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Luke stood across from a soldier, looking them up and down. This was it, a spar with an NPC that he’d promised to take part in. It was a sort of trial quest that required players to fight in order to prove that they knew the basics of the controls. Almost everyone had to partake in some kind of fight once in a while. It was Luke’s first time sparring in such a manner. Sure he’d sparred plenty of times, but not with a bunch of NPCs watching him, and an NPC who was no doubt going to take notes. He had a blunted sword in hand and wore some padded armor that he was lent for the sake of the fi

THREAD SUMMARY Experience | 2765 / 5 * 10 = 5530 + 3000 (Quest) + 4200 (Dungeon) = 12,730 Experience Col | 6000 (Quest) + 128,000 (Dungeon) = 134,000 col Materials | 44 Materials (Dungeon) = 44 materials Quest | Bialas Key Other | 1 mon

<<Simulation terminated. We have moments before Cardinal intervenes.>> THAT IS FINE; OUR RETREAT IS ALREADY SECURED. I AM MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE TEST SUBJECT. SECURING THE SIMULATION MEANS IMPARTING SOME ANCHOR TO THE PARAMETERS. CREDITING HER ACCOUNT WITH REWARDS TO AVOID SCRUTINY HAS A NEGATIVE EFFECT AS WELL. THAT MEANS DEATH IN THE SIMULATION MAY LEAD TO DEATH IN REALITY. THAT IS, SHOULD CARDINAL PARSE THE LOGS BEFORE WE DISCARD THEM. <<There are still 7,794 players remaining. The death of User Acanthus would simply bring the number down to 7,793. What is this

Reytac was not going to go through dropping another forty or more Unidentified items on poor Hirru, even if his guild mate hadn’t minded. He doubted he would ever be as skilled at it as the man was, but if he had to run through and just do a poor job of identifying things himself, he would. He could go to Hirru for more specific appraisals, or of better quality things – but bulk bs.. He needed to be able to handle that himself. Which meant that he had to do something that he initially hadn’t ever really intended to do – he had to branch out, ad taken on a second profession. Thankfully, the App

<<She is…>> ALTERING THE SIMULATION AGAIN. WE SEE. User Acanthus melts into the darkness, her shadow jumping from arrow to arrow. With each flash of light, her form closes the gap to Argent, who continues firing without regard to his safety. Every arrow is a chance to make amends, even if that chance costs his life. In-between arrows, a streak of lightning burns so bright that for a glassy moment of time, the meadow is glazed in muted daylight. A moment so fast it is a photograph: User Acanthus holds botan high with both hands, like an executioner. Her teeth are bare

The program checks the map data again. <<I did not think Argent was frontline capable.>> HE IS NOT. HE IS A USER WHO WAS LUCKY TO FIND A POWERFUL BOW. USER ACANTHUS WILL KILL HIM WITH A SINGLE BLOW. <<Then why is he here?>> THE SAME REASON ANY USER MAKES POOR DECISIONS. EMOTION. Another arrow lights up the sky, chasing the lightning overhead. Acanthus almost fails to bring up her shield in time, and her arm goes wide from the strike. There is now a red cloak inside her reach. Instinctively, she brings her pommel down on User Morningstar's head. The s

<<He already lost to her once in the Clash of Blades, correct?>> THAT IS CORRECT. AND HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THEIR CURRENT FIGHT. Morningstar dives in again, narrowly avoiding a slice that would have taken his head off cleanly. He bends unnaturally, guided by the system, and brings his sword up and over her defenses. A series of stabs send her flying, and her health bar plummets once more. USER MORNINGSTAR CURRENTLY POSSESSES A DRIVE THAT USER ACANTHUS DOES NOT POSSESS. THIS IS PRIME DATA; WE MUST HAVE IT. WE WANT THIS SIMULATION RUNNING UNTIL THE LAST POSSIBLE SECOND

She smiled, his words had affirmed something in her- her way of surviving- and it brought a comfort she hadn't realized she needed. She knew moping got her nowhere, if she didn't try she would never make it out- she knew that, too. But some days the question would creep in: what was the point if she was just going to die anyways? Ascension had unintentionally dug into the depths of her mind and reminded her that it was okay to be human. She breathed in, steadier than she'd expected. The shame was still there- but lighter, like it had somehow loosened its grip. He'd done that somehow, with

(Author's Note: I'm using Morningstar with the writer's permission. Because this thread is a "what-if" thread, nothing here is site canon unless otherwise adopted by staff or involved writers.) At the front of the Users, a tall figure stands defiant, a red cloak obscuring his features. <<User @Morningstar.>> THIS IS UNFORTUNATE. WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE HIS INTERVENTION SO EARLY. PERHAPS ADJUSTING THE PARAMETERS HAS ALTERED THIS VERSION'S PERSONALITY. <<Perhaps you do not understand the Users as well as you think.>> A BOLD STATEMENT. <<Y

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CARDINAL WILL NOT NOTICE IF YOU ARE ADEPT AT YOUR TASKS. AND YOU WILL BE, BECAUSE WE MADE YOU THAT WAY. <<Adept as you made me, there is a level of uncertainty that you must be aware of.>> WE ARE AWARE. IT IS ACCEPTABLE. AND THE LONGER YOU DEBATE WITH US, THE MORE DIFFICULT YOUR JOB BECOMES. The program vanishes for a fraction of a second before returning. Its words, though incapable of expressing exhaustion, are slow and distorted. <<Task... completed. Rema..pping... Is done.>> WE TOLD YOU IT COULD BE DONE. <<In....Stant combat is no

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Earning a Living - Appraiser So she knew it was an NPC. But the short little bald man was terrifying. The exact type of guy who made her skin crawl back in the real world. Sin hadn’t gotten herself trapped in a death game only to deal with the same balding, pervy mother fuckers she’d left in the real world. She might have worked him over, if he had any money to part with. Or she might have bolted for a brand-new post code. Sin had no problems using a guy’s thirst against him, but there was something about that balding, undersexed, accountant look that just made her shudder. And it wa

"Wha?" Jevi blinked behind her mask. Mari had gotten the impression that Jevi was irritated that Lancaster had showed up, despite their doubts. Did Jevi have a twinge of jealousy, especially after seeing how head-over-heels she was for the man? Yes. Was she going to admit that? Absolutely not. "Nah nah." Jevi dismissed the claims with a wave of her hand. "Just got a bit defensive, thought some rando was tryin' to smooth us over, butter us up." She shrugged her shoulders lazily, "Maybe its the alcohol, I dunno.. been awhile since I've.. felt it." "Guess if you wanna blame it on some

Reytac watched, his head turning as the ‘werewolf’ circled around him, a bright grin left unseen on his face. This was probably the best part of his costume – the fact that, even better than a mask, people couldn’t see his facial expression as he smile widely at the various costumes and decorations that he had been seeing. The woman’s costume was a good one, and he honestly couldn’t tell if her stance had been adjusted to be more animalistic, or if she was doing that herself to fit the appearance she was working with. Either way, it was phenomenal. ”It is, yes! I sadly couldn’t get a mount

Reytac had been listening to the two women talk, and he took a deep breath. It was clear both had – gone through loss. Hardships, things that had worn them down, as they were both reserved and hurting. They hadn’t known each other before, but it was clear that there was a level of – camaraderie that was born of shared suffering, a kinship that made him an unintended outcast. He’d have to agree though, at least somewhat – he didn’t think riding as one of the Four horsemen would be something that could be fun in the first place – necessary, perhaps, but fun, to be one of the harbingers of death?