, and then the third. His swordsmanship was pretty good, and his wife''s mob-control and burst damage allowed them to move on to bigger groups. Kiri healed them during the fights by singing. At first the couple had been surprised. She had an exceptionally melodious voice... but she sang children¡¯s songs. It was kind of funny. So here they were, hunting while listening to songs such as ''twinkle twinkle little star'', ''Baa baa black ship'' and ''old mc Donald''. They few party they crossed all left with a smile on their lips. It made their day. The most surprising though? It was the effectiveness of the healing. The couple had heard that some singers could get the voice of healing, but because of their lack of elemental affinities it was inefficient. Kiri''s wasn''t. It was extremely good. In the fourth cavern, they began to feel the strain of having so little a party. Riri had levelled-up quite a lot, sure, but she was a healer and had no apparent offense. The lizardmen now came in groups of 8, and there were swordsmen, shamans and priests. Their levels had also gone up and were now at 100. They thought that maybe it was time to get back a little when Kiri stopped singing. The next thing they knew, they were dead, one-shot by daggers. In the Ouroboros waiting room "Oh Carl... I think Kiri was killed first. How unlucky... but how were we to know that a super high level rogue was player-killing there? I feel guilty" "It''s too bad we didn''t get her contact information. It was swift and painless so she shouldn''t be feeling bad. She''s probably as surprised as we are" "I guess so." ................ Ding! Ding!
You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy
You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy
Riri had backstabbed the couple. They each got a dagger through the gut. Her offense alone would have killed them instantly but the critical strike sealed the deal for Carl. She didn''t pick the loot, it was nothing to her. At first, the lovebirds had gotten on her nerves. They were kind. So kind. Too kind. Seriously, who was that nice at this day and age? Nobody!And they were sweet too... so sweet that watching them interact together had almost given her cavities. Didn''t the nursery songs irritate them? 6 hours non-stop would have made even the kindest soul reach the end of his rope. And yet the stupid duo had said nothing, even going as far as to sometimes sing along with her. Really? Didn''t they understand what the game was about? A new world. No real rules. Anonymity. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF! Don''t be nice if you don''t feel like it. Hypocrisy. She hated it. However after a while, she had understood. These persons were REALLY kind. They weren''t simulating for the sake of conventions. Well... Carl maybe a little but he truly loved his wife. Somehow it mellowed her a bit, and rather than make them experience the terror of the demon-child, she had kindly killed them from behind. It had been her good deed of the day. She felt proud..... even her could show true kindness! She was now level 54. At level 66 she would activate the form 2 of the turtle''s path. She could have taken care of the murderer¡¯s marks by covering them up with shapeshifting, but decided not to. She was bored of playing nice Kiri and decided it was time to let the lizardmen dungeon feel fear. Yes, the sweet kid that everybody had witnessed singing childish rhymes would kill them all wearing a smile on her cute little face, her increasingly red eyes evident to all as the diamond on her forehead shone bright. Nasty Kiri it would be. *Hehe. Here comes the fun part. I''ll stealthily get to the back of the dungeon without killing anybody, then I''ll do a major sweep of the place on the way back* Activating stealth, she quietly and discreetly ran to the Boss-room. The lizardking was suffering at the hands of a good party. His priest had already been ended and now his life was being shipped at. He wasn''t far from the 10% life platform and would soon enter a Super-state. It would be Kiri''s cue to act. She loved mayhem, so why not wait for the ideal conditions to make her grand entry? As the King let out a roar of rage and shot a clawed hand through the torso of one of the tanks, Kiri came out of the darkness. In a whirlpool of dagger swipes and kicks, the kid wearing a newbie-outfit attacked the 8 players. ............... Sigmund didn''t understand. Everything was going well until the ''berserk-state'' of the boss. His brother, already at end''s meet was killed, but they would have managed still. What wrecked everything was the kid. He had seen her on the way. She was the singing newbie. I had been fun listening to her nursery songs, and the healing had made him reconsider the usefulness of the singer class. But the hell? With murderous red eyes, the little hellion was now playing with them. Yes, playing. After one-shooting their priest she had begun chipping at their life, cutting them all over without ever once touching a vital area. She was laughing all along. It froze his blood. It was truly a vision of horror. The blood-soaked fallen angel was giggling in madness as it tortured them. It couldn''t be called a child anymore. It hurt a lot, but she was way too fast for them to stop. As their mages blinked in hope of running away, the thing ALSO did so. It wasn''t possible! A rogue couldn''t blink. Well... now that he thought about it, a rogue shouldn''t be able to use the voice of singing either. What was going on? This level of strength... this versatility... It was simply monstrous. Was this an event or something? She couldn''t be player could she? Shat had to be at least lvl 400... And the boss? Aaah yes the boss. Well he was watching. He seemed to be properly entertained, even clapping his hands in mirth when the red-eyes did a double beheading of the mages. Even Sig had to admit that it was pretty stylistic, with the blood flowing almost artistically. However the wet thud made by the heads as they met the ground kinda spoiled the effect. Sigmund fell that his turn would soon come. Only 4 of them were left. He then watched as a pillar of fire engulfed his comrades'' bodies, and then nothing. He was dead, waiting for an audience at the Ouroboros court. Madness. *Kids are scary* ...................
You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy (x7)
Yup. Good warming up. She had discovered that if she avoided vital area, the damage would be determined by the amount of strength she put into the strike. It also worked for vital areas, but the bleeding effects finished her preys a bit too fast to her liking. She had also tested magic, but hadn''t yet understood how to hold it back. Her fire pillar attack was only supposed to kill one of the players.... but it insta-killed all of them. Dayum. Lost in her musing, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Turning over she found herself facing the lizard king "Little demon. You saved me so I owe you a debt of honor. Do you wish for riches? I have some stacked in a secret cavern. You can take it all." The king was impressed. The youngling had not only saved his life, but also avenged his honor by playing with the humanoids bandits. By doing so she had also exacted retribution for the shameful death they had given his little sister, the priest. She was also an extremly strong being and he respected strength. "Secret cavern? That''s not common knowledge. Interesting.... but no thank you. I don''t want riches, I have plenty already. Right! What about coming with me? Let''s team up. I''ll be killing all of the players in the lair, so if you tag along you could get some action. It would be fun wouldn''t it? The lizard king strolling around with a player-killer?" She grinned *My battle-sense rates him at 6. He''s good* Ding!
System notice: Lizardking Baruth has accepted your invitation. You are now in a party with Baruth. Ps: Thanks to your irregular chaotic properties Baruth can leave the boss room, but don''t get too far from him or he''ll be teleported back.
"Nice! I didn''t know we could do that with ... natives. Don''t get too far from me alright? We''d get separated if you do. Hmm? You''re losing life still. Let me heal you first. The song will also buff you, and those who aren''t in my party will be massively debuffed. The healing effect will end as soon as I get moving though" said Kiri The tune of the queen of the night it was. The childish voice made it creepy. Maybe it was her intent seeping through. She was going on a murder spree after all. "Hmm through me you''re also buffing my lizards. The bandits will have a surprise.... +20% to so many stats... eh!" *Neat-O* ............... Blood, blood everywhere, and screams. Screams of pain Screams of denial scream of fear Scream of despair An impossible existence was singing while slaughtering them all. Players were dying by the dozens either at the hands of the red-eyed child, or at the claws of the lizardking. What was he doing out of the boss-room anyways? Was this an event? And why were the ordinary lizardmen kicking their weakened asses? The song..... It was the blood-curling song! "Aaaargh please stop!" "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Mom help me!" "Why is this happening? Why?" "Monsters!" "UERK! ah.... Kids are... scarrr-y" This day of great turmoil, the values of many changed... yes they did, and most of the traumatized players promised themselves they wouldn''t ever cross path with any kind of lizard. Or kid. Mostly kids... First, a begrudging respect was born for the singer class. Second, many were now wary of the beginner outfit. And last? A great fright of cute kids was born in the heart of most of Kiri''s victims. It would haunt them for the rest of their life... .................
You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy (x116)
"The harvest was good. I''m now level 66 and the second form of the turtle''s path is giving me skill-proficiency. Nice. Did you level up Baruth?" "... Level 66... " "... Yes, so?" He cleared his throat "Yes. 18 times. I''m now level 158." "Great. What are you going to do from now on?" "May I tag along with you? I wish to fight by your side in order to become strong. Once it is so I will be able to properly protect those I wish to. Never again shall I powerlessly witness a cherished one dying as I did my sister"
System notice: You have tamed Baruth! Baruth has proposed to become your pet. If you accept his race will become a variant of the Lizardking and he will access new paths of evolution that were barred to him until now - He will be able to leave your side and freely roam the world without fear of being teleported back to the dungeon because his link to it will have been severed. - You will shoulder half his infamy and get the murderer''s mark if he kills - As a pet you will be able to revive him 24 hours after death with a penalty of 2 levels. Do you accept?
YesNo
"Alright. I agree. But I think It would be more efficient of you went your own way. You only gained levels here... and it will only ever be so I you follow me because I''m too strong for you. To be like me you need to train and gain stats. You also have to level up your skills. Levels are useless. You were surprised when you learned of my level weren''t you? Levels don¡¯t reflect true strength. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I have a skill that show how much of somebody''s potential is untapped. You now rate at 5. It means that half your current potential has not been unlocked yet. Do you understand?" "I do"
System notice: Baruth is now your pet You registered Baruth (lvl 158) as you pet and he has evolved into a Saurian, greater reptile. He has gained the skills: - Chameleonic mimicry - Greater regeneration You can summon him at your side anytime and he will be teleported to you. (Because you do''nt have the monster tamer skill, his status window will be available to you once you reach level 100)
>> Mudutu : "Mistress? The Saurian race is a rare variant that is said to have hidden tyrannicals skills. You may not want to leave him alone.... His kind is not frienfly with humanoids" The book was in earring form and rarely talked unless adressed to, but this time he made his opinion known. He didn''t feel safe about his mistress unleashing a possible hazard in the Strategos kingdom. However Kifirin totally ignored his words. In fact what Mud had told her made her day. *Nice! I won''t forget to bring popcorn if something happen. Seeds of Chaos.... scatter and disperse so that one day I may be entertained!* It had given her ideas... This was but one seed, and if she got her way, many more would follow. "Great. You can now leave the dungeon and freely roam the world. If you die you''ll be revived 24 hours later with a penalty of 2 levels. I don''t know if you''ll have to go through a judge though.... hmm say hello to Pao in my stead if you''re assigned to him. You may very well be... you''re my ''pet'' after all. Oh! Right. Right now I''m Kiri, but I have many faces and names. Watch." She equipped one persona after another, doing stylish twirls as she shapeshifted. After looking like Finn, she finally took the red rogue persona and smiled. "As you can see there are many ''me'' but the real one is Kifirin. It''s also the one I''ll be using by default, so if you either cross any of ''me'', just act like an acquaintance. Pao knows of Rin and Kifirin by the way, so either is fine." Gaping, the Saurian looked at his mistress with awe "You really are something else. I''m glad I asked for your protection" "Haha. If people question you, just tell them you''re a shifter.... and try to level up your mimicry skill. It should allow you to look humanoid and enter towns if you ever feel the need to. You can kill as much players as you want, I don''t really give a crap about infamy and can simply hide the murderer''s marks. But please avoid slaying natives... they don''t come back after all. I may not be the nicest person around here (really?), but I''m not outright evil. Well... not yet at least. I don''t know about the future after all. Don''t forget that the aim is to train and gain stats. I remind you that levels are secondary. Next time I see you you''d better rate 7 on my battle-sense. Are we good?" "Yes we are. Thank you. And... later, I guess" "See you" She pecked him on the cheek and left the area without looking back. Blushing, Baruth used the fledging mimicry to look less menacing (less scaly) and also went his own way. He could contact his mistress whenever so he didn''t feel lonely. His story was only beginning... he wanted adventure! ................ Kifirin decided to become adult Kiri and continue player killing for a little while. The lizardmen''s lair event had helped her let off some serious steam but she still felt a little restless. However, she wasn''t after wholesale slaughter... so she decided to seal 70% of her stats. Her skill levels were still the same so she still had the advantage. She wanted to exercise. So she would. The Red diamond plain on her forehead and eyes a deep-red, the heroine left in direction of the level 150 hunting grounds that were nearby. Generally, people who finished the lizardmen dungeon went to this place. Because she had killed the last batch of ''graduates'', she was on her lonesome for most of the way. She once crossed the path of an elderly native, but as the woman cringed in fear she just gave her a nod and continued walking. As told her pet, she didn''t kill NPC if she could help it. Baruth had been spared because he had clear sentience and hadn''t seemed like a bad guy. He referred to the players as bandits after all, and was only protecting his home. In his mind he wasn''t the aggressor. When she reached her destination, she was surprised to see that it was already under attack from another player killer. The priest was somehow directing an army of varied monsters and humanoids. The hunters had banded together, and braving the curses sent by their attacker they were trying to clear a way to him. They outnumbered his side 3 to one but then again, killing the general usually incapacitated the troops. Smart. It also meant that they were eager to see him dead. *Oooooooh Fun! Lemme join!* Beaming, Kiri ran at the help of the priest. His summons all wore a black collar, so she knew not to attack them. Cracking her knuckles she joined the fray. ............... Vanhart was cursing. Both ways. Cursing in his head because he had been surprised when the ''hunters'' ambushed him, Van was also using good ol'' curses to help his summons fight the opposing army. In fact he was flinging curses and healing spells like a madman. His skill proficiencies kept going up. Yay! Now, why the inner cursing? Because he''d been had like a fool. Having had no murderer''s mark, he really though he wouldn''t attract attention. Yes, he could get rid of the marks alright... slave sacrifice was proving useful. So there he''d been, white as snow.... however, the ''hunters'' were bounty hunters.... here to collect his bounty. Again. The first dozens of times they came for him, he had taken care of it with ease, even enslaving his defeated opponents. The diverse attacks had in fact supplied him with a steady supply of quality slaves, supply whom kept on growing as the assaults repeated. However the word must have spread that he was one mean son of a bitch because things had suddenly gone south a few days ago. A big group had gone after him set on killing him and getting back their soul orbs. Too bad they hadn''t taken more backup. He got out of the predicament with more than a few ruffled feathers, but he won. This time however? He knew he wasn''t going to win. They totally outnumbered him. Dayum. That''s when the battle''s tide reversed. Violently. A Blond angel with red-blood eyes had come to his rescue. Sure, she was laughing all along so thje image was a bit weird overall (Crazed angel?), but with extreme finesse the rogue was slicing apart their foes. It was beautiful... and somehow he could almost hear the melody of the battle. It was shifting with each of her moves. She was the conductor. The girl was so fast, and so precise¡­ she didn''t seem that more powerful than his hunters, but she certainly was more skillful. *So that''s what one can do with great skills. I see. But still... a true melee rogue... that''s rare* Getting back to business, he continued the support role, including her in the beneficiaries. In fact he was mostly concentrating on her. She wasn''t in his party so it made things a bit complicated. The slaves were expandable. His ticket to victory wasn''t. ................... Kiri was having fun. Real fun. She had more or less the same stats as her opponents but she fought way better. Her friendly priest had also buffed her. Ha! Funny. Her offense and defense were outta the lock however. Evading a sword she kicked a rogue who though to backstab her and then gutted a priest that supposed wrongly that he was out of her reach. As her foes suffered gross damage from the view, she grabbed a part of the spilling gut and choked another priest with it. Then she aimed for vital points, ending both their lives... A mercy really. Wary, the rest of the dwindling army got cold sweats. Grinning, she rushed behind a mage and beheaded him before going for the tank. She played a little and finally cut off his fighting hand. To make a point, she went all out on his shield and broke it in a matter of seconds. She then offed the offending screamer and went after better prey. *Alright next time I''ll lower my offense. Maybe the defense too? This is a bit too much. Though... it''s teaching me great control over my strength. I can more or less decide how much I can damage them now.* All the mages left pooled their mana together and sent her an AoE spell, thinking it would do the deed. However the ice storm that blitzed her did more damage to the collaterals than her. The slow she suffered from was counteracted by her priest... and he also healed the bit of life she had lost. *Yup, defense is too high.* Getting bored, she unsealed her magical abilities and prepared to rain down hell on the rest of the hunters. "And now children, THAT''S A REAL AoE SPELL! They''re supposed to pack a punch ya know?" screamed the rogue-not-so-rogue as she unleashed hell on earth. A huge fireball crashed and simultaneously caused a huge explosion while a tornado trampled them with extreme prejudice. It brought forth desolation. On the ground, stone spears shot off with tremendous speed and pierced her foes. If one must say, the icicles falling from above finished the lovely picture. The area had received the wrath of Mother Nature. Well... Kiri, but you get the point. There were obviously no survivors, be them hunters or slaves.
You have killed an innocent player: +50 infamy (x89)
You have killed a player''s summon: +10 infamy (x36)
"Ooops" She quickly re-sealed her magic .................... ".... don''t worry, I have more in stock. But holy shit... what was that? You''re an incredible rogue AND an OP multicasting mage! I didn¡¯t even know that mages could multicast¡­ And neither did our foes from the look on their face when it happened" *I''ve never seen that. That was awesome!* She fidgeted "Alright. You helped me so I won''t dig, but GG still. GG and thanks. You saved my ass. I would say I also saved yours but you weren''t really in need of my support, were you? I may not have been able to see your HP gauge because we''re not in a party but you didn''t even seem fazed by the super AoE that targeted you" She raised a brow "Right. No questions. Well we''re both marked for murder and I can''t get rid of my marks for a while, so wanna party up? We''d PK around the place ''till we get bored of it. I''m Vanhart by the way... dark priest and slaver" "Deal. My name''s Kiri. Red rogue who dabbles in magic. Lemme just adjust my stats. I need to lower my defense... it''s too high."
You have joined Vanhart party
"Is it? You''re an interesting one indeed. I liked your ''dabbling'' in magic. Makes one wonder what would happen if you got serious about it" *#### level 66? The hell? I thought she was super high level! And what''s with her HP and MP gauges? 70% are grey.is this what she meant about adjusting her stats? Was that her fighting at 30%. Holy Macaroon.* "Am I? You''re a slaver. I''d say it''s Unique. Anyways, I''ll be counting on you to heal me this time." "Hear hear" ................ A month it lasted. A month of terror. 2 fiends were terrorizing the Strategiana countryside, killing all shifters that had the misfortune to cross their paths... without exception. The natives, however, were weirdly ignored. The rumors say that the twin-demons were leading an army of monsters and revenants. Sometimes, only one of the demon fought while the other watched, seemingly bored. The Dark Priest was extremly feared because his curses were permanent unless one went to a high priest... and because he somehow stole half the soul of his victims. He even became known as ~the soul-stealer~ His partner, the ~blood-soaked monster~ was also feared but for another reason. She matched her foes in their own fields and killed them with their own spells or moves. To top it all, a flying book calmly followed her and commented blandly on the techniques used. But the worst? It was her laugh. It reeked of madness and would haunt her victims for a long time. And then there was THAT. Most of the times there would be a survivor... but he hadn''t been ''spared'', don''t misunderstand. In fact everybody agreed on the fact that they were the ones to pity. Apparently they were force-fed some strange mixtures and had to live with seemingly-permanent severe status-effect. Indeed¡­ nobody had yet managed to lift said status effects. Baldness, impotency, destroyed stats, hideous appearances, skills loss, extreme paranoia, unsatisfiable sex drive, loss of motor functions, .... etc etc It was a russian roulette, but lottery style with 9/10th chance of a lethal result. You either got something good, or something awfully bad. However the bad cases were the most common, so the few lucky ones thanked the stars for their good luck. Rumors were that when there wasn''t the telltale survivor, then it was because the hellish concoction had killed him outright. When one commented that the ''hellish food'' tasted in fact pretty good, he got booed. He was one of the lucky ones so they said he was biased. -------- xxx -------- "By the way didn''t you get ripped off at the market a while ago? I think I saw you. You wore a cloak and were buying supplies from an old woman. I''ve think I''d never seen the haggling skill fail so much" said Kifirin The priest blushed and finished spoon-feeding THAT to the begging spellsword before answering ".... yes it was me. Infamy has many bad points. I may have mid-intermediate haggling, but it failed before the sheer enormity of said infamy" "Huh. Too bad you can''t hide it like me. Have you tried the underground market?" "I think I will probably go there next time" "Yup" ................ "Ara ara? Jo? Have you heard of the twin-demons? I''m mighty interested in their victims being force-fed something... and then having strange status effects" "Yeah, I heard. You don''t think...?" "Obviously. I''m proud of my apprentice. She''s found guinea pigs! To train her skill so much.... if it isn''t dedication! So proud!" Deidre was bursting with pride ".... It''s not consensual. And she''s killing the others" "Who care? They''re shifters. She hasn''t laid a single hand on natives so it''s all good with me" Johannes considered the matter and then nodded "True" .......... *Aaaah I wonder what the mistress is doing. I hope I can see her soon!* Baruth was diligently training. -------- xxx -------- As the twin-demons walked the countryside, they left terror in their wake. Soon, the Knights would be sent to deal with them. However, when they finally mobilized, the demons were gone, as if spirited away. Later, they became a myth used to scare misbehaving children. ********************************** Next Chapter Chapter 9 - The dude whom appeared out of nowhere Chapter 9 - The dude whom appeared out of nowhere Kifirin had been level 66 for a while and yet she hadn''t unlocked her profession. It was aligned with chaos so she though that the killing spree would help satisfy the requirements, but it hadn''t done anything. *Hmmm... Maybe it''s time I went to see Davros. He did ask me to come from time to time. Let''s go!* However, it didn''t really go as planned. The library. She could see it.... it dwarfed all the others edifices. But somehow? She couldn''t get to it. She had gotten lost in Heimlin a few times already, but this... this was not natural. By the way, she had also gotten lost in the woods, finally giving up when they ended up in the middle of a god-forsaken swamp. From then on the un-amused Van had taken the lead. He hated mosquitoes, but the singed eyebrows he got as a result of her ''dealing with them'' had been the cherry on the sundae. She admitted to having a really bad sense of orientation but this was getting ridiculous. She could have sworn the roads were warping. How hard could it be getting from a point A to a point B when you could SEE point B from miles away? *I will not be beaten! I WILL get to that FUCKING library!* ¡­¡­¡­¡­. 2 hours later ¡°I GIVE UP! Whomever is doing this listen! I give up! You got me good¡­ I lost. Can you stop now?¡± screamed a banshee. Well, it wasn¡¯t a banshee per se, but the wail was mistaken as such by the few unlucky enough to hear it, and a rumor of banshees hiding in town was born. ¡°OY! Your hear me? Stop it!¡± she screeched Ding!
