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The path sloped downward from the forge, leading away from smoke and steel, into the quieter edges of Tolbana. The hammering of Lyle’s anvil faded behind her, replaced by gulls and the distant slosh of water meeting wood. Miyuki moved with calm purpose, the aches of battle still humming beneath her skin. Each step reminded her that she’d endured. Not just survived progressed. The eastern sun had dipped lower now, casting the town in long shadows. Buildings gave way to open space, and soon the worn cobblestone transitioned into wooden planks, weathered and warped beneath her boots.

Sunny ran at the boarlet in the same manner as his last fight, bringing the sword down just as before. He watched the blade fall but didn't feel the resistance. And the red line wasn't there. The health bar above the boarlet hadn't changed either. The information processed inside Sunny's mind as he felt the forehead of the creature ram into him. "Oof." Again the armour did its job and his health only reduced by a point. But the wind was knocked firmly out of his sails. This was the weakest mob there was and he thought that he had the advantage. That was a sobering thought. As he coll

7/30/25 (Crafting Respite: 248184-1, Ambition: 180855-2, Pharmacy (Ext.) | +2 EXP, +1 Attempt, Magic Cauldron | +1 CD) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 248616 CD: 12 +1 LD: 17 Perfect (2) 14 (+6 Ambition) 2 248617 CD: 4

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"Astreya," Lessa repeated. "Astreya, Astreya, Astreya." She let the name roll around in her mouth, wondering if it might jog her memory. When it didn't, she shook her head. "No, I don't think I knew her. We might get along though. My parents always gave me a hard time for all my 'like's." The wry smile that twisted her lips lasted only a second before dropping away again. Back then, she'd found the whole thing impossibly annoying. Now she'd give just about anything to hear her dad mock her, or listen to her mom correct her speech. She looked from her ice cream to Jomei's cocked eyebrow, and th

It was touching, hearing Lessa’s heartfelt confession. Oscar couldn’t really think of a time when someone had been so candid about their real life. It was easy to forget - even for him - that this wasn’t real. It was all binary, electric impulses from their real bodies that informed their actions here. But what was real were the connections. The friends made, lovers taken, enemies dead at his feet. Barring the latter, he was grateful for every single one. Oscar nodded along, listening intently. It was a struggle of course. The last time he bade her to let it out, he wound up with a sword in hi

It wasn't the first time that Lessa had wandered the Town of Beginnings after dark. In fact, it had been unavoidable while she lived on the floor the first few years in Aincrad. But of all those countless nights, none had felt quite like this one did. Faint stars tossed haphazardly against a gray-black sky, hazily lit by the lights of the city. The gentle roll of murmured voices, accented by the occasional laugh or cough. Music drifting from doorways and windows thrown open to the cool breeze. There was something significant about her surroundings, something cinematic in the way the evening ro

Feeling emboldened, having nearly defeated the boarlet in one strike, Sunny smirked at the beast in front of him. "Sorry, but today's not your day!" He pulled back his right arm, the sword glinting in the sun, and used his left arm, which was equipped with a cosmetic shield, as a counterweight. The blade slashed down, a smaller red visual appearing this time as the rest of the health bar was depleted. The boarlet exploded into colourful pixels, leaving behind a tusk on the grass. "Heh. I didn't even take damage that time." Sunny bent down to pick up the tusk and transferred it to his

"The barricade! It's going to fall! They're getting through!" Shouts rose above the catchy K-pop, high pitched and spiking with panic. Kyra swung away from the Player she'd been tending to, her lavender gaze searching through the rain for the source. All around her, others did the same, pausing in their efforts to watch, horror-struck, as the barricade bowed dangerously. "Wha-what's happening?" stuttered the young man in her arms, his eyes wide and glazed, his health bar only a tiny crimson sliver. "Just another wave," Kyra informed him, her smile warm, her tone even, even as s

"Take it you like it?" Jomei would ask softly, not noticing that the window was not the object of Lessa's cerulean stare. While he may not have seen her looking his way for himself, he still felt his cheeks heat as his lips spread into another wide smile. Lessa drew his attention to the two musical instruments that rested on either end of his desk. While he had others scattered about the first floor, they served more of a decorative purpose. Nowadays, the violin and the guitar were the two he found himself putting all of his focus into. Perhaps it was his disinterest in crafting songs t

"Thank you." Kat said, happy that Sam enjoyed the tea. "I didn't drink a lot of it before, but I started to so that I could add something else to my daily routine. Plus it reminds me a bit of home." As Sam slipped away to the bathroom Kat exhaled loudly and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was hard, being so close to her. The way she talked, the way she dried her hair, the way she smelled. It was all bringing memories flooding back that she didn't want to sift through right then. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to get her own breathing under control before Sam got back. Ka

The forge’s warmth greeted her long before its doorway did. The scent of coal and burning steel was heavier now, thick with sweat and soot. Her cloak was stained, her leg still throbbed, but Miyuki walked with purpose. Three tusks. Three victories. She entered quietly, stepping around scattered scrap metal until the clang of the hammer paused. Lyle turned, wiping his brow with the back of a blackened hand. Miyuki said nothing at first. Instead, she approached the anvil and placed the tusks down one by one firm, deliberate. Each landed with a satisfying weight. Then, with a calm

The boarlet was limping now pixelated wounds flickering across its side, breath ragged and eyes wild. Miyuki felt her pulse steady as she shifted her stance for the last time. No hesitation. No doubt. She surged forward, blade low and then, in one clean motion, brought it up in a rising arc that caught the creature mid-lunge. “Fall.” The impact was swift. The edge of her curved sword traced a brilliant violet glow as it cut cleanly through the air then the boarlet. The little beast let out a warped cry before its form shattered into a hundred red shards, scatterin

