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Feeding Your Enemy Familiars. They had become the newest discovery and requirement for any and all players. Aoi had heard talk of their existence within the communication and information lines she maintained, their presence within the game nothing short of a necessity for any player looking to expand upon their own growth and development. Anyone who desired faster skill development, or easier grinding, or even just a less lonely time in Aincrad had taken to finding and accepting the companionship of a familiar within their homes and parties. Aoi hadn’t put off finding one, but rather been

He looked upon his enemy and the quest objective made sense. 1/5 Spectral Knights defeated. “So this is what it’s referring to,” he mumbled, wiping his face clean with a beat up sleeve. The knight dashed quickly and their weapons clashed. It was powerful. The health bars that formed above its head were comparable to a field boss’ and every swing it made hit like a train. Morningstar was fast, and could block them with little trouble, but even still, they hurt. He dropped low beneath a wide arc, choosing to dodge rather than take the brunt of the attack. He kited backwards, towar

It would have taken precognition to react to an attack so quick. Morningstar lurched, eyes drawn to the slab of metal poking through his chest. A sword? Here? Shamblers didn’t use weapons. So who…? It disappeared, and the pressure in his back lessened. He dropped to his knees. Bee screamed out. An axe materialized in her grip, but through a succession of harsh coughs, Morningstar dissuaded her from fighting. “Teleporter--” he managed before he was shoved face-first into the mud. Shit. Bee. Crystal. Quick. He shifted his head left, and through the muddy mess on his face, he scrol

Mari groaned, her head hurt. Her joints hurt. Her arm especially hurt. Fucking doctor…where was she? It took a moment for her eyes to focus - wherever she was, it was much darker than the practically blinding room she had been in. There was that familiar buzz hitting the back of her head. Ah She was on the 10th floor again. Why? A familiar scent hit her nose - the fresh smell of sulfur. It smelt like that very chemical that the doctor had doused her with. Why was it so strong now? Did he douse her again so she’d be safe? Odd. Mari still couldn’t get a read on him. He had taken her

A tendril hooked itself around Bee’s leg, pulling it out from under her and slamming her to the ground. A muffled gasp escaped her winded lungs as she splashed in the mud. Morningstar reacted quickly, cutting through the shambler’s appendage with no hesitation. He had no time for remorse. Bee’s life was on the line. He lifted her up, wiping splatters of mud off her scratched face and pushing her on ahead. “We’re almost there. Eyes on the teleporter.” She was compelled to listen. Her eyes locked on to the archway up ahead, tracing the line of players desperate to get off the floor and

Three. Two. One. Bee shoved open the front door. Ilridge had become a hellscape. Mobs flooded the street; shamblers, deep ones, mi-go and the like, all fighting for their claim over the lands. Players stretched out along every street and alley, pushing back against the hordes. It was day one all over again. They pushed past players, through mobs. Morningstar shielded Bee the whole way, keeping her in eyesight at all times, never letting her stray too far. “Keep moving!” he shouted, his sword ripping through a deep one. Creatures clawed at them, kept at bay by his full rotation of swo

"You don't smell that bad. But you could definitely use one. We both could." Mari glanced around, a small frown came upon her lips. "Raidou said he messaged Baldur too..." Her words were filled with concern. They were on his estate after all. If he was away from here...was he pushing himself somewhere? Fighting? Baldur...was someone Mari had really, truly wanted to message. She wanted him of all people to know what was happening, he was a fellow Pillar in Jacobs ladder - and Mari knew all too well the crushing pain one felt when a group - a guild - forms and then you're left as the lone

Sam is on stage now, in the position that Candi put her in. She could feel something drip down the side of her face, is this was stage fright felt like. She knows the song, hell she wrote the lyrics and music notes down for bass. This was the worst time to be in shock. "Holy hell," saying as her chest was pounding, the lights blared in her eyes, yet there was nothing out there. "Uh, re-due please, I know the content I swear." Same gets down on her knees for a moment and starts digging through her inventory. A folder was taken out, she starts to dig through the sheets. Hearing the music go off