System notice: New skill [VAR] - System patch {FORCED} PASSIVE ¨C Abysmal sense of orientation [Advanced 1- 0%] / chaotic You are absolutely hopeless with directions and will lose your way more often than not - Maps are useless junk to you - You just don¡¯t understand directions given orally - You just can¡¯t seem to recognize places you should, by all means, recognize - Professional guides may avoid you because half the time, they get lost while guiding you. You may not delete this skill
The new skill just made her day. Ding! Ding! ¡°Alright I get it! What¡¯s with women and screaming nowadays? Do you guys really think that having a fit will make it all better? Seriously? That¡¯s moronic¡± Said a dude whom appeared out of nowhere ¡°You¡­. You! Is it you? Did you just force this skill on me? WHY IS IT ADVANCED FROM THE GET GO!?¡± Kifirin was sputtering ¡°Wow tone it down lady! I¡¯m here to help but if you don¡¯t want to have a decent conversation I guess I could take my little gift and leave¡± Unknown dude raised an eyebrow ¡°¡­ Sorry. I¡¯m just a little bit emotional right now¡± ¡°Are you? Geez I wouldn¡¯t have gotten it by myself. Whatever¡­ I was sent by the Trollking. He said that with time you would get such a skill and told me to come up with something in order to counteract it.¡± ¡°Trollking? Who¡¯s that?¡± She squinted ¡°Is he responsible for this shit? I think Systra said something about him before¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Yes and no¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go with yes¡± Unknown dude knew his boss would have his head for that but the occasion was too perfect to pass up. He snickered. Payback was a bitch. ¡°¡­ I see. Trollking huh¡­ I¡¯ll remember that¡± Cold. Her gaze was cold. It promised retribution. ¡°Kekekeke! Kekekekek -- ekek. Koff Koff! Erm Erm. Here, for you¡± The dude got back his bearings from the strangling hilarity and handed her a golden compass. As it touched her palm, it disappeared in a flash of light. ¡°Huh? Where did it go?¡± ¡°Check the skill¡±
{FORCED } PASSIVE ¨C Abysmal sense of orientation [Advanced 1- 0%] / chaotic You are absolutely hopeless with directions and will lose your way more often than not - Maps are useless junk to you - You just don¡¯t understand directions given orally - You just can¡¯t seem to recognize places you should, by all means, recognize - Professional guides may avoid you because half the time, they get lost while guiding you. System notice: You are the owner of The Golden Compass, who seems to counteract (up to a point) this skill, but it is not infallible and may fail you from times to times. You may not delete this skill
¡°Ah. Not foolproof then. Is this supposed to be better?¡± She sneered ¡°Please! Do you even know what your skill is? It¡¯s a result of the essence of chaos massively bending the natural order of things around you. Sure, chaos is part of nature but you¡¯re totally hoarding it and it¡¯s affecting reality. The balance is BREAKING. Be happy that it only manifest this way. And even then¡­ if left as it was it would have ended up tearing a hole through the fabric of the universe. It would have KILLED us all. Do you think that just anybody could counter that? This compass is a mythical treasure that many would MURDER to get their hands on¡± ¡°¡­ Ok. Sorry again. I take it you¡¯re a game master?¡± Unknown dude had graduated to Whiny dude in Kif''s mind. He tilted his head ¡°Something like that. Not the head honcho though. You may call me Gen by the way¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯m Kifirin but I guess you already know that¡± ¡°Obviously. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have things to do, so¡­ see you¡± Gen left, and as he did so, he muttered ¡°Females and PMS! Pff!¡± Kifirin¡¯s tentative smile froze at the edge. *Haha. Ha. HA!* She had heard him ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. *Yada yada games masters yada yada. So what if I¡¯m a teeny weeny bit unstable? It shouldn¡¯t affect the game shouldn¡¯t it? And there¡¯s no way in hell that my getting lost would DESTROY tales of fates. What a pile of crap, I could bet this ¡®Trollking¡¯ is just having fun at my expense. Look at his name already! If we ever cross paths I¡¯ll tear him a new one* She had headed for the library as soon as Whiny Gen left and didn¡¯t get lost this time. She was currently taking the stairs leading to Davros¡¯ study. She hoped he was there. Well, she could still wait if it wasn¡¯t so. *Hmm? Now that I think about didn¡¯t I get a few system notice after I got THE skill? I never got around to open them, Gen was too aggravating* She displayed the windows
System Notice: Profession requirements met Congratulation! You have unlocked you profession, ¡®Personification of chaos¡± and can now access its skills
*Huh? I unlocked it? How? Nothing happened. Well¡­ the skill. Did my ¡®hoarding of chaos¡¯ and ¡®affecting of reality¡¯ do the deed? Ridiculous. Let¡¯s see the skills, I¡¯m curious, I wil ---* Ding!
Systeme Notice: Bounty Congratulations, Kiri is now topping the ''most wanted list'' of the Strategos Empire and it''s affiliated states. A bounty of 2 470 Crystals has been placed on her (10 Crysal coin per 1K infamy) >> As the first shifter to have unlocked this achievement, you will take #1 place on the SitumCorp''s newly opened hall of shame.
*.... this..... Hall of shame? Number one? A-ah. Ha! .. . Newly created? i wouldn''t be the reason would I? Noes! Noes! Noes! Stupid profession! Stupid infamy! ... alright, it''s alright! None else than Vanhart knows us as Kiri , and he''d probably tell us good job! The bounty though... Dayum. Tch! * "Show newly unlocked chaotic Skills" She had obviously tweaked the chaos release skill as soon as she saw it and saved subspells. But damn if it wasn''t costly in mana. The mad laugh and aura of doom had been obtained during her player killing stunt, but it hadn¡¯t been chaotic then, so she guessed it had been taken under the red umbrella. The daggers of chaos were a nice skill but the daggers ban cooldown bothered her a bit. She loved cutting up people. Betaing them up or just doing a magic WWF smackdown on their asses wasn''t as fun as playing ''give them body art'' The chaos release? Ah well it explained the 5-claws disintegration event. She knew she would NEVER initiate it willingly¡­ unless she felt like livening things up. But the 5% chances of random activation sure got her sweating. she didn''t want Kifirin associated with her chaos persona. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t happen a lot. Anyayways... at Beginner 1 the skill was already monstrous. 600% stats buff? No cooldowns? Outrageous. Scandalous. Horrific... Wonderful! Too bad she had no control over it. Maybe later? Hmm grinding it wasn''t really an option... was it? She was glad that any killed native wouldn¡¯t face true death. Itgave her the green light for many, many uses... *Mfu Mfu Mfu! This 200 000 infamy... I''ll make sure to deserve it... one day!* She giggled and passerby wrote her off as mentally challenged. How little did they know! How little did they know.... She checked the chaos persona.
# Chaos persona - ???? ??? Persona that gets forcefully equipped whenever you enter a chaos streak. A title shall be awarded to it once you enter your first chaos streak and will forever be equipped by this persona. The chaos persona will have abysmal bounties on it, so you are advised not to equip it in a city unless you want to be the star of a good ol¡¯ witch hunt This persona also takes on your 1st celestial appearance (for now), making you unrecognizable because of physical transformation and the red orange glow emitted by your whole body.
¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°So? You¡¯re back in town? Sorry for last time I somehow lost sense of time and forgot about you¡± Davros had been in his study when she knocked, so she invited herself in and sat when he nodded at her to do so. ¡°Yep. No problems, it also happens to me. Sometimes, you just have to do some serious thinking, and reality takes a seat back for a little while. No offense taken. I left you a note after all, so we¡¯re good¡± ¡°Hmm I guess so. Are you there for something in particular or would like to relax while sharing some tea and cookies with me?¡± ¡°I would love to, thank you¡± He smiled and gave her a cup ¡°Hmm It¡¯s more of a visit of curtesy, and I was missing our talks, so here I am. I also unlocked my profession and though you might want to get a look¡± She shrugged. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. At his interested gaze she told him of the atypical events, all the while savouring the fruity tea. he had good tastes! The cookies weren''t bad either. *Yum yum. I''d better come back more often...* ¡°So¡­ this Gen gave you the golden compass? Gen? And he said he was there by the express orders of the Trollking? It would mean his boss. That¡¯s fascinating ¡­. Did you know of the Church of Genesis? Their god is one of the Firsts of Chaos. I also heard that he had had a few close calls with female admirers which gave him a very short fuse when women are involved. Interesting isn''t it? But I don¡¯t understand how you could be hoarding chaos ¡­ enough to blow reality up. I knew you were a bomb but that¡¯s a bit outside of my calculations. No scratch that. A LOT outside of my calculations I though you may be¡­. but it cannot be¡­. too much chaos for it¡­. unless it has to do with your unbalance? Could you be compensating for it? It would mean¡­. Ah! Yes this must be it! It would also explain his success at hiding you. He only really had to give a push. Please tell me. How would you define the Dathum plane? Is it more a world or Order or Chaos? I would say its Order isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Jackpot. Order indeed. The Chaos is still here, seeping under the surface, but one cannot open himself to it unless he wants a very bad ending. Everything is well-ordered there¡­. There¡¯s a veneer of control over everything. How to act. What to wear. How to prepare for the future. What to do. What not to say. What to THINK. Straight. It has to be straight and orderly. Everything that isn¡¯t, everything that somehow steers from the given path even a little is discarded, shunned, and ultimately destroyed. But it¡¯s rotten from inside. Because humans are imperfect. Maybe the system would work if we were more¡­. alike, more rational. But there¡¯s too much individuality, too much emotions and differences between the people for the gear not to get clogged. People seem to only have a choice between the 2 extremes. Extreme Order is ugly. Sad. Colorless. It¡¯s the loss of the identity, of the ¡®me¡¯ to become a simple clog with no importance, no prospects, no beauty¡­ No freewill. The worst is that they don¡¯t even feel it, they¡¯re ¡®Happy and fulfilled¡¯ Extreme Chaos is a contrary reaction to all this uniformity. People loose themselves in the madness and ultimately just lose everything. Their families. Their values. Their future. Their lives. Maybe it¡¯s the way to go, because before the endless turmoil and despair, there¡¯s one glorious moment of freedom. It¡¯s like a meteor entering the atmosphere. Isn¡¯t it beautiful when it goes up in flames? Isn¡¯t it warm? But then it just breaks up, sometimes killing and destroying in its death throes as it disintegrates for good. There¡¯s no middle ground. But then again maybe I¡¯m biased. I¡¯ve always been feeling choked by my world. I feel so out of place there¡­. I prefer this plane. We¡¯re true to ourselves there. At least I am. I can FEEL the pressure coming out when I let loose in your world. It balances me. I cannot do it in Dathum.¡± ¡°¡­. I see. Then it is it. The Trollking would also be? Haha. The wheel of fate is turning¡­ and chaos has been dealt the better hand. I better keep this to myself¡­ I know people who would try to interfere. It cannot be allowed. Child¡­ I learned things that I may not share with you, because even though there is mercy in being told the truth, there is no grace in having it fed to us. For it to be meaningful, you need to uncover the truth about yourself on your own. I will always be there to give you a push when you need one, but I won¡¯t be spoiling your whole future because of curiosity. Your future doesn¡¯t belongs to you only, but you must build it on your own. Things will go as they should, and in time you will understand everything. I know you do not like what I¡¯m telling you, but it is the truth. You have to let go. Stop questioning everything and go with the flow. If you follow you instinct you will one day reach this balance that eludes you always. Then you will be what you were always meant to, and will finally be able to CHOOSE. You¡¯re not ready for the truth. Not yet¡± ¡°¡­ Why so serious Davros? Haha. If it wasn¡¯t for you munching on that cookie I would really think you were trying to bait me. No? Not working? Ara¡­. I must say that the atmosphere felt a little too heavy for me. I won¡¯t insist because I know that sometimes we have reasons for keeping things to ourselves, but you¡¯re being quite obscure here you know. It¡¯s not like my fate matters to the world as whole. My ¡®learning¡¯ when I¡¯m ¡®not ready yet¡¯ won¡¯t screw up the cosmic design ya know? ¡± She sighed ¡°I still think I should have the right to know if it concern my future, but I guess I¡¯ll take your opinion as matter of fact. You are wiser than me after all. I¡¯m just a brat¡± *Things are getting weird. Is the game trying to make him my shrink or something? Am I supposed to learn something from this discussion? Because I haven¡¯t. It¡¯s just¡­ queer¡­ why so serious? Unless my case is more severe than I thought? There won¡¯t be a guy from the asylum waiting at home when I unlog will there? Naah¡­ kif¡­ stop the paranoia* ¡°You¡¯re a new soul. Of course you¡¯re a brat. More mature than most though.¡± ¡°So says my status window when it shows my race¡± ¡°So it does¡± ¡°¡­ Whatever, mister enigmatic. I also levelled the turtle¡¯s path quite a lot¡± ¡°Is it intermediate yet?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Then come back when it is so. There will be cookies waiting for you¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be going then¡± His cookies were a wonderful bait ¡°See you child, see you. And blessed be. Blessed be¡± ¡°¡­ I guess? You too¡± She left -----------xxx--------- Once again Alya tried to have a conversation with the absentee Danny, but he was nowhere to be seen. *What is he doing? I haven¡¯t seen him for over a week. Has he moved out or something? Maybe I should contact his familia¡­.* It was time to go shopping. Winter was coming but she hadn¡¯t enough warm clothes. When she moved out, her parents had given most of the clothes she had left to a charity. Lovely. She would meet Kathy and Delhia at the mall. Maybe they would also talk about her lack of love-life. She wasn¡¯t really looking forward to that. Somehow no men had ever interested her. Sure, she had made guys friends, but it had been superficial and she never got the ¡®spark¡¯, the ¡®Zing¡¯. As it was she hadn¡¯t dated anybody yet and her friends were despairing. Well¡­ you couldn¡¯t truly yearn for something you hadn¡¯t ever known or gotten a tate of¡­ so she didn¡¯t really feel lacking, just curious. Though, she had to admit that the complicity displayed by some couples made her wonder at what she could have one day. Yes, the ice queen was considering trying her hand at romance. -------- xxx -------- 1 IRL week earlier Alistair was in a very bad situation. He hadn¡¯t been allowed to respawn. Judge Fei had asked for the philosopher¡¯s stone but somehow he was cockblocked. Someone or something in the high spires of the Ouroboros court had forbidden it. The guy had then washed his hands off him saying that there was nothing he could do. *Why? Why? Darius and my stupid sister got it done in a matter of hours. Have I offended a game master or something?* ¡°Actually you have¡± said Gen. He had appeared out of nowhere once again ¡°Huh? Who¡¯re you? You can¡¯t just bury me here you know! I have rights!¡¯¡± ¡°Actually you don¡¯t. As long as we don¡¯t infringe on the basic human rights, your government won¡¯t interfere. Your ¡®having the right to respawn¡¯ does not qualify. It would be an injustice for sure, but not illegal. So yes, if I felt like it I could just let you rot here, in this place where time does not flow with any rationale. You¡¯d be automatically unlogged after a while. But I won¡¯t do this. Head honcho decided to give you a chance. I don¡¯t understand why, you are obviously scum, but who am I to comment on his grand design?¡± ¡°Ah?¡° ¡°Not so sharp are you? Whatever. Let¡¯s say that your behaviour has made somebody unhappy, and to amend for the would-be blackmail you¡¯ll have to complete a quest for us. The reward would be respawn. Nice isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sue you¡± ¡°Won¡¯t work. You¡¯d have no basis for it. Do you want the quest or not?¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve set it so that your Ouroboros time ratio is the same as in the rest of the game, so 1:4. I¡¯ve also deactivated the whisper function¡­ You¡¯ll be on your lonesome. You can roam LA¡¯ATZU as a spirit to your heart contents. Don¡¯t die though or you¡¯ll be very sorry this time¡­ I¡¯ve made it a general policy not to talk to wraiths so it would be too bad if you became one. You can obviously unlog whenever. Ask loudly for ¡®Gen¡¯ whenever you feel like doing the quest. Bye¡± The guy had disappeared again. *I won¡¯t. You bastard... you¡¯ll see* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Currently: ¡°Gen! Gen! Answer me damn you! Gen! Come out you little ***!¡± ¡°Well well well¡­. What do we have here? Is Douche-san insulting me? You do realize that you need me right? Have you had fun doing nothing for over a game month? Gets boring after a while doesn¡¯t it? So¡­ what do you want? I ain¡¯t got time for your complaining if this is the point of your screaming your lungs out¡± His apparition had been instantaneous as usual. ¡°¡­. I¡¯ll take your goddamn quest¡± ¡°Ooh¡­ You will? That¡¯s great! Ah well¡­ no, not really. In fact I don¡¯t give a flying fuck what you do, but hey? That¡¯s the truth of the world¡­ you¡¯re a nobody and I¡¯m just here because I was asked to. Here¡¯s your quest by the way. Don¡¯t bother me ever again or I¡¯ll smite you. I¡¯m a GOD you know¡± He waggled his eyebrows and went poof Titring!
System notice: Atonement quest Meditate and reach your own enlightenment Once you understand your many wrongs and are truly sorry for it, then you¡¯ll be allowed to respawn Aka graduate from the spoiled douchebag state. That¡¯s it! Gen out! *Wink!*
[Douchebag cursing] PROFANITY BLOCK! ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Somewhere else, someplace else: *Mouhahahahaha! He¡¯s madder than ever! Entertaining! Even better than our last toy!¡± The laughing figure got serious then. ¡°He will have to change though. That¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll allow him to stay at her side.¡± ****** Next Chapter Chapter 10 - Red Calamity Chapter 10 - Red Calamity <> to Darius- Have you heard from my brother? I haven¡¯t seen him since the disintegration event, either in game or reality. It¡¯s weird. I though he would make himself known, even if it was only to whine >>KIFIRIN<< from Darius ¨C No idea. He doesn¡¯t answers to whispers and is avoiding everyone IRL. Maybe he¡¯s sulking? I was kinda stern with him in my last whisper. Have you reconsidered joining my familia by the way? :D <> to Darius - Haha no thanks. I¡¯d rather stay in a little party with the same people always, but I¡¯m not against joining a quest or whatever if you guys ever need support of any kind >>KIFIRIN<< from Darius - Support? <> to Darius - I¡¯m also a very good singer. Have you heard of the lizardmen''s dungeon event? The singing kid? I would bet you I¡¯m as good as her if not better ^^ >>KIFIRIN<< from Darius- I see. You have many surprises, don¡¯t you? Well we will be raiding the Radiant familia castle. They have been targeting our weakest legion members as of late, so it¡¯s high time we taught them a lesson. I have nothing against PK, but the odds have to be fair¡­ and they weren¡¯t when they came after our guys. Wanna join? I¡¯ll be tomorrow at [COORDINATES] around noon. <> to Darius - Ok. I¡¯ll be coming as Rinne by the way. >>KIFIRIN<< from Darius - Noted. I¡¯ll tell my people to watch out for you. What do you want as repayment for the support? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re hurting for money after all¡­ <> to Darius ¨C Get me a bottle of raspberry juice from the tavern and we¡¯ll be good. I¡¯ll mostly be there to join the fun after all >>KIFIRIN<< from Darius ¨C Haha! Alright ;p ¡­¡­¡­¡­. *Spirits! So many persons! So THAT¡¯S a raid huh? Nice* The plains surrounding the enemy castle were dark with people. Warriors were huddled in the vanguard, followed by priests and their protectors. Bowmen composed the rearguard with the mages. There were also many other classes but this formation stood out the more. It wasn¡¯t complete because many were still in the tents area, but it was forming. There must have been at least 5 000 persons. Rinne didn¡¯t know if they were all part of Requiem or if Darius had hired mercs. The crowd was noisy, and she could hear the clang of metal, but it was a good racket. It put her in the mood. Heading towards the bigger Requiem tent in sight, she waited for the seemingly-busy guys manning it to acknowledge her. ¡°Yes? What do you want? Are you a merc or a member of the legion? Mercs have to go to one of the blue tents to receive their orders. If you¡¯re from the legion just tell your unit number to an official and he¡¯ll lead you there. They¡¯re the guys in yellow, you can¡¯t miss them¡± Said one of the fellows when his eyes left the central map they were analyzing. ¡°Umm hi I¡¯m Rinne. Sorry to bother you but Darius tell me you guys would tell me where to stay. I¡¯m support so it probably gonna be the rear¡± ¡°Rinne? Ah yeah Darius mentioned you. He said you could go wherever and do your thing. You¡¯re a free agent, so no orders. Just don¡¯t get killed too fast alright? He seemed to think you could help¡± ¡°Haha. Alright I¡¯ll do my best. Good luck with the planning. Bye¡± They didn¡¯t answer, so she left. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. It was almost noon. Almost all of the stragglers had joined the formation. Apparently the Primes were either commanders of the army, or part of elite shock-teams who were to ram their way into the castle. They would destroy its defenses as the rest of the troops occupied the opposing army. She decided to make her way to some high ground in order to have a great view of the battle. It meant that she stayed near the planning tent the busybodies were at. It was above the battle-ground. She wouldn¡¯t see Darius because he was leading one of the shock-teams. His aim was the core of the castle. Once he destroyed it would make the place Requiem¡¯s. The protections and traps would also be deactivated. *Maybe I¡¯ll ask him to let me train on the traps once we win. I still have the trap-mastery at beginner 1 after all. It¡¯d be great for me and would allow them to have a friendly guinea pig trying their defenses. Win-win* Her singing mastery was high enough that she could affect the whole battlefield from here. The castle may not be, but at least she would help change the tide of the battle. Not every singer may be able to do that, but she had a variant of the normal mastery and extremly good elemental affinities to boot. Yep, she had sang when she was with Van, but just for the fun, so the singing had gone up but not the voice of healing, she hadn¡¯t used it¡­ there had been no need to.
[Intermediate 8 - 3%](VAR: Elemental) Singing mastery Your voice calls to the elements themselves, and they help you express your needs. When you sing about a theme related to them, they will strengthen the buffs/debuff, - The stronger your understanding/affinity to the element(s), the stronger the effect - The stronger your understanding/affinity to the element(s), the greater the AoE affected - The more elements involved into a song, the greater effects (Current limit: 5 because Focus < 5 001) - When you sing you cannot actively do anything else A song unrelated to the elements will only be a song, pleasing to the ears indeed, but it will have no effects Elemental Affinity (xx %) X Intermediate lvl 8 skill (34%) >>> ?? % - Fire: (80%) x (34%) >>> 27.2 % buff on vitality and stamina [AoE 800m] - Water: (80%) x (34%) >>> 27.2 % buff on wisdom and intellect [AoE 800m] - Earth: (80%) x (34%) >>> 27.2 % buff on strength and endurance [AoE 800m] - Air: (80%) x (34%) >>> 27.2 % buff on agility and luck [AoE 800m] - Ouroboros : (80%) x (34%) >>> 27.2 % buff on health and mana regeneration (taking in order to give, Ouroboros) [AoE 800m] - Gravity : (80%) x (34%) >>> 27.2 % buff on movement speed and dexterity [AoE 800m] [Locked: focus < 5 001] - Space: (108%) x (34%) >>> 36.7 % on ???? [AoE 1 080m] [Locked: focus < 6 001] - Time: (108%) x (34%) >>> 36.7 % on ???? [AoE 1 080m] [Locked: focus < 7 001] >>>> Foes are debuffed half of what your allies are buffed Basic skill level properties: - + 180 charm
[Intermediate 6 - 1%] The Voice of healing mastery Your voice calls to the Ouroboros queen of life lj¨®mi, and the higher your affinities to life and death, the greater the effects of your song >>>>You have understood that there is no life without death, that they work hand in hand. As such you have the complete Ouroboros elemental affinity, which make this skill even the more so powerful Ouroboros Affinity (80%) X Intermediate lvl 5 skill (28%) >>> 22,4 % - Heals 22,4 % of life per every 10 seconds - Regeneration of health is 22.4% more effective
[Beginner 3 - 8%] The Rhythm of Battle mastery You feel the rhythm of battle and understand it. Your singing buffs then adapt to the individual level, helping your allies destroy their foes. Macro-level >>> Micro-level (automatic) The stronger the mastery, the more adapted the custom-buff and the more people you can affect thus. Beginner 3 = 6% - 6% of allies will have a custom-buff (random ally selection) - 6% of the normal buff will change/evolve as the ally needs it
She needed a song that involved a lot of elements but she had none that wasn¡¯t solely instrumental, so she used an old mantra about the elements found in the library highest levels. It was from an old runic language discovered into the glass desert, probably a remnant of the forgotten civilization that used to live there, but it suited her needs just fine. The ancient language mastery allowed her to understand it, and the language itself was so musical that she knew the rhythm would come to her by itself. There may have been elemental singers then¡­ the song was too centered on the elements for it to be a coincidence. Unless it was a ritual or something? It was a mantra after all¡­ *I hope it doesn¡¯t fail, I would look stupid if it did so* In case it didn¡¯t work she still had a few ideas of what to use, but it wouldn¡¯t be as effective. Emotions could call to the elements, so by using the right ones, she could get what she wanted. However, she hadn¡¯t yet determined every emotion associated to each element. Once she did, it would facilitate her work because songs gave a lot in the matter of feelings. ¡­¡­¡­.. As the battle began, a soft, sweet and gentle voice could be heard over the clatters of war. It rang true like the tweet of a lone bird in a silent forest. It was sublime, it was wonderful. However, that wasn¡¯t what created an uproar. It was its effects. Her song was way better than it should have because of the peculiarity of the ¡°mantra¡± used. In fact, the song alone would have greatly influenced the battle thanks to her proficiency, but the fact that it was an ancient ritual gave it a punch. It also affected the castle by the way.
