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Hidden didn’t move as the mirror of her dagger hit the grass, its glint of steel flashing once before vanishing into the tangle of green. Her eyes tracked it, but only for a moment. Then they found the girl again, already leaning against the tree like all of this was routine. When the words landed — “pleading and praying for purpose” — Hidden let out a short breath, not quite a laugh. “That’s a bit dramatic,” she said dryly, though there wasn’t much heat behind it. Her gaze dropped to the grass, fingers flexing absently at her sides. “I didn’t beg for anything. I made a choice.” She paused, th

She moved in again, blade humming with quiet light, the same art she’d executed twice before. But this time, her hand wavered — just slightly. The curved sword swept forward, precise in shape but not in timing. The boarlet ducked under the swing with a grunt, kicking off the ground and bounding to the left. Dust swirled where her edge struck, but the boarlet’s hitbox remained untouched. Miyuki exhaled through her nose, jaw tight. Another mistake. Not fatal not yet but every miss felt like a lost step in the dance. “Don’t force the rhythm. Let it come to you.” The

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Hidden blinked, half-expecting some pushback, or at least a question — but instead, the woman just let out a sigh and started reeling in her line, all the grace of someone giving up their last bit of peace for the day. No argument. No snark. Just a quiet sort of resignation, like she’d been through this routine before and already knew how it ended. Hidden watched, a little stunned, as the stranger packed up her things with the air of someone being evicted rather than confronted. No fire, no challenge — just a muttered promise to leave, like her presence had been a burden from the start. I

The journey back to Zackariah's shop passed without incident and as Sunny closed the door after entering he heard the familiar voice greet him. "Ah, so you're back. How did it go? Were you successful?" Selecting his inventory and then the quest item, a plant stem with bright green leaves appeared in front of Sunny and he grabbed it from mid-air before placing it on the counter in front of the Alchemist. "It took longer than I would have liked, but I found this. I hope it will suffice?" Zackariah picked up the herb and inspected it before nodding. "Yes, this will do nicely." Rea

As Oscar spoke to his two...students? Friends? As Oscar spoke to both Lysette and Abellio Mari leaned toward Oscar, head on his sweaty shoulder. At least the tension was gone now. So it seemed the problem more so stemmed from the fact he didn't warn them about her first? Mari snorted. Yeh, that sounded like Oscar. Orange Players are a little scary, yanno? "More than you know." Her voice quiet, downcast eyes closing with a heavy sigh. All the things she had experienced lately. She was so used to the seedy underbelly of Aincrad that it was hard to forget that it was not the norm. Regul

Redemption. Second chances. The opportunity to do better. It was the same thing Lydia was doing. Making up for the past, taking control of her life. Wasn't that the entire reason she'd rid herself of her tattoos and piercings. Lydia had reinvented herself in Aincrad. To the point that she dreaded the day they would leave. Those marks would be back. Those reminders that she'd let other people live her life for her. She couldn't bring herself to begrudge Mari her own reinvention. With a soft sigh, she also put away her weapon. Her shoulders slumped forward for a moment, then her back strai

"Nah, it isn't really that deep for me," Abellio said. He put his sword away, signalling that his past discomfort was all but gone. All he'd wanted was a little extra information. Some context. Not to be jump-scared by a PKer when he thought he was just out for a casual stroll. His gaze shifted over to Mari, giving her a bright smile. "You know Oscar, he's pretty stingy with the details. I was just a little surprised, is all. If he's out here balling out with you, I know he's got a reason for it. It would have just been nice to know that reason before I rocked up. Orange Players are a little s

It was still tense, but things were more workable now. Oscar gave Mari a smile. Truth be told, it was 100 grand that Oscar would have been happy to pay. Beyond the goofs and gaffes and the murderous control, Oscar was a romantic at heart. It was so fun watching the two slowly become ever more entwined. If he lost the bet at this exact moment, he wouldn't have been upset. But he would have been disappointed with the fact that he didn't get to witness the blooming stretch out. People, he found, were his favorite show. "I've made a point to teach both of you a lot of things," Oscar sai

Theo was all smiles, if not a tad sad for the killing of a creature, even if said creature was not currently living. It's okay Theo. This is the only way I will get closer to the ultimate goal of eating good food... or any food that isn't the cheapest bread and water one can buy at an inn. The archer's stomach rumbled in response to this thought. They could almost taste the sugary drinks that would have been a health concern in the real world. Another squee passed over the beginning fields, and Theo knew what needed to be done next. Theodore removed the sweater, a mixture of browns, orang

ph *** Freyd's Action Enemy's Action:

Mari sighed as she rolled over onto her back, eyes squinting against an all too bright sky above. Clear blue without the reprise of clouds to stem the heat of the sun. Such a vast difference from the floor below. She listened to Freyd. He started talking about tanks, recent raid bosses - mechanics...all things she didn't have too much interest in but did her best to give him the ear that he had given her so many times before. "Must be hard." Was all she could master for the situation. "I got so frustrated...when people I tried to help would leap itno danger." She thought of Yuki, who had one t

"Smart, even. You should keep your guard up around Orange Players. But Mari is a friend. And she needed help with some boss drops. And rather than have to camp the spawn for the next hour, I figured you guys could come help speed things along." "Not wrong." Mari said as Oscar called them both smart for keeping their guard up around her. "Keepin' guard up is good - but being antagonistic, or rude can also....set people off." She spoke from experience, and from current knowledge of the laughing coffin members she had run into as of late. "W-whoaah..." Mari was pulled to the sid

the walls are unscalable and so high one can only see a strip of floor 25’s ceiling directly above their path. arabelle and yuki’s steps echo, and when they reach a split in the maze, it is shaped like the upper half of an asterisk — six branches in six directions. dim, past the first few meters. arabelle points to a white chalk mark on yuki’s left. “there!” it’s so small that anyone other than arabelle would have struggled to follow the trail itself. they don’t talk this time, either. every moment spent in the maze carries the risk of one or four of its monsters popping up