"Ok first... Breathe, your getting ahead of yourself." All the squirming and the babbling, the fidgeting gave her away. Candi takes the bass, and props it against her right leg. Firmly she grabs both of Sam's shoulders, turning her around toward the wall opposing where she was standing. "You couldn't be any more obvious. Let it out." Giving the girl the opportunity to vent all that pent up excitement before she blew some fuse. After the feral yell echoes through the room, not directly into her well kept makeup CC would flip her back around. "Better?" grabbing the instruments head and slinging

Thread Closing: @Simmone rceived 1 Guild Token as treasurer of Firm Anima (3 members) 3 non-combat support actions for F1-F29 ] Fatal Error - Act 1 Freyd receives: 19,886 EXP (Word Count [5524/5*18]) 2,982 col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [2982]) 1 Guild Token 1 Mon Elora receives: 5,524 EXP (Word Count [5524/5*5]) 828 col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [828]) 1 Guild Token 1 Mon Katoka receives: 7,733 EXP (Word Count [5524/5*7]) 1,160 col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [1160]) 1 Guild Token 1 Mon

A smile as Sam had beat her down the cavern, the woman sliding down the tube like a ramp and vaulting up to the flat of her feet as her heel would catch on a protrusion. The two heavy slaps cause water to splash, and she'd hold the lantern up and stare at the fair old gemstone jammed into the divot on the wall. It glowed in a opalescent sheen, much like a pearl in its white opacity. "Yep, That's it all right..." As Sam would start to ask another question about the walls, Nisahime's finger fires up ready to pump out the 'um-actually' but is cut off as Freyd immediately answered it. The girl's f

Once again lobbed into a mixed media janga tower of cuteness, the furry, slimy, and rocky familiars slowly got back onto their paws, tentacles, and pebbles - respectively. A series of disgruntled noises morphed into pleased acknowledgements of the enemy's defeat. Pale blue fog oozed from beneath the former chimney's bricks as they swore to have heard the faintest, "NOOOOoOoOoooo..." caress their digital eardrums, auditory canals, whatever -- All that mattered was that the stupid knight was squished and that they were still perfectly voluptuous. Magically, the storm clouds offered their co

The sound of his katana striking one of the glass knights mirrored the sound of the message chime. Through the driving rain and the dim light, he had to keep his focused on the barely visible monster. How many of these things were there? Regardless, they couldn't let them escape the 29th floor, and they seemed hell bent on it... After the creature was destroyed, the soaking wet gaijin brushed some rain water off of his wet clavicles and shook some water from his long, flowing dark hair that was now plastered to his wet, blue haori, clinging to him shivering form. Then he saw the message n

The finished product sat before her, the words emblazoned into the tablet as soon as she’d figured out the meaning behind the ciphering. Her eyes passed over it numerous times, taking in the translation as she tried to comprehend what she was reading. Some portions of it were logical, and Aoi was quick to pick up on the fact that she would be facing numerous dangers going forward – a fact that suddenly made Cervais’s illusive hint about the longevity and continuation of the quest more reasonable to her mind almost instantly – but she found herself entirely lost with some of the references.

Four days. Four long days without a word, a note, a sarcastic comment or even explosive misadventure gone wild. Just... silence. Tracking Mari herself using any form of direct approach was impossible. She'd been on the run from too many people for far too long to make it that easy, which was mildly amusing considering how much of a walking calamity the woman could be. Gear worn or equipped by players was often extended the same protection, for obvious reasons. But the Whisper had other means at his disposal. Sitting in his workshop on the grounds of Witherwind's Rest, Freyd gazed be

Determination and brutal force had given her the advantage she’d needed. Where her advancement had been slow to start – a true struggle to understand the concepts of the puzzle, and what needed to be done to translate it into something understandable – her continued workflow had taken a massive turn as she saw patterns once invisible to her eye appear before her. It was as if something opened in her mind, and suddenly she was able to not only notice, but also relate the patterns to one another and find the connections between ciphering and translation, providing herself with an understanding o