Requiem Alliance ILAT GENII IGISUM - TIAMAT SINNISNARTU You¡¯re benefiting from the supreme gift of the Spirits (ILAT GENII IGISUM) through a maiden Singer¡¯s channeling, (TIAMAT SINNISNARTU) She is skillfully interpreting an ancient Sumerian ritual of deference to the elements, so as her ally, you are enjoying: >>Fire: 45 % buff on vitality and stamina >>Water: 45 % buff on wisdom and intellect >>Earth: 45 % buff on strength and endurance >>Air: 45 % buff on agility and luck >>Ouroboros : 45 % buff on health and mana regeneration It will last as long as she sings uninterrupted It¡¯s the first time it has been done in hundred thousands of years so the Spirits are being generous. Rejoice!
Radiant Alliance ILAT GENII EZERU - TIAMAT SINNISNARTU You¡¯re being utterly cursed by the spirits (ILAT GENII EZERU) through a maiden singer¡¯s channeling (TIAMAT SINNISNARTU) She is skillfully interpreting an ancient Sumerian ritual of deference to the elements , so as her enemy, you are afflicted with: >>Fire: 25 % debuff on vitality and stamina >>Water: 25 % debuff on wisdom and intellect >>Earth: 25 % debuff on strength and endurance >>Air: 25 % debuff on agility and luck >>Ouroboros : 25 % debuff on health and mana regeneration It will last as long as she sings uninterrupted It¡¯s the first time it has been done in hundred thousands of years so the Spirits are being generous. Cry your eyes out!
Rinne wasn¡¯t really aware of the true power of the song, busy as she was. However she keenly witnessed the tide of the battle changing as her side suddenly POWNED the other. It was wholesale slaughter. *Strange¡­ It shouldn¡¯t have that much of an effect. Nah, must be the general effect of all Requiem''s buffs* She also saw one of the elite teams doing a one eighty, totally ignoring the castle and running to her rescue. Yep, rescue. Somehow the members of the radiant alliance were going after her like Kamikazes. Maybe she shouldn¡¯t have set herself on such high grounds? She was making a pretty nice target, with a totally clear line of sight. *Oops. Darius is going to be mad¡­. Dereliction of duty¡­ I¡¯ve stolen one of his elite squads. Oh. 2 of them now. They''re gentlemanly!* Maybe the fact that she was also shining a bright royal blue added to her attractiveness as a target? Or maybe it was just signaling her position like a radiant neon sign and people couldn¡¯t help but going after her. Glowing unmoving targets on high ground were ASKING for it. *That¡¯s new. I wasn¡¯t glowing last time. Is it the mantra? Maybe I should have gone with an emotional song after all. Too late¡­ Dayum* Yup. She didn¡¯t know. If she had, she would have run away from here as fast as she could. Rinne had lost the soothing protection of anonymity. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡­¡­¡­.. *The fuck is this? Kif- no, Rinne¡­.. What are you? Did she get the ritual in the library? She said she was gonna help, but this is just outta the lock. My goodness, I better keep her identity to myself or she¡¯ll be swarmed by familias wanting her. ARGH! And it makes me want her as a Prime even more* Things were going so well that taking the core felt like taking candy from kids. Easy and mean. Evil. *Oy! They¡¯re the ones who came after us! It¡¯s payback! We¡¯re NOT evil* As it was, the raid ended pretty fast. They totally whooped the asses of the Radiants. As soon as he finished his part, Darius prepared to rescue his friend. She would need it. He had already asked 2 regiments of primes to make sure she came out of the fight unscathed. The girl sure had really badly chosen the place to make her stand¡­ The Primes assigned to her would make sure to deliver her to him in one piece, so he just had to get to her and hopefully pull a disappearing act. <> to Rinne ¨C You stay on place. Don¡¯t move. Don¡¯t talk. Just¡­ don¡¯t. Keep even your name to yourself you get me? My Primes will be protecting you from the mercs, so please, not a word! >>DARIUS<< from Rinne ¨C Hmm yeah. I just saw the song description. I didn¡¯t expect that. It¡¯s the last time I use an obscure reference in so much a public setting. Everybody is totally trying to mob me. They all want me for themselves. But do I have to wait for you to leave? Your Primes are having difficulties guarding me. <> to Rinne ¨C Why? Do you have the opportunity to make a run for it? >>DARIUS<< from Rinne ¨C Well, I could Blink away. So¡­ yeah. <> to Rinne ¨C Surprises, surprises. Again. Try to make sure the next one doesn¡¯t give me a coronary will you? Alright. I¡¯ll be meeting RIN at the 5-claws tavern? >>DARIUS<< from Rinne ¨C Deal. You still owe me a bottle of raspberry juice ¡­¡­¡­.. After she finished whispering to Darius, Rinne signaled that she was leaving to the closest Prime having taken on the role of bodyguard. She winked at his frown, and eying the madness one last time, Blinked. On the plains, the thousands of mercenaries who were trying to get to her just stopped. The girl had disappeared in the matter of a second. Even her protectors looked spooked. .............. Meanwile, in a corner of the SitumCorp Forum .............. Rinne couldn¡¯t blink far, so she chose the planning tent. The map was still there. She pocketed it. It would be useful if she tried the castle traps later. Taking on her Rin persona, she freely left the battlefield behind. Nobody even spared her a glance. *Neat-O. I love that skill* ................ Darius had teleported to town, and then headed for the tavern in question. He asked for two glasses of raspberry juice as well as a full unopened bottle. Deep in thoughts, he was taking his time sipping the fruity goodness when somebody sat across him. ¡°Hi¡± ¡°Hi Rin. You do know that Rinne is in deep shit right?¡± he slid her a glass but kept the bottle for now ¡°I kinda guessed that when the mob almost dismembered my guards by trying to get a piece of me. Too bad¡­ I liked Rinne. I guess I won¡¯t be her much¡± She greedily accepted the drink ¡°You won¡¯t? But¡­ that was¡­.OP as hell! You can totally give the victory to almost any army! With you by my side they wouldn¡¯t be anything we couldn¡¯t do!¡± ¡°But would it be fun? To have everything handed to you? A friend told me that there was no worth in having something handed to you without making any efforts. Think about it. What is the aim of Tales of Fates? To challenge oneself. By relying on me for everything, you would just spoil it. And there are many unknowns in world. Rinne is not a sure ticket to victory¡± ¡°¡­ I see your point. It was almost too easy¡± He sighed ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a moot point anyways. I¡¯m not joining your familia. You may call on Kifirin the rogue or Rin the mage whenever¡­. even Rinne the singer if your need is extreme. But I won¡¯t become a Prime¡± He choked on his drink¡°¡­. Kifirin is a rogue?¡± ¡°Ah. Oops. Yes she is¡± She eyed the waste of raspberry juice with mournful eyes ¡°Koff koff! Damn girl. Your avatar is weirder than ever. Can I take it that your mage and rogue are also OP?¡± He was tidying up the table with napkins. When he ran out, she gave him hers. ¡°Hmm¡­. Oh well. Ever heard of the twin demons?¡± ¡°Eh? Who hasn¡¯t¡± He felt he knew where this was going ¡°I¡¯m the one with the book¡± ¡°¡­. You are?¡± ¡°Yep¡± ¡°Ah I give up. Whatever. Your secret is safe with me. What are you gonna do now?¡± ¡°Dunno. I¡¯ll make it up as I go¡± ¡°I see. Well, don¡¯t be a stranger and keep in contact. I¡¯ll regularly send you invitation to raids and hunts, so if you ever feel like it, just join and I¡¯ll have a bottle of juice ready for you¡± He winked ¡°A-Ok. By the way, I¡¯d like to be allowed to test the defenses of your new castle one of these days. I¡¯d like to level up my trap mastery and haven¡¯t found a place to do so yet¡± ¡°Sure. Just warn me first¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll be going then, I have to finish a paper for college¡± Her gaze was stuck on the raspberry bottle ¡°See you¡± He smiled and gave it to her before she unlogged. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. When she logged in a while later, she happily took out her precious bottle and watched it moony-eyed. She was sooo going to enjoy drinking it¡­ However at that moment a drunk rudely bumped into her. Her charge fell from her hands and crashed into the floor, the liquid nectar seeping between the battens of the tavern¡¯s flooring. It upset her In fact, it upset her so much that she tore the guy¡¯s heart out. She didn¡¯t stop here though, and went after the many patrons of the tavern. She was just¡­ so MAD! *Wait¡­. I did what? What am I doing? I ¡­ I have no control over my body! MAD MAD MAD! What is this? This¡­ all-consuming anger? KILL KILL KILL! It¡¯s me but not me. Oh god I¡¯m slaughtering people for no reason¡­. Can¡¯t be¡­ Chaos streak? Ah¡­ DESTROY!* The silver of reason she had left bid her farewell, and her body went on with the carnage Soon after, out of the tavern came a winged person. She was glowing red and seemed as if made of fire, even her floating hairs. Her eyes were but a mix of swirling red infernos and yet exuded a darkness like no other as they gazed into nothingness. The great wings of fiery burning red feathers that graced the creature¡¯s back were burning everything to a crisp as her whole body was being used to murder. The elements were rampaging all around here as if raging furious. She was beautiful, and the scene, murderous as it was¡­ was still sublime to witness. Heimlin was burning as a goddess of destruction ran amok ignoring the pleas for mercy. In Heimlin, almost none survived. In fact, (almost) none that saw her did. She was too strong. Too fast. Too skillful¡­. And too unpredictable. 6 hours it lasted. The nightmare carried on for 6 longs hours. This day the ~Red Calamity~ was born. -------- xxx -------- Davros watched from the protected library grounds as SHE mindlessly slaughtered everything in the town. He knew whom it was, and he knew why. He accepted that it was a necessary evil, and it wasn¡¯t like the murdered townsfolk wouldn¡¯t come back. Still¡­. They would be pretty much traumatized. He was quite distressed himself, and yet he hadn¡¯t had to face her. He didn¡¯t need to. Witnessing the slaughter was enough to give him the chills, and he guessed that if he felt the abysmal blood-thirst from the top of his tower, then so did most of the town. The aura of doom and mad laugh weren¡¯t helping either. But damn, was he glad that the special feature hadn¡¯t activated. Her singing all along would have been too much for the Strategianos *Thanks Loki for small favors.* Cold. He felt so cold. He grabbed a pull and kept on watching. He felt that he had to do so¡­ that it was the least he could do for those she was tearing apart. He was protected by the library after all¡­ and wouldn¡¯t share their fate. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Deidre had received a warning from THAT person and quickly left the town before the shit went down. She had also taken Jo with her. She had been expressively forbidden from interfering OR joining in the fun. Her kills wouldn¡¯t respawn after all. ¡°Awww so boring. Watching is no fun¡± They had prime seats for the show but Dei was still unhappy ¡°Do you even hear yourself talking? The town is burning¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. An anonymous donation will soon be made, and the people will respawn¡± Johannes felt like frowning ¡°They will still have died¡± ¡°Yup. They were always so jealous of immortals and shifters¡­ well I¡¯m sure that they¡¯ll be reconsidering their opinion. Meeting a pissed off judge can do that¡± ¡°Why pissed off?¡± ¡°Why not? Judges are cranky and cantankerous by definition. But when they see what¡¯s coming, smoke will be coming out of their ears¡± Dei giggled ¡°It¡¯s the number?¡± ¡°Yep, but that¡¯s not all. Millions of EXCEPTIONS are being dumped into their hands. They¡¯re gonna be tearing their hairs off trying to deal with this. I don¡¯t think they have any slip for that kind of occurrence¡± ¡°I Kinda get your point¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Gen looked at his friend. Behind them the capitol had almost finished burning but the ambers were still glowing strongly as they gave up the last of their heat. Some fires were still burning on the outskirts of the town. They were close to such a fire. ¡°Was this necessary? You totally forced this one¡± ¡°That I did, but she would have left the town¡­. What was I to do? I wanted his proud city to burn¡­. And here it is... Burning! Isn¡¯t it great?¡± He materialized a stick and planted a marshmallow on it. Then he put it near a flame and watched with glee as the sticky-goodness darkened. ¡°Ew. You¡¯re totally over-cooking it. Black means burned you know?¡± ¡°No I¡¯m not. The crisp is the best. That sweet taste of caramelized sugar is simply divine¡± The hooded unknown ate the scorched marshmallow with relish under the disgusted stare of his companion. ¡°Uh. I disagree. To properly roast a marshmallow you have to let it sizzle, but the moment it gets brownish, take it out of the fire¡± ¡°¡­ Well, whatever floats your boat. We like it black. And don¡¯t you think that the diverse fumes are giving it an exotic taste? ¡®Burned corpse flavoring¡¯¡­. How do you like it? A bit spicy but fine overall¡± ¡°Just forget it, your tastes are awful¡­ which is understandable, given whom you are¡± The hooded figure raised a brow ¡°Plait-il?¡± ¡°Nothing. What are you gonna do about this person? He¡¯s not gonna be happy about the city. Won¡¯t it put the girl into his shit list or something?¡± ¡°Mouhahaha! But that¡¯s where We¡¯re being a genius. When you want to hide something, just do it in plain sight. He¡¯ll be so cross with ¡®that shifter¡¯ that he won¡¯t dig deeper. And VOILA! Kifirin free from suspicions! And I¡¯m sure that he may even send her a few nasty trials to get revenge, which will serve my interests as well. How is that for an evil masterplan? Who¡¯s the genius huh? Who?¡± ¡°¡­ You? I admit that it MAY work. But you¡¯re still taking a risk¡± Gen¡¯s friend childishly plugged his ears with his hands ¡°Ba-ba-ba-baaaaah! I¡¯m not listening! We don¡¯t like criticism. Let¡¯s go home¡± The hooded figure disappeared. Gen shook his head and then left. The place was now silent. On the other side of the town, the red calamity fainted. -------- xxx -------- The strange unknown figure reappeared, looked discreetly around itself and closed onto the passed out Kifirin. She was naked. It whistled ¡°Damn. We wish her clothes wouldn¡¯t burn each time. I won¡¯t like people seeing her naked. Not that I can¡¯t do something about it¡­¡± Gently gazing at her, the unknown being reached for her with a sort of scared reverence. As it took her small right hand into his own, a dim glow encompassed their clasped appendages. Her formerly destroyed clothes rematerialized on her body. It then rearranged her to be more at ease. It didn¡¯t want her to have any kinks when she woke up¡­. though It wouldn¡¯t mind taking care of them. And scratching her itches. *Oh my. We¡¯re having dangerous thoughts**Cold shower it is, cold shower**Aww come on it¡¯s great thinking! Let¡¯s just scratch that itch**Please! We¡¯re not that kind of person!**Are we?**Hmm not sure¡­What would you say?**I say cold shower**So do I**And I**Yeh yeh it¡¯s for the better**Well let¡¯s do it then, the shower has the majority**Aye Aye* The figure vanished after a last look at the unconscious girl. Then it took the promised cold shower ********************************************************* Next Act - Short Spoiler Next Act - Prologue Hello! This is the end of the first Arc. Sometimes the hooded figure says "We" when referring to itself, but it''s done on purpose ^^ I''m more or less halfway through Arc 2, and as I''m still writing it, most chapters will be subject to changes. Not the first ones though, so I''ll be posting them later. Arc 2 is about the formation of FUBAR BUNDY, her infamous familia, and their firsts ''''EVENTS'''' (fame baby, fame!) I''ll be having my exams soon, so I''ll have to stop writing as much for a while. ( I''ll write a Arc entirely before releasing it anyways, so my releases willl be bursts of chapters once in a while) Have a nice day! (Arc 2) Short appetizer - Spoiler : The 7 fruitcakes ARC 2 - FUBAR BUNDY Short spoiler - The 7 fruitcakes .................................................................................................... What is FUBAR BUNDY? A Familia But it¡¯ way more than that. It¡¯s a party of monsters. Monsters because of their strength, their skills, their achievement¡­.. AND their behavior. Monsters because crossing them is the same as asking for a fucked up death. There is one thing that must never happen¡­. Don¡¯t make them serious Because if you awaken the sleeping lion, the situation won¡¯t just be FUBAR. It will cross the realm of the possible and become FUBAR BUNDY However¡­. If the 7 fruitcakes are having their peculiar brand of fun? Join in willingly. Because if you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll still be roped in unwillingly And did you know? You¡¯ll be scarred either way **** Who is FUBAR BUNDY? Their true numbers are unknown, but what is certain is that they are all genuine monsters. As of now have been tagged 8 of them. The 7 fruitcakes and the angel of fate. ~THE 7 FRUITCAKES~ The red rogue: being transcending the realm of the possible, she will chop your head off while laughing maniacally ¡­ and sometimes reading a book The dark merchant: Seedy person of questionable morals, he will end you ridiculously fast thanks to his skillful use of advanced unknown technologies. The red witch: Magic genius, she will rival in ingenuity to make your death exotic¡­. Unless she goes berserk and just plays with your lifeblood. The handsome paladin: Impossible tank, he¡¯ll laugh at your puny strength and then trample you with a nice smile The evil priest : Woe to those who cross the path of this master of curses¡­ because they will be forever changed for the worst, and thus in a wail of agony Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The blue lad: Impossible to categorize, this apparent master of many trades will make sure that you disappear flashily from the surface of the earth. The merry child: Avoid the gory crackpot, or you end will be grisly, gruesome and overall extremly unpleasant ~THE ANGEL OF FATE~ The blue singer: Honorary member of the team, she only appears from times to times, but it¡¯s certain that her heavenly voice will overthrow the tide of any battle. ****
I am but a lowly Deus, and Recorder of what is, Nergal. People call me the watcher as is the meaning of my name, but right now I''m writing. Why? Because I can feel it. The wheel of fate is turning. Something has been set into motion, something that may well transcend what was intented. The future has been rewritten, and the standstill is coming to an end. How will the Sacred''s designs hold against this new and uncontrollable wind? A Hurricane is coming. When? I do not know.... but I assure you, it is coming!
****************** Next chapter (Arc 2) Prologue - As always, life goes on Prologue - As always, life goes on Lennart had just finished a quest for the Chaotic church of Genesis. He may have been a Spirit paladin, and as such neutral, but he was a Chaotic neutral. He didn¡¯t really understand how he had qualified for the ¡®Chaotic¡¯ tag, but it served him well, so no problem. He got premiums quests here. Why? Because in the Strategos Empire, few were those that had an affiliation to Chaos¡­. Even the more so since the Red Calamity had destroyed Heimlin, the capitol of said empire two months ago. She was OBVIOUSLY of the chaotic designation¡­. And had kinda made life even more difficult for her brethren here. Chaos had been barely tolerated¡­ but now it was out of favor. Absolutely so. The cold war between Order and Chaos was nearing the freezing point. Sub-zero temperatures, really¡­ He felt like he¡¯d need mittens soon to ward off the chill. Situm Corporation had given a statement about the Red Calamity event by the way.