Abellio didn't even notice. Not the feint intended to frighten or the almost-attack that Lydia had made. It was rather difficult to notice such things with a big fuck-off firebird bearing down on them. And it seemed that the least focused of the bunch was the most locked in for this fight. He did, of course, have something to prove. Getting better and honing his skills were paramount. And he would seize upon every opportunity to do just that. To prove that he had been doing just that. And so the three behind him had their exchange. As they did, Abellio was driving his sword into the newly-rise

What surprised Lydia wasn't how quickly she reacted to Mari's feint, it was how casually she did it. Lydia saw how Mari moved as Abellio turned his back and just reacted. And if it hadn't been for Oscar, she would have tagged her. The gravity of her actions sank in. It worried her. Lydia didn't hesitate. In that split second, it looked like Abellio was in trouble and she threw herself into a fight that she doubted she would truly be able to win. But what worried her the most was that she didn't feel the slightest remorse over it. If the choice was between Mari and Abellio, she would choo

"Whoa there Seabiscuit," Oscar said as he rushed forward. His words were not meant to chastise Mari, but Lysette. Mari would be the same firecracker she always was. Abellio would probably be too stupid to notice. But Lysette had a nasty habit of losing her composure. A knee jerk reaction. She probably wouldn't even realize her spear was just inches away from Mari's neck, ready to catch her on the turn around. Not until Oscar parried the blow bare-handed, slapping the flat of the spearhead up and off its deadly trajectory. "Fair being fair, I think we can agree it's a perfectly reasonable

"Funny that...." “Hmm? How so?" "Just know that some people around you, are already at that risk." “Too many, at all times." Plainly spoken and unsurprised, but not inconsiderate of her meaning. "You never really get used to it, but every tank learns to deal with that kind of burden. Even in recent raids, the bosses have been wielding new mechanics to force tanks into better managing their aggro. Old pros like Shield and Raidou would slough it off with ease, but newer arrivals are typically less prepared and less experienced. Less wise, they make more mistakes. In the worst

Freyd went on to explain Firm Anima- its branches. What they meant. The guild was far bigger than Jacobs Ladder, and far more refined. He wasn't wrong, most places or people Mari met were in some way related to the guild. It was a powerhouse, and that sort of powerhouse would need strong and dependent leaders. Mari had no question in her mind that Freyd was one of them - and it was probably one of the reasons he was always on the move. Each branch has a captain. Right. "I appreciate you taking the time for me. It means a lot." Mari said in ernest, trying to calm the warbling concern that was b

ph *** Crafting Salve | ID 248 | LD 20+ | CD 12+ | T1 Perfect Salve Eval submitted here Objective complete: Crafting the item with Evangeline's guidance. *** Thread Closing: Freyd receives: X EXP (Word Count [X/5*20] + Quest [300] + 5% Guild Rank bonus) X col (15% P5 Reward [X] + 5% Guild Rank bonus) 16 Materials (Foraging [12] + Quest [5] - craft [1]) Unlock Alchemist crafting profession Gain crafted item, per eval linked above. 1 Mon +96 Forager EXP

"I can run into town and fetch us drinks easily enough. No need to take unnecessary risks." Always looking out for her, for everyone. The gentleness of Freyd's smile conflicted with the violence still cascading down around them, but the man was a walking paradox at the best of times. "I understand." Referencing the strange tale of Alkor's plight, the man's legend was written under strange circumstances and possibly not of his own making. Something to relate to. "Frankly...I'm a little worried about you. What's going on? If you need to be elsewhere we can put a pin in this for

The place was quiet, out of the way; far enough away from Taft that she wouldn't be a bother to anyone - not along any main trails. Mari had quite literally come across the outskirts of the estate by chance; and the river that ran through it. She was far enough away that she hadn't actually entered any owned land, but was close enough to see the rooftop of whomever lived there. Mari cast her line out with a yawn. Coming back from the higher floors always resulted in her being exhausted. "You're a long way from anywhere. Were the city fish too noisy for you?" "That's the point.

Freyd had a point, why was it a secret? "Hmmm...." Mari crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess. It's as you said, complicated. People talk. I didn't want his past to affect his decisions in the future. I didn't want people to judge him harshly because of it. It was very shitty. It messed me up real bad. One of the reasons I don't really trust people these days." Despite her being completely over the situation, her lack of faith in people was still quite prevalent, although that couldn't be attested to just the amber eyed man. There was a long list of people and events that had contributed t

Sunny pressed his lips together and took a deep inhale of air through his nose. Blowing it out in a long, steady breath he centred himself. "It's fine. This is fine. You have one more go and then you can crack on with the rest of the quest." The thought suddenly occurred that he hadn't even asked about the loaned Col. Distracted by another quest. Or maybe that was the design. Either way, it was time to focus. grab the mats, head back and enquire about the loan. As he visualised his tasks he noticed a patch of long grass nearby. "Can't have any worse luck can I?" He said to himse

Hidden | HP: 880/880 | EN: 126/126 | DMG: 24 | MIT:20 | ACC:3 | PHASE | EVA:4 | BH:48 | VAMP-O: 97 | REC: 8 | HLY: 16 | LD:1 The air had grown cooler as the sun began to set over the horizon, the trees shifting as they did with each day as the sun began to set. You could only reach the house at sunset. The path didn’t appear so much as it allowed you through — winding past overgrown trees and quiet hills, down into a meadow the world seemed to have forgotten. It was beautiful in a way that felt untouched: wildflowers blooming in every direction, tall grass swaying in the bree