Memories flooded thicker than the viscous water, the moment he touched the silver socketed stone. A presence, ancient and disturbingly familiar swelled from the gleaming crystal and pressed against him with such force that Freyd felt pushed to the back of his own cowl, darkness subsuming his features and cloaking his semblance with that of another. Phantom limbs, like featherborn wings felt like they belonged behind him, though he was certain none were there. And... the weight of chains... Vision blurred and replaced by that of an hourglass, full at the top, he felt more than watched a

Pieces of the message had begun to traverse themselves into an understandable form within her writings. She’d begun to see portions of what was clearly meant to be a message – another riddle, from the way it was developing to her eyes – within her own language. As if she were working to decipher the actual riddle that would lead her upon a quest, or if the information was correct a collection of quests, towards whatever end goal existed beyond this chamber. Aoi didn’t think that far ahead, not yet, as she continued grasping towards the meanings within the ciphered words. This one is…power

Moments passed before Aoi made any real headway, the cipher and tablet providing nothing more than confusion as she tried to figure it out without any real instructions or guidance. Frustration had built at the very beginning, and she’d found herself forcing it back down as she tried to do anything but become lost among it all. Slowly, she’d compared the two objects, passing back and forth between them until she found herself grasping at the most basic of concepts and understandings within the activity. She’d never truly been great at encoded messages and deciphering them – she knew a lot of p

Passing through the gate, she’d crossed dozens of kilometres of field and pathway to end up at the destination described by Cervais. Regular, unappealing hillsides surrounded her, a singular small entryway leading into a tunnel that gave Aoi pause. There was nothing to signify it from anywhere else in the vicinity, and yet the marker placed by some unknown system had appeared into view almost exactly as Cervais had described it would. Still, Aoi hesitated, trying to convince herself that there was nothing beyond the entryway, and that this had all been a waste of time. I came all this way. I m

The impromptu meeting had ended with Cervais leaving as quickly as he had appeared, sliding from his seat and heading back out into the city’s populace without a commotion. Aoi remained seated for a while, considering the information that Cervais had deemed worth his time to share – for a small price, of course – and the impact it could have on her own journey going forward. Many of the suggested bonuses were no more than speculation, based upon what rumours had been aligned with the questline itself – little of it had been proven thus far, due to further limitations. But enough of it was catc

"Really?!" Freyd's voice sounded only half-concerned, the balance carrying that same morbid curiosity you might find in a child you'd just told about something gruesome. Or perhaps it was that same trait that attracted people to watch horror movies? Freyd didn't seem like the latter, likely getting bored and falling asleep at the supposed 'scary bits'. If anything, time spent in purest survival mode on the front lines of Aincrad will have dulled most of their panic instincts. Then he though about some of the other players he knew and wondered whether that assuming was entirely true.

Thread Closing: @Simmonereceives 1 Guild Token as Treasurer of Firm Anima (3 members in thread) Freyd receives: X EXP (Word Count [X/5*18]) X col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [X]) 1 Mon 1 Guild Token Elora receives: X EXP (Word Count [X/5*5]) X col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [X]) 1 Mon 1 Guild Token Katoka receives: X EXP (Word Count [X/5*7]) X col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [X]) 1 Mon 1 Guild Token ADD LOOT HERE Morningstar receives: X EXP (Word Count [X/5*8]) X col (0 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [X]) 1 Mon Acanthus recei

Scents of the Wild: Keepers of Nature News had quickly reached Aoi’s ears once it had become common knowledge. News of the newfound area within the first floor’s vast wildlands, a place that sat upon the edges of the floor’s existence and led into a cavern that was once the most sought after farming location. Now, as the rumours suggested, it had become an abandoned and empty cave, filled with naught but a single large, closed door carved into the very stone that had been nothing but wall previously. Only a large tree, supposedly inscribed with illegible script, sat alongside this newfoun

"I have no frame of reference," Wulfrin sighed as Freyd continued with his odd descriptions of the carvings. "The bird like one could be a condor, like the Nazca Lines, but that's also a stretch. As for your so called ripper, I've not gotten a chance to tango with that one." Wulfrin turned his attention to his own carvings. None of which made any more sense that the ones pointed out by The Whisper. The same imagery repeated, a four armed mass holding a chain with a bell affixed. Could that possibly be the secret this place was trying to hide. The whole thing was giving Wulfrin the heeby g