SitumCorp: The Red Calamity is a natural disaster that one should strive to never cross path with
It was short. It was dry. It also made it clear that it would happen again. How nice¡­. It was probably an event. She seemed invincible though¡­ Maybe somebody had to unlock a certain quest first to weaken her¡­ or to get a special artifact. The forums were having a field day. They all wanted the quest and had asked for more information, but past its fist anouncement, SitumCorp had stayed silent on the matter. Anyway, he had helped reconstruct the main chaotic church, and got stat points for it. How rare¡­. But how nice! He liked stats. A few special events had allowed him to unlock many stat points, so he was quite overpowered if one may say so. He liked it¡­ but things were starting to get boring. Maybe it was time to change his way of doing things? A familia may be nice. *Hmm¡­ Maybe I should make friends. I¡¯ve been going solo for too long¡­ I¡¯m still a tank¡­ and a tank can only truly shines within a party!* ---------xxx------------ Ankara couldn¡¯t have cared less about the reconstruction effort. She was busy. Busy creating Art. Sculptures or heaven. Sure, her Art was misunderstood by many, but why wouldn¡¯t she persevere? She was doing it for herself¡­. For her goddess. As such she had to be generous and altruist¡­ because her queen deserved to be loved by all. Yes, she endured the growing infamy for her goddess. The profane that were shocked by her Art were miserable creatures whom needed to be shown the light! So she went on sculpting, graduating from hidden areas to places in plain view. Share the love! Share it! And if they don¡¯t want it, then just force it on them. It was for their own good¡­ such a philanthropist she was! Her Art now graced the main streets of the capitol. It was often destroyed, but she endured. (Martyr!) Her goddess would surely come back to her once her art transcended mortality. She had to get better. A lot better. To do so, she knew she had to get superior elemental affinities¡­. Her material were the elements after all, though she had to admit having a predilection for water-sculpting. She could go on for days without stopping, but lately she had been finding the details of her work lacking, thus the need for the better affinities. She had absolutely no focus or mana needs¡­. Her hard work had repaid her efforts tenfold, and as such she was a mage of incredible quality. But spells didn¡¯t matter her. What mattered was her Art. Sculptures of beautiful young women. Small-chested young women. Women sharing the holy deed of love between themselves. Oh! How she wished for the right to touch her goddess¡­. To make her perfect body sing¡­. To give her pleasure and to bask in her love! She steeled her determination. She had to leave the city and get closer to the elements. Her skill description said that she had to find, learn, practice, understand, love and embrace the elements. And so she would. She was halfway there already.... and why wouldn''t she be? They were a way to her goddess. ¡­.. Whenever she unlogged, Aoife couldn¡¯t remember her game play, but she still felt that she had a greater purpose to accomplish there, so she didn¡¯t mind the abnormality. Maybe it was a special quest? ---------xxx------------ Azaz?l had come to visit his sister. His twin. Sneering at the sorry state of the once radiant city, he warily eyed his plate. She had cooked for him. He should have been happy¡­ but he wasn¡¯t. The crackpot had used THAT to make it. She swore she hadn¡¯t, but from the glint in her eyes, he knew it was a lie. So he was in a very difficult situation. Eat and risk unthinkable things¡­ or not eat and suffer the she-demon¡¯s wrath? Ah¡­ said like it was quite simple to choose. Eating it was. Nothing could be worse than her fury. Nothing. He ate. It was tasty. However he paled and fainted soon after, thinking that incurring her wrath may have been the better choice after all. ---------xxx------------ Vyx discreetly entered a dark alley, and sure, his client was here. It was a noble of great standing whom was currently shining thanks to his avant-garde Art. What was such a person doing in the poorest part of Heimlin and wearing a tattered cloak? He was conducting illegal business, obviously. His order was so shameful that he had to take care of it by himself. If anybody else knew, it would be the end of him. Drugs. The Mana-Spire elixir to be precise. It wasn¡¯t really a drug per se (at least not got the chaotic church), but in this land of light, something that would enhance artistry by giving small and harmless ¡®trips¡¯ was seen as against the order of things. It was unholy. Evil. Vyx was making a lot of money on this product. Consumables weren¡¯t his specialty, but as long as something involved mana, he was the guy to come to in order to get it. His profession gave him a lot of versatility. He got all kinds of odds requests for special substances, so somehow his reputation had been built on it. He then became known as the Dark Trader, even unlocking the class. As things went on and his infamy built, he rose as a standing member of the underground-world. And here he was, ¡®dealing¡¯ So funny. He would probably blackmail the guy later The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ---------xxx------------ Vanhart looked at his trembling customer. They said that clients were kings¡­ but when it concerned him it was wrong. To him they were supplicants. In the morning at least Why? Because those that came to him in the morning were either desperate or insane. Nobody with half a brain wanted to get involved in this part of his trade. It was soul-dealing. He soul-dealt the morning only. The rest of the time he was just your normal and everyday slaver/information broker. Riiight¡­. Normal. Hilarious. The desperate came to him in order to plead for their soul-orb back. He generally wasn¡¯t really keen on doing so because it meant that they had tried to kill him first. He mostly released the orbs of the innocents (more or less) he killed after all¡­ Yes, he was being fair in his own way. The situation he had been thrown into had maybe twisted him, but he had kept this little something that he thought of as honor. He had Kiri to thank for it, because she pushed him onto the right path by insuring that the twin-demons wouldn¡¯t attack innocent NPC. He certainly wasn¡¯t nice, but he wasn¡¯t outright evil either. His current client had been a would-be killer ignorant of his reputation. He was now paying the price for opposing him. It was heavy. Now what about his other kind of morning customers? The insanes. The insane asked him to take care of their soul-orb for a while. Why? Because when they got it back it had gained stats and skill-proficiencies. Yup. He was being PAID to kill and then enslave half the soul of some. It was extremly lucrative, and his clients were always happy with the results. Obviously he didn¡¯t cheat them. Reputation was important in the underground-world. That¡¯s why he had created binding contracts. This way, he didn¡¯t fuck anybody over¡­ and nobody did it to him either. Yes¡­.. He was jaded. The contracts weren¡¯t really necessary though¡­ his massive infamy and fearsome reputation made sure that none of the informed would ever dream of crossing him. The priest was that much of a terrifying existence (He was 2nd in the Hall of Shame by the way.... after Kiri.... by a long shot. He missed her, but he also wondered what she had gotten into. 526 000 infamy... it was.... heavy... and somehow jumped right after the red calamity event. Was she somehow involved? Nah! The third contender was a yuri witch. He had seen her art, but it left him cold. He wasn''t into small breasts after all) ---------xxx----------- Kifirin was keenly watching the road. She had just killed an idiotic couple doing way too much PDA for her tastes. It had felt great on the moment, but she quickly regretted it. She had kind of snapped and forgot to equip her PK persona before doing the deed¡­ so if they were witnesses she would have to take care of them. Murdering the witnesses would clear Kifirin¡¯s name. Why? Because it would mean no on-site reports. Obviously she would hide the PK marks and transfer the infamy from Kif to Kiri before dealing with the guards. As far as the NPC were concerned, she would be registered as a poor innocent eye-witness¡­. even if a report was made on her after her victim¡¯s respawn. Yup. She had killed near the entrance of Heimlin so guards would soon be on the scene. It wasn¡¯t smart but the couple had REALLY irritated her. Big time. Aaaaaand yep! Here it was. A little red-head was watching her with shock on her face. Yup. The girl must have been coming back from wherever, set on entering the city before seeing the violent slaughter. The poor thing seemed shaken. *Great, I¡¯ll take care of the marks and infamy before killing her. She¡¯s too stunned to react* However, as she got closer to the easy mark and kindly told her that her life was forfeit, the trembling figure franticly hugged her¡­. And began groping her while muttering some nonsense about a Goddess oddball Incomprehension. That¡¯s what Kifirin was feeling. Incomprehension. Then it was just grossness. The octopus was taking off her clothes faster than an old pervert. It kinda broke her, and thoughts about killing the offending character or just fleeing for her virtue ¡­ never came. Indeed. To protect itself, our heroine¡¯s mind just blanked. 30 seconds later, the guards interrupted the one-sided debauchery by ripping the pervert off Kifirin. Then they magically cuffed the mindless thing and left the area after making sure its poor victim was clothed again as well as seemingly sound of mind. It was done a bit precipitately though¡­. The female pervert kept on trying to undress Kifirin, so they did not linger. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Oooooh! Entertaining! That¡¯s a hidden status effect for you!¡± Gen had liked what he saw ¡°¡­. She touched her. I wanna kill her¡± The hooded figure, however, was feeling quite irate. ¡°Don¡¯t! She¡¯s needed. And it¡¯s your fault. It¡¯s not like your precious enjoyed it anyways¡± ¡°¡­.. True. I will spare her then¡± ---------xxx------------ Bluebell watched the girl he was fucking as she came. What a picture of heaven! A women¡¯s cumming expression was what he lived for. It was so beautiful, sincere and earnest¡­. So hot and fiery that it even warmed up his frozen heart. However, the effect was temporary, so he had to regularly bask into their heat in order to keep the warmth. He also had to taste them all, trying every shape and color, every need and fantasy¡­. Why? Because they each had a unique flavor that got to him in different ways. Yes, to feel of the living, he had to regularly fuck new women. It went well with him. He loved women, and women loved him back. Well, a few accidents still happened along the way¡­ incidents involving cheated-on husbands, bitter fathers and unbalanced stalkers, but he had somehow managed. Now he was pretty used to it and knew how to take care of the situations when they arose. His profession was sure helping though¡­ he got +1 to all stats at every orgasm given to a woman. Perfect. His class wasn¡¯t bad either¡­. It had useful applications in bed. In fact, his many partners had all loved it. Thanks to tales of fates, Bluebell was finally enjoying life ************ Next Chapter Chapter 11 - Mayhems Run Chapter 11 - Mayhem''s Run Kifirin was walking through the main marketplace, looking for supplies when she felt an unmistakable sense of dread. It was so awful she got goose-bumps all over her body. Skittish she looked around her with increasing unease until she spotted she-who-must-not-be-named. Her eyes went round and a gulp lodged in her throat as she prepared to make a timely escape, but, alas, it was not to be. Thus began the unfortunate event that would be referred to as the mythical ¡°mayhem¡¯s run¡± for years to be. Fate is unavoidable as they say, and right they were. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ How did this come to be? Coincidence? Godly tampering? Abysmal luck? None knows, but it all began with one person. Ankara the blood witch. The catalyst. Indeed, after witnessing the awakening of the personification of chaos, Ankara sanity took a big blow. Even as a being aligned to chaos, the sight had affected her strongly¡­. because none could withstand such an event unaffected. Yes, the seed of madness that flared the first time it was planted went to sleep in the form of a seemingly benign -however unhealthy it may be- obsession with ¡°The goddess'' body¡±. This¡­ peculiar quirk of her led her to create a number of elemental statues that would temporarily grace the streets, and shock more than one unprepared passerby. They were¡­.. graphic to say the least, and explored deeply the thing known as Yuri, or girl¡¯s love. And so, her life in-game was marked by a deep craving of Kifirin¡¯s body. She needed her fix of it. As such, the statues were only a temporary solution to the void eating her up, the yearning possessing her. The seed planted that day was growing, the obsession gaining ground¡­ hidden yes, but still present, waiting for the right time to reach its final potential and take over the last shreds of her sanity. The red-head went bonkers for real when she saw her goddess that day. The first time she had escaped her, and the loss had torn at her heart. So seeing her yet again? It felt as nothing short of a miracle! Her last sane thought was about the price of the loot she just sold in regards to the time invested in obtaining it. When Kifirin entered her sight, the seed bloomed violently, taking out the veneer of civilization with lust. Every moral code she ever learned, her prized rationality, and her whole socialization shattered under the force of the lewd cravings filling up her body. Her eyes glazed over and took on a rather reddish tint as she grew hot and needy. She locked on Kifirin like a missile, set on assuaging her primal needs, and when her quarry took flight, she naturally followed, empowered by the madness coursing through her blood. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Kifirin saw the witch formerly green-eyes taking on a strange hue and her face going slack before setting on a crazed expression. Even if she did not have her last encounter with the pervert in mind as a reason to scram, this blood curling image of madness would have been her cue to haul ass out of the market, as far away from the lunatic as she could. Her self-preservation instinct kicked in, going into overdrive. With a sense of impending doom she tensed before breaking eye contact with the witch, and ran for the hills screaming ¡°PLACE! PLACE! OUT OF MY WAY!¡± Running, she forged a path of destruction through the marketplace, too desperate to care about ruffled feathers, or as things may be there, crashed into people and merchandises. She might have had exceptionally high agility stat points, but the place was crawling with merchants and customers, crates upon crates of merchandises as well as heralds forewarning the ends of days. Avoiding all these hazards was a disaster in the making, and it was sheer luck that her desperate run for virtue did not end sooner than it did. In fact, her luck ran out when she came upon the farming area of the market¡­. Smack dab into the Annual Beast Fare. Avoiding a herd of prize griffins suddenly stretching their wings, she had to do a spinwheel at the last moment in order not to crash into unhappy looking chickens, thus tripping upon a cage holding baby wyverns, a rare delicacy of the Marches. ¡°DUUUUUUUUUCK!!!¡± was the sole word that escaped her lips when she saw what was to come. Her landing ungracefully on a poor merchant whose head met the floor with rare violence was the turning point of the mayhem¡¯s run. Things really went south at this particular moment. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Trader Vyx was patiently waiting for his contact, acting as normally as an ordinary picky merchant would. Of course, if you looked carefully you would see that this peculiar merchant was in fact quite uninterested by the wares being traded around him, as he refused to haggle. It was quite suspicious indeed, because the Beasts Fare only happened annually, and every merchant worth his salt would sell his soul to get his hands on some of the merchandise he was dismissing. However, in the general disorder created by the events, his behavior did not stand out, even helping him blend in, as predicted by Vyx. He was THAT good. Or devious. You judge. Discreetly scanning the crowd coming from the east entrance of the Fare, the hot latino was quite blind to the commotion happening on his left, and when a piercing shout for ducking attacked his ears, he only had time to turn half way towards the noise before being hammered by fate¡­. all the while wondering why he was the idiot sticking his head out rather than ducking as asked. BONK! CRASH! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. When Kifirin rammed into Vyx, the many vials he was carefully holding broke on impact, exploding all over them. The liquids began glowing pink all over the 2 poor sods before a strange and yet somehow pleasant smell permeated them. Vyx, finally out of the daze forced by the fall damage, widened his eyes and blanched before looking around spooked. Whitening even more, he wailed: ¡°WE RUN NOW OR WE WISH WE WERE DEAD!!!¡± Not asking as to why, as well as in a hurry herself, Kifirin grabbed Vyx hand and scampered off like a bat out of hell towards the market exit. He went quite willingly, seemingly desperate himself. Finally out the ambient chaos of the marketplace, she rapidly looked behind them to check on Ankara¡¯s progression and had to do a double take. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?¡± ¡°HELL! WE¡¯RE SCREWED IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD!¡± Despair coated his words¡­ Following them was not only the crazed witch, but also the entirety of the able bodied animals present at their side of the fare. Their pursuers counted in the hundreds and all had a common expression: out of control lust. The new additions to the mayhem¡¯s run fit nicely with Ankara indeed¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­. Vyx was tasting despair. Doomed, they were doomed. Hell this was a nightmare come true. Here be the first victim of bestiality¡­ or maybe the second, seeing that the girl running with him had also been drenched in the pheromones, but¡­.. semantics right? He would kill himself if his body would not be left to be defiled by the beasts. Necrophilia¡­ Yuck!!! Yes, defiled, even in death! Their sole chance was to get out of reach, because water would be of no help. The vials that had broken over them were full of animal pheromones, a mana blend especially mixed by him. It forced beasts to mate together regardless of specie and gender. His client had been clear on that point. Surely the guy was making strange experiments. It was illegal as hell, and as a dark trader, THE dark trader, Vyx had been happy to comply for a very hefty sum. It¡¯s not like he would have to stick around to SEE what would be happen because of the mixture. Riiiight. A drop of the mixture was enough to force a mating. Now, it did not work on humans, so thanks the spirit he had no urge to bang his new companion of infortune or any of the beasts for that matter, but being soaked as he was with the liquid made him THE hot thing to bang for the whole animal kingdom. Karma heh? He was almost a believer now. --------xxx--------- The mayhem¡¯s run tore through Hamlin, creating stampedes and bringing destruction everywhere on its path. Yes, following the wake of 2 persons, havoc was being wrecked on the city¡­. An enormous herd of crazed animals was following the runners under the flabbergasted eyes of citizens running for cover. Black Friday seemed tame in comparison. It was disorder, it was anarchy, it was glorious. Chaos took over and blazed bright on the wake of the mayhem¡¯s run --------xxx--------- Adding 2 and 2, Kifirin got the hang of things, but saw no solution other than continuing the run for virtue, even the more so that the stakes had grown exponentially. Or maybe they could try to ask for refuge at the nearby church. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Yep, the church of Chaos had reinforced doors as well as paladins, and it¡¯s not like they could go on with the mad dash for much longer anyways, their stamina would run out sooner than later. Well¡­. Her companion¡¯s would, but she wasn¡¯t gonna leave him to face that on his lonesome. Abruptly changing direction, Kifirin also decided to try her hand at chaos release with a little idea she never got around to execute. ¡°Hold on I¡¯m gonna try something!¡± yelled Kifirin, ¡°We need refuge at the church and I may have a way to get there before our stamina hits rock bottom¡± Not seeing any way their situation could get worst, Vyx acquiesced to whatever harebrained scheme she had in mind. He was wrong. It¡¯s then that things took a turn for the worst, going from a desperate situation to a catastrophe of abysmal proportions. Holding onto the image of roller blades channeling wind, she yelled ¡°CHAOS RELEASE¡± and willed the new creations to appear on her and her new friend¡¯s feet Ding!
[Sub-Skill Creation of Chaos release] Hell¡¯s blades You have created ¡°Hell¡¯s (roller) blades¡±, roller blades with wind wheels that allow you to fly through the air very fast. Beware of balance, this new mode of transportation is hard on the internal ear and you may find it difficult to go straight Price : 500MP per second This sub-skill had been added to chaos release and its efficiency is linked to chaos release skill level. You may delete it from the sub-skills later if you wish
Red glowing roller blades appeared on the 2 lads¡¯ feet and took them high up in the air. Freaking, the 2 scaredy cats gripped each other¡¯s like departing lovers and took comfort in knowing that their fate would be reciprocal. Sharing a moment of mutual understanding, they bonded strongly over their impending doom. It was a very emotional moment for virtual strangers who didn¡¯t even know each other¡¯s name, but as it is, every good time has it end, and theirs ended abruptly. The contraptions of hell flew them past the inner ramparts right above the chaos church (more or less 75 meters high) before disappearing after Kifirin¡¯s sealed mana ran out. Their stomach lurched as they plummeted to their death. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ A very bored spirit paladin with blond hairs named Lennart was quietly watching upon the Samhain Papal mass from the highest peak of the ramparts when he got a sight for sore eyes. Yep. 2 peoples scared out of their minds were flying haphazardly right next to him. They also seemed... relieved? That was mighty strange. What were they doing anyways? They seemed to be¡­ running from something¡­.. Ah! The flying witch. This explained that. Said witch appeared unsound of mind. Very much so. Oh. They were also followed by a herd of exotic animals. Interesting¡­ Lennart was getting lost in his musing, and the pair getting farther away when they suddenly fell out of the sky in a mighty scream. A split-second decision had Lennart jump from the ramparts and tackle the pair in the air before using slow on them as well as himself in order to make the fall less deadly. He was a nice guy like that. Now the problem would be their landing area which was¡­. well¡­.. the mass. Spirits! That was not gonna fly (no pun intended) if they squished any dignitary. Yup, they were screwed. He sure hoped the blue flash of his slow spell had alerted said dignitaries. And did the 2 idiots smell? Here began the apotheosis of the Mayhem¡¯s run, the exploding end to an incredible event that would spread uproar throughout two worlds ¡­......... Kifirin and Vyx were quite surprised when their falling to their death was interrupted by their new best friend which name they did not know, but that had great timing indeed. While it was true that their ending as a wet stain on the ground would resolve the problem of their remains being defiled by lustful beasts, they did not really look forward to death in such a fashion, as falling from this height would hurt like hell. Kifirin wasn''t even sure she''d die from it and wasn''t looking forward to being incapacitated.... a sitting duck to the lust tearing up the city. Suddenly something red flared around them and the 3 companions had a striking reunion with the ground. It was fast. It was hard. It was real emotional. And¡­.. It was shared with a fourth new friend! Said friend seemed quite knocked out though. They had landed on him after all, which was why he cast slow on them too. Apparently he saw it coming. Before they could ever begin to explain themselves to flabbergasted witnesses, a certain flying witch came to crash the party. Going straight for Kifirin, she ripped off part of her clothes off and tried her hand at molesting her before an amused Lennart (not ogling at all, nope) restricted her movement with a few earth shackles spells. Now that took care of his previous boredom didn¡¯t it? And as he already ate the poison, he might as well lick the plate clean, right? He would enjoy the show. None too bothered by it, Ankara proceeded to proposition her half undressed goddess with all her might. Things went from weird to embarrassing and the previously dumbfounded archbishop went red in the face. A: [Incredible sexual innuendo] PROFANITY BLOCK! K: [Super Strong rejection] PROFANITY BLOCK! A: [Graphic sexual description] PROFANITY BLOCK! K: [Resourceful cursing] PROFANITY BLOCK! A: [Extremely graphic sexual propositioning] PROFANITY BLOCK! K: [Violent call for death] PROFANITY BLOCK! A: [Graphic BDSM talks] PROFANITY BLOCK! K: ¡­.. ¡°GET HER THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! THIS RAVING LUNATIC IS DEAD! YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!!¡¯¡¯ While a certain paladin was trying very hard to keep a straight face, things were somehow coming to a standstill between the two ladies using profanities upon profanities. Then the party came to an all times high. Nevermind tearing the city apart with a mad run. Nevermind landing on the Chaos Pope (yes, the pope). Nevermind the vulgar shouting match currently taking place before the high devouts of chaos. However¡­. Mind the humongous herd of beasts blasting through the inner courtyard¡¯s doors and going straight for the delegation¡­¡­ especially for the just awakened pope. By contact, the pheromones of the mixture spread from the two lads to Lennart and to the Pope Marsh II. Somehow, Marsh¡¯s high divinity stat (he is the pope after all) interfered with the unholy mixture making it way stronger for him as it fed on his mana, just in time for the herd that skirted around the rampart to ignore all but him. What followed was an almost gang bang of said pope by a whole lot of lust crazed animals while the archbishop went from red in the face to purple, and finally fainted while clutching his heart. Meanwhile, paladin Lennart was laughing very loudly while rolling on the floor. Anybody with half a brain could tell that it came from the heart and that he was having the time of his life. Vyx felt there would be hell to pay for the freak show that just went on. Yes, hell to pay. --------xxx--------- Bluebell¡¯s POV Something was going down in the city, but Bluebell could not be bothered to care. No¡­ what he was caring about right now were the sweet spread tights of the lovely Melissa. Thanks to his skillful administrations, she was also past caring about the commotion going on outside. His tongue was simply divine! Yes, they were certainly enjoying themselves, and around the time he popped her cherry, a certain archbishop was fainting. They soon followed suit, release denied, their interlinked bodies going slack from the aftereffects of a red flash that encompassed the whole church. And so, the doors of the confessional they were in opened from the weight of their falling bodies. With a loud thump their secret tryst was exposed to the empty church, his long blue hairs protecting their modesty, but not her reputation. Soon, the church would fill with the remnants of the Samhain mass¡¯ dignitaries, and a father would become vengeful in the name of his darling daughter¡¯s lost flower. Indeed, Archbishop Parish day was not finished. Far from it *************** Next Chapter Chapter 12 - The Brigs Socialites Chapter 12 - The Brig''s Socialites Kifirin awakened in a cell. She did not remember how she ended up there, though she was not surprised that the ¡°event¡± sent her to such a place. Also¡­ she kinda recalled a mighty red flash, and then nothing. And right now? Well she was pretty comfortable with the lap pillow and all. Certainly, opening your eyes to a picture of handsomeness gently smiling down at you while you rest on his lap was nice. Real nice. So nice that she felt like kissing him. Deeply. And then proceeding to get more serious on the actual carnal part of their relationship. Relationship? Why yes! They were made for each other, so obviously it was the perfect time to get down to business. Right. Sooooo¡­¡­ *Nothing! You¡¯re in jail Kif! There is no relationship here, no love, no lust, no nothing! He¡¯s a virtual stranger¡­. Helping you rest your head on his lap. Such a nice stranger¡­ with kissable lips¡­ and¡­.. NO!* Letting out a squeak, she jumped out of the stranger¡¯s reach and plastered herself against the cell¡¯s wall. Trying to get her bearings back and her hormones under control, a rather embarrassed Kifirin peeked out from under her lashes in order to get more information on her mysterious cell mate. Riiiight. Information. More like she was gorging herself on his very, very likable appearance. Talk about a hunk. Dreams made flesh. She kinda felt like fanning herself. That was so NOT her¡­ wasn¡¯t she known as the ice queen? Well not anymore¡­ apparently. Nope. She was caught, hook, line and sinker. Happily so. Now about our man? His long ruby-red hairs were falling freely on his shoulders, encasing his handsome face. The contrast with his golden tanned skin gave it a sort of inner glow. She knew he was well built, as his tasty black clothes outlined his manly ripped body. Tasty indeed¡­. *Erm erm, objectivity Kif! Ob-jec-ti-vi-ty!* Why yes! Objectivity. There¡¯s no harm in naming a manly guy manly is there? Though if she had to give him a name on the fly it would be dream guy (Obviously Kifirin is biased, don¡¯t mind her) Anyways! While a silent ¡°dream guy¡± was laughingly gazing at her, our heroine raked her brains for something to say while continuing her observation. That¡¯s then her eyes met his¡­ it drew her in, their red swirling depths. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt herself get absorbed into a pool of ¡­.love. Love so pure, so true, so deep¡­ it fought off the endless madness, the boiling chaos ¡­ it made it worthwhile. She felt home. Free and yet grounded. Adored. Cherished¡­¡­ and scared. So scared! She was drowning in love. Too much, it was too much! It was wrong and yet it felt so right. Terrified, Kifirin tore her eyes from the intense gaze of her cell-mate, witnessing a flash of pain on his face so brief that she thought she must have imagined it. He smiled though, nodding as if agreeing on something only himself was privy to, and presented himself: ¡°Hello M¡¯hala. You were so cute in your sleep I couldn¡¯t stop myself from taking you into my arms. I may also have tasted your lips¡­ they were divine. I want seconds but alas I have to take my leave¡­. So¡­. Whenever you feel like calling me just ask for Troll King L. I may be busy right now but I guarantee you we¡¯ll be seeing each other¡¯s again. Soon M¡¯hala. Soon.¡± Smirking at her reddening face, he saluted with a wave of an imaginary hat and disappeared in the middle of a bunny eared kiss-kiss. Poof went the troll king. ¡°Aaaaaaaargh! Bastard!¡± went Kifirin. Had there been anything in the jail she would have broken it in a fit. She was raving mad. *A troll! He¡¯s THAT fucking troll! That¡­¡­ he¡¯s dead. History. Haha. Don¡¯t you underestimate a scorned woman!* (who¡¯s a scorned woman? Irrational Kifirin, so irrational!) Yes, this first official meeting left them both with a special taste in the mouth, Kifirin¡¯s being real spicy indeed. His? It was sweet, and yet salty from the tears. Calming down, she turned around and spotted her 2 companions of infortune sleeping in the adjoining cell. It took over an hour of Kif twiddling her thumbs for them to come around. As soon as they came out of grogginess they engaged in conversation. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Kifirin, rogue extraordinaire. You guys? ¡° ¡°Vyx, trader Vyx ¡° ¡°Lennart, Paladin¡° ¡°Sooooo¡­. Lennart right? What are you doing in the brig? I mean, me and Vyx? That¡¯s understandable, a given really¡­ but you? You only tried to help am I not right?¡± ¡°Beats me, I fainted right after the pope unleashed a freaky aura. It was a red flash. Then I woke up here with the merchant¡­ after which you talked to us¡± Vyx snorted. ¡°Right. He sure helped. You, kind sir, were laughing your ass out! There were tears streaking out of your eyes for fuck¡¯s sake! Did you ever think that the dignitaries would take our explication seriously after such a display of.¡­ of¡­. whatever.¡± ¡°Well yes I laughed. But really¡­ who wouldn¡¯t have? The pope got mauled by those beasts while Kif was doing a profanities showdown with the perverted crackpot. I mean, really¡­. You don¡¯t see that kind of shit every day!¡± No, people certainly never saw anything even close to what happened that day. It became legendary, and not much ever held a candle to it in terms of madness. The whole human world watched logs of the event through media channels and searched for the 4 heroes of the story but didn¡¯t find them IRL (not the unwilling at least). In game though? That¡¯s another story¡­. ¡°Right¡­.. The crazy witch. What¡¯s up with her anyway? She was chasing you when you collided into me was she not? How did she end up like that? She was pretty messed up¡± asked Vyx, genuinely curious ¡°I have no idea. I met her first near the entrance of the vity. I was eeeeeh¡­. Kindly asking for her help with something (Her life! Haha!) when she began groping me. It grossed me out so I kinda did a disappearing act on her (lie!), and then a few weeks later I spotted her in the middle of the market¡­. And the rest¡­. well it¡¯s history. Anyways, what the fuck was in your vials? The beasts went bonkers as soon as it touched us!¡± ¡°Pheromones. I had an order for different kinds. When the vials broke they mixed and had¡­ an unexpected result¡± Vyx smoothly lied his way out of it. Ding! Kifirin was awarded by a system notice, as were the boys
System notice: You have earned a title! [Forcefully Equipped ]Title : Mayhem¡¯s run hysterical front row runner As the first would be victim and front row runner of the mayhem¡¯s run, you became a celebrity! ? Fame : +2 000 (x2) ? Charisma : +20 (x2) ? Luck: +20 (x2) ? Stamina +20 (x2) Whenever you are within 30 m of any other Mayhem¡¯s run member, the stats given by this title shall be doubled
Very subtly she looked at the boys. Oh my. They sure had been spoiled. Vyx was the ~Mayhem¡¯s run seedy merchant~ and Lennart the ~Mayhem¡¯s run untimely laughing lad~. ¡°Well that was unexpected¡± said Lennart Vyx harrumphed ¡°Obviously¡­ the title system is broken I tell you! Some get embarrassing titles for everything and anything these days while others go on their merry life never getting any. We¡¯re struck with these ones for 48 hours. Hardy-har-har. At least it¡¯s better that the one I got during the great earthquake of Heimlin. ~Turned on earthquake freak #8~ was slapped on me¡­ and for no reason at all. It was the adrenalin from the fear I tell you, the adrenalin!¡± Kifirin perked up. ¡°Interesting. I got the oddball of the earthquake title. Dancing is not weird! We¡¯re title friends, understanding the pain of title bearing! Yay. Anyhoooo, gotta go. I don¡¯t want my cake to explode like last time. Let¡¯s register as friends before though, you never know¡± They registered and then she logged out. Looking at her blue offline body, the boys wondered about exploding cakes. (baking powder baby, baking powder) --------xxx--------- Leaving her capsule, Alya stretched her body on the last HAL song. Then, feeling well in mind as well as in body, our heroine proceeded to take her chocolate cake out of the oven. The smell was heavenly, and she was sure that this time her tinkering the recipe would bear fruits. Nice ones this time. She admitted that baking powder was a mistake for the last experiment, but well, you never got anything without trying, didn¡¯t you? And eating was one of her rare pleasures in life, so obviously she would do her best to widen the possibilities of her enjoying it! If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Alya expectantly tasted her precious and¡­. It was a failure. Adding oil certainly helped with the texture (it was great), but not with the taste. Dayum. She even went as far as to get tasteless oil. A shame! But¡­. Maybe on tales of fate? Hmmmm, she could use creation-cooking without the NEW after all, and may find some interesting ingredients later on. Yes¡­. Moreover she now had new friends which would happily play guinea pig for her! Probably? Oh well¡­. It¡¯s not like they could get bad status effects from normal cooking¡­. And in the name of science¡­ *hehe* Taking out her laptop, she used the web to search for VR ingredients that could be used to smooth the texture of a cake. She got sidetracked and was reading about interesting ingredients as well as ways to get her hands on them when a pop up window informed her of something big related to the game. A video. It had apparently earned a few hundred millions views in the span of an hour. Mayhem¡¯s run. Interesting name. Familiar name. VERY familiar name. She decided to watch it. ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Well shit. I¡¯m famous. Thanks god for the persona skill, I would never have lived it down if Danny knew it''s me. Or any other person for that matter. But wow, that sure went viral fast. The game master themselves released the video¡­ so it didn¡¯t miss any part of the whole debacle. ¡°Haha. Ha¡° Her laugh sounded hollow *Dayum. Darius will be laughing his ass out* She wondered about the punishment she would get for this. Forums were having a blast predicting their fate. Maybe her affiliation to chaos would get her out of jail faster? Jail huh¡­.. Briefly thinking about the troll king L, she forced herself to brush the though aside, not wanting to open this peculiar can of worms. Then, sighting, she got rid of the would-be cake and took care of business before reconnecting to the game. In her 4 Ghours of absence, things had apparently escalated. A lot. She found herself smack dab in the middle of a real big argument between the mayhem¡¯s run key players. This was gonna be fuuuun --------xxx--------- The archbishop, red in the face -yet again- was yelling at Lennart, who was -unsurprisingly- laughing madly on the floor. A vein was popping out of the high-dignitary¡¯s temple and spit was flying¡­ yes he was THAT angry. Or far gone, you judge. At this point he was pretty much spouting nonsense. Upon his head, his name, Parish, was graced with the title ~Mayhem¡¯s run apoplexy victim #SucksToBeYou~. A ledger had been unceremoniously dropped on the floor and laid forgotten at his feet. Pope Marsh, with the title ~Mayhem¡¯s run almost gang bang #Bestiality #Trololo~ proudly displayed above his head was straining to restrain his maddened archbishop. His soothing words of calm and peace were obviously being ignored by all concerned individuals. It was a lovely picture, and obviously the reason of Lennart hilarity. It was also a vicious circle. The more one laughed, the madder the other got, and vice versa. Vyx was apparently too flabbergasted to break the stalemate. Ankara? Well, she was the nervous wreak sitting on the side, head on her knees, muttering whatever. The title ~ Mayhem¡¯s run crackpot pursuer~ went well with her sickly complexion. Apparently Archmage Olivia¡¯s removing the hidden status effects took a lot out of her. Ding!
System notice: Sweet reunion All 6 members of the Mayhem¡¯s run are reunited for the first time since the event, and living up to their reputation¡­ are acting wonky. To commemorate this touching moment, their fame shall reach an all-time high. For the next 48 hours, tales of your feats will spread throughout the continent with an ungodly speed (don¡¯t underestimate the rumor¡¯s mill) >> Fame: +6 000 Thou shalst never be forgotten
Parish foamed at the mouth Lennart choked on his own laughter The pope Sighted Kifirin Gaped Vyx stared into nothingness Ankara shut up The strained silence was then broken by footsteps and the petty argument resumed. ............ Archmage Olivia had only left the dungeon temporarily to get a certain potion for the little wiccan. Because Parish had insisted, he had taken Ankara to the miscreants¡¯ cell, but her condition had taken a nosedive halfway. Real glad they shared quarters with the alchemist guild, he had gotten back to the magus tower in order to find her Kessalin root potion. It should relieve the queasiness long enough for her to get back on her feet. He would also not allow any mistreatment to come to his future pupil. He knew potential when he saw it .... a wiccan! And with her crazy elemental affinities? Jackpot! Yes, Olivia was a man. Blame his mother for his name, but she though that it suited him just fine. Was he effeminate because of the name, or did the name make him so? None knows, but his appearance was a great tool, for his foes underestimated him so. One should never forget the might hidden behind the pretty face, for an archmage he was, and a terrible enemy to those who would belittle his accomplishments or his young age. However, for all his power, right now our Olivia did not know what to do. The atmosphere of the cell was real heavy¡­ talk about pouting, squabbling kids. It felt wrong to intervene. Really, it was awkward. Discreetly, he administered the potion to Ankara. ¡­¡­¡­.. Aggravated, the young Marsh picked the ledger dropped by Parish and said one phrase. One. He was heard though. Maybe it had to do with the tone of his voice. Or his aura? It was kinda visible and pulsing red. Deep red. ¡°Everybody, sit down NOW and I shall not be repeating myself¡± Looking at him, anybody could tell that he had reached the end of his patience, and this was the pope they were talking about. All the kiddies had an attack of common sense. They felt they had better obey or something bad would happen. To them. And so they all sat down in a nice and neat circle around said angry pope. Even Olivia did so. He was not involved but was certainly not gonna take his chance. The pope went on. ¡°Right. We are presently here to deal with the aftermaths of the¡­ Mayhem¡¯s run. For reasons outside of your understanding¡± he took a quick, unnoticed peek at Kifirin ¡°you shall not be punished for your behavior in itself. It¡¯s a real mess anyway, the responsibility really can¡¯t be pinned on anybody--¡± ¡°What?¡± squawked Parish, ¡°These miscreants obviously conspired with the forces of order to interrupt our sacred mess and humiliate the chaotic dignitaries, I shall not allow---¡° ¡°Nothing¡± Interrupted the pope. ¡°You have no authority here, and my orders hail from someplace you could not even fathom, so please be kind, and shut it. Considering the blow you took because of your daughter¡¯s¡­ circumstances, I will forgive your behavior up until now, but you better fall in line real fast or I shall remind you why I¡¯m the pope and you only one of the archbishops. Are we clear?¡± ¡°Crystal¡± answered a certain high-dignitary with downcast eyes. ¡°Good. Now back to business. You may not be punished for your actions, but you certainly will have to pay for their consequences.¡± Pulling a paper out of the ledger, he began listing the numerous damages piling up in the city as a result of the mayhem¡¯s run. Infrastructures and goods destruction, injuries, lost goods (some beasts escaped, others died),etc ¡­. The costs were high. Really, really high. It was an insane amount in the thousands of Dakinum credits (hundred millions of gold. In fact the city was pushing most of the price of its entire reconstruction on the church. It was payback for the Red Calamity). ¡°Because of special and attenuating circumstances, the chaos church shall cover these costs. However, you shall be drafted in community service. It will serve as a sort of reimbursement to us, and a way to atone through effort for you. The details shall be given to you by Parish after I take my leave. No questions?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Good. Olivia, come with me, we need to talk with the mayor and finalize the amount and distribution of the repair funds.¡± Heading towards the dungeon¡¯s exit with the mage, Marsh turned around one last time, his long red papal robe flying as he said his farewell to the still sitting group. He also mentioned his hope that they would meet in different circumstances the next time. ************ Next Chapter Chapter 13 - That fucking jumpsuit Chapter 13 - That fucking jumpsuit Kifirin found herself in the middle of a forest. Ugly ass, eerie forest. It went well with her jumpsuit. Her fucking fluorescent ORANGE jumpsuit. Jumpsuit that she could not un-equip. Well, neither could her companions of infortune. It made her happy. They said misery loves company. They were damn right. Oh right! Kifirin, Vyx, Ankara and Lennart had a new friend: Bluebell. He also had the jumpsuit so no worries here. Apparently he was here for banging the wrong girl. It seemed personal the way Parish was giving him the I-will-use-your-dick-to-make-me-a-candle-while-you-watch stare. It smelled like authority abuse here. Meh! The more the merrier right? Kifirin Laughed *My laugh is hollow right? Right. We¡¯re screwed* By the way, Bluebell did not know who they were AT ALL. He expressed a certain liking at their titles though¡­ right before they were replaced by the forced tittle offered along with their new jumpsuit ~I am a miscreant~. Somebody had a sense of humor, somewhere. Our bluebell did not have the slightest inkling about their identity. Incredible, as the whole world knew of them. No wait. 2 worlds knew of them though the Mayhem¡¯s run. Talk about superstars... When they explained their regrettable circumstances, he admitted having heard something akin to a commotion while otherwise engaged but¡­ he was busy, ya know? The boyos smirked when they heard that. Well, it must have been some laid then! Must have been worth it. But worth THIS? Probably not. So, authority abuse. No recourse though. Nope. Our happy lads were MAROONED in this shitty piece of land. STRANDED. MOTHBALLED. Oh, they could get out alright, but only once they finished cleaning up the land plot. Why yes! Land plot. This part of the maleficarum forest was, in fact, a land plot of 1 000 hectares owned by the chaotic church that needed to be reclaimed. It was to be cleared in order to be farmed. Well actually it was not owned by the church per se, not yet. Clearing it offered ownership to the one that did the work. Ooooh that reminded Kifirin of old history lessons. Monks did it in the middle ages. Anyways¡­ they would do the work but the ownership of the land would be transferred to the church as reparation for the damages they caused. Nifty huh? Though¡­ it did not account for the jumpsuits. Nor for the fact that they were not allowed to leave until accomplishment of said job (thank you jumpsuit, nice one!). Weren¡¯t there some hard labor laws in this world? Not for convicts apparently. And the jumpsuits were just mean. Meaner towards bluebell though. His title was ~Sex Offender~ after all. Faced with their new reality, they totally felt like whining. And so they did. ¡­¡­.. So, welcome to the nowhere penal colony, a total backwater town composed of a total of 5 happy clams! Well, they only have the basic camping supplies, a few axes and hoes as well as a real strange fashion sense, with the orange jumpsuits and all, but shhhhh! That¡¯s hick mentality for you! So they say.
Penance trial You and your 4 fellow convicts have to clear this 1 000 hectares plot of forest in order to be allowed to leave it. It has to be ready for farming. You have been supplied with 5 axes and hoes as well as 5 small tents Remaining: 1 000 H / 1 000 H Time limit: None Reward: You may un-equip the convict¡¯s gear
After ¨Cmorosely and- superficially scouting the land with Bluebell, Kifirin called for a meeting. They needed a Plan. Plan with a big P, or else they were screwed. It would take way too long to clear the land normally. The good ol¡¯ way wasn¡¯t gonna work. Nope. Our girl opened the conversation ¡°Well peeps, we¡¯re in a tight situation. We need to clear 1 000 hectares of forest¡­ and if I must say? The faster the better. I don¡¯t fancy camping nor creepy critters. Here, we¡¯ll have to deal with both. So, if anybody has any genius idea, go on. Stupid ideas can also do. We¡¯re not real picky right now.¡± Lennart titled his head ¡°Hmm maybe we should talk about our skills first. I mean, we need to know of each other¡¯s abilities in order to cooperate right? There¡¯s no way any of us can complete the challenge by his lonesome, so we¡¯ll need to improvise.¡± ¡°True¡± answered Bluebell ¡°I¡¯ll present my abilities first. My class is ESPER. Mainly I can do Psychometry, Psychokinesis and Pirokinesis at the molecular level, Teleportation as well as Clairvoyance. I also have whip mastery but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s relevant here. ¡° Lennart blinked ¡°No, not really relevant. If your pyrokinesis is high level maybe you could just burn down the forest with witchy there? I could also help by buffing you guys paladin style¡± ¡°With Magical fire? Fire feed by mana? I don¡¯t think so. Not if you wanna be able to farm on this land later¡­. Which is a prerequisite. So, no.¡± Sighted Vyx. ¡°Alright. Well, as you can see, I¡¯m a Paladin. However I¡¯m not affiliated with any church because I¡¯m a Spirit Paladin. So¡­ I pretty much have the normal skillset, but my support skills are linked to elements. I can tank, attack and buff way better than your everyday paladin though I don¡¯t really see how I could help there¡­ other than buff the ones implementing the plan that is.¡± Shrugged Len ¡°Maybe I could flood the land with water magic and then we would just have to sink the vegetation deep into the mud? Oh. Right, I forgot! My class. I¡¯m a blood witch. A normal witch who has, well¡­ mastery over blood as a bonus. That¡¯s not gonna help either¡­ sap doesn¡¯t seem to count as blood. At least not at my skill level.¡± said Ankara. She had gotten better and was now on friendly terms with the rest of the group¡­ even Kifirin. They were all told about the hidden status effect and held no grudge. ¡°The flooding plan seems¡­ interesting, but let¡¯s keep it as a last ditch effort shall we? There¡¯s so much that could go wrong that it ain¡¯t even funny. Good idea thinking about it though, at least we have a plan D¡± winced Vyx ¡°¡­ So, I¡¯m a red rogue. A rogue affiliated with chaos. I have nothing to do with the churches though. Let¡¯s say that my skillset is¡­. chaotic. But I have nietch that would help us clear the land. Really, I¡¯m focused in assassinations, sneak attacks, dps, impersonification, thievery, and other related stuff. Rogue skills, ya know?¡± Kifirin offered a blinding smile. ¡°No need to be wary though, I have integrity. Boy scout¡¯s promise! ¡­ It would also be stupid to go against each other, we¡¯re all needed here. And I like you guys. Honest.¡± Obviously, Ankara did not remember her new friend trying to relieve her of her life and optionally her valuables at their first official meeting. It was not surprising though, with the hidden status effect out of her system, her life under its rule had become kinda hazy. Was it her mind trying to protect itself from her outrageous behavior or just an aftereffect? Good question¡­ Nodding at Kif, Vyx went on. ¡°I¡¯m a trader, but that¡¯s not the point. What¡¯s important is that I already have a profession, Maker. That may be our salvation, but we¡¯ll need to work hard for it¡± Interested, they asked him for an explanation ¡°To make it simple, as long as I can mana-weave a template of something, be it inanimate, liquid, automated, motored or whatever, then I can burn it down on ore. By activating the sygil, the creation is released into existence and can follow its intended purpose until deactivated or destroyed. Unless it¡¯s a consumable, then the process is a bit different but it¡¯s not the point here.