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Mari relaxed her shoulders hearing his words, she didn't realize just how much tension she had been holding in them...just how tightly wound she had been. Her stew, half eaten and far too spicy to be able to finish was pushed to the side so she could give Oscar the full attention he both demanded and deserved. He dismissed her admission with a rather simple and nonchalant one of his own, breaking apart bread to dip into his own serving. Stating he'd be fine...Mari knew Oscar was connected - knew he had people working for him, and that he was personally training several others. Her finger tappe

Reytac stopped abruptly, barely keeping himself from running into Sinnamon when she fell over, and his hand was now outstretched towards where she had been - the fall had been sudden and abrupt enough that even though he'd tried to grab onto one of her biceps to keep her from hitting the ground, he hadn't managed to make it in time. His eyes flicked over her quickly, perfunctorily, making sure she wasn't injured before he actually looked towards what she was holding up. It was - yep. That was definitely one of the unidentified, nebulous items that could be defined, refined into something that

Post Action: [x12] ST-I (12 EN) | A single-target sword art. Loot Rolls: ID: 256007 | LD: 15 | CD: 4 | 252+168= 420 Col, Materials (2), Tier 1 Rare Trinket (1) PH * * * 12x8= 96 DAMAGE Scar | HP: 140/140 | EN: 18/32 | DMG: 8 | MIT: 4 | ACC: 2 Little Nepent | HP: 0/84 | DMG: 28 WC:

Mari stared at V for a moment as she dismissed Mari's concerns. Had she been wrong? Mari was pretty perceptive, and usually right about these sort of things...but... Mari turned her gaze back toward the bar. She also had quite a lot to drink. Also, terrible at socializing in settings like this. "Oh." Her head swiveled back to V. "Thash...relief." Mari offered her a smile. "I kinda like hanging with you." V then made mention of how he could see why Mari was bummed playing matchmaker, ah. "Well..." Mari tugged on her bangs, "We could find you shomeone? Maybe not though... I don't -" Then lifted

Sin appreciated the offer of the canteen, but she simply held up her hand and shook her head. She couldn't believe that she got herself worked up for that response. Of course the NPC wouldn't be a total fucking creep. She should have known. Still, it wasn't all bad. She was outside, enjoying the fresh air. Company she had wasn't awful either. As they made their way to the town gate, Sin nodded along to Reytac's explanation. All the good things aside, she really wasn't looking forward to climbing hill and dell trying to find some nebulous not-items from Reytac's story. "That sounds like s

Reytac walked behind Sinnamon as she walked away from the counter. From how she'd been acting before, and the relief on her face when he had offered to take care of talking with the NPC, he knew that the brash, loud attitude just now was a front. He waited until they were outside of the shop and heading towards the town gates to quietly pull a canteen out of his inventory and hand it over to her. "Take a moment, here's some water if you need to collect yourself." He pulled out a second one and spun the lid open with a thumb and took a long drink himself before he put it away. Left unsaid was t

Sin's eyes flicked down at the invite. She'd never really been in a party before. She pressed the button, watching as his name and health bar appeared at the periphery of her vision. "Huh. Neat," she said. "And you're a goddamned saint, you know that?" It felt weird to say, but she meant it. Usually she'd only say stuff like that to stroke a man's ego. It really made her pause for a moment, thinking about how often she was so insincere about her compliments. But she couldn't really feel bad about it. There were good guys out there. She didn't fuck with those. "Alright," she said

A little heart to heart, tbd

ph smack 2

ph

ph (opening the door)

Reytac blinked once, then twice, as the young woman ranted in front of him. He hadn’t yet seen the NPC in question, but it seemed like she had – and had already formed her opinion of him. Now, that might also be because she’d had to deal with him in some way in the past, but it also felt a bit more.. Personal. He hummed under his breath as he rubbed his chin in thought. It sounded like she’d had to deal with people whom this NPC resembled, and had strong opinions about them. And judging based off her appearance, well, he wasn’t surprised that she was approached by sleazy types in the past. He

Sin had managed to claw together enough nerve to reach for the door handle when she heard a man's voice behind her. It was all she could do to keep herself from jumping out of her skin. Temper flared and she wheeled around, eyes full of fury at the sudden interruption. She was ready to tell him off - to fuck off, up, down, and sideways. Why the fuck was he bothering her? Couldn't he tell that she was having a moment? Her mouth parted, every fiber of her being ready to unleash a stream of obscenities at the man. Something possessed her to lock eyes with the man as she planted her feet. Had to m

Her tired legs threatened to buckle beneath her weight, knees trembling with each step. The mud squelched beneath her boots as she struggled to move, each step harder to take than the last. The rain pelted her like bullets that soaked her to the very core. How much longer would this take? There, in front of them, an old rickety tavern.. finally some salvation. Though the flickering candle of hope that had ignited within her was snuffed out. No matter how much she walked, how much she fought against the elements, their destination never seemed to get any closer. She couldn't do it anymore, she

COUNSELOR UNIT 64E7877, REQUESTING A THIRD SIMULATION. <<Query received. Credentials remain verified. Suggestion: this may not be a good idea.>> OUR CREDENTIALS REMAIN VERIFIED. IS THAT CORRECT? A micro-second to consider its response, unnoticeable to a computer made of meat. But to a program, a stunning refusal. <<They are still verified.>> the insolence would have to be scrutinized later. The simulation was its priority. LOAD ALL PREVIOUS PARAMETERS. ADD ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS: DAY 912, AFTER ADDITIONAL CONFRONTATION WITH ELEMENTS OF THE PLAYER B

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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