The hesitation was gone now. Miyuki stepped in with a sharp pivot, blade poised just above her shoulder and brought it down in a swift, slicing arc. The boarlet tried to recoil, but it was a moment too slow this time. The edge of her curved sword connected solidly, cutting across its flank with a satisfying jolt of light and sound. A digital splatter of crimson burst from the impact, and the creature squealed, stumbling to the side with flickering pixels at its wound. But the moment she landed the blow, the boarlet bucked wildly in panic and desperation. Its head rammed forward

Another opening or so she thought. Miyuki stepped in again, swift and certain, curving her blade across the boarlet’s chest with a clean arc. But the beast dropped its stance at the last second, rolling in the dirt like a ball of fur and grunts. The sword sliced the air above its back. Missed. Again. “Third time.” She didn’t let the frustration show. But she felt it pulsing behind her calm expression like heat under skin. The boarlet scrambled upright and lunged. Its tiny tusks caught the hem of her cloak, tugging but not tearing. She twisted just enough for it to

Crafts for 7/29/2025 (All Debuff Songs) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 248593 CD: 2 +1 LD: 18 Salvage Success - 5 (+3 Ambition) 2 248592 CD: 3 +1 LD: 7 Uncommon - 6

Ariel blinked into the shadows without so much as a whisper. Acanthus found the effect mildly unsettling. She also found Ariel’s stealth to be an impressive tool, but the wrong one for such a lowly quest. More than anything, the stealth annoyed her because it left her to talk with Gambit. “So… what do you do all day?” The search for the nest distracted Acanthus; why couldn’t the stupid thing be easier to find? She thought that surely enough people had done the quest that the map data would be cheap. But here she was, turning over rock after rock, trying to hold a conversation while she lo

Acanthus relaxed muscle by muscle as they walked into the coliseum. Meeting Baldur again was a necessity bound by a thoughtless promise; truthfully, she would have preferred handling the boss by herself. Talking with the samurai felt like a stroll in a field of razorwire. Every step she took had a chance to open herself up. But meeting with Baldur was its own reward, in a strange way. It was another chance to show him her worth. “The shield suits you.” “Thank you. I’m still getting used to fighting with it. I picked it up during the Clash of Blades. I miss the feeling of mobilit

"To be honest she pulled me out of a obsessive spiraling funk. When I found out who killed my other friends I sorta got obsessed with trying to find them. Not really the best look," a nervous chuckle. "I heard her play and it gave me something to focus on. I was playing a bit before I met her in person but she doesn't know that she pulled me from a very dark place. It's sorta what allowed me to be her today." She stops dead with the music playing as Kat throws a towel over her head. She couldn't help but laugh, setting her bass on her lap as she starts rubbing the top of her head with the clot

Her hand covered her mouth in a failed attempt to hide her embarrassment. The woman was pushing all the right buttons, and Katoka she knew she was doing it for her own amusement. After the quest with Mari and Acanthus she had decided she would be more honest with herself, that she would admit that she was lonely and wanted someone to pay attention to her. Emilia was doing just that currently. Kat enjoyed being told she was cute, she liked the teasing, the pushing. As long as she didn't let her self get hurt, it would be fine for now. "My writing? It's nothing fancy. If I take my time it's

"I... can't dispute that." A laugh, forced but so practiced and soft that Katoka would never have known, especially since the following words were spoken with truth. "I find it endearing." Khione said simply. Continue to shower the other in compliments, see where it goes, why not? She had nothing better to do. Katoka seemed to have a level head on her shoulders, her attire clean kept - someone who didn't quite suit the lower floors. Khione leaned over Katoka's shoulder. "Cute." She said simply, eyes traveling down the notes. Typed, not handwritten. "Shame though. I'd have liked to se

7/29/25 (Crafting Respite: 248184-1, Ambition: 180855-2, Pharmacy (Ext.) | +2 EXP, +1 Attempt, Magic Cauldron | +1 CD) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 248563 CD: 1 +1 LD: 11 Critical Failure (1) 7 (+6 Ambition) 2 248564 CD: 4

Hidden reacted just as Mari had expected, most people Mari had told seemed completely shocked at the revelation that anyone could imprison her, let alone that she was being targeted in the first place. The sharp turn almost caused Mari to bump into Hidden. Her eyes were wide with a kind of hurt shock. “Imprisoned?” Mari nodded and reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, more questions came. Mari was ready to answer them then and there on that quaint little path that lead to a vine encrusted home nestled away from the world in its own special corner, but Hidden wasn't having it

She could feel the tension in her shoulders slowly lessen. Kat always knew Sam loved music, so she wasn't surprised that she had started playing. Hearing that there was a famous musician trapped with them in Aincrad was certainly news to her. "Huh, it really makes you wonder who else is in this game with us." "I think I will have a drink." Katoka stood up and rubbed her hands together. "But I think it will be something a bit less alcoholic." With that she slipped into the kitchen and began preparing something for the both of them. Despite not having the cooking skill, Kat still loved

For the first time in a long time, Astra found himself with some free time to spare. Lately he'd been dividing his time between consistent training with his mentor, Wulfrin, or entertaining the children at the orphanage. Today however, his schedule was completely free - and for once he was pretty lost as to what he wanted to do. Eventually, after some time pacing around and eating the assorted food scattered around the house, Astra decided that he wanted to get out and be proactive. Pulling up his menu interface, he navigated his way to the community bulletin board. Most of the requests that h