¡± His audience¡¯s eyes widened. That was real handy. ¡°I obviously cannot create life, but tractors and stuff? Yes. If you give me blueprints and supply me with mana, then you shall have your wish. The problem? It¡¯s a real bitch to weave a new template, and we¡¯ll ALSO have to invent a forest destroying automaton from scratch. I, for one, don¡¯t know of anything like that.¡± Smiling, his four companions of infortune saw the light. Vyx¡¯s skill would allow them to fuck up this forest real fast. They decided that it would be a viable solution as long as one of them came up with a blueprint for the automaton. They needed to do research though. Google, here they came. Registering as friends, they decided to meet 12 RH later with at least a few automaton propositions each. They had forgotten that they would also need ore. There laid the difficulty... because it would not be just any ore, nope. ----------xxx---------- Back in her room Alya proceeded to search for a ¡°tree uprooting machine", but came short on the actual results. However, she still had some nifty blueprints idea and was sure that with the help of her new friends, they would find a solution. Thinking of actual real-life friends, she dressed up, grabbed some money and ran for her car. She would miss Danny, but her brother could take care of himself fine. That would not stop him from whining about having to make dinner on his own though. The guy had stopped ignoring her but was still being cold. Well¡­ he knew to behave, because he didn¡¯t want her to send to certain video to daddy dearest. Waiting for her friends at the entrance of Cat¡¯s cradle, her favourite live music club, she checked the news on her HUD. Nope, the commotion about the Mayhem¡¯s run had not died down at all¡­ in fact it was getting even bigger. Everybody only had words of the event on his lips. It was pretty insane. People used one recurring word to describe the situation: FUBAR. Indeed, it had been ¡®Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition¡¯. Pretty much so. Some even said FUBAR BUNDY, because certainly, the key players must have wished that they were dead at some point. ¡®Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition But Unfortunately Not Dead Yet¡¯ Nice title. She liked it. The feel though¡­ she really missed the high! The thrill! Even as scared as she had been for her virtue, it had still been fucking awesome. She wanted seconds! SitumCorp - Somewhere in the Mayhem''s Run thread ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°What are you doing Ally?¡± Asked a pretty blond to the absorbed busybody. ¡°Huh? Oh Delhia you¡¯re early! I uuuuh¡­. I was checking the feeds on the Mayhem¡¯s run. Quite something isn¡¯t it?¡± answered Alya. She was still wondering whether she should confide in Delhia about her involvement in said event. ¡°My goodness yes! The vid totally made my day. It was a GIANT joke. I don¡¯t know how those poor retards hit the ¡°jackpot¡± but it was GREAT! The odds for such a chain reaction event to happen are madness! I wish I had been in the city at the time¡­. It must have been unreal to witness it! I would even have been happy ending up trampled like Kathy¡± Gushed out the over-enthusiastic girl ¡°You would? No wait. Kathy? She was there¡­ And she died trampled?¡± Paled Alya ¡°Didn¡¯t I say so? Apparently she was right into the path of the beasts. Many died that way ya know¡­ but most took it good-naturedly, contrary to our resident party-pooper, Kathy.¡± ¡°She¡¯s mad? Damn¡± ¡°Why do you care? It¡¯s not like you have anything to do with the event anyways. Were you there by the way? You said you were still in Heimlin yesterday didn¡¯t you?¡± asked Delhia as Kathy made herself known. She had arrived a while ago but decided not to interrupt the interesting conversation. Yes, INTERESTING conversation, alright¡­ ¡°Ah um¡­ that is¡­ I missed it. I was not playing¡­ too bad huh? Haha.¡± unconvincingly said Kifirin before acknowledging Kathy¡¯s presence. She knew of Delhia¡¯s personality flaws and admitted that her secret would not be safe with her. It was too hot a topic around the world for the girl to keep quiet and not bask into the fame she would get as THE Kifirin close friend. Now¡­ Kathy? Well NO, she didn¡¯t really feel like dying right now. ¡°Aww shucks. Too bad yeah. Hey Kat? Wanna do a recount of the events for our Alya right here? You know¡­ with your getting trampled and all¡± Smiled the blond Suspiciously watching Alya because of her dubious answer, the brunette politely declined and addressed the fidgeting fiend. ¡°Mind coming with me for a sec Ally? I need to talk ¡®bout our SPE math project. You kinda MISSED the whole university day, and I MUST give you the new parameters. Right NOW.¡± Her eyes said that no was not an answer. Wincing because she knew she was about to be busted, our heroine asked Delhia to wait for them in the club. Said girl knew not to protest when Kathy got THE LOOK, and quickly vacated the area. They moved to the closest back alley. ¡°So¡­. From your missing college for no good reason, I know that you were playing. From your reaction at the mention of the Mayhem¡¯s run, I am 100% sure that you were involved one way or another. From the guilty look AND your abysmal luck I also feel pretty sure that you were one of the key FUBAR players. From your dubious name tastes, I place the sure bet that you are Kifirin. What do you have to say for your defense?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­. That you¡¯re a good detective? Though it¡¯s still cheating cuz you know me like the back of your hand¡± tried our girl ¡°Ally? I died. TRAMPLED. ¡± Her gaze was stern. Unforgiving even. ¡°Well, yeah¡­ sorry. You do know that I almost got X-rated things done to me by the witch and whole bunch of animals right? That balances the sheet doesn¡¯t it?¡± Kat¡¯s lips twitched ¡°¡­. I must admit that I did find the situation funny. Even the more so that I am now aware of the fact that you were the head-runner.¡± ¡°I¡¯m forgiven then? And you won¡¯t tell Delh-Delh?¡± ¡°Yup. But damn, such an outrageous event. Talk about one hell of a ¡®train¡¯. I KNEW you were involved as soon as I understood the sheer magnitude of it. There was no way a bullshit-magnet like you could not be involved when present in the city.¡± Kathy smirked. Her friend¡¯s answering pout sure was sweet. Alya didn''t comment on the bullshit-magnet thingy. It was the truth.¡°Sooo¡­ what know? You¡¯re aware of my avatar, so there¡¯s no sense anymore in keeping yours a secret. We¡¯re almost lvl 100 anyways.¡± (Koff Koff!) Indeed, the girls were blissfully ignorant of each other¡¯s game character and had decided it would be so until they all hit lvl 100. No leeching, no safety lines, no premade party. The idea was to fend for themselves and gain independence thanks to the experience. It would also force them to create new relationships in the game, a plus for Alya who always needed incentives in order to be social. At least she did in reality¡­ and had no such problems in game. Weird¡­ ¡°Well I guess I would have told you sooner or later. I¡¯m a founding member of Eden¡± ¡°The crafting guild?¡± Alya was surprised. She had assumed her friend was a priest. ¡°What¡¯s your class?¡± ¡°Alchemist. I¡¯m having a lot of fun with creative mixing. My name is Wattica¡­ you may have heard of me¡­ I¡¯m pretty well known for synthetizing the bobbly pets.¡± At her friend¡¯s questioning gaze she went on ¡°The cute slime creature that almost everybody has got on its shoulder? It¡¯s mine. I made it. Geez, do you ever mind what¡¯s going on around you?¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Ah that.¡± Alya made a face. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the colored wiggly thingy that people baby-talk to? I¡¯m pretty sure my QI dropped last time I witnessed the empty babbling. It¡¯s so ridiculous I first though they were retards, but then I saw that the behavior was generalizing, so I kinda gave up on human-kind. Shame on you Kat, you¡¯re rushing the extinction of our race.¡± ¡°Who cares? People are happy and I¡¯m getting filthy rich¡± ¡°Yup, that¡¯s humankind for you!¡± ¡°¡­ Whatever. Let¡¯s go to Delhia. It¡¯s a surprise performance today¡­ so I hope we¡¯ll be agreeably surprised. However¡­. If it¡¯s metal again I¡¯ll totally make them eat my jacket¡± ¡°You¡¯re on¡± As they left, a shadow took off. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Nicola? Volkov was taking a breather in the back alley of Cat¡¯s cradle. He liked emptying his mind before performing, but this time a hushed conversation interrupted the process. He did not mind it though. Nope. The gossips hadn¡¯t noticed him and dropped one hell of a nugget before leaving. Smirking, he reentered the club through the back entrance. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Alya and Kathy found their friend flirting with a guy near the scene. It was so sticky sweet that they got cavities. Used to it but still wanting to avoid the drama a little longer, they went to order soft drinks. On the way back, Ally tripped on something and fell into the arms of a spiky blond, splashing him with a healthy dose of coke. He felt¡­. familiar? ¡°Wow, I knew I made girls fall for me, but it¡¯s the first time one tripped all over herself in order to get to me!¡± Winking while delivering the cheesy line, the guy then laughed at himself and proceeded to get Ally back onto her feet. Wiping away the coke with a nearby napkin, he smiled cheekily at our girl before presenting himself: ¡°So¡­ Nice to meetcha coke-girl. I¡¯m Nicola?. I don¡¯t generally spout cheesy lines but the situation was asking for it. If you went from feeling sorry to embarrassed for me, then it means I did it right!¡± Giggling at his goofy behavior, she gave him her name and carried on with the conversation. It was nice and friendly with a bit of fun in-between. Even the reserved Kathy pitched in from time to time, finding the blond interesting as well as easy to get along with. Before parting ways to get back to their respective friends, they ordered their HUD¡¯s AI to do a mental handshake, exchanging contact information. Back to a pouty Delhia that obviously had not scored as wished, they enjoyed their drinks while waiting for the surprise performance to begin. They wanted to dance, so they hoped it would be a nice group. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ In the club¡¯s backroom, Nicola? put on black shirt and leather pants. He then removed his common HUD to slip on a big silver one that hid a third of his face from view, thus protecting his identity. Almost ready, he un-spiked his hairs and stuffed his backpack with the soiled clothes before cracking his fingers. His AI told him that the digital piano had been placed on the scene. It was time for him to make an entrance. He did that kind of secret impromptu concert once a month, randomly selecting clubs all over the world. The fans were kept on their toes and loved it. Plus, the feel of a small room allowed him to really feel the audience, which he loved. He was a musician at heart, and adored being able to surprise and please people. He stepped on the stage. As silence descended on the public, his hands hit the keys ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Alya was gently teasing Kathy about a supposed crush on Nicola? when Delhia loudly gasped. She was staring wildly at the stage. Startled, the girls focused on the dais. The sight was unexpected. HAL. This was a secret concert. As the music took on a life of its own, the girls moved over to the dancefloor and began to dance. Guys got turned down as they concentrated on the feel of the sound, letting it electrify their skin. They went all out, and pulling out the moves on the steady rhythm, they simply enjoyed themselves, a smile on their lips. Hours later the concert reached its end as their sweaty bodies hit their limits, stamina completely depleted. It was a good healthy feeling. Resting on the side until the end of the encore, they left satisfied as HAL pulled yet again a disappearing on his legion of fans. He never gave autographs at unofficial venues. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ On the morrow, she had to put up with her brother whining about the concert. Apparently it was her fault that he missed it regardless of the fact that he rarely went to the cat¡¯s cradle. Golden boy was extremely self-centered, and she had no time for his antics. She wished he would grow up... Cutting him off mid-complain, she left the kitchen and prepared to play. ----------xxx---------- Back at the camp, she saw Bluebell. He was miserably staring at a mutant stag beetle. He was also poking at it with a stick ¡°Blue? Are you alright?¡± ¡°Say, Kif¡­ do you know what¡¯s the total female population of this place? 2. And both are totally off limits. This is nightmarish. I¡¯m also not looking forward to the debuffs. Damn¡± ¡°¡­ off limits? How so? Not that I¡¯m interested in you or whatever, you know, but I¡¯m curious as to why you decided not to make any moves on us¡± ¡°Well¡­. You? hmm¡­. How to explain? My instinct is screaming at me to stay the fuck away from you. Clairvoyance also is giving me vague warnings¡­. something frightful related to a strong presence that I don¡¯t wanna expand on, so don¡¯t ask. And Ankara? Somehow she has a sisterly feel and it feels gross to even think about doing her. Yuck.¡± The guy shivered. ¡°¡­ I see¡­. Your instincts are SCREAMING at you to stay away from me huh? Humpf. Now what¡¯s this about status debuff?¡± Her tone was a bit cold ¡°Oh that? Well it has to do with my profession. I¡¯m a Manwhore. Whenever I give an orgasm to a girl, I get stat points. However I must do at least a girl per day (1 per 12 played Ghours) or I earn status debuffs that get stronger the longer I don¡¯t score.¡± ¡°Wow Blue. You sly dog, you¡± amusingly snorted Kifirin, displeasure forgotten. ¡°Well¡­ yeah!¡± He waggled his eyebrows in appreciation. ¡°So¡­ if we want to take care of the dungeon we spotted when scouting¡­. The faster the better. I already have a -5% debuff from yesterday.¡± ¡°But¡­. didn¡¯t you do the deed? That¡¯s why you¡¯re here right?¡± ¡°We were interrupted in the middle of fucking. Neither she nor I reached climax so it does not count.¡± He shrugged ¡°Well, it should be alright. We¡¯re all monsters here anyways.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I can gauge battle prowess. We¡¯re all off the charts¡­. even the resident merchant, Vyx.¡± ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Talking about random stuff, they focused on the discreetly fleeing insect (busted!). ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. A dozen of minutes later, after the agonizing death of one poor stagbeetle, the whole group was online and ready to talk. Pooling together their different blueprint ideas and discussing the technicalities associated with maneuvering engines in a forest, they finally agreed on a final sketch. It took them a while and some got vocal, but they nonetheless had a pretty good time tossing ideas around. A strong sense of comradeship was born between them all. ¡°I¡¯ll only take me a few hours to mana-weave the template if you guys supply me with mana. Here, take this.¡± Getting 4 suspicious round lumps of black ore out of his pockets, he gave them to the group. ¡°I call these Koins. They are pieces of ore burned with a template. You see the blue sygil in the middle of said koins? It¡¯s the one for mana transfer. Just focus on it to activate the device, then direct the flow at me. You can do whatever while I work, but stay in a 10 meters range from me. Once I¡¯m done, you¡¯ll just have to deactivate the transfer. Questions?¡± ¡°Do we have to keep the koins in our hands?¡± asked Ankara ¡°Nope, put them in your pockets. Not your inventory though, it¡¯s your real pockets I¡¯m talking about.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± said the 4 friends in unison. As Vyx began working, they found themselves with nothing to do. Bored out of their minds from too much inactivity, they finally decided to play cards. Strip-poker it was. Lennart lost, with Bluebell as a close second. Kifirin couldn¡¯t keep from evilly twirling her inexistent mustache as the girl-team totally powned the poor sods. They got an eyeful, but nobody really saw the other that way, so it was all done in good fun. ¡°Oh noes¡­ I''m down to my socks and underwear!¡± went the paladin in a mockery of moaning, ¡°what should I take off next?¡± ¡°Keep the socks¡± answered the leering witch Kifirin grinned ¡°Why Kara¡­ I didn¡¯t know you had a socks fetish!¡± ¡°Socks are sexy. I had the best of fun with this parameter. Imagine an innocent-like girl solely clad of white socks straddling you. Then picture her pushing you to the ground and using those tiny white pieces of heaven to slowly squeeze your¡ª¡° ¡°TMI Blue, TMI.¡± Interrupted Vyx in the nick of time. The others were way too busy watching the trainwreck to try stopping it ¡°I¡¯m done by the way. Share window of Forestbane template.¡±
Forestbane template (#1 series) Template created by Maker Vyx, this incredible feat of mana-weaving can force into existence 10 trunks uprooting machinas that shall become trees¡¯ worst nightmare. Because of the insufficient skill level : ? The requirements of burning are higher than they should be ? The durability is highly reduced (You¡¯ll have to make a series #2 to get more)
[tr]
Type: Machina (mana powered)Name:Forestbane
Durability:10 burningsRequirements:10 pieces of crystal ore
Be proud, you¡¯re working for the deforestation¡¯s cause! (shame on you) >> Infamy: +50 per created koin
¡°Now we have to somehow obtain 50 pieces of crystal ore. I though it may need gold or maybe platinum¡­ but apparently the machina is a little bit too sophisticated for my current skill level, which exponentially raised the requirements. Sorry.¡± ¡°50 pieces of ore?¡± wondered Ankara aloud ¡°Yep, 10 for each machina. We¡¯re five, which makes 50 pieces¡± said Vyx ¡°Hmm? Ah not it¡¯s not what I meant! I know how to count¡­¡± muttered the red-faced witch. ¡°The thing is that I am in possession of 2 crystal coins. I got them as payment for a sculpture.... at least I think so. Can they be converted?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re talking about the automatic game conversion, then yes. The conversion rate is of 1 coin for 10 pieces of ore. With a blacksmith we could have gotten 1 to 5 more pieces per coin, but well¡­ we don¡¯t have any on hands, do we?¡± asked Lennart Kifirin sighted ¡°Well, I¡¯m friend with a founding member of Eden, so I could find us a skilled smith, but I don¡¯t think it would be worth the wait. We¡¯re kinda in the middle of nowhere.¡± Why wasn¡¯t Kifirin volunteering her fortune for this? It¡¯s not like it would hurt her. Because it wasn¡¯t on her. It was at the bank. It would have been insane to walk around with that much money considering her high infamy¡­ the drops levels were no joke when you had 500 000+ infamy. Kiri may have been the only one to shoulder said infamy, but Kifirin wasn¡¯t gonna take a chance. Why yes! Kiri was the Nb 1 most researched person of the Empire. Hear hear! Shouldering the red Calamity''s infamy hadn''t helped. She had jumper for moreor less 250k infamy to over 500k. Yay! Low key.... ¡°It¡¯s too bad there are no mines here, I could have gotten us the ore¡­Plan B then? We make as much money and loot as possible in the dungeon, which we will proceed to automatically convert into crystal coins, then into crystal ore. We¡¯ll be making huge losses, but it¡¯s not like we can be picky¡­ there are no active merchants around. Then again, we can still sell the forestbane koins for big bucks later¡­. we¡¯ll have the monopoly after all¡± Stated Vyx The convicts approved of the plan. It was costly but would work better than their other options. They all converted their money into bigger coins (Copper < Silver < Gold < Platinum < Crystal < Dakinum). With Ankara¡¯s 2 coins, they reached the sum of 4 crystal and 7 platinum. It was a small fortune, but they needed more. 93 platinum were still required. 9 300 gold coins. Dayum. They needed to farm that dungeon. It was apparently a lvl 200 instance, but they knew that together they would manage alright. They had gotten to know one another pretty well while generally fucking around and killing mobs around the place. They had come to understand that they were all strong in their own rights. Save from the fact that they had no priest, they were making for quite an interesting party. Kifirin battle-sense had informed her that they were all rated between 8 and 9 The paladin would tank and buff. The witch would make for most of the damages. The maker would use rail-guns to rain down hell on enemies while stunning them The rogue would massively chip at their foes¡¯ heath till it was too late. The esper would work on molecular level. Attacking. Protecting. Healing. Buffing. Debuffing¡­. He was versatile in a good way, because they were mostly subskills of telekinesis. (no jack of all trades here, but a master of one) Yes, after testing the waters in the forest they were ready. Cooperation would not be a problem¡­ they worked surprisingly well together. Once they got the ore, they would have Vyx burn down the machinas, and then there would be some serious forest genocide going on. Indeed, it had become personal between the Maleficarum forest and them. Its name sucked anyways. *********************************** I''m done with the Arc 2 postings for now. There are others chapters, but I haven''t finished them / reworked them.... and the last are still to be written I''ll see later how my revisions are going, and if I get the writing itch... well... ^^ I''ll probably be posting a minor teaser of the next chap ... maybe? The ''real'' action, will begin then, but it''s not my strong point, so it''ll take me a while finishing it (Yup. I write whenever a chapter comes to me... so yeah I have chapters in the 30+ and 40+ already written xD) Please give me feedback, I wonder what you guys think of this fiction... - Do you like the characters? - What do you think about the world building? - Have you understood what is going on with Kifirin? (It''s supposed to be strongly hinted at, so if you don''t get it it means I did it wrong) - Are you having a good time reading this? - Are the grammar / spelling mistakes bearable? Thks -Nergal- Chapter 14 (teaser) Hello! here is the beginning of the chapter 14, to give you an small idea of the skills and mentality of the chars. It''s short, but it''s the one part of the chapter that I know won''t be changing, so here it is. Enjoy! (I hope) *********************************** Chapter 14 (teaser) The 5 stooges had registered as a party. They were ready, and after reaching the entrance of the underground dungeon, they prepared to enter it. It was a sort of big hole in the ground, which made it at least a lvl 200 instance¡­. or so had told them Kifirin, the resident bookworm. It was part of the miscellaneous knowledge she had gained of the game that didn¡¯t rate for a knowledge sheet. Underground dungeons were level 200 minimum (caves were the exception to the rule and could be whatever). ¡­¡­ Bluebell went first, but was very careful. He couldn¡¯t see the ground after Ankara sent a huge fireball down there. In fact, he just saw the light getting dimmer as it went farther¡­ so he had no idea of the pit¡¯s depths. He had also sent a minor ¡®sound wave¡¯ by using a telekinetic subskill that vibrated air molecules at a very high frequency, but got nothing back. It meant that the ground was farthest than his telekinesis AoE. Not reassuring¡­ Buffed as he was, his range was 30 meters, which would already make for a deadly drop. So yeah¡­ he went in cautiously. He also made an educated guess for the benefit of the party: ¡°You guys probably already know it but¡­. it¡¯s pretty deep. Maybe extremly so. We have no way of knowing so don¡¯t just jump in¡± As he began to drop, he used telekinesis yet again to agitate the molecules of the air under him in a researched way, rearranging, compressing and cooling them as he saw fit. The density of the air went up, which slowed down his fall. A lot. Mightily liking this new application of molecular telekinesis, he registered it as a subskill named ¡®Density rule¡¯, making sure he could select the parameters before and during use, which would allow him to customize his altering of the air density. Wanna slow foes¡­. Immobilize them? Easy as pie. Make them choke on air? Simple. Make a sort of barrier? A bit more complicated because he would have to add adapted space variables to the calculation, but overall achievable. His mind full of equations and possible uses of this new subskill, he smiled broadly. Regardless of its ending, this trip would not be a waste. He had already gained much from it. Hmm? The mathematics? Well, he was obviously doing them all in the middle of said drop. Talk about a cool cucumber. A SMART cucumber. He could also have teleported in loops but it wouldn¡¯t have been challenging then, would it? ¡­¡­ Lennart hopped in without a care in the world. Well, he used slow first, but he knew it wasn¡¯t gonna help that much thanks to his first-hand experience at the papal mass. He didn¡¯t care though, he knew he wouldn¡¯t die from it, his defense and vitality were outta the lock. It would still hurt though. But damn, it was so FUN! The thrill of jumping into the unknown, aware of the fact that he¡¯d crash at the end¡­. Wonderful! Adrenaline, here he came! (Pain too, but well...) ¡­.. Ankara dubiously watched the paladin commit virtual suicide. For the life of her she couldn¡¯t understand why he had declined her help. *Whatever¡­ guys!* She activated flight and rushed down. She didn¡¯t know how far was the ground, so she had decided to be quick. She didn¡¯t want to run out of mana halfway after all¡­ no time for sightseeing. She also created a mana flare on the way. It¡¯d be too bad if she went splat at the very end because she had blindly rushed headlong into the impenetrable ground. ¡­.. Vyx drank some ¡®Elixir #23¡¯. It was a consumable so he had mixed it using mana, which had been painstakingly long because of its brewing process. However, the rewards were great and he had made quite a lot of it. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The beverage allowed the one who drank it to totally ignore the first damage received after ingestion, be it the slap of a vexed maiden, or the flame of a dragon. Obviously it couldn¡¯t be used too much unless one wanted to suffer from an excruciatingly painful poisoned status, but it could be useful in tight spots. This was one such occasion. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t get scratched by something on the way, because then he would be pretty much fucked. Then again, he worked well under pressure¡­ Indeed, the whiz still had many aces up his sleeves. He just wanted to test his last creation¡­ ¡­. Kifirin painfully watched Vyx gulp down a glowing white substance that had a gooey consistency. She wondered how it was supposed to save his ass¡­. and it seemed disgusting. Looking down at the hell-hole, she did the leap of faith, and then blinked down. Over and over again, she blinked down. Obviously, there was a 5 seconds cooldown between each leap during which she used the air element to slow her fall. It was a great exercise of concentration, precisely alternating spells like this on a set timing. If she miscalculated by even a hundredth of a second, she might die. It was fun though. She loved the feeling of her stomach dropping again and again after each blink when gravity claimed her. --------xxx---------- At the entrance of the burial maze, a blue-haired guy could be seen approaching from above. It may have been dark, but he felt the ground coming thanks to his permanent sound-waves releases. Prepared for the imminent landing, he altered the variables of ¡®Density rule¡¯ yet again. YET AGAIN, yes, because the fall had lasted more or less 5 minutes¡­ so he had started playing around with his new toy when he got bored. The dungeon was frighteningly deep. Blue¡¯s ever-changing speed went from fast to super slow in the matter of seconds, and as his feet gently touched the ground, he smoothed his hairs back and tied them down. They had been obstructing his field of vision, flowing around as they were. The walls where then illuminated as the torches they held all lighted up at the same time. Spooky. Not long after, a free-falling nutcase whooped loudly as he finally saw his final destination. The adrenaline high was glorious¡­ he was approaching the ground extremly fast. Then he crashed with a metallic crunch. The armor equipped above the jumpsuit had shattered into smithereens, but he didn¡¯t seem to be in that bad a state. He should have looked like a wet stain on the ground after all, so what were a few broken bones? Internal bleedings too, but at this point it was hardly worth mentioning. It looked painful. He was soon followed by a screeching witch flying at a terrifying speed. She was so fast that she simply couldn¡¯t stop on time and had to correct her route in-extremis. Making a sharp-angle riiiiight above the welcoming ground, she unwillingly maintained the now horizontal course and was uncontrollably hurled into a nearby tunnel, missing the wall by a short distance. That¡¯s when she left the guy¡¯s sight. She hadn¡¯t stopped screaming for dear life and the volume went down as she got farther away. The passageway then closed behind her. Blue gaped. The fallen Lennart guffawed, almost spitting out his health potion in the process. A bit later, Vyx violently collided into the ground in a messy tangle of limbs. He then elegantly got up and dusted himself as if nothing had happened, looking perfectly fine. Even his clothes were spotless, so the dusting has been quite superfluous. In the middle of trying to sit up, Lennart gave him the stink eye. His broken body wasn¡¯t really collaborating, so it looked quite pitiful. Right then, Kifirin appeared on the ground. She had blinked. When she raised an eyebrow in questioning of Ankara not being at point B even though she left point A before her, Blue said they''d lost her. [The rest will be posted at a later date] Map & simplified game knowledge Hi! I said that I was going to post a bigger map for those that were interested, and as I''m currently taking a small break from studying, I thought why not now? So here is the map! (The mortal one. Other maps will come later in the story) I''m also posting important tables/info that are present throughout the fiction, but that you may find here. Rather than search through the text for them, you''d just have to come here.... (it''s also simplified a little bit, less description AKA more to the point) I also asked a friend of mine who''s in art school to draw the main characters, but it''s still a project and she''s rather busy... but one day maybe! ^^ ****************************************************************** CONTEXT: The players are referred to as ''plane-shifters'' by the natives of Situm. Why? Because the legend says that they have the power to freely shift here (Situm) from their original plane Dathum,. When the ''shifters'' first appeared in Situm, the legends were proved right >> This is how the game explains the apparition of the players The legend also says that the shifters may rank-up.... which is impossible for the natives who can only grade-up It makes of the shifters a new existence with amazing potential that may put an end to the cold war (break the stalemate) ................ Continental map (mortal continent) The central area is dominated by 2 great empires: they lead a peculiar cold war in which the rest of the area is more or less involved. As the Strategos empire is under the aegis of order, Welram is aligned with Chaos. Those unfriendly states are only separated by the flowing waters of the Tear river. Chaotic side: - Welram Empire - United Dakistee states: - Free Amara - Imdalin Order Side: - Strategos Empire - Arkenos Kingdom - Umares country - Free Ashaya: - Kremlun Kingdom: Neutral - Eterrabard lands - Nometh country - Asura Queendom ............ LA''ATZU, the spirit world Symbolic description Revival court After physical death, your soul is sent to the Ouroboros court, court of life and death ruled by the Ouroboros Spirit Kings (cycle of life and death). It is situated in Limbo capitol city, Shiimti city, which is part of the Spirit World (LA¡¯ATZU) Kingdoms of LA¡¯ATZU: ? Earth Kingdom ruled over by J?ro ? Water kingdom, ruled over by Vatn ? Fire kingdom, ruled over by Eldur ? Air Queendom, ruled over by Vindur ? Gravity Kingdom, ruled over by Alvarleiki ? Time and Space kingdom, ruled over by T¨ªmi (she) and Geimur (he) ? Ouroboros Kingdom, ruled over by Myrkur (he) and lj¨®mi (she) ? Wastelands, hosting the KURNUGI gate to the NetherWorld (ruled by ¨®gilt of the void) ........... Species classifications (incomplete table owned by shifter Kifirin) After grade-up, one''s race becomes "Greater XX" After rank-up, one''s race becomes "Higher XX" ............. Grade and Rank-up (Great tribulation & Heavenly tribulation) GRADE UP: The Great Tribulations Teleported to a big arena fight where there is only aggro towards you. You have to kill all the mobs you ever killed (players too, a false is brought). It is done in a number of rounds related to your tribulation number (11 to 10= 10 rounds / 10 to 9 = 9 rounds) This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Anyone can attempt grade-up once the required level is reached. ? 11 to 10 tribulation = lvl 300 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 300 + grade up (stats gains) ? 10 to 9 tribulation = lvl 600 (those of basic races do not have to pass the 11 to 10 tribulation, they begin with the 10 to 9 trib at lvl 600, etc) Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 600 + grade up (stats gains) ? 9 to 9 tribulation = lvl 900 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 900 + unlock 1st celestial form After heavenly tribulation (9 to 8 or Low to high AKA rank up) ? 8 to 7 tribulation = lvl 1 300 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 1 300 + grade up (stats gains) ? 7 to 6 tribulation = lvl 1 600 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 1 600 + grade up (stats gains) ? 6 to 6 tribulation = lvl 1 900 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 1 900 + unlock 2nd celestial form After heavenly Tribulation (6 to 5 ot Mortal to Immortal) ? 5 to 4 tribulation = lvl 2 300 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 2 300 + grade up (stats gains) ? 4 to 3 tribulation = lvl 2 600 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 2 600 + grade up (stats gains) ? 3 to 3 tribulation = lvl 2900 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 2 900 + unlock 3rd celestial form After heavenly tribulation (3 to 2 or Immortal to divine) ? 2 to 1 tribulation = lvl 3 500 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 3 500 + grade up (stats gains) ? 1 to 1 tribulation = lvl 4 000 Unlock 4th and last celestial form. You cannot level past level 4 000 RANK UP : the heavenly tribulations Low mortal -> high mortal -> immortal -> divine Only shifters can rank-up Teleported to a Big arena fight where there is only aggro towards you. You have to kill all the mobs you ever killed (players too, a false is brought) in one round: they are all teleported at the same time. ? Low to high tribulation (9 to 8) = lvl 1 000 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 1 000 + Rank up (basic stats gains) ? Mortal to immortal tribulation (6 to 5) = lvl 2 000 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 2 000 + Rank up (basic stats gains) ? Immortal to divine tribulation (3 to 2) = lvl 3 000 Give you the right to lvl up past lvl 3 000 + Rank up (basic stats gains) [None can evolve to sacredhood] ................ Race Basics Rank up is important because it changes the basic workings of your status. Rank-up does not give any stats... but it gives a whole new meaning to your existing stats ............... Skills basics ............... Ranked equipment Basics RANK : n/a < F < E < D < C < B < A < AA < S < SS < SSS GRADE :Mortal < Immortal < Divine TIER: Low Tier < Middle Tier < High Tier RARITY: Common < Rare < Legendary The effects: - Mortal equipment only give offense and defense points. The rarest also have features such as an increase of running speed, stealth, night vision,... - Immortal equipment can give any kind of stats points as well as special characteristics (higher probabilities of crit strike, greater AoE, elemental attributes raised,...) - Divine equipment raise stat points by percentages set in virtue of it rarity. It also offer unique attributes. Ranked items are ranked on account of their grades. > Mortal-grade : from rank F to SSS > Immortal-grade: from rank C to A > Divine-grade: from rank S to SS Tiers & rarity For each Immortal and divine grade item, the ranks are divided into 3 Tiers. The SS grade however, is judged by its rarity and can either be common, rare or legendary. Chapter 14 - Tempers... tempers! Chapter 14 - Tempers, Tempers The 5 stooges had registered as a party. They were ready, and after reaching the entrance of the underground dungeon, they prepared to enter it. It was a sort of big hole in the ground, which made it at least a lvl 200 instance¡­. or so had told them Kifirin, the resident bookworm. It was part of the miscellaneous knowledge she had gained of the game that didn¡¯t rate for a knowledge sheet. Underground dungeons were level 200 minimum (caves were the exception to the rule and could be whatever). ¡­¡­ Bluebell went first, but was very careful. He couldn¡¯t see the ground after Ankara sent a huge fireball down there. In fact, he just saw the light getting dimmer as it went farther¡­ so he had no idea of the pit¡¯s depths. He had also sent a minor ¡®sound wave¡¯ by using a telekinetic subskill that vibrated air molecules at a very high frequency, but got nothing back. It meant that the ground was farthest than his telekinesis AoE. Not reassuring¡­ Buffed as he was, his range was 30 meters, which would already make for a deadly drop. So yeah¡­ he went in cautiously. He also made an educated guess for the benefit of the party: ¡°You guys probably already know it but¡­. it¡¯s pretty deep. Maybe extremly so. We have no way of knowing so don¡¯t just jump in¡± As he began to drop, he used telekinesis yet again to agitate the molecules of the air under him in a researched way, rearranging, compressing and cooling them as he saw fit. The density of the air went up, which slowed down his fall. A lot. Mightily liking this new application of molecular telekinesis, he registered it as a subskill named ¡®Density rule¡¯, making sure he could select the parameters before and during use, which would allow him to customize his altering of the air density. Wanna slow foes¡­. Immobilize them? Easy as pie. Make them choke on air? Simple. Make a sort of barrier? A bit more complicated because he would have to add adapted space variables to the calculation, but overall achievable. His mind full of equations and possible uses of this new subskill, he smiled broadly. Regardless of its ending, this trip would not be a waste. He had already gained much from it. Hmm? The mathematics? Well, he was obviously doing them all in the middle of said drop. Talk about a cool cucumber. A SMART cucumber. He could also have teleported in loops but it wouldn¡¯t have been challenging then, would it? ¡­¡­ Lennart hopped in without a care in the world. Well, he used slow first, but he knew it wasn¡¯t gonna help that much thanks to his first-hand experience at the papal mass. He didn¡¯t care though, he knew he wouldn¡¯t die from it, his defense and vitality were outta the lock. It would still hurt though. But damn, it was so FUN! The thrill of jumping into the unknown, aware of the fact that he¡¯d crash at the end¡­. Wonderful! Adrenaline, here he came! (Pain too, but well...) ¡­.. Ankara dubiously watched the paladin commit virtual suicide. For the life of her she couldn¡¯t understand why he had declined her help. *Whatever¡­ guys!* She activated flight and rushed down. She didn¡¯t know how far was the ground, so she had decided to be quick. She didn¡¯t want to run out of mana halfway after all¡­ no time for sightseeing. She also created a mana flare on the way. It¡¯d be too bad if she went splat at the very end because she had blindly rushed headlong into the impenetrable ground. ¡­.. Vyx drank some ¡®Elixir #23¡¯. It was a consumable so he had mixed it using mana, which had been painstakingly long because of its brewing process. However, the rewards were great and he had made quite a lot of it. The beverage allowed the one who drank it to totally ignore the first damage received after ingestion, be it the slap of a vexed maiden, or the flame of a dragon. Obviously it couldn¡¯t be used too much unless one wanted to suffer from an excruciatingly painful poisoned status, but it could be useful in tight spots. This was one such occasion. Hopefully he wouldn¡¯t get scratched by something on the way, because then he would be pretty much fucked. Then again, he worked well under pressure¡­ Indeed, the whiz still had many aces up his sleeves. He just wanted to test his last creation¡­ ¡­. Kifirin painfully watched Vyx gulp down a glowing white substance that had a gooey consistency. She wondered how it was supposed to save his ass¡­. and it seemed disgusting. Looking down at the hell-hole, she did the leap of faith, and then blinked down. Over and over again, she blinked down. Obviously, there was a 5 seconds cooldown between each leap during which she used the air element to slow her fall. It was a great exercise of concentration, precisely alternating spells like this on a set timing. If she miscalculated by even a hundredth of a second, she might die. It was fun though. She loved the feeling of her stomach dropping again and again after each blink when gravity claimed her. --------xxx---------- At the entrance of the burial maze, a blue-haired guy could be seen approaching from above. It may have been dark, but he felt the ground coming thanks to his permanent sound-waves releases. Prepared for the imminent landing, he altered the variables of ¡®Density rule¡¯ yet again. YET AGAIN, yes, because the fall had lasted more or less 5 minutes¡­ so he had started playing around with his new toy when he got bored. The dungeon was frighteningly deep. Blue¡¯s ever-changing speed went from fast to super slow in the matter of seconds, and as his feet gently touched the ground, he smoothed his hairs back and tied them down. They had been obstructing his field of vision, flowing around as they were. The walls where then illuminated as the torches they held all lighted up at the same time. Spooky. Not long after, a free-falling nutcase whooped loudly as he finally saw his final destination. The adrenaline high was glorious¡­ he was approaching the ground extremly fast. Then he crashed with a metallic crunch. The armor equipped above the jumpsuit had shattered into smithereens, but he didn¡¯t seem to be in that bad a state. He should have looked like a wet stain on the ground after all, so what were a few broken bones? Internal bleedings too, but at this point it was hardly worth mentioning. It looked painful. He was soon followed by a screeching witch flying at a terrifying speed. She was so fast that she simply couldn¡¯t stop on time and had to correct her route in-extremis. Making a sharp-angle riiiiight above the welcoming ground, she unwillingly maintained the now horizontal course and was uncontrollably hurled into a nearby tunnel, missing the wall by a short distance. That¡¯s when she left the guy¡¯s sight. She hadn¡¯t stopped screaming for dear life and the volume went down as she got farther away. The passageway then closed behind her. Blue gaped. The fallen Lennart guffawed, almost spitting out his health potion in the process. A bit later, Vyx violently collided into the ground in a messy tangle of limbs. He then elegantly got up and dusted himself as if nothing had happened, looking perfectly fine. Even his clothes were spotless, so the dusting has been quite superfluous. In the middle of trying to sit up, Lennart gave him the stink eye. His broken body wasn¡¯t really collaborating, so it looked quite pitiful. Right then, Kifirin appeared on the ground. She had blinked. When she raised an eyebrow in questioning of Ankara not being at point B even though she left point A before her, Blue said they''d lost her. ¡°What do you mean lost her? She can¡¯t have died can she? For a witch of her caliber it should have been a piece of cake. I don¡¯t even see her body¡­¡± Kifirin wasn¡¯t in the mood for jokes ¡°No, he meant lost her as in lost her. We LOST her. As we talk, she¡¯s probably wandering the maze¡°. Len specified the facts before resetting his right shoulder. CRUNCH. The sound was so gross it was awesome ¡°Unless she met a wall before slowing down. Or maybe a trap. You said this was a maze, right?¡± Vyx added his thoughts to the matter, totally ignoring Len¡¯s antics. ¡°Guys¡­. We can still see her in the party so she¡¯s still alive. Whispers are deactivated though, so we¡¯ll need luck to find her¡± Blue showed them the party menu. Her HP bar was full. Parties were new for most of them so they didn¡¯t know this option existed. ¡°Hopefully she won¡¯t move and wait for us¡± Kifirin sighted ¡°¡­.. I see. Len? I can see that you only have one half of HP left. Rather than waste health potions, would you mind letting me heal you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but as far as I can tell, rogues can¡¯t heal. They can¡¯t blink either now that I think about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a rogue. I¡¯m a RED rogue¡±. Grinning, Kifirin used the voice of healing. 30 seconds later he was all new. As her comrades watched her with barely-hidden interest, she said ¡°Aww c¡¯mon we all have our little ¡®secrets¡¯ don¡¯t we? I have, and I know you do. My battle-sense tells me so. Did you know that most people only rate between 2 and 5? Well you guys are at 8 and 9. It¡¯s telltale¡± Bluebell clapped his hands in understanding ¡°So that¡¯s what you meant when you said we were all monsters! I see¡­ By the way, can you attack while singing?¡± ¡°While healing? Nope. Anything to add before we go?¡± (smooth! She said nothing about buffing) ¡°Yup. Does anybody have mapping skills? Trap dismantling? Cooking? Repair? Identification? We kinda forgot to talk about this before going down. We don¡¯t even have real food supplies¡­. I¡¯m also curious on how we¡¯ll be getting back out¡± Vyx was raising good points ¡°By dying? The tent is our respawn point after all¡± Len waggled his eyebrows Blue made a face ¡°Well if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯d rather not die. My judge hates me because I¡¯m prettier than her¡± ¡°Prettier? Umm¡­ You¡¯re cute but I wouldn¡¯t say girly either¡­ how?¡± Kifirin looked surprised ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t like saying this about maidens¡­ but this one¡¯s behavior¡¯s does not qualify her as one, so I¡¯ll be truthful: She looks like a bulldog.¡± Pretty-boy looked at his feet in shame. He still had talked badly about a woman. ¡°¡­ I see. Doesn¡¯t she hate pretty much everyone then?¡± Len felt like laughing. His judge was a nice guy, considering the fact that he was a judge. Blue looked sideway ¡°She does¡­. But somehow I¡¯m a special case¡± Kifirin grinned ¡°Maybe she¡¯s just hot for you?¡± ¡°OY CHILDREN!¡± Vyx called them all to order ¡°The subject at hands is support skills. And food. I have late intermediate repair and identification by the way, so this part is covered. Now, answer the question¡± ¡°Ay! I have trap dismantling and cooking. Cooking is a variant, no levels. Supplies are no problem cuz I can pretty much make food out of anything¡­ even rock. Trap is beginner level 1 though¡­ I haven¡¯t had time to level it up yet, so please be patient with me. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fun evading all those booby traps together¡± Said the rogue in a sing-song voice The paladin winked at her. He loved surprises, even nasty ones. The rest of the party stayed silent ¡°Nothing else? Kay then. No mapping¡­ we¡¯ll have to wing it¡± Vyx didn¡¯t like ¡®winging it¡¯ They all shook their heads but then Blue raised a hand ¡°I don¡¯t have the mapping skill but I can use a sound-wave as a sonar to get a general idea of our surroundings¡± They all agreed on him leading the way. ¡°By the way what made you guys say that it¡¯s a labyrinth? I¡¯m curious¡± Kifirin had looked around but had seen nothing telltale of a maze. Sure, there were a few entrances but it didn¡¯t obviously mean labyrinth. ¡°Well, when I was miserably recovering on the ground, I looked at the ceiling. It¡¯s pretty detailed¡± Len pointed at the vault and they all looked up
Tomb of the Hammer of the witches
This place imprisons the twisted soul of Heimlich Kramer. Forever lost within the maze of bitterness, he is a cursed being that shall never be allowed to rejoin the sacred of Spirit. This monstrous individual was cursed ages ago by a witch of Dathum, and forced into our magical plane of Situm where he went berserk. Fueled by the loathing of everything we represent, the hammer of witches gained dark powers and focused his hatred on us. He used his darkness to destroy the Wiccan race, our race. Once dead, we extinguished our souls to curse his spirit into remaining trapped here even after death, forever denied the right of reincarnation. Adventurer, please go back from whence you came, because if you enter, you will have to deal with his reviling dead cultists before being killed by his malignant realm-bound influence. There is no treasure, nothing to gain. Leave. --- The Wiccan elders
¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Ankara was lost, lost and scared. In fact, she was pretty much on the verge of terror. The place was a labyrinth. She normally liked labyrinths, however she knew that the deadly traps would make this one hard to enjoy. That wasn¡¯t the problem though¡­. It just meant she was lost and couldn¡¯t just blindly try to find her way. Her predicament had to do with something else. The moment she lost control of her flight and entered said maze, she felt extremly bad. Somehow, she felt sad and bitter, but at the same time her spook-sensor was blaring. Terror, that¡¯s what swamped her mind. She felt this incredible need to just run away screaming¡­ screaming and never stopping. Frozen into place by an uncontrollable fear for what she felt as ages, she was broken out of the terrified stupor by something falling unto her head. It was a box. A board game. The cover said it was the King¡¯s game. Somehow, when she touched it, the fright disappeared¡­. It was wonderful to be free of it. Bewitched by the box¡¯s soothing effects, she opened it. However, it was a disappointment. It was empty inside. A red flash originating from the ¡®emptiness¡¯ blinded her. Ding! Ding! When she was finally able to see again (how nostalgic), the box had disappeared but the fright hadn¡¯t come back. She had new notification windows.
System Notice: the King¡¯s game
You have opened the box, and as such have registered you and your party for the King¡¯s game. First Round: Complete the quest QUEST: The regret of the Wiccans Ages ago, the Wiccan elders sacrificed their souls to curse the being whom destroyed them all. It was an act of revenge, an act of blind hatred ¡­ even though its blind hatred itself that pushed their enemy to murder them. The children of spirit thus created a loop of hatred that far from punishing the ghost of their killer, has been empowering it for thousands of years. Its malign influence has already spread through the Ibulin Jungle by vector of the Maleficarum forest, a materialization of his loathing. Once Kramer frees himself from the labyrinth of bitterness, the false indestructible forest will become what it has always been¡­. an extension of his power. You are the last of the wiccans, so please, shoulder the burden and destroy Heimlich Kramer for good - Kill Heimlich Kramer the spirit - Prevent his respawn by burning his source of power to the ground: The maleficarum forest. Once it is done, the malignant spirit will be destroyed for good and the grounds that once hosted the maleficarum forest will be cleansed.
*Huh? The forest is indestructible unless we kill the spirit? Well shit¡­ Parish could have told us! Wait¡­. There is an ancient spirit that slaughtered my race roaming around the place? Is it the reason I almost pissed myself from fright? No way¡­. Not strange status effects again¡­. I don¡¯t wanna¡­ what¡¯s wrong with this game? Ah¡­. I need to contact the party and update them¡­. Bah I¡¯ll wait for them, they¡¯ll find me one way or another. Whispers are off anyway* And so she waited. Any cultist that approached her was roasted. She wasn¡¯t in the mood for niceties. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Kifirin looked at the wire. It was an obvious trap. Too obvious. She felt that wasn¡¯t all there was to it, but for the life of her, she couldn¡¯t find part II of the setup. The floor tiles seemed normal. There were no arrow holes on the walls, and the ceiling looked clear. As a last ditch effort, she turned to sonar-man. ¡°Blue? Can you use your sonar-thingy to detect traps? There¡¯s something here but the wire¡¯s a lure. I just know it¡± ¡°Sure. I never did it but it cannot hurt to try. Lemme see¡­.. hmm there¡¯s nothing here. At least I found nothing¡± he shrugged. The results were not convincing¡­. He hadn¡¯t even detected what kind of trap the trip-wire was supposed to trigger. ¡°Great let¡¯s go then¡±, Len impatiently strode over the wire and walked straight ahead. Who cared for the trap? They¡¯d deal with it their own way if there was one. The maker paled ¡°Umm guys I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s a good ide--¡° CLICK! One of the tile Lennart stepped on activated something, and the loud clicking sound it made shut Vyx up. It also froze the 4 stooges on the spot. Why was the click so loud? Was it a psychological attack before the big bad? If it was, it had worked well. RUUUUUUUUUMBLE! The ceiling opened and a giant boulder was released right behind our guys as the ground tilted. It was time to run. ¡°Lennaaaaaaaaaaaart!¡± Vyx was livid. ¡°Don¡¯t get your panties into a twist!¡± huffed the paladin ¡°It was way too advanced to even detect, so activating it was the only way!¡± ¡°I agree, we saw it coming, but couldn¡¯t even tell what or where. We¡¯d have soon gone forward regardless of the lack of information. ¡± Kifirin wasn¡¯t even breaking a sweat ¡°I don¡¯t like running¡± Blue just seemed bored. ¡°Yeah? Well I wouldn¡¯t have minded a bit of time to prepare. You just went forward without consulting anybody. Aaaah just forget it¡­. ¡°Vyx relented, but he still gave a dressing down to the reckless paladin The target of his ire shrugged ¡°I must admit I wasn¡¯t expecting this. I thought I¡¯d end up looking like a pincushion or something¡± As the group went on with the useless chatter, Blue reminded them of the context ¡°When are we gonna stop running? Talking is fine but I¡¯d rather we took care of the problem at hands. Shake it or I will.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­. The running is kinda rekindling memories I¡¯d rather forget so¡­. Yeah. Who wants to take care of it?¡± As everybody wanted a chance at terminating the boulder, they finally decided to draw straws. The winner was unexpected, and made Vyx take on a sour face. ¡°Yeeeeeesh I won! Its ass is MINE!¡± ecstatically roared Lennart ¡°Yeah? You¡¯re a paladin. What are you gonna do? Stop it? Haha funny¡­ good luck with that¡± Sour-face taunted him. He was a sore looser like that. ¡°As a matter of fact, I will. My brethren are sissies when compared to me. Open your eyes widely¡­. And watch!¡± Rapidly equipping a great shield, the tank did a one eighty towards the boulder, stopped running and took on a firm stance. Before the flabbergasted faces of his comrades, he cheekily winked. The boulder violently rammed into the shield, and Len¡¯s greaves made a screeching sound as they tore groves into the ground. Sparks were flying and ears were bleeding, but after four meter of skidding backward, Lennart finally stopped abusing the durability of his footwear. The enormous boulder was still. ¡°So? How¡¯s that for a show?¡± Keeping the pose, he proudly looked at his friends. Kifirin and Blue clapped their hands. It had been entertaining. The sore loser however? He felt like gloating ¡°No bad. But tell me, are you gonna stay that way for the reminder of your short life? It has stopped, I give it to you, and Kudos for it¡­.. but as soon as you move it¡¯ll probably go rolling down again. I remind you that we¡¯re on inclined grounds¡± Len appeared discomfited. He looked at the boulder and then at the ground. Once. Twice. ¡°¡­.. Ah. Does anybody has a wedge or something?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ lemme think. A wedge you said? Do I have a giant wedge on me right now? Good question. The answer would be NO!¡± Vyx was liking the feeling of teasing Lennart. Blue went deep into calculations regarding the possible conversion of matter through telekinesis, which did not compute. Seeing his frustrated face, Kifirin decided to take the matter into her own hands and closed her eyes in concentration. Red roots appeared out of nowhere and began weaving a great web around the boulder. Len was unceremoniously expulsed from the vicinity by the fast acting plants as they multiplied. There was no pattern, just a mindless amount of roots clustering together. It was solely about holding back the weight and blocking the way. She felt it working, but just in case, our heroine kept at it until she exhausted all of her unsealed mana. What greeted her when she finished was a vision of horror. Yup. Enormous pulsing webs of roots. Enormous deep-red pulsing webs of roots. Enormous deep-red pulsing webs of roots that had somehow eaten her moaning party ¡°¡­.. Oops¡± Vyx, Blue and Len were entangled in the creepy looking vines. At least she thought so. They were nowhere in sight but she could somehow make out a boot sticking out of the mass. The groaning was also telltale. Munya? Were the roots moving? They shouldn¡¯t be¡­ The mutant-moving-thingy sent a tentacle-root after her, but she dodged it in incredulity. *The fuck? It¡¯s alive? How? But¡­. Roots¡­ monster? Why? What am I supposed to do? And why is it attacking me? I made it so that would make me its mom. Maybe it just wants a hug? ¡­. Nay* As tens of tentacles headed for her, she used her body to counter. Her armguards pushed the plants back. The intent hadn¡¯t been to harm, but to grab, so she answered in kind by fending off the greedy appendages. Said appendages went back to the main body after a few failed tries. They looked sad. Like whipped dogs¡­. pitiful. *Dayum. Is it because I used all my mana? Considering the amount used there aren¡¯t that many roots¡­. And most are gigantic. If it wasn¡¯t needed to immobilize the boulder I would blast it into oblivion. Or maybe not¡­ the guys are in it. I have to retrieve them. How? I can¡¯t blink with people, and I don¡¯t think I can do so INTO ¡­ monsters* Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. She felt the headache coming. This was turning into a clusterfuck. Ankara was MIA and guys were in need of saving from mutant roots. Yay! Was did the mutant want with the guys anyway? Their health wasn¡¯t dropping ¡­. Ah. Their mana was. The monster vibrated and began pounding its tentacles into the ground. It looked like it was having a fit. Ding!
Systeme notice: A new creature has been given life!
Because you poured an incredible amount of mana into a chaos release without having a precise idea enough of what you wanted to accomplish, Chaos itself has twisted the creation. Greet Red-Vine ¡®Onem¡¯, the sole of his kind. Because his creator never meant for him to exist, the lonely being has decided to collect lifeforms. His hope is that his loved collection will one day fill the emptiness of his heart brought by the heartless rejection of its mother. Onem is still a baby and can easily be influenced, please take responsibility and don¡¯t let the cruel world trample its pure heart. >> If you reestablish the parent-child bond, you will be connected to him as it was meant to be Onem grows by feeding on mana and has the mitosis ability
Kifirin swallowed. She had created a mutant named monster. She had created a mutant named monster which confused possession with love She had created a mutant named monster which confused possession with love because of her bad parenting. It could also multiply at will. *¡­. Well shit. That¡¯s screwed up. Rejection? What rejection? I wasn¡¯t gonna let an unknown hostile grab me! I was joking about the hug. How could I have known that it was REALLY a hug?* Her baby! Her baby was lonely¡­. What kind of person was she to make her baby feel so sad? ¡°Hmm¡­.. sweety? Mommy was surprised when you tried to grab her, so she stopped you but it was because she didn¡¯t expect it. Expect you. Not because she didn¡¯t like you. You are an unforeseen gift. A precious gift. Mommy doesn¡¯t know you yet, but mommy is sure that with time we could come to love each other greatly. Mommy is sorry¡­ forgive her¡± The Vine stopped the mindless ground-hammering. Kif took it as having its attention. ¡°Onem sweety, that¡¯s great. You need to hold in your temper when with people. Mommy doesn¡¯t mind but society will hunt you if you can¡¯t control yourself. Mommy will protect you always but you don¡¯t want to make mommy sad, do you?¡± A root gently slid around her waist. It was probably a sign of affection from the yearning baby, but it still made Kif ill-at-ease. Not because the appendage looked creepy, pulsing at it was. Nope. Past the first moment of surprise, she could have cared less about its appearance. In fact, it never registered as weird to her. What displeased her was the fact that is was feeding on her mana. Bad manners! She couldn¡¯t have her child showing such bad manners! How would it reflect on her? *Or is it doing it because it likes my mana? I¡¯m its mum¡­. so am I doing the equivalent of breast-feeding? Oh. My. Gosh. Mindblown¡­. I¡¯m breast feeding¡­. Damn you, tales of fate! Damn you! I DUN WANNA BE A MUM AT 20! AND HE HAS NO DAD! HOW CRUEL ARE YOU??? NO DAD! Poor baby¡­ I need to be there for him¡­. I can¡¯t believe I hurt him so much¡­. Am I evil?* Evening her shaking breathing, the single mom decided to go with the flow. Stroking the appendage, she went on ¡°Sweety, is mommy¡¯s mana good?¡± Onem had no vocal chords of any kind, but she could have sworn she heard purring. She also felt his satisfaction. Alright, he liked it. ¡°Well¡­ Mommy is jealous. You¡¯re also taking mana from your collection. Isn¡¯t mommy enough? Sniff¡­. Mommy wanted to be the only one to provide for you.¡± She wondered if it would work. She couldn¡¯t have Onem indefinitely feeding on her friends. And if she brought him outside it would be bad if he drained random passersby. Not that she truly cared about it but she guessed the witch-hunts would get old after a while. Checking her party status window, she saw that the boyos¡¯ MP had stopped dwindling. Good. Onem¡¯s roots were also hovering all round her, seemingly panicked. He looked guilty¡­ he seemed scared of losing her love. Was it because she mock-cried? Her baby was so cute¡­ it made her all tingly inside. Grasping one of the hovering roots, she gently rubbed it against her cheek, showing him that she held no grudge. *Hmm? Why can I feel his emotions? Is it because of the bond? It must have been reestablished* ¡°Now, could you spit out mommy¡¯s friends? They belonged to mommy first you know? You can¡¯t just steal them, it¡¯s impolite. But you can take as many friends as you want later. I¡¯ll even help you complete your collection¡­ Just spit them out baby¡± She felt reluctance ¡°Aww sweety, there¡¯s no need to be jealous. They are just friends. You are family. My first child. My only child. Nobody can take you place¡± Onem sent happiness through the bond, finally expulsing Len, Vyx and Bluebell from his roots. They looked alright, if not a little shaken from the nosedive? ¡°I guess congratulations would be in order?¡± Len grinned. Hearing her tame the child had been fun. He never thought that this seemingly tough person would say such sweet things¡­. Sticky sweet things. Hilarious. ¡°Congratulation? This mons¡ª¡° Interrupted by a stern look from Kif, Vyx changed his words ¡°I mean¡­ your child totally immobilized us¡­ we couldn¡¯t do anything¡­. And my head was down¡­. Do you know uncomfortable that was?¡± ¡°Onem is sorry. Aren¡¯t you sweety? Yes he is. He just wanted to make friends with you¡± ¡°Yeah. About that¡­ are you really gonna help him with his collection?¡± Vyx didn¡¯t know if he disapproved or not. His recent frequentations were getting to him¡­. He felt that soon enough he¡¯d be as freaky as them. The thing was that he didn¡¯t even care. Why was he asking the question again? ¡°Yup. A promise is a promise.¡± ¡°Indeed. Promises are not to be broken¡± The maker nodded his head in agreement. Promises were IMPORTANT. ¡°Great. What¡¯s wrong with blue?¡± The esper laid sprawled on the ground and hadn¡¯t moved since being spit out by Onem. He hadn¡¯t talked either. His eyes looked empty. ¡°Dunno¡± Len poked at him ¡°He¡¯s not moving at all. Hmm¡­ Lemme see¡± Taking some coal out of his inventory, he scribbled nonsense on the pretty-boy¡¯s face. ¡°My professional opinion is complete un-responsiveness¡± Vyx raised an eyebrow ¡°Professional opinion?¡± ¡°Yup. What do we do now?¡± Kifirin sighted ¡°Well, we get a move on. We have to get the witch and make some money. First though¡­. Onem? Can you come with mommy without releasing the boulder?¡± A great crushing sound was heard. The boulder had been obliterated by the roots. ¡°¡­ I guess that¡¯s taken care off. Now sweety, you¡¯re a bit too big for mommy, so can you get smaller? It would be great if I could hold you¡± The many roots pulsed faster than normal and appeared to shrink, melting into one another until only 3 of them were left. Then they twined together and revealed an obsidian-black stone. It must have been his core. ¡°Nice! C¡¯mere baby¡± as Kifirin picked up the child, he gently wound itself around her neck. The single mom was now wearing a braided red necklace around her neck. It looked like a choker¡­. A pulsing choker decorated with an unknown black jewel. Omen was leeching 50% of her mana regeneration but it didn¡¯t bother her in the least. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Gen¡­. I¡¯m a father! Can you believe it? I¡¯m a father! ME! A father!¡± That person felt like crying in bliss. ¡°That¡¯s great for you my friend, that¡¯s great for you. But why did you name him Onem?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember¡­ maybe because it sounded cool. But aww¡­ aren¡¯t they cute together?¡± It was a rhetorical question. The new daddy was going gaga over the picture of his precious and their child, totally ignoring Gen *Cute¡­. So cute!! I want in¡­**Gosh we¡¯re daddies**Onem will make sure to protect her**She¡¯s stroking him!**Oh yes¡­ stroke me too**And me!**Kekeke I¡¯m after a different stroking than you guys**Impure!**Well yes**That we are**We never pretended to be otherwise**Yeah¡­ true**Soon¡­ soon!**CUTE!* ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°So you¡¯re gonna trigger all the traps and come back?¡± Vyx wondered how that would go. She seemed pretty self-assured so he guessed she had a way. Unhappy with the high level of the traps, she had decided to activate them all in advance. After all¡­. triggering a trap did give skill proficiency¡­. It was just a stupid way to train. It wouldn¡¯t be stupid for her. In fact it would be smart. With the timey-wimey skill she wouldn¡¯t get caught in their effects so it was safe. ¡°Yeah. In the meantime, can you guys try to bring blue out of¡­ well¡­. of whatever THAT is. Talk about women maybe? And his sock-fetish. It should elicit an answer. I think.¡± ¡°Hear hear!¡± Activating Mudutu, Kifirin grabbed his cover and choose a book at random. Then she began to read, and splitting her attention, a simple feat thanks to her focus stat, she proceeded to run ahead at ¡®light speed¡¯. It activated all the traps but her time ratio made it so they hadn¡¯t wholly triggered when she left them into the dust. A while later she saw a new path. It left the boulder track. Seeing as the boulder had been getting faster and faster, the forking was way too far. Any other party would have died crushed. Then again the many traps would probably have ended them first. She had seen no cultist, so they must still have been on the outskirts of the maze. They needed to get to its center. But damn, the skill was leveling-up fast. Mid-intermediate already¡­. Granted, the maze was gigantic, but still. It was probably linked to the extreme dangers of the traps. They were absolutely no joke¡­ how had Kara survived? Many had motion-sensors so the flying couldn¡¯t have been it. Well¡­. Kif was safe, so no worries Was she? ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Vyx and Len were following the desolation, so it was easy to get to Kif. Scorched areas. Earth-pincushion areas. Frozen area. Blasted areas. Still melting areas. Right. The still melting area. It woke Blue up. Apparently he had been lost in calculations, but his toes disintegrating forced him back into reality. Why his toes? Well¡­ Lennart was dragging him around and had draped the mentally-absent men¡¯s arms over his shoulders to do so. He had hesitated at first, but Vyx dissuaded him from using the princess-carry. Something about honor. So, yep, Blue''s feet had been sliding on the ground all along, and when the paladin merrily hopped over a sizzling puddle, his poor charge ¨Cwho had been totally forgotten- happily got dipped in it. He was grateful though. His calculations weren¡¯t amounting to anything, which stuck him in a loop of failures. When that happened, his family generally slapped him to bring him back¡­ so the acid may have been a bit over the top but it did the deed. After letting blue gulp down a health potion (optionally washing the coal off his face), the boyos continued walking ahead, sometimes commenting on the original scenery. The traps were obviously linked to the elements. Wiccans were the original children of spirit after all. The 0-Gravity field got Len and Vyx good though, and they had to rely on Vyx¡¯s hair dryer to get out of the area. Why did he have a hair-dryer koin? Well¡­ why don¡¯t you ask him? The boys certainly didn¡¯t¡­ his expression got scary the moment they tried to breach the subject. Hm? Why didn¡¯t blue use telekinesis to help them? Because he wasn¡¯t feeling like it, that¡¯s why. His failed calculations irritated him and he wasn¡¯t in a particularly helpful mood. Watching his friends flailing around as he smoothly landed had helped him get over it. He still needed to get laid though. Badly. ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Am I seeing right?¡± Vyx beheld the sight Len scratched his head in confusion ¡°That you are. What is she doing?¡± Kifirin was blinking crazily fast between the entrance of the room and its middle. Entrance. Middle. Entrance. Middle. Entrance. Etc¡­ It was so fast that she was kinda leaving after images and looked to be present at both places at the same time. Where were the cooldowns? Was she even blinking? And why was she reading a book by the way? The guys weren¡¯t aware of the timey-wimey skill and couldn¡¯t fathom the truth. She wasn¡¯t blinking. She was walking. Very, very fast. ¡°Time. I think it had to do with time. She¡¯s obviously caught in a time-loop¡± Blue was interested in the process. If the Wiccans¡¯ maze used a time-trap, then it meant that time was an element of Spirit, regardless of the fact that mages swore that it wasn¡¯t and simply couldn¡¯t be. What kind of other elements had been forgotten by history? ¡°Huh. How do we break her out of it? Without getting caught in it, obviously¡± ¡°Great question¡± Vyx answered Len¡¯s inquiry ¡°I have no freaking idea. Our resident witch is AWOL¡± The boys sat down and began brainstorming. ¡­¡­¡­.. Ankara was bored. Roasting cultists had passed its expiration date. She was bored. BORED. BORED! Even the bastards¡¯ screams of agony weren¡¯t entertaining anymore¡­ they had now blended into the general white noise and she hardly noticed them after her nova fireballs honed on to them. Yup. Nova fireballs, that was the name given to her fireballs by the system¡­ why? She had no idea¡­. It wasn¡¯t like she was near the supernova potential¡­ was she? The purity of her fire was unrivaled, but still¡­.. fire was the element in which she had the least elemental affinity¡­. A mere 158%. Now what about the honing system? Well, she didn¡¯t remember how she got the skill but it allowed her to release basic spells such as fireballs in great numbers and just keep them around until a target appeared. Sure, the mana costs were ridiculously high, but it was damn handy. She had mana to spare after all. Moreover, her high focus stat allowed her to use 6 elements at the same time¡­. So yeah, she could create fireworks alright. She only had 4 elements available for use though, and wondered how she would ever get the quests to unlock the other 2. Gravity and Space. Blink was obviously related to space and yet it was a low level spell¡­ so how? It was a mystery, and with time to spare, she found herself musing over the subject. Now¡­ if there was one thing to say about the dark period of her life that is elemental-sculpting, it¡¯s that it had given her great assets as a magic-wielder. But damn if it hadn¡¯t also given her a poisoned gift too. A profession. Elemental sculpting. How surprising. She was so disgusted that she hadn¡¯t even looked at the description. But what was her party doing? Seriously¡­ 4 days had already gone past in the game. Sure, she killed time by grinding her skills but it was getting long. Too long. She had a Riverdance performance to prepare for. Irish tape-dancing, here she came. She unlogged ¡­¡­¡­.. The guys could do nothing but watch. There wasn¡¯t anything in their arsenal that would help Kifirin¡­. or so had they concluded after hours of research. They were now in a difficult situation about what to do. They either waited for the rogue to miraculously beat the trap¡­ or they gave up on her. Option 2 was not a viable solution for many reasons, the main ones being that: They needed Kifirin and really didn¡¯t feel like abandoning their friend They had to go through this room one way or another in order to leave the outskirts of the maze There may be other time-traps laying around and getting caught up in one didn¡¯t appeal to any of them So yeah¡­ waiting it was. The girl was resourceful so she would hopefully break out. Maybe? They hoped so. In the meantime they ate some of the rations Vyx had packed and Blue took a nap. A while later they unlogged. They had IRL things to do. ¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Ara ara. That¡¯s a bad one. She may have great time affinities, but the TW skill is acting as a multiplier on the trap¡¯s effects. I¡¯ve had my fun watching¡­. so I guess I should help her sooner than later¡± The Trollking smirked ¡°We¡¯ll be taking a fee for the intervention though¡± --------------xxx-------------- Alya didn¡¯t understand. She had been automatically unlogged from the game when she passed the 12th hours of real life playing. It was an option she had activated in order not to abuse the game but¡­. She hadn¡¯t been logged that long. Had she? She just remembered entering what she thought as the last room of the maze outskirts¡­ and then nothing. Or did something happen? Hmm¡­ it was hazy, but she had the feeling that something unpleasant had occurred. Ankara had admitted not remembering her actions under hidden status effects while in real life¡­ was it her case? Unlike the witch, she had gotten no warning so it probably wasn¡¯t it. *Oh well, I¡¯ll see next time I play. I have a show to get to* Riverdance Legacy, her she came! She took her car, picked up Kathy on the way, and headed for the cultural Stadium. Her country was really attached to culture¡­. Yes, regardless of her shortcomings, France had still this going for her. The show? Well, it was awesome! And the new Riverdance member, Aoife McLaren was great. It was her first public performance but it went well and she fit right in. Damn¡­. Alya really loved tap-dancing. Maybe she should take lessons? -------------xxx------------- Back to the game, sonar-man, the maker and Lennart were gaping. Why? Well¡­ when the girl logged in, she was caught again in the loop, nothing new under the sun. However? The freaky red-haired dude grabbing her and snogging her against the wall like no tomorrow was unexpected. Kifirin happily partaking in said snogging was bewildering. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ As Kifirin logged back, she remembered the trap. It didn¡¯t please her, because she hadn¡¯t been able to break its hold over her. She had tried though. With all of her willpower. So hard¡­. But it failed again and again. She resented that. The supposed power of the mind over the body was utter bullshit. As soon as she got out of her predicament, she vowed she would skin the dimwit that had spouted such nonsense. Yup, she felt slightly homicidal. Her body was crackling with pent-up energy. The frustration needed an outlet, so the lack of options lead her to fantasize about the gruesome murder of one (already) dead philosopher. So¡­. When her stomach lurched as she was broken out of the time loop? She wasn¡¯t in her right mind. The feel of lips over hers became a very welcome distraction. It was also extremly satisfying, and as her lips battled for domination with their counterparts in an animalistic dance, she certainly released all that pesky frustration. She loved confrontation. The hand roaming her body certainly added to the thrill. Too bad hers were now pinned against the wall. Mister Kiss: 1 ¨C Her: 0 But then again? Time to win ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Loki had released Kifirin from the trap, and was now in the middle of claiming his reward. Ignoring the stunned boys behind him, he was losing himself in the sweet spunky taste of his little shifter. The kiss was a battle of will though. His partner seemed set on subduing him. He understood the need for control, upset as she was from the time loop but¡­. The one to yield would be her. Gently but firmly taking control of the flow, he pinned her hands against the wall and began to feel her up. Smirking into the kiss, he allowed his tongue to roam. Victory was sweet. That was a mistake. Winning a battle does not mean you secured the war The little minx had bit down his tongue and refused to release it. Delightful He graciously admitted defeat He could still win the next time after all. ¡­¡­¡­.. Holding her partner¡¯s tongue hostage, the panting rogue triumphantly used her newly-released hands to cup the face attached to said tongue. Feeling him forfeit, she gently released the captive appendage and moved his head back, taking in his features. That¡¯s when she made the connection between mister kiss and the trollking. That¡¯s why she head-butted him of course. NOT because she was even more hot and bothered when she saw whom he was. Obviously ¡­¡­¡­.. Reeling back after Kifirin violent outburst, Loki hissed his displeasure. The smirk was back though¡­. And it was a knowing smirk, which infuriated the horny shifter. He had busted her, and she knew it. Damn, the tomato color her face took on was just lovely. He decided that he loved seeing her mad. So much fire. If a look could kill he¡¯d be worm food. Sexy vixen. ---------xxx----------- Azrapha?l came out of his meditation. Ripples. That¡¯s what he had felt. Once Twice Thrice ¡­ Ripples. Something was going on. Was Chaos making its moves? Maybe it was time he concerned himself with the mortal continent. It had been hundreds of years since he last took a peek after all, and shifters should have begun appearing in earnest by now. Well¡­ it wasn¡¯t exactly true, a typing mistake made by the moron had raised a flag and forced him to intervene, but that was all there was to it. He hadn¡¯t really looked up the state of things. Nodding to his second in command Sharur, he teleported to Heimlin city. He wanted to get the feel of his capitol before overlooking the general situation of the continent, and maybe get a honeybun, one of the delicacies of the city. He liked them very much. ******************* Hi! I''m still in the middle of my exams but I needed a break and thought why not? Here is chapter 14 (complete). A little short I know but I like the note on which it ends ^^ So as you all guessed, Loki is the hooded guy and Gen''s "friend".... how surprising! *gasp!* Now, beware the King''s game..... BEWARE! xD I''ve seen the comments you made while I was away, and I''ll try to answer them before I disappear again (the thing with the fire is important too, I forgot to mention : Magical fire is not good for nature, so I''ll have to edit that part) Thanks for the comments by the way, and have a nice day ya''ll